Following the instructions... a lesson from my younger brother.

This morning I was sitting on the couch looking for something in one of the level packs and my youngest brother was sitting on the floor looking at some instructions for a Lego set he wants to build. As I was sitting there M2 asked me if I could help him figure out where to start. So I got down on the floor and showed him that you have to start at step number one and then follow the steps in order. The first couple steps he had already completed, which were finding the Lego men and getting the row boat (it was for a pirate hideout). I somehow think that he didn't quite want me to show him how to start but how to make the start easier... but that will be for another blog post ;)

He then turned the page and was looking at the steps for building the actual hideout when he said something to this effect "I am going to skip that step because it is to hard, and that one too, they are to hard. I am going to start at this step" I replied something like this "You can try but I think you will find that it will only get harder and harder if you don't start at the first step" M2 replied "Well they are only little pieces and I don't think they really matter that much" then after a couple minutes at looking at the instructions he looks at me and says... "I am just going to make my own hideout and not worry about these instructions. It is to hard" And so he proceeded to build his own pirate hideout, his own way.

Now this got me thinking. How many times in our horsemanship journey do we say the same thing... "This is to hard, I am just going to do it my own way" or "This is such a small task it won't make a difference if I skip it" We think that we can do it better ourselves and it will turn out just fine. Which it very well might turn out okay but what my younger brother failed to realize was that each block in that set has a purpose, none of them are "not important". The people who put that set together knew exactly what they were doing. Now I know that with Lego you are supposed to mix and match sets and be creative... I enjoyed doing that just as much as my little brothers when I was their age. It is fun! But I also loved following the instructions step by step and building a set. I think that might have had an impact on who I am today... but anyway back to my point :)

Mr. and Mrs. Parelli have set out a step by step program for us to follow. They have given us instructions, guides, support, information, and so much more. But we will only get the end result if we follow the program! If we skip a step here and there because we think it is to hard the next step won't work because it needs the previous step. It will only get harder and be more confusing because we didn't take the time to learn what the previous step was.

I have seen so many people blame the Parelli program for not working when in truth it is the person who skipped some important, yet seemingly small, steps. Or they just didn't want to take the time to work through it because it was to hard. It is the little things that can make the biggest difference... what does Mr. Parelli say "Do simple things with excellence" "Take the time it takes to it will take less time" "Trust the process".

Everyone is on their own journey and they have the freedom to choose their own path, but for myself I have chosen to trust the process and trust the Parelli's who have taken so much of their life to learn and teach us. They have set out and pathway for us to learn, one that I have chosen to follow. They are much wiser than I am and I respect their wisdom. I have chosen to take the time it takes, no matter how long it takes, and do each step even if I don't understand why. So far it has proven to be worthwhile. Yes it has been hard at times. Thing don't make sense but when I look back I can see why I wouldn't have wanted to miss that important step even though it was hard, mentally, emotionally and or physically.

Like my little brother, some people chose to give up and make their own creation, their own journey. That is their decision. But from what I have seen it never works the same. It may just be my personality that likes guidelines, rules, structure, order etc but I think that it is more than that. Myself, and thousands of other people have experienced the same success by following the program... by trusting the process.

Naturally,
~Keri