As I mentioned in a previous post, I'm seeking to improve my mind by reading some of the greatest works of literature. I began this quest with a short little book entitled "The Prince" by Niccolo Machiavelli. I downloaded it for free through ibooks and read it in about a week, a great feat for me as I am a slow reader. Mrs. Hooper, my 10th grade English teacher, assigned this title for us to read, and I truly cannot remember if I completed my assignment or not. I remember reading some of it and it not keeping my attention. The read was definitely easier now that I'm a little older, a leader of others and possess a better idea of the way the world works.
"The Prince" is a collection of thoughts and observations made by Machiavelli on how one successfully holds the title of Prince. Written in Europe in the 1500's, the title of Prince held more weight than it does today, probably less paparazzi and international wedding sensations. Machiavelli encourages Princes on how to keep their subjects in their place using examples from ancient and recent history. His goal is noble, he simply wants to help people succeed and avoid the pitfalls of their predecessors. However, to me it was unnerving to read about how one must do absolutely anything and everything to hold onto one's power. That power, its acquisition, maintenance and growth are paramount to everything else in life is not something that sits well in my spirit.
I'm well aware that power is the ultimate goal for most people within politics, religion and business, it's just not something I personally desire. I'm much more interested in a team of people working together for a common goal than a group of people performing acts just to make someone else richer or greater in the eyes of the world. Believe me, I've tried to force my brain to switch gears and make decisions that will make me look better while provoking the ire of those who follow me, and it has always ended badly. One bit of advice that I did agree with Machiavelli related to maintaining the peace and overall happiness of the people the Prince leads. He promoted the idea that the Prince may have to be stern to his subjects, but he should never provoke their hatred. Even if the task is great, if everyone involved understands the importance and benefit of the task's completion, compliance is far easier to achieve. I've seen that happen within my company, a manager mistreats his people and it always concludes with the manager losing his job.
Overall, I enjoyed reading "The Prince". It was the first "secular" leadership book I've read in a long time and it challenged the ways I lead and think about those who follow me. One of the accomplishments I hope to achieve in this goal of reading is precisely what this book provided, exposure to ideas that caused me to question and come to terms with my personal beliefs regarding religious and practical applications. In my opinion that is an exercise that modern Christians fail to perform.
I'm slowly learning a life lesson, I wish that I had learned this 20 years ago, but to borrow from Scripture, I didn't have "ears to hear"...until recently. The starting point for this life lesson happened a little over a month ago and until now I haven't really described what has been declared "the episode". January 10 of this year I woke up and performed my normal routine, made some coffee and began to sit down and read before finishing up getting ready for work. As I moved from the counter to the kitchen table, the room began spinning in my head. It felt like someone was doing a hammer throw inside my brain. I made my way to the table, my hands began to shake and my head suddenly felt like it weighed about 50 pounds. I laid down thinking it would go away, but it didn't. I've never felt that way in my life, I literally thought, this is how it all ends. I was afraid that Izzy would wake up first and find my expired body laid out on the kitchen table. I called out for Rachael and she came and asked what was wrong. I vomited. She took my blood pressure and it was 185/120 (normal is 110/90 and strokes happen when the top number is above 160). My BP later spiked at 208/140! She called the store to make arrangements for me and took me to the emergency room. They did tests and kept me overnight to monitor some medicine for my blood pressure. The doctor discerned that I did not have a heart attack or stroke and labeled it as a "significant cardiac episode." I was released the next day with my first ever daily prescription.
I took the rest of the week off from work. It was a tough week even though I was trying to relax and keep tabs on this new medication. My body has never let down like that before, it was frustrating. It's supposed to keep me alive and every organ should be doing its job. But on that morning it wasn't. It was failing me. I struggled that week between fits of sorrow, depression, and anger. The truth is I knew I had some issues with high BP but did not do anything about it. I thought it would fix itself and everything would be alright.
Here's the life lesson,
things just don't happen by themselves
or in other words,
you are responsible for your life.
Revolutionary, right?
My health, my mind, my soul is in my care. Their health or disease is largely on me. Yes, I know there are things like family history, genetics, geography, etc that can contribute to who I am and what I become, but my reaction to all of those factors rests on my shoulders. So, what am I doing or going to do in order to take responsibility for my life?
Well, I'm of the belief that we as humans are made up of our body, our mind, and our soul. As one attempting to follow the teachings of Christ, I also believe that these three areas of our life should reflect my love of God. My goal is to do something big or small everyday to improve and promote the health of my body, my mind and my soul. Here are some of the practical ways in which I'm pursuing improvement in each of those areas.
Body-I discovered and fell in love with www.nerdfitness.com . I'm doing the body weight strength training and it's kicking my rear. I'm in my third week and I can already feel some firmness in my legs, stomach and arms. I'm also eating a lot more fruits, veggies, and whole grains. Eating out has dwindled from 5-6 times a week to maybe twice a week. I've lost 10 pounds and haven't felt this good in a long time.
Mind-I'm getting back into reading a portion of the Rule of St. Benedict everyday. It's a great little guide for living a Christ-centered life. I'm also attempting to read a wider variety of books than I normally do. I'm using 100 Must Read Books as a starting point for some of these readings. I will attempt to do a mini book review as I finish each book.
Soul-I will pray in the morning and evening as a part of my daily discipline. I keep flipping back and forth between prayer books, so I hope to narrow it down to one within the next few weeks. This week I've been using the Glenstal Book of Daily Prayer . I enjoy it, it's simpler than some of the other books I've used, but I miss the Scripture readings that some of the other books contain. Also since we are in Lent, I'm fasting.
There you go, three areas of life that I'm trying to not only love God, but also love my family, my friends and myself. Like I said, I wish I had started these goals 20 years ago, but I keep reminding myself that I can only impact today and tomorrow, and it's up to me to impact both.
