Four Horses...

In my studying the philosophy of Zen, I came upon an old story about four types of horses and the misconception of perfection. It was quite telling and had a firm application within my own life.

It is said that there are four kinds of horses: excellent ones, good ones, poor ones, and bad ones. The best horse will run slow and fast, right and left, at the driver's will, before it actually sees the shadow of the whip; the second best will run as well as the first one does, just before the whip actually reaches its skin; the third one will run when it feels pain on its body (the initial crack of the ship); and the fourth will only run after the pain penetrates to the deepest marrow of its bones.

With that in mind, you can imagine how difficult it is for the fourth one to learn how to run properly and with great success.

Almost all of us instinctively want to be the best horse but if it is impossible to be the best one, we want to be the second best, and so on. Many people believe that, in life, we must train to be the best horse, which becomes problematic.

If you live your life in the right manner, with an open mind and a persevering spirit, it doesn’t matter if you are the best or the worst horse. In fact, it is believed that the worst horse is the most effective when all is said and done. The story teaches that in your very imperfections you will find the basis for your firm, way-seeking mind.

Those who run best naturally usually have trouble accepting the true evolution of one’s self. They have become “experts” and thus limit themselves because of their rigidity of spirit and stubborn pride. In essence, they believe they are fine where they are and have no further progress to make, giving in to one of life’s greatest falsehoods.

It’s the horse that runs last — the horse that feels the pain of life — that shows its value when all is said and done. This horse must experience all that is life to learn — the total pain from the whip — thus allowing it to find more meaning in all that they do, maintaining the beginner’s mind and an open approach to everything life attempts to teach them.

When compared to the overall body of work, the last horse actually becomes the first horse and the first horse the last. It is the last horse that runs freely, inspired and with an unrivaled vigor because of the path it took to become the great runner it eventually evolved into. It’s appreciation is boundless.

How many times do we limit ourselves with the expert’s state of mind? We need not improve because we are perfect where we stand.

Athletes peak and plateau when they take this train of thought, only to be passed by the “hungrier” athletes who used their beginner’s mind to learn more than one way to achieve success. Teachers become relics, failing to evolve with the changing methods of a modern age. Pastors fall into spiritual complacency when they buy into the myth of their own self-importance.

Life does not ever finish with its lessons, yet we find ourselves content with this harmful complacency. Growth is imperative in achieving our fullest potential, something that may take a lifetime of education to finally see to fruition. From pastors to coaches, teachers to musicians, if we settle for the status quo, we limit ourselves.

In studying some of these philosophies, I’ve come across the fundamental ideal for achieving one’s potential: a beginner’s mind knows no limits because of its belief that it is always in need of learning, while the so-called expert peaks and washes back into the ocean of mediocrity.

One must ask themselves if they are too good to learn, too strong to grow, and too developed to evolve. If they answer is “yes,” then they are limited to the bounds of that perceived perfection. Of course we all know this is a fallacy because no man is perfect. Being aware of our imperfections, and open to new ideas is what continues our evolution.

At one point the world was flat, yet now we see it as a miniscule grain of sand in an expansive universe. All grand ideas are the evolution of a beginner’s mind, throwing off the chains of complacency and allowing free thought to permeate the inventive minds they rattle within.

Potential is nothing without being fulfilled. Skills are irrelevant if they never continue to develop. Knowledge is merely average without a continued seeking of education. As our lives continue to pass by with the ever-increasing winds of change, we must carry on with the seeking of life’s lessons, no matter how far-fetched or hard to understand, as they may seem.

If we don’t, we throw ourselves into a prison of mediocrity made from our own blistered and calloused hands…