This morning I received a lovely email from one of my very best friends, Ms. Ashley Chaplain Hepburn (whose nickname is Ferdy). Last weekend I paid her a visit in Georgetown. On Monday morning when I awoke to start the week, I felt refreshed and more like myself than I have in quite a while. Our conversation and laughter over the weekend had made me remember what a strong person I am, and should be, for the people in my life and the organizations that I serve.
Friendship is a cure for the every day social and emotional maladies we endure, as well as our long-term physical ailments. On this day of Thanksgiving, let us be thankful for kindred spirits.
No, I'm not talking about the 1983 movie with Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd. I am talking about vegetables.
I am no longer allowed to eat leafy greens, as they contain high amounts of Vitamin K, which is one of the most important nutrients in your body (not mine) responsible for clotting blood. Foods like spinach, lettuce, cabbage, broccoli, and cranberries all contain the highest amounts of Vitamin K. While two tablespoons of parsley contain 153% of the recommended daily amount, a cup of spinach lettuce contains nearly 4,000 times the daily amount.
Foods containing high amounts of Vitamin K would counteract with my Coumadin, thereby increasing my blood coagulation levels. While your blood has to be at a thinness of 1, mine has to be between a 2 and 3 (the numbers are reversed).
So, I have vowed to return to my southern roots and remain properly nourished with okra. I am sure Paula Deen would be proud.
Forget the cuisine, I am saying "more okra please."
What is the most important element of your process? What keeps you afloat and your customers happy? Would you believe that for an envelope manufacturer, it is the stickiness of the flaps? Would you believe that for a 24-year-old it is a blood thinner?
This past week I discovered a little bit about my own personal theory of constraint. It's my medicine. After two mini strokes and several tests at the hospital, neurologists and hematologists discovered that I have two genetic blood clotting disorders (Factor V & Factor II). I will take Coumadin at 5:00 every evening for the rest of my life. This is how doctors will ultimately measure my health and I will be effective for the organizations I serve. (The doctor who administered my TE heart test took this picture of me on her iPhone shortly before I went under.)
My genetic disorders will require discipline. As a creative child, discipline and creativity have not always gone together for me. As my lifestyle changes to exclude stress, certain dietary elements and physical activity, I need to be more creative about how I live my days. This week I am forming the habits that will guide me for the rest of my life and developing understanding around the most important element of my personal process.
A philosophy on friendship and how it relates to our hearts.
A very wise man* once told me that you basically have three doors in life.
The first door is where you invite in acquaintances of all types. These are people you know cordially through work, church, friends of friends and in passing along the street. You probably know the person’s name and occupation, though not much more about him or her. I am never choosy about who I let into my first door, though some people are.
Your second door is where you invite people to know you on a more personal level. They are people you eat lunch with on occasion and who are likely to know you on a somewhat topical level. You probably enjoy discussing business with them and they are the people you will see at parties. I tend to not be choosy enough about letting people into my second door and consequently I overload my schedule with lunch and dinner dates, which causes my school work to suffer. I would say that I juggle a hundred or so of these individuals at a time; these are the people whose numbers fit comfortably into my cell phone.
My third door is sacred, the key to which is held by very few individuals. I probably have no more than ten of these individuals in my life. They understand me inside and out and I rely on them for inspiration and advice. They would be the ones to carry me out on a stretcher if I were ever in need. A few of these individuals are family members, a few are high school friends and a few are friends from college. There are probably one or two individuals from work that I let in through my third door.
These are the people I refer to as my “best friends.”
*dad
This morning I received a lovely email from one of my very best friends, Ms. Ashley Chaplain Hepburn (whose nickname is Ferdy). Last weekend I paid her a visit in Georgetown. On Monday morning when I awoke to start the week, I felt refreshed and more like myself than I have in quite a while. Our conversation and laughter over the weekend had made me remember what a strong person I am, and should be, for the people in my life and the organizations that I serve.
