What Do We Know

I chose to write about this topic because I think it is very important to know the difference between knowing something and completely understanding it. I have known things for long periods of time, only to find out later, I really did not understand it. I see this a lot in the work I do. People know so much but don't understand anything. I don't mean this in a discrediting way. This is a catch 22 for many of us. We think we know. But really we just have simple knowledge. Which is the beginning part to knowing something. We just need to take it further. We all have a great knowledge of different things. But sometimes knowing isn't anywhere near enough.

I am going to attempt to use a subject to get my point across." MILK " We all know what milk is. but there are very few who understand every aspect of milk that gets it from the animal to your home. Many of us don't care as long as its on the shelf when we go buy it.  Now I am no expert on milk either but I do know there are many animals that produce it. There are many processes for getting a certain type . The care of the cow and even the fields that produce the feed for the cows, is just as important.

Milk is a process, a cycle in which many things take place in a never ending loop so we can have it with our breakfast, coffee, Lunch, dinner, in our recipes or even our mixed adult beverages. Without going into major research on this subject you can see with just this little bit of input I gave you, that there is a lot to know about milk if you should choose to learn more. I just scratched the surface.

So now that I got you thinking about what you know about milk. Think about the many ways you could find more information so you can get a much better understanding. You would be amazed at what you could learn. If we can get into the habit of digging deeper into things and learning as much as we can. This will take us from a simple knowledge of something into a much deeper understanding of something.

This is especially true with our Horsemanship Skills. Its not just us asking our horses to do something and they do it. It goes a lot deeper than that. Its about going through every process necessary so we can have a better understanding of them and them of us. Then we become connected on every level.. Mental, Physical, Emotional, and Spiritual. Its all attainable but we need to go beyond just knowing something. We need to fully understand it. I'm sure you all know this is a never ending journey. That shouldn't mean, lets not try to improve. If you are like me. Once you realize this, you'll want to make up for lost time. It also makes me more likely to go over things I already know just in case I can attain a better understanding. I don't even care if its a 100 times or more. Something will always show itself to bring you better understanding.

One of the things that gives me great respect for Buck Brannaman is when I heard him say how he would go to every clinic he could get to. After years of attending basic beginner lever clinics someone asked him why is he still coming to these. He said he was coming to learn. This is a perfect example of trying to get a better understanding of something you may already know.

Many of us stop learning once we know something. As I said above, knowing just isn't enough. You have to understand it for it to become useful. I have had conversations with many people. A lot of them know so much. Its impressive how much some people know. But on the other hand. Its also discouraging to find out how little they understand about the things they know. Acquiring knowledge is great, but more importantly, we need to develop our understanding of it.

I hope this will leave you all looking back or deeper into the things you know. Evaluate what you know to see how well you understand it. Remember that your understanding of something can change instantly sometimes so always keep and open mind.
Thanks you for reading along.