Back in April, 2008 my wife and I took a vacation in the Dominican Republic. We decided we would set up a couple of excursions that would take us away from the all inclusive environment and allow us to experience the beauty of the country a bit. We decided to go horseback riding. I had my reservations, as I classified myself as, “not an animal person.” But, it was one of those things that my wife had enjoyed as a kid, so I decided to take one for the team.
We hopped on the bus that would take us to the ranch. It made a couple of stops at a couple of other hotels to pick up additional passengers and then we were off on our adventure. Once at the ranch, I had a tough time focusing on how great it would be. Instead my mind was focused on the smell and sight of horse droppings everywhere. They gave us brief instructions on how to direct the horse using the reins. I mounted my horse and immediately could tell I had a HWA (Horse With Attitude). It did not like having the reins pulled and kept shaking its head as if trying to loosen them up. He/She began to wander off while others were being matched with the appropriate horse. I tried to pull on the reins as I was taught to make him/her stop, but I had no luck, he/she went towards one of the stables in search of food. As someone came to help and I pulled back on the reins they let me know note to pull back on the reins to hard or that would signal the horse to stand on it’s hind legs. Oh great, pull to soft and he/she will keep going; pull to hard and I could get up on my butt.
So we are off and riding and the horses are pretty much in a line following each other. Some horses must not have been fed as they would begin to graze on the grass along the path of our trek. My horse was good in that aspect and stayed focus. Being the Psych major I am, I began talking to the horse and petty it, letting it know, “You are a good horse, you are a good horse. This is going to be nice and easy. You do what you do (stay the course) and I’ll do what I do(provide direction).” It seemed to work.
Our trek included riding on the beach. As we moved along, I quickly began to feel the discomfort of riding a horse as I went up and down with every movement. I wore shorts and sandals so I began to feel the chaffing of the stir ups rubbing against my ankle bone. Over all an uncomfortable experience. I decided to pick up some speed so I could experience the rush of riding on the beach. Not such a good idea, as I would become airborne with my butt leaving the saddle with every increasing stride. By the time we got back to the ranch, my ankle bone felt raw (actually wasn’t) from the stir ups rubbing on them and I had no intention of doing this again. I quickly crossed it off my list of things to do before I died.
I turned to my wife and I asked her, “So how was it?” She responded, “It was a dream come true.” She had always wanted to ride a horse on the beach and it was just perfect to have it take place on a Caribbean island. I could not find the courage to complain after hearing that. It actually reminded me that I was so focused on my discomfort that I did not really take the time to enjoy the whole experience. “Yes,” I experienced some discomfort, but we also rode a horse on the beach together and I was part of my wife’s dream fulfillment. The benefit of her joy out way the cost of a little discomfort for me.
Lesson learned: One person’s chaff is another person’s dream. Open your eyes and don’t miss out on the whole experience. Ask yourself, what’s good despite the pain.
We hopped on the bus that would take us to the ranch. It made a couple of stops at a couple of other hotels to pick up additional passengers and then we were off on our adventure. Once at the ranch, I had a tough time focusing on how great it would be. Instead my mind was focused on the smell and sight of horse droppings everywhere. They gave us brief instructions on how to direct the horse using the reins. I mounted my horse and immediately could tell I had a HWA (Horse With Attitude). It did not like having the reins pulled and kept shaking its head as if trying to loosen them up. He/She began to wander off while others were being matched with the appropriate horse. I tried to pull on the reins as I was taught to make him/her stop, but I had no luck, he/she went towards one of the stables in search of food. As someone came to help and I pulled back on the reins they let me know note to pull back on the reins to hard or that would signal the horse to stand on it’s hind legs. Oh great, pull to soft and he/she will keep going; pull to hard and I could get up on my butt.
So we are off and riding and the horses are pretty much in a line following each other. Some horses must not have been fed as they would begin to graze on the grass along the path of our trek. My horse was good in that aspect and stayed focus. Being the Psych major I am, I began talking to the horse and petty it, letting it know, “You are a good horse, you are a good horse. This is going to be nice and easy. You do what you do (stay the course) and I’ll do what I do(provide direction).” It seemed to work.
Our trek included riding on the beach. As we moved along, I quickly began to feel the discomfort of riding a horse as I went up and down with every movement. I wore shorts and sandals so I began to feel the chaffing of the stir ups rubbing against my ankle bone. Over all an uncomfortable experience. I decided to pick up some speed so I could experience the rush of riding on the beach. Not such a good idea, as I would become airborne with my butt leaving the saddle with every increasing stride. By the time we got back to the ranch, my ankle bone felt raw (actually wasn’t) from the stir ups rubbing on them and I had no intention of doing this again. I quickly crossed it off my list of things to do before I died.
I turned to my wife and I asked her, “So how was it?” She responded, “It was a dream come true.” She had always wanted to ride a horse on the beach and it was just perfect to have it take place on a Caribbean island. I could not find the courage to complain after hearing that. It actually reminded me that I was so focused on my discomfort that I did not really take the time to enjoy the whole experience. “Yes,” I experienced some discomfort, but we also rode a horse on the beach together and I was part of my wife’s dream fulfillment. The benefit of her joy out way the cost of a little discomfort for me.
Lesson learned: One person’s chaff is another person’s dream. Open your eyes and don’t miss out on the whole experience. Ask yourself, what’s good despite the pain.
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