Each Day Is A Gift
Photo by Finvara
The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready.
As she maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
“Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.”
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she 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.”
She went on to explain, “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.”
And with a smile, she said:
“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.”
From author unknown.
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Tags: each day is a gift, happiness, happy rule, inspirational story
“Free your mind from worries” - this is one of my biggest challenges.
Very nice! I like ‘Live simply’.
Yup, there is nothing like a simple and happy life. Oftentimes, we make things complicated because we couldn’t believe that everything we need is really just within our reach. Thanks for sharing!
Wow, truly inspirational.
I especially like this one: Live simply. Truer words were never spoken! As much as technology has been beneficial to us, I believe that life would’ve been happier if everything was so simple. Everything now is impersonal - just send a text to someone when you want to what’s up with the person. Decades ago, it was more personal - you really have to go out of your way to keep in touch. And I guess that’s make it special back then.
Hi Vered, you’re right, it is not easy to free our mind from worries, however a research said that 90% of our worries have never happened.
Thanks for your comment, Vered.
Hi Stephen, if we can simplify our live, we can get through life easier. Thanks for commenting, Stephen.
Hi Joyce, you’re welcome. I believe that simplicity and happiness are connected each other. Thanks for your comment, Joyce.
Hi Beth Banning, welcome. So true Beth. There may be a culture change along with technology development. But it should not keep us from our relationship with others. Thanks for your comment, Beth.
My Favorite is “give more”. When we give, we fill our heart.
Thanks for sharing.
Giovanna Garcia
Imperfect Action is better than No Action
Thank you also for sharing your inspirational stories, more power!
I love this one. That choice we all have to live the way we want and to choose what we get out of our minds is the most important attitude one can develop in life. I choose to love each day as well and I can tell you, I get the same thing out of each day because of that choice! Great story!
Hi Giovanna, when we give, we also find a truly happiness. Thanks, Gio.
Hi Joyce, you’re welcome.
Hi Mike, I’m agree with you. We all have a choice to become happy or not consciously. Thanks Mike for your comment.
thanks for share good inspiration Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time.