Sometimes good intentions can restrict vision

I never used the word ‘complacent’ in my vocabulary until a couple of weeks ago, when someone very dear to me said they don’t want to become complacent in their profession. I worked the word over in my head like one of the coffee-flavored hard candies I suck on when I need a break from chewing gum. Sometimes I’m so accustomed to gum that I bite the candy. And like the candy, I bit on the word a little too hard and it suddenly became tied to my anxious desire to plan my life.

Being complacent is not necessarily a bad thing. Merriam-Webster defines it as “self-satisfaction especially when accompanied by unawareness of actual dangers or deficiencies,” or “an instance of usually unaware or uninformed self-satisfaction.”

So why does the idea of complacency make me anxious? I know that I’m not currently unaware nor uniformed… and what’s wrong with being self-satisfied? Doesn’t that mean you’re content? Continue reading →

On a Tuesday afternoon in Saratoga Springs,  I learned how to ride side saddle

Today’s one of those days when my heart aches for New York a little more than usual. A photographer I met while working at Saratoga Race Course tweeted a picture of the Whitney Viewing Stand – a viewing area where you can watch racehorses train on Saratoga’s Oklahoma Training Track — covered in a blanket of snow that had fallen over the last couple of days and looking sadly forlorn. Gilded and rust colored leaves clung to the spindly branches of trees in the background, a last-ditch showcase by fall before winter takes over.

Even on an occasional day off, I enjoyed driving to the track and watching the Thoroughbreds, many of which were steeplechase horses, walk onto the infield of the Oklahoma during the late morning for grass gallops. The athleticism and beauty of a racehorse in motion should be savored with the eyes whenever you have the opportunity, and sometimes it was nice to stop and watch without the niggling feeling that I should be chasing someone down for an interview. Continue reading →