The very least you can do in your life is to figure out what you hope for. And the most you can do is live inside that hope. Not admire it from a distance but live right in it, under its roof.
--Barbara Kingsolver

Exactly one year ago this month I was rushed to the hospital with blood pressure so high I was literally in stroke-land. I was attending a seminar, and had been burning the travel and work candle at both ends and in the middle. I had been working on ONE LIFE TO LIVE for 11 years nonstop, written a book, hosted a weekly radio show, went to school, ran a company and was flying across the country weekly for one reason or another.

Because I loved everything I was doing, it never occurred to me that I was running myself into the ground. I had been going so fast I didn't realize how tired I was, or how abnormal the pace had been. Even in the ambulance, I was texting Dr. Dale Archer, my evening's guest on the radio show to let him know that the show was GOING on the air that night, no matter what.

By the time the ambulance got me to the hospital, my head hurt so bad, my chest felt like an elephant was sitting on it, and I was having so much trouble breathing, I thought maybe this actually was the end.

I remember talking to God and praying a lot. I remember telling him that my mom could never handle anything happening to me and if I could live through this experience, that I would change things...BIG time. I wasn't trying to make a deal with God, as much as I was letting him know that I was acknowledging and intending to change things that needed to change.

What a coincidence (yeah, right) that the hospital I was randomly taken to, had a wonderful team of doctors who stabilized me in about 7 hours. Plus a bed in the hospital opened up. As anyone who's been in a hospital knows, a hospital stay is anything but restful. After a few days of observation and a battery of tests, I was sent home with a diagnosis of severe anxiety, outrageous high blood pressure, a dozen prescriptions, and a wing and a prayer.

For the next several months I plotted what I could change in the order of importance. I slowly began to change the life that was full of stress. I baby stepped it at first. I learned how to say "no" to people and be okay with it. I stopped taking phone calls from people who dropped their stress off at my door. Those people got mad at me and I was okay with it. I left my job and New York City to go live in the desert in the foothills of the mountains of Nevada and I was okay with it.

I literally disappeared and I was okay with it. And finally, I started doing what made me happy to do and following my passion. Doing that, quite unexpectedly, brought me to love.

One by one I began to wean off the medications and with the changes I made in my life, I finally got off most of them. The blood pressure stayed high for longer than I wanted it to, but I stayed the course and continued to pursue a peaceful life. I looked for doctors that practiced preventative and alternative medicine and found other avenues that actually worked.

When love walked into my life, it came n the form of someone who made looking after my health a part of his being. No arguing, no stress, no anger, lots of cuddling and happy-ness.

Today I took my blood pressure at a pharmacy, and it was that of a teenager's. I was so stunned I did it twice to make sure the machine wasn't broken. I had to look at what I thought had caused this welcome change. In the course of one year, I had altered my lifestyle enough to come to know peace, prosperity, and good health. I was able to slow down and quiet my soul enough to recognize real joy when it presented itself to me. My life has changed drastically and I love every minute of it. I love my life.

All the things I thought I'd be giving up came back to me ten fold in other ways. I had to have faith and crawl out to the skinny end of the branch. I'm so grateful I did, because indeed, the sweetest fruit is there.

I write about myself because I know from my experiences, I can't be the only one. My prayer is that I touch some of you to change the things in your life that need to change. To find your peace, your joy, your love. I know it isn't always easy to change things, but maybe for now, I can inspire you to thinking.

Love For Sure,
Cat