By Sandy Bauer
Life is about learning. We all have a multitude of experiences throughout our lifetime. When we learn from these experiences, then they become a source of growth. But know that most growth comes from many small steps and taking them one step at a time.
I was in a place in my life where I had everything I wanted. My children were all out of college and were self-sufficient. I had friends, money in the bank and a job with good pay, retirement and health benefits. I was kidding myself about liking the romantic relationship that I had. And even worse, I ‘hated’ my job but, like I said, the pay and benefits were great so I just kept on working knowing that in another 10 years I would be able to retire…with terrific benefits.
Then, all of a sudden, what seemed like out of the blue, here I was lying on my deathbed. That was 11 years ago. I had stressed myself and overworked myself to a point where my main organs (including my heart) were shutting down. Even bicycling and jogging were interpreted by my body as stress. I had almost worked myself to death. My system’s fight-or-flight response was in constant attack mode. My immune system was beginning to attack anything and everything. The doctor gave me one choice: “Have a care-giver for the rest of my life”. Within a few weeks, it was obvious that I was not going to die in the immediate future so I had choices to make whether the doctor thought so or not. If I was going to live, then I was going to do it with some quality of life.
I was in a place in my life where I had everything I wanted. My children were all out of college and were self-sufficient. I had friends, money in the bank and a job with good pay, retirement and health benefits. I was kidding myself about liking the romantic relationship that I had. And even worse, I ‘hated’ my job but, like I said, the pay and benefits were great so I just kept on working knowing that in another 10 years I would be able to retire…with terrific benefits.
Then, all of a sudden, what seemed like out of the blue, here I was lying on my deathbed. That was 11 years ago. I had stressed myself and overworked myself to a point where my main organs (including my heart) were shutting down. Even bicycling and jogging were interpreted by my body as stress. I had almost worked myself to death. My system’s fight-or-flight response was in constant attack mode. My immune system was beginning to attack anything and everything. The doctor gave me one choice: “Have a care-giver for the rest of my life”. Within a few weeks, it was obvious that I was not going to die in the immediate future so I had choices to make whether the doctor thought so or not. If I was going to live, then I was going to do it with some quality of life.
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