My wonderful horse, a large and long Hanoverian named Leo, has taught and continues to teach me a great many lessons about life. One of the latest centers around a concept which is just beginning to germinate in the soil of my mind, one that the classical riding masters called rassembler. Rassembler or "collection" as we …
Month: June 2012
The Best in Us
"When we first came to the Spanish Riding School three years ago, you said we'd be expected to give the best that was in us, that you would settle for no less. And as time passed, we saw that you meant it. It was difficult because I don't think any of us knew what the …
Caricatures of Former Greatness
The idea that we are always evolving from a simpler, coarser state to one that is more complex and refined is commonly held, but is it always true? I have found many cases in my short life which give evidence to the contrary, where well-developed bodies of knowledge were abandoned for new and supposedly better …
Dethrone the Tyrant
Rebecca Gilliver, principal cellist of the London Symphony Orchestra tells the story of a conversation she had with Sandro Laffrancini, principal cellist at La Scala about a particularly challenging top shift he played flawlessly over and over again in her LSO Master Class for the Cello. She asked what his secret was and he said …
Expressing Outward
When most people talk about their hobbies, they say things to the effect that: "It's what I like to do," "It makes me happy" or "It's my passion." Those who don't have hobbies tend to feel a little guilty or ashamed that they don't and for good reason (though maybe not the one you might …
Honor Bred
To a Friend Whose Work Has Come to Nothing by William Butler Yeats Now all the truth is out, Be secret and take defeat From any brazen throat, For how can you compete, Being honor bred, with one Who were it proved he lies Were neither shamed in his own Nor in his neighbors' eyes; …
The World of Tone
Schopenhauer attributed to music the power to directly portray the very essence of the cosmos. I didn't quite know what he meant until yesterday evening, when my son brought home his first violin and I my first cello. Several of my family were over for dinner and we entered at the end of the meal. …
Communion
While I was walking my dogs yesterday morning I made a special effort to come deeply to rest in myself and to being at peace with the world around me. It was a gorgeous day. The sun had just risen over the mountains to the north and the thick, fragrant air amplified the sense of …
Training for Service
There are no vicious horses, just spoiled ones. Likewise, there are no evil people, just damaged ones. In many if not most cases, the injuries can be repaired and the gaps can be filled through a steady diet of empathetic attention and thoughtful intervention. The ideal, of course, is to create a world wherein as …
Gregory Hake 