We’re in the midst of unprecedented times, and the scariest thing about unprecedented times is that we don’t know where they’ll lead us. As we navigate this nightmare day by day with mixed messages, no clear direction and no end in sight, it feels like our lives are no longer our own. Everyday luxuries that we once took for granted like going to the gym, getting our hair done, dropping our kids off at school or showing our horses have been taken away from us in an instant, leaving us confused, scared and searching for answers.
However, in the midst of all the chaos, uncertainty and toilet paper hoarding, it’s easy to miss the sheer beauty of what’s going on around the world. We are bearing witness to people all over the globe, acting independently but in complete solidarity, shutting down their communities—a move that guarantees the economy will take an unfathomable hit—in order to give the weaker among us a better chance of survival. We are sacrificing ourselves, our daily routines, our businesses and our finances to do our part in stopping the healthcare system from being overwhelmed. As our nation’s leaders clamor to offer any solid direction, we stand together, but separately, with a renewed sense of community spirit that has arguably never been seen before in our lifetime.
As a small business owner whose company is completely reliant on horse shows to survive, I am terrified about what tomorrow may bring. My head is reeling with every potential outcome, worrying about my staff, the magazine and how I’m going to keep it all afloat in the months ahead. However, you can’t stop a storm from coming—all you can do is prepare for it. So instead of worrying about all the things that are completely out of our control, what we can do is reflect on the current predicament and try to view it through rose-colored glasses.
The truth is, many of us live our lives in utter chaos, balancing work and home, rushing kids from activity to activity, that we don’t spend more than a few hours each day with our families. In the midst of our daily grind, we ignore calls from loved ones, cancel dinners with friends and fail to make ourselves a priority. We get so caught up in the day to day that we never take a second to just breathe. It’s safe to say that never again in our lifetime will we be forced to stay home from work for weeks on end, given time to reconnect with our families, learn to cook, play board games, watch an entire Netflix series in one sitting, and spend time with the ones we love most and see the least. I see families outside taking walks together, children reading books instead of being on their phones, the planet getting a break from all the pollution, and I think to myself, “Just a few of the silver linings.”
Although these times are scary, history proves that we’ll get through them, and at the end, we will be stronger because of it. So stay hopeful, enjoy this time your family, and reflect on the show season ahead. Before you know it, we’ll be back in the saddle again, and when that time comes, National Horseman will be there capture your memories.
-- Allison Lambert, Publisher