“Path Fulfilled” by Kim McElroy
The journey is sometimes arduous One step, and another, and another Crossing a wasteland where thirst and hunger and pain accompany the traveler We ask for help, and the winged allies begin to appear, and the hoofed ones, and antlered, furred and finned, and other two-leggeds They all help to show the way, and to confirm the choices We learn to have faith in all forms, when all the elements of spirit and earth align to reveal that the paths that were chosen were always the right ones to lead us home at last ~ Kim McElroy
Path Fulfilled Insights
This painting is a Soul Essence portrait created of a mare named Kaylaa. I asked to understand more about her to convey her Soul Essence to her owner Nicole, and also for any information that she might need for her own self as well.
I envisioned Kaylaa as an Afghan tribal horse. Her task was to carry her rider with an important message to a distant tribe. But somewhere in the journey — I saw sabotage. Enemy hands took her halter, and what she carried was taken, and her tribal saddlecloth was removed and left in the dirt. From Kaylaa I felt a sense of loss at not being able to accomplish her task.
I felt Kaylaa needed to believe that she had accomplished what was needed. So I decided to envision her arriving in triumph to the allies. A great crowd gathered and called out greetings in ululations of celebration and pride. She was so proud, high stepping. The tribe honored her with a gift — it was a cross within a circle. I asked if Kaylaa could receive the wisdom from an animal totem, and the Carrier Pigeon appeared. This guide was so appropriate to her goal. I saw Kaylaa in my mind’s eye standing proudly with the cross around her neck, having accomplished her task and with a renewed sense of accomplishment and completion.
In my research for her painting I learned that In the Celtic world and sometimes in the near East, the cross-in-circle was meant to stress that it is ‘this world’ to which we are to return. I researched Afghan horse culture and discovered reference to a tribe called the Uzbek or Lakai. Lakai culture was intensely focused on horses and horse breeding. I used a traditional ‘Da-our’ saddle cloth design for the border for Kaylaa’s painting.
The visions I have are sometimes very complex and I am amazed at the information I receive when I begin researching imagery that I see. At every turn and crossroad through history and human culture, we find the horse has been there before.
My meditation with Kaylaa seemed to speak to other teachings I have enjoyed — from authors such as Richard Bach and Jane Roberts, who speak of time as network of interwoven relationships and that what we perceive of as “past” and “future” and “now” as all relative. How powerful, to set the intent for a journey – by knowing there are no mistakes, and that we can also go back and choose a different path.
This all held more meaning when I combined it with Kaylaa’s current lifetime in which she had experienced great physical hardship having suffered from laminitis. I felt that her spirit’s travel was also important as a symbol of her physical desire to walk free of pain.
Kaylaa in her prime
“Path Fulfilled” led me back to a time when horses were the only source of transportation and people depended on them for their strength, loyalty, and courage. Now, horses give us the opportunity to travel down new paths of self-awareness and insights. Horses have the power to change lives, and instead of taking hold of the reins — all we need to do is walk in their footsteps and learn to embody their wisdom.
