By Dr. LEE LUI
Los Alamos

Dear Los Alamos and New Mexico,

Happy Chinese New Year, the Year of the Horse!

Horse presence, power and freedom, look at those who are running in the open field in the west.
Horse presence, passion and wisdom, their joy and love for life, and to live honestly in the present,
Horse presence, transformation and moving forward, to change from a passenger to the driver of your own destiny.

So many heartfelt stories filled with those intelligent animals. We heard the charge to bring back his injured knight from the battleground. We heard the horse’s wisdom wins over the brute wolf by saying, “Look at My Hooves has your name,” who gets a chance to kick and escape. Those are from our childhood.

I used to work in a horse rescue. One of them is a retired racehorse. He is tall and strong and majestic. He became a therapy horse. His name is Harry. Harry carries a little young boy, who has an injured leg. He walked at his own pace, just the same as the boy, leading him to his own healing path. Harry lowers his giant head and gently nuzzles a woman’s hair, who was dishonored. He affectionately says, “Hi, friend, I trust you, look at me, I am the mirror…” Harry just had a long jog with a Veteran who has PTSD, the next hour he was a “good boy” and overjoyed by his grooming. He gets an honorable salute from the hearts of veterans!

When I retired a few years ago, I ended my 40-year career as a Doctor of Oriental Medicine. I missed celebrating the Chinese New Year with the community in the past 30 years in New Mexico. When I cleaned and organized my files, I read all kinds of greeting cards, travel postcards from around the world, those patients sent to me over the years, the appreciation, the kindness, the heartfelt Love. I was immersed in the beautiful memory I lived in. When I walk around town, I will meet people who start to make kind remarks and offers. Those realities and memories have become part of my life, and live inside my heart forever.

Best wishes to you all, may the Year of the Horse bring you health, joy, and peace in your life.

PS: The horse painting is from the famous brush painting artist Xu Beihong