Doer or Viewer?

Odd Horse Behavior

Ever since our foal was born a few weeks ago, I have observed very strange behavior from the other horses. They just stand outside the corral and watch the mother and her foal hour after hour. It is absolutely amazing. Their intense curiosity and protective instincts are remarkable. But now they need to get a life. I became so exasperated last night that I yelled at them to go forage for food, run the field, do anything except just standing there watching! 

My Dad has a phrase he has repeated since we were children. He would say it to me when I was watching too many cartoons. Now he says it to his grandkids who are playing games on their pads. “Be a doer, not a viewer.” I think COVID and the lockdowns have exacerbated this problem.  I have become too used to consuming the creative work of others instead of stepping outside to experience life and create things myself. Author Adam Martin wrote, “If we continue to consume and never actually sit down to work, all of that consumption is for naught and we are really just wasting time. Just as our physical muscles will atrophy when they are not being used, so too will our creative muscles in our brains.”

So how did I finally get the other horses to stop passively observing and start experiencing life? Simple. We let the mare and her foal out of the corral. This video shows what happened.