“You can lead a horse to water…” You know how it ends: “…but you can’t make it drink.”
Never have I heard anyone ask if the horse is thirsty. Is the horse thirsty? Does it want a drink? Maybe it would like a cup of coffee or some juice. Maybe it already had a drink? Maybe it has a sore throat and doesn’t want to swallow anything right now, thank you.
Maybe the horse is too tired to drink. Maybe it stayed up all night playing video games. Maybe it was listening to the sound of sirens, or people shouting, or slamming doors, or road construction, or gunshots and squealing tires. Maybe it’s just too tired to comprehend that you are trying to help it out by dragging it along the path toward the river, even though it would rather stop in its tracks and lay down for a little bit.
Maybe the horse is afraid of water. Maybe there are other horses already at the stream, and this one horse that you are trying so diligently to bring to the water wants nothing to do with those other horses. Maybe it feels intimidated. Maybe it’s spooked by the sounds of so many stomping hooves and snorting muzzles. Maybe the other horses are larger, more capable, more seasoned horses who already know how the path wends and turns and are anticipating the cool water at the end of it, knowing a nice big drink will help them complete the journey you have put them on. Maybe this one horse doesn’t get that.
Maybe the horse you’re trying to lead doesn’t like your smell, your tone, your electricity, your cadence, your moves, your vibe. Maybe this horse has been harmed by others who look like, talk like, move like you. Maybe previous owners have impressed upon this horse that interactions with handlers like you will only lead to pain. Horses are intelligent creatures. They can’t be fooled twice. They know in order to protect themselves they must remember the pain and guard against it.
Maybe you only think you’re leading your horse to water. Maybe you got the map from other seasoned travellers who, well-intentioned they may have been, did not tell you that the path only appears to lead to water, but really leads into a void. Maybe it leads to a place for only cows. Maybe there are poisonous snakes and predators waiting to pounce on your horse and kill it. Maybe, at the end, the water that is promised will only be given to some horses. Maybe your horse already knows that.
Maybe, just maybe, your horse doesn’t understand the path. Maybe they don’t know “water”.
Maybe the horse is just fine, thanks.
Maybe the horse has an entirely different system of nutrition and dietary needs that aren’t recognized because they are different from what you recognize as sustainable.
And so, you lead that horse to water, and lament the fact that it will not drink.
Have you asked the horse if it’s thirsty?
Tribelet of Hoodlums 