Eight Months Ago...

Eight months ago today my entire life changed.

On June 3, 2004, a doctor in an emergency room leaned over me and said, "Ric, you had just had or are currently having a heart attack. "I looked up at him and muttered, "What the &*$% does that mean?"

And then, I let it go. It just didn't seem to matter. It occurred to me that I was not going to get to have a cigarette or go home. And I realized that life had suddenly gotten very real. And I knew that it was time to bring things into balance. I had been flirting with danger and skirting the consequences of many years of poor choices.

I will tell you that having a heart attack is a highly effective form of personal transformation. I quit smoking as well as I discovered that I had high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes--all in a single day. Everything changed. Quick! Fast! And in a hurry!

Thank You God for the changes! Since that most interesting day I have changed what and how I eat, adopted a robust exercise program, learned about coronary artery disease, embraced my
physical being in a whole new way and I am caring for myself with love.

Thank You God for my sacred heart.

Thank You God for this life, which I love.

Thank You God!

So it is.

And so I am.

Ric Beattie

(c) 2005 by Richard L. Beattie, all rights reserved