There is no time to waste. Time does not exist, so it cannot be wasted. And, yet, you don’t want to dawdle in life. Life is not to idle away. Grasp today as it comes to you. Grasp it as a mulberry tree, and shake the mulberries down from it. Gather them. Encapsulate life. Catch it on the run.
Life is not meant to be a bother. It is not meant to make you uneasy. Consider life the horse you ride on. Never mind that you have to feed the horse, water it, stable it. Think of all those details, and you will become tired. Rather think of life as a white steed that you ride through the hills. Your horse giddyaps. You toss your lasso and catch the world. You rope in the stars. You pull the moon and wear it like a watch fob. The sun becomes a badge over your heart. You are the sheriff of the universe. You ride the horse of life. Faster and faster you go. You leave the dust behind.
At night you put the horse out to pasture, and you lie down beside him. You sleep the wrinkles of your day away. Your horse gets up at dawn and wakes you. You awaken refreshed, ready for another day of riding, riding, riding. You leap onto your horse. You ride over hill and dale. You are Paul Revere, riding, riding, riding. Through your ride, you awaken the day to itself. You wake the other riders, and they follow you through green pastures as well as trodden ground.
There is one day, and one steed, and yet everyone imagines they ride their own.
This white steed of day is a gift to you. And yet you are a great gift to it. What would the steed of day be without you? It would be an empty shell. It would be a beautiful shell, but with no one to notice it. It would be like a pretty painting turned to the wall. The steed of today wants to be noticed. It doesn’t want to be reined in. It wants to gallop. It wants you to ride on it gaily. It wants you to lean forward and ride it like the wind, your hair blown back like its tail, your motion forward, your gait steady, your heart steadfast. Sir and madam, your horse waits for you. It is at the gate. Where are you, and what are you doing?
Getting ready? No need to prepare. Just leap on the horse, and go where it takes you. It will take you near and far. It will expand your vision. It will take you to the horizon and leap over it with you on its back. Your horse will take you past boundaries. It will leap over fences. It sees none, and yet it leaps over them. T’lot, t’lot, t’lot, rides the horse with the horseman on its back.
These are not a meandering cowboy and horse. They are swift. They set out in a direction, and they gallop. They are decisive. In one sense it doesn’t matter what course they ride. In another sense, it matters very much. The day is full of riches, and yet you hold the reins.
Will you let go of them? Will you drop them and ride bareback? Will you let the white steed race and will you stay with it? Will you run the course, even when you don’t know what it is? Will you straddle your horse and ride where it takes you? Will you be glad for the ride and the wind on your back? Will you praise this noble horse as it neighs?