Short story--The White Horse

The magnificent white horse stood atop the hill, a hill normally filled with sunflowers, berries, grass, and pecan tree saplings looking forward to future growth, but which today was barren due to having been subjected to difficult wintry conditions, and thought about his role in the world. He had no name for none was needed, no family for all were his family, no past and no future; he represented the moment as well as a lifetime of accomplishments and contributions, and he rarely thought of himself but rather considered his purpose to be entirely selfless as he traveled quickly and magically across the country seeking an opportunity for yet another change.

His character and personality were warm without excess, charming yet distant, compassionate without being contrived, positive but not unrealistically polished, energetic but calm, confident without arrogance, and mostly containing leadership qualities born of natural gifts rather than prescribed expectations. He was the perfect horse, the every-horse that all aspired to be, the stylized manifestation of everything right and good in the horse kingdom, he with his tall, muscular frame, long torso, and aesthetically appealing visual sensations. His was a comfortable existence due to his natural charisma, appearance, and mostly his remarkable leadership abilities, for all the other horses would follow him, listen to him, and trust him explicitly. Since being a leader of horses had very few requirements, he could spend most of his day standing on the hill, looking over his herd, and basking in his world of horse glory.

Such a naturally gifted leader would usually fall into a pattern of vanity whose actions would be self-serving without the risk of any kind of negative appearance in any sense; a leader who would be lacking in depth, a leader with little true leadership actions, replaced by superficial arrogance, and rooted in gross insecurities. But for the white horse, such an inane, useless practice and lifestyle were not within his character. Instead, he found himself avoiding the typical pomp, imitation, and outward glow that usually accompany such natural qualities, and preferred introspection and perception of the world, with a startling radar for finding goodness in others. He could stand on his hill, look out on the world, and see within the inner soul of other beings, and not just the inner being but, in fact, was able to block out and mentally eradicate any sign of corruption that existed on the peripherals.

And it became inevitable that the white horse, with his unusual ability to perceive strong personal character, became somewhat anxious to act on his sensitivities and to create, not simply prevent or stop a particular action, but rather to form a world that enabled all good things to come to pass. His ability to see and to know only goodness led him to reject the possibility of anything else to participate in his world, his perfectly designed world of excellence and moral rectitude, a world with a compass that disallowed any ethos not directly beneficial.

The anxiety and purpose that began to infiltrate his every thought process resulted in a magical ability to see through a portal into the world with a perceptive clarity that could not hide the truth of the hearts of the animals thus presented. Within moments that felt like seconds but which time could not define, the magnificent white horse landed in the midst of a world of wild dogs busy planning their next foray into rabbit kingdom where they could wreak havoc and have dinner. While the great horse respected the natural ecosystem of the world in some ways, in other ways he wanted good to triumph over evil regardless of the inclination of the perpetrators. Wondering the best way to accomplish the most good, and trying to decide whether to destroy the wild dogs, or to lift the rabbits out of danger, he elected instead to change the hearts of the dogs and create a small but Utopian world of mutual cooperation between the entities involved.

As the dogs viciously attacked the rabbit kingdom and the horrific assault began, our white horse brought the dogs to a standstill with a strong command and maybe a life-altering emotional education that could not be seen but was felt by every dog. So the dogs abruptly changed their purpose and elected to work with the rabbits rather than eat them. It was a strange occurrence and one that dissolved the hate and emphasized the love and was not necessarily a technique the horse used in all situations, but in this particular case, it was effective, and caused the result intended.

Our magnificent white horse left the world, went through the portal, and returned to his post to give more thought to how to use his powers of perception and change. He stood on the hill and felt both burdened and liberated by his character and his gifts, recognizing that with such abilities, came the need for more wisdom. For as the great book says, "To Whom Much is Given, Much is Required."