Risk, Vulnerability and other stupid things I have talked myself into.

"Right now, hey 
It's your tomorrow 
Right now, 
C'mon, it's everything 
Right now, 
Catch that magic moment, do it 
Right here and now."

I am not a big risk taker. At least not normally. I don't enjoy living on the edge, although I do sometimes, and I really don't like doing things where I am pretty sure the risk of injury is more than likely. Yet, for some reason, I do things that go completely against my principles. I think we all do.

Call it a thrill, a need, or even just a sense adventure---I think we need to take the leap of knowing there is something out there that needs to be fulfilled that makes it all worthwhile. Probably the most risky or vulnerable position we put ourselves in is when we first feel the emotion of love. I am not talking about the love of a parent or sibling, I am talking about the love of a stranger who suddenly becomes a part of your life. 

This "first love" is probably the greatest "risk" we can take; it sticks with you forever no matter how minor, or untrue, you thought it really was. I remember my first love, I mean the one that didn't have "puppy" in front of it. It not only rocked my world, it planted a seed deep within me that has lied dormant for decades. Or at least I assume it has. Certainly there are aspects of these internal feelings that resonate today because I have learned about how love can be much broader and stronger than what took place so many decades ago. But in the end, my first love and I ventured down different paths. But, she will always be my first love. 

There are other types of risk that can leave you just as vulnerable; when I was early in my career, the thought of speaking to a crowd of people was not only something I hated to do, but was one that brought fear in just hearing we were going to "maybe" have to do it. I am not alone, but in sales you have to be able to speak to an individual as easy as you do a roomful of people. Today speaking in front of groups is not only fun but something I really love to do. The key...know what you are talking about otherwise you will go down in flames; yes I have seen this happen many times and it is not pretty.

So what are some of the stupid risks I have take recently? 

I have begun to photograph horses. I was going to say "shoot," but that could be taken a different way even though I meant using a camera. I have researched it, and it seems many photos that have been taken look remarkably the same. I don't want that; I  have had to ask three times if I could take photos the way I was hoping to---finally on the fourth request, I got, "sure go ahead." I think deep down they didn't think I would do it. They were "nearly" right. 

As I have learned when shooting other sports, angles are very important. I don't want the photo from right in front, I want it above, below or in a different position. So, I asked the horse trainer, "Can I lie on the ground as the horse is jumping?" Was I concerned? Ummm...is a 1500- pound animal coming at you going to hurt if it steps on you? So yes I was concerned, but felt I could roll away if it got really bad---or at least hoped I could.

The photo above was taken a couple of weeks ago. The horse, Kalli, is supposedly a very sweet and nice horse who would never come at you if she saw you on ground according to the trainer. I also know that horses are "not high on the pecking order of intelligence." So I got on the ground, to the left of Kalli, and watched as she came up to the bar and started to jump. I watched her eyes and legs---fortunately they were going the right way, meaning not toward me. Whew. Taking a risk is part of life; sometimes when it's your passion you do really stupid things!

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