MERRIAM-WEBSTER.COM DICTIONARY DEFINITION OF WILD HORSE:
[noun] An undomesticated horse (as Przhevalski's horse)
URBANDICTIONARY.COM DEFINITION OF WILD HORSE: [noun] An amazing woman with beautiful big hips who makes a man feel like a wild beast. She is a keeper, but almost impossible to tame and to tie down. She loves with all her heart and is passionate. Under the wild exterior is the biggest sweetheart you will ever find.
If you made it this far into the post, you are probably wondering what magical vegetables I have consumed... Allow me to explain: whilst Googling the definition of 'wild horse' for a post on ''a dangerous ride on a wild horse'' (see: Wild Horse part II), I stumbled upon the Urban Dictionary version. It was almost as if I was reading a description of myself (particularly the beautiful hips, of course). Man is The One who tamed me. He is the only one who has ever had the courage, patience and perseverance to deal with my bucking and anxious neighing. And these days - thanks to his hard work of 'breaking me in' (hmm, this is probably where the metaphor stopped working?) I am a lot more pleasant and tame to be around. But of course, I still have my wild side! And Man would not have it any other way. We greatly cherish each other's independence and freedom and tolerate the occasional buck and kick (again, should perhaps consider different use of metaphor here as to not give an indication of domestic abuse).
Speaking of my wild side: it has come out in a more mature and beautiful way since Man is deployed. I am taking the time to be more focused on myself again both in terms of self-care and self-sufficiency. I go on adventures, meet wonderful new friends and spend cherished time with old ones. I move, cry, dance, laugh, shake, jiggle, play and jump. It is absolutely not that I could not have done any of that with Man here, but I did not have the clarity to see I had become too much of a domesticated horse with him around. Definitely to no fault of his as he has always encouraged my wild side. It is just so easy - and human - to fall into the trap of daily Netflix and stable-bound weekends when you are in the comforting and loving vicinity of your favourite person. Yet this horse is loving running around in the paddock and beyond! And sure, I embraced this fully by braving the Mongolian steppe and desert in September, but feel I am only now learning how to integrate this wild, free side with the home environment and daily life. The more I do this, the more I become convinced Man and I can be roaming free together when he comes back. Camping, hiking, playing and going on spontaneous adventures! Life is too short to spend it confined to the stables. Alright, that's probably just as much milking of this metaphor I can do, in the follow-up post I will rein it in for the neighsayers (sorry, couldn't help it).