Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time
92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each
morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably coiffed and shaved
perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing
home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move
necessary. After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the
nursing home, he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
hung on his window.
“I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mr. Jones, you haven’t seen the room; just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” he replied.
“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
room or not doesn’t depend on how the furniture is arranged … it’s how I
arrange my mind. I already decided to love it “It’s a decision I make
every morning when I wake up. I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed
recounting the difficulty I have with the parts of my body that no longer
work, or get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do.
Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I’ll focus on the new day
and all the happy memories I’ve stored away. Just for this time in my
life.
Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you’ve put in.
So, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
account of memories. Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. I
am still depositing.”
Remember the five simple
rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
