2021-08-30
El Sombrero del Patron

EL SOMBRERO DEL PATRÓN

Today, tonight, tomorrow - it really doesn’t matter what day or time it is, because wherever and whenever you are, there you are and here it is. Paradise is exactly where you ought to be, and for me, it is right here and now in Cerrillos, New Mexico.

Honestly, the other day, Saturday evening to be exact, we went to the Black Bird Salon in Los Cerrillos and walking down the street past Mary’s Bar and Cerrillos Station, it felt like I was on a movie set. Then on queue the rain came, as we sat on the front patio and an innocuous sprinkle of cool teardrops started falling; and as they fell I felt relieved and I watched the dusk fade away, wondering, “How did I get here?” to this wonderful, magical place - surrounded by family, indulging great food, feeling healthy, hardy and happy.

Well, it wasn’t “easy,” it required a lot of “hard work” and “sacrifice.” Those words are enveloped in quotation marks merely because they are wholly relative; they are useful when comparing one’s success to others who may feel not as “successful,” which once again is a subjective term dependent upon one’s perspective. But often, when it comes to sizing up my situation based on solely my own terms, I feel like we’re sailing into the sunset, it just couldn’t be easier. Because ultimately, it’s all about attitude and your emotional endowment.

I’m happy, hardy and healthy because I’ve willed and think it to be so. I worked “hard” to get to where I am everyday at Hacienda Dominguez & Chelenzo Farms, but ask me a day later, after a good night’s rest and a cup of coffee and I would say it wasn’t “hard” work at all. That’s especially true when you can wake up and “smell the coffee.” In other words, you fully appreciate your position and are continually grateful for the opportunity to work “hard” another day.

Plus, it helps to use your imagination or dig deeper a little when your assessing your surroundings. That spat of rain we experienced when eating dinner the other night could have easily been a spoiler for others, but I chose to perceive it as refreshing. The dusty run-down town we dined in, is really a has-been of a miner’s town with creaky, well-weathered buildings that have survived more 125 years, but to me it was and will always be enchanting and lively and a fundamental part of what makes where we live now so special.

Point is, I’ve come to believe everyone lives in their own “special” place, we all have the opportunity to “live our dream,” if only because it’s a matter of seeing it that way.

Thinking makes it so, so next time say “Yes” instead of “No,” when you question your happiness and success and where you want to be and where you want to go. You can always be on the right track if you choose to be there and to steer where you are going. It just might take a little hard work and sacrifice to get there…