Check out the movie Buck; it's ostensibly about Buck and horses, yet it speaks to the way people handle themselves and one another.

There's a scene in which Buck is teaching a man to hold the rope lead with 20lbs. of pull. First Buck yanks on the rope, and the man tightens his entire body, grasps tightly and braces for what's next. Buck yanks again. Same reaction. Next, Buck gently pulls the rope. The man reacts with the same tension and bracing, even though he did not need to.

When you have been yanked emotionally by your partner -- and possibly growing up, too -- you brace (fight, flight, or freeze). That's the limbic (emotional brain) doing its job of self-protection.

Buck talks about needing a soft touch to tame a horse, and that the horse is an extension of your body -- you move and it moves with you. This is limbic resonance; the healthy dance of life with another.

Just to be clear, being resonant with your partner is not the same as not speaking up or not having a voice, views, or opinions. It's sharing them with a soft touch. You are two people, choosing every day to be inter-dependent.

Another scene is with a horse that is violent; it was oxygen deprived at birth and lacked human contact. It was left to roam for three years before Buck was introduced to the horse. Unfortunately, it was left too long.

Please don't leave each other for too long. Practice a soft touch . . .








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