Your Story: Stuart’s Friend

Friday morning I sat down for breakfast at the B&B where I’d stayed Thursday night. Spying the gentleman sitting at an other table and recognizing him from the Indian restaurant the night before, I said hello. Turns out Stuart works for a company who manufacturer and service industrial x-ray machines, used primarily at border control points throughout the world. Not the sort that you walk through at the airport, but the type that scan trucks/trailers for contraband, illegal migrants and weapons. Pretty heavy-duty stuff. Having been with the company for about 20 years–he didn’t look much older than me–he is now a regional manager, responsible for all of Africa, France and parts of the Middle East

The conversation soon made its way to the topic of my riding and his running; he runs daily, anywhere from 7 to 30miles and races the occasional marathon. He told me how he had changed his approach to life and work after a friend of his died in his early forties. The friend was a stressed-out workaholic who did little to take care of his body or mind. Like so many of us, the friend spent all his time worrying about the little things in life, ignoring what truly matters. Rather than focus on his physical and mental health or spending quality time with his family, the friend finally lost his greatest asset; his life.

Stuart and I lamented the fact that so many people are trapped in this sad paradigm, like fish in water, not even recognizing the trap they are in. This disease should be taken seriously as it gets worse by time. viagra online in uk It has been found that the medicine viagra online from canada helped women achieve overall satisfaction. Do them on a regular basis and listening to your body can save your life. online pharmacy sildenafil If you are suffering from few cialis generic mastercard of these herbs are natural aphrodisiacs and help in free flow of blood to the penis. And, like far too many others, his friend died stressed and unhappy. Learning from his friend’s demise, Stuart now runs each morning[from his build, he has always been a very fit person], has breakfast then starts his work day. He is more productive than his counterparts, he is happy and has a great relationship with his family. Sure he enjoys a pint now’n’again, but not to excess. He flies around the world, oftentimes to some of the most dangerous regions and sure, sometimes he works for three days straight until he is satisfied that the job has been done correctly. But he does all of this on his own terms and never by putting his health on the back burner. In fact, by putting his health first, he is even more productive at work and enjoys more fruitful relationships with his friends and family.

I told him of my mother’s death a year ago and how it changed my perspective on life, changed my priorities and made me a better person. Sure I’d rather my mum still be here, but there are positive lessons to be learned from such tragedies, if we are so inclined to see them. Equally, the death of Stuart’s friend was traumatic, but look at Stuart now; healthy, happy and looking forward to the beauty that is every day.