But a Vapor

I've been pondering this post since Friday unsure of exactly what to write.

On Friday, I received notification that a friend from college passed away at the very young age of 38. To say the least, this is a huge shock among my fellow classmates...I mean, 38?!?!  How in the world could this be?As it turns out, my friend was diagnosed with stage 4 liver and colon cancer on 3/7/2013 and was only given 6-8 months to live...and just over 8 months later, he left our earthly home.

I've been going over and over this in my mind as to how a person so young, who spoke so much of God's Word, was stuck down with such a fast moving illness?  I'm not necessarily asking why or questioning God in any way.  The purpose for the questions rolling around inside my head ais more of what was the entry point that allowed the enemy to attack his body beyond what he could fight?  Although he never gave up hope or faith and continued to speak God's Word until the day he moved above, I do wonder how the sickness was even able to get started...it's almost baffling.

I recently saw a Facebook post that gave examples of how our bodies are affected by our emotions:
Anger:   weakens the liver
Grief:     weakens the lungs
Worry:   weakens the stomach
Stress:    weakens the heart and brain
Fear:      weakens the kidneys

The thought that allowing unresolved anger, grief, worry, stress and fear to stay within yourself is physically weakening your organs is a stunning thought.  One of my favorite medical professionals, Dr. Caroline Leaf, has said on numerous occasions that emotions like extreme loneliness can be very taxing on the immune system, which can open the door to sickness and disease.

Knowing that my friend went through a pretty taxing divorce last year, it occurred to me that maybe the stress and all of the other emotions that lead up to divorce may have been the open window for that terrible sickness to get started in his body.

Tonight is his memorial service and thankfully, his family has put up a live streaming link for those of us that could not attend.  As I watch his service and listen to the stories of friends and family, I am more determined than ever to make every effort to take stock of my emotions and keep control of them.  If negative emotions even have a remote possibility of being the gateway entry point of sickness and disease in your body, I don't want any part of it.

We'll miss you Larry.  See you in heaven, buddy!

Post by Dr. Caroline Leaf.

The Saga of the Merge

For the last 7 months, my (professional) world has been...oh how shall I describe it...under the weather, in the midst of upheaval, spiraling toward the face of the blazing sun...shall I go on?  The long and short of the matter is the company where I've worked for 5 years was purchased by another (smaller, adolescent) company.  We had approx. 60 corporate associates, the purchasing company had less than 20.  We had 28,000 units, the purchasing company only had 8,000.  We had been in business for over 30 years, the purchasing company had only been in business for 8.  But, what they lacked in size and experience, they more than made up for in money...and by money, I mean they have a lot of it.

The problem with this kind of dynamic is that the people with the money, who lack the experience, seem to have no respect or concern for anyone else in the organization and/or the policies and procedures that have been in place for years.  In addition to that, they seem to be completely incapable of producing any type of communication in order to keep everyone on the same page.

Having been an associate of this company for over 5 years, this is simply a problem...but moreover, it is a problem in which I cannot control the outcome or affect change.  They seem to be so focused on growth that their company is now suffering profusely...you cannot grow from 28,000 units to 39,000 units in 6 months and not add any new associates to the teams that support the rest of the company.  That kind of thinking is ludicrous!  Being stingy and wanting to grow your business do not usually fall into the same bucket; you can either have one or you can have the other, but wanting both is simply not good for business.

So, my plan is to change the only thing I can...my own path.