he laughed a lot and always made other people laugh. It took a major health crisis for him to realize how uncomfortable he was with time on his hands.  His Doctor advised him to take 6 months off to heal his body through rest, exercise and activities that created peace of mind.  When the crisis was over and he began to gain strength he realized that his life had been totally focused on achieving results in his business or in community activities.  He had certainly achieved the recognition and advantages of an intense powerfully driven lifestyle however, his body was screaming for a break and he didn’t know how to give himself a day off to simply relax and enjoy.

The LUV LESSON came into play when his friends and family had to re-evaluate their life situation.  He had provided a life of luxury for his entire family and was overly generous with his friends and extended family. His self esteem took a dive when he could no longer be handing out money and gifts to every one.  His children and wife began to take responsibility for more of the home maintenance instead of hiring it to be done and they began to have fun tackling projects together.  His wife, who had never had to work before,  took some job evaluation counseling and found some work she really loved to do.  This greatly increased her self worth and she was even happier. 

The biggest challenge was for Joe to receive help from others and to give himself permission to relax `and play.  To finally recognize that living a life that is balanced in productive, rewarding work AND fun and leisure time is a way to stay healthy and happy.  After the life threatening health crisis, his wife constantly told him that having him healthy was far more important to her than having his money.

This was a major identity crisis for Joe as his identity was attached to being the provider and “head of the house”.  During his recovery he was gifted with some books that opened his eyes to healthier ways of experiencing life.  He knew he had nearly died and, for once, was open to learning how to really live.  He really enjoyed reading “You can Heal Your Life”, by Louise Hay.  He loved  “Illusions” by Richard Bach. and “The Road less Traveled”   These books awakened him to a side of himself he had never taken time to recognize before.  Also, because he had to rest much more the family spent quality time playing cards and games together and discussig interesting topics or just talking.  He recognized that watching television depressed him so he spent more time reading and finding ways to truly enjoy his family.  They found ways to play that were relaxing and fun.  Things that people did for many years before there was television.  He even found himself enjoying drying the dishes and helping to cook the meals, something he had never done before.  He realized how all of these things they were doing together were fun when they did them with the attitude of love and support.

The entire family healed and grew because of this crisis.

For Fathers day they bought him a hammock so he will never forget to just take time to play and relax because they love him and want to support him in staying healthy and playing with them for many more years.

Joe learned to evaluate priorities in his life.  He learned that ,when he doesn’t take on the burden of  doing everything - like superman, that it gave his wife and children the chance to shine and feel good about themselves because they were finally able to contribute to the good of all.  He finally gave himself permission to completely relax and heal his body.  He is a better man now, in every way, and his children will grow up to be much healthier parents because of learning this lesson now.   Play is just as important as work.  Find ways to play that nourish and enrich YOU.                LUV2U2