The man was a man of renowned status. He held a prominent place in society and was honored among men; set upon a pedestal, a mighty man of valor. He had the approval and the backing of a country but he was sick; his body inflamed with sores, so he sought healing. The man was rich and could pay whatever it cost for his health to be restored. Health became more important than dollars and cents.

You know, when one is sick he will invest a fortune to get well. Sickness gnaws at the human spirit and tantalizes the mind. I have witnessed people so sick that death would have been a welcomed alternative. I never will forget the mind stunning question posed to me by a late parishioner before her suffering body eventually submitted to its fate, “Why can’t I die?”

This man was suffering under the burden of a loathsome disease, which made him a burden to himself and no doubt, to others. And so he seeks a cure. It is important to stress that he was a big man, a renowned man, a great man. But somehow being big did not excuse him from this awful condition.

Somehow life involves all men regardless of their status or statue. All men must pass the sick bed and battle the forces of disease - suffer and die like everybody else. I am not impressed with the size of funerals. I do not care anything about the price of the casket because no

Happiness. The pursuit of so many. In fact, we are known in America as those who live for “Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.’

But so many seem without happiness. Why is this? Is happiness truly elusive
or do we simply not know how to take hold of it? It is my contention that
happiness is yours for the taking. That is, anyone can be happy if the
choose to be… and if they know how to get it.

So what does it take to bring us to a state of happiness? Here are a few
thoughts to get you on your way:

Do not try to control circumstances.

One of the biggest “happiness busters”
I see is in the frustration people experience (and wallow in) because
circumstances have gone awry. This is because their mind-set, whether they
know it or not, is that they should be somehow able to control
circumstances. But let’s get this straight: You can’t! So the first thing
you can do to give yourself happiness is to stop trying to control, or
taking responsibility for circumstances that are outside of your control!
Understand that you can only control yourself.

There is only one thing you
can control in this world and that is yourself. You can’t control the
weather, other drivers, your kids or spouse, or anything for that matter
outside of your own beliefs, thoughts, attitudes and actions. Focus all of
your attention on developing yourself and doing what is right - controlling
yourself while letting what will happen, happen - and you will find
happiness opening up within you.

Decide what it is that you

Do you try to eat well, even diet, but aren’t seeing the results you were hoping for? Are you just trying to gain more energy? Do you ever feel like you’re not breathing enough?

If you answered yes to any of the questions above you should consider the proven, time-tested weight loss tool called cardiovascular exercise.

I know that it’s terribly hard to start walking or jogging when you have so much stress to deal with in your life. I’ve been through this myself numerous times, but I can always count on the fact that even walking around outside or parking far away from the store can truly increase my energy and metabolism.

For maximum results, balance your meals with a ratio based on 40% carbs, 30% protein, and 30% fat; and do 10 minutes of walking, jogging or running on 3-5 days of the week.

We all have tons of work to do. At many times, we can’t follow the idealistic command of “get off your fat ass and just do it,” so I’m not telling you that. That would be pure hypocrisy, so the advice I give to you is to just take 10 minutes to do cardiovascular exercise next time you want to watch television or talk on the phone with a friend.

If you want to make this weekly exercise easier on yourself, you should take a moment to visit our weight loss forum, over at PhenForum.com. Start your own personal daily progress journal and post whenever your want.