Learn to Live

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My work takes me out to construction sites from Erie Pennsylvania to New York City and sometimes to other states where I conduct audits, write reports, and give presentations. Every year I do a presentation at a company just around the corner from where I live.

Through the years I've grown to know all of the guys at a tight-knit company and we laugh a lot as I try to get the rules across. The problem being that this company works in the middle of busy roadways, and sometimes, safety is not possible because there are way too many variables.

At the start of this week, one of those men who attended my safety trainings was run down by a truck. At 27 years old, his life ended. An accident that cost the man his life, his dreams, and cost that company in ways they won't even imagine.

I've been around such things before, but I tell you, I wanted to vomit when I heard the news. Three days later, I'm stuck with the thought that you need to learn to live with that you can't rise above.

No other option, right?

I've watched people make wrecks of their personal lives too. I know a bunch of guys suffering through the loss of their marriages, and I struggle to watch them make one bad decision on top of the poor decision that they made to start with, and instead of rising above the mess, they pile more crap on the mountain of dung under their feet.

Learn to live with it. Get on with life, hoping that the accidents, bad decisions, and lousy breaks don't break you.

Rise above it, knowing that it won't happen over night. The process can't be rushed.

My nephew is making tremendous strides and for that I'm thankful.

Maybe that's where it all begins and ends.

Being thankful for what you have, as you learn to live with what you don't.

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