Winter and a Horse Named Badrilbdoor

"I'm leavin' my fam'ly, Leavin' all my friends,  My body's at home, But my heart's in the wind..."-Tom Waits, from his song, Shiver Me Timbers

As we walked over to her stall, Badrilbdoor Ezzain was lying down, resting. It was evening and I had just arrived at Ezzain. I wanted to see the horses and my wonderful friend complied with my request.  "This is Shamsilshmous' full sister, by Qaswarah, out of Azhaar, the full sister to Suror. Her name is Badrilbdoor." Usamah explained. My mind raced through all the photos stored up there in my head somewhere, trying to remember exactly which horse was Badrilbdoor. As familiar as I was with the horses of Ezzain, the fact was, I really wasn't familiar with any of them and I wasn't prepared for their overwhelming beauty. It would be for me like a head-on collision, fierce and surely, life changing.  I would not walk away from this encounter and continue being the same person. These horses were obviously different from any horse I had ever known before. They were unique. They were special. They were extraordinary. These facts were immediately apparent. My heart raced with excitement, every beat pounding through me, louder and louder, until I felt I would surely explode. I felt surrounded, as this beauty continued to unfold all around me. Usamah coaxed Badrilbdoor to her feet. She stretched out her front feet and pulled herself up. When she was standing squarely on all four feet, she stretched her body forward and back, lowering her head and tucking it close to her.  For a fraction of a second, I witnessed a beauty so unexpected, so marvelous, so spectacular...that if I had blinked, I would have missed seeing it.

Masha'allah! 

The curve of her neck and head, against her body reminded me of a swan, as it swims in the water, celebrating in the joy of being beautiful, elegant and of course, full of grace.  The shape of her head, so short and wide and yet, so carefully sculpted and accentuated by the biggest, deepest, blackest eyes I had ever seen,  grabbed my attention and left me gasping for air. How can anyone say that God doesn't exist, when this mare's outrageous beauty celebrates the magnificence of a living and loving God? I smiled, all the way down to my toes. I finally had arrived at Ezzain and in that split second, I knew that I could never leave Ezzain and expect to be the same person again or even, feel the same about horses, in the same manner as I had felt, prior to arriving in Kuwait. On that first day, after traveling long and far, I bathed in the refreshing water of beauty and was made new, baptized, so that I could bear witness and testify to the amazing power of beauty. Beauty lives here, in Kuwait, at Ezzain. I met her and now, I can say that I know her well.  Thank you Usamah, for making all of my dreams come true.

EnJOY,
Ralph