At a Desk, Wanting to be a Cowboy

The life of a cowboy looks good from here. Endless hours moving slowly to the rhythm of a horse at a vantage several feet off the ground; a livelihood dependent on the elements; a daily audience with the expansive sky. To live in the language of light and smell and open places, in cattle drives, pickup trucks, saloons. We look longingly at other people’s lives. We make adjustments based on whether we want to reflect or reject what they have. From where we are sitting, the life of a cowboy may seem the picture of freedom. But actual happiness has little to do with place or profession. It is internal, independent, somewhat genetic, and always on the move.