Patina Malinalli - Learning the Beauty of Humility With Horses

Learning the Beauty of Humility With Horses

A New Perspective for Survivors of Traumatic Brain Injury

Patina Malinalli

All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB), 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003,2009 by Harvard Bible Publishers, Nashville, TN.

All verses accessed from www.biblegateway.com.

L EARNING THE BEAUTY OF HUMILITY WITH HORSES

Copyright 2021 by Patina Malinalli

Published by Books by Malinalli

West Lafayette, IN 47906

https://www.booksbymalinalli.com

Do you ever feel humiliated because of your traumatic brain injury? Do you consider it ironic to hear others say, Humility is a virtue, because it doesnt feel good to experience?

What if I told you that humility (and riding a horse!) could be the doorway to experiencing more joy in your life? I am going to tell you how but first let me start by telling you a little bit about myself.

One afternoon when I was 17, and driving home from a horse farm, I pulled out into an intersection and was hit on the drivers side by another car. The accident was my fault, but thankfully the other driver involved was uninjured. I incurred a traumatic brain injury though and had to spend the entire summer before my senior year of high school in the hospital recuperating. The doctors were initially not even certain that I would live. They told my parents that I might miss my entire senior year of high school. Later that summer, they said that I would return late, but in the end I left the hospital in time to return to school on schedule.

My biggest blessing here was that I had therapy in the afternoons quite often, so I switched from the honors degree I had been pursuing to a regular high school diploma. This allowed me to go to therapy in the afternoons. I finished therapy before the school year was over. When we had a half-day of school, I was only there for a couple of hours before spending the rest of my day at the horse farm. It was fantastic. I feel that the time I spent caring for horses and horseback riding played a large part in the success of my recovery.

For example, I was regularly lifting weights in a couple different ways while working there. When the hoses freeze during the winter, it is necessary to carry two-gallon buckets full of water (there wasnt an automatic system at this time). The best way to do this is to carry both at the same timeone in each hand, so you can walk with a nice even balance. Mucking [i] was also a full-body workoutparticularly mare and foal stalls. You have twice the mess and the babies are not exactly picky. Stallions are actually the neatest. They do all of their business in two places. Its very quick to clean those stallsno need to filter through much of anything. Its really easy to stay fit with this kind of work, but it is a job no one really wants to do. Generally, most people would like to finish as quickly as possible. Fitness was an important part of my recovery, and because of the work I was doing at the farm, I never really had to worry about weight gain or a lack of fitness. Farm work also helped me with physical rehabilitation after my injury.

Where Humility Comes In

P eople often incorrectly correlate humility with humiliation, but their definitions are quite different. According to Merriam-Webster,s Dictionary, humility is defined as freedom from pride or arrogance: the quality or state of being humble.1 Humility is also recognized as selflessness. Humiliate , however, means, to reduce someone to a lower position in ones own eyes:to make someone ashamed or embarrassed: MORTIFY.2 The two terms are similar, but they have opposing definitions.

Some people associate the word humble with someone who is embarrassed, or who has been proven incorrect because the word does suggest a form of lowliness. When used as an adjective (to describe a person, action or object) humble is defined by Merriam Webster as, not proud or haughty: not arrogant or assertive; reflecting, expressing, or offered in the spirit of deference or submission; ranking low in a hierarchy or scale, INSIGNIFICANT, UNPRETENTIOUS, not costly or luxurious.3 When it is used as a verb, the definition is to make (someone) humble in spirit or manner... to destroy the power independence, or prestige of [someone or something].4 As you can see, context is very important. Humble as a noun, implies submission while humble as a verb describes conquest and destruction.

Humble individuals do not talk about themselves or broadcast their daily lives to everyone they know. A humble woman is servant-minded and her intentions, first and foremost, are what is best for the people around her. She is altruistic which is primarily defined by Merriam-Webster as having or showing an unselfish concern for the welfare of others.5 She does not gossip about the lives of others.

Two passages in the Bibles book titled Proverbs demonstrate the truthfulness of this definition. The first is Proverbs 11:12-14:

Whoever shows contempt for his neighbor lacks sense,

but a man with understanding keeps silent.

A gossip goes around revealing a secret,

but a trustworthy person keeps a confidence.

Without guidance, people fall,

but with many counselors there is deliverance.

This verse speaks about the definition of the adjective trustworthy . Trustworthiness is essential with humility, and being trustworthy implies that you can keep a secret. Humble people dont flaunt themselves, although they may openly praise others. They are discreet. They dont gossip and spread malice about others, but will be candid about the truth when asked.

The second passage on humility is Proverbs 20:18-20.

Finalize plans with counsel,

and wage war with sound guidance.

The one who reveals secrets is a constant gossip;

avoid someone with a big mouth.

Whoever curses his father or mother

his lamp will go out in deep darkness.

This passage speaks about the consequences of trustworthiness and humility.