Lighten Your Load

I want you to think for a minute about the Pony Express. From 1860-1862, mail was delivered in the United States by the Pony Express. This company was quite concerned about weight for the sake of speed. Riders had to weigh less than 125 pounds. While a mail bag as heavy as twenty pounds might be carried, the average weight did not exceed fifteen pounds. The horse as well as rider traveled very light. The combined weight of the saddle, bridle and saddle bags was not to exceed thirteen pounds. There were restrictions about what items were permitted in the saddle bags, but a Bible was allowed.

It was the practice to change horses every ten or twelve miles, or as nearly that as possible, the exact distance being governed by the nature of the countryside. Only two minutes time were allowed for changing mounts. The courier would already have loosed his mail bag, which he tossed ahead for someone to adjust on the fresh horse, before dismounting. A sudden reining up of his foam-covered steed, and "All's well along the road, Hank!" to the station boss, and he was again mounted and gone, usually fifteen seconds after his arrival. Again, any weight or excess baggage would have slowed down this process.

I wonder, are we weighed down with so many things on our to-do list, that we don’t have the time we need to enjoy our dulcimers? I want all of us to take a look at our schedules see what might be eliminated. Prioritize what needs to stay but then cross off anything on the schedule weighing us down, cluttering our time to the point we can’t find time to pick up our mountain dulcimers or hammers. It’s time to lighten our loads and make room for our music!

Happy dulcimering,
Linda