This story is dedicated to those of us who have come to the age/stage in life that means changes and adjustments in living location and lifestyle; the revision of old and the greeting of new routines; along with making new friendships (while relishing the old)—and just plain MAKING A LIFE CHANGE because it is time to do so. May the Lord bless and guide all who are at this stage to joyfully welcome and accept “each new day as His gift.”
The author of this story is unknown.
A 92-year-old delicate but well-poised and proud man, who was fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock with his hair fashionably coifed and his face shaved perfectly—and legally blind—moved to a nursing home.
His wife of seventy years had recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, he smiled sweetly when I told him his room was ready.
It was my job to introduce him to his new living accommodations. 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!”
“I thank all those who were a part in filling my Memory bank—and, I am still depositing.”
From this story we can all remember these five simple rules to be happy:
- Free your heart from hatred
- Free your mind from worries
- Live simply
- Give more
- Expect less
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. It is more important than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than whatever anyone might say or do.
It is more important than appearances, giftedness, or skill. The remarkable thing is that we have the choice to create the attitude we have for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the way people act. We cannot change the inevitable.
The one thing we can change—the only thing we have control over—is our attitude.
I am convinced that life is 10% what actually happens to us and 90% how we react to it. As this story shows, the single most significant decision we can make each day is our choice of attitude. Attitude keeps us going or cripples our progress. When our attitudes are right, there is no barrier too high, no valley too deep, no dream too extreme, no challenge too great for us.
I learned that every day we have the choice to live fully. Attitude, after all, is a settled way of thinking or feeling about someone or something, and that is typically reflected in a person’s outlook and behavior.
Let’s focus on what we “GET TO DO” instead of what we “HAVE TO DO.” Too often we complain and focus on what we HAVE TO DO—like “I have to go to work.” Start shifting your perspective by focusing on what you GET TO DO.
I get to go for a walk!!
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