Mr. Jones was a 92-year-old WWII veteran, petite, well-poised and proud man, who was fully dressed each morning by eight a.m. His hair was fashionably combed and he was shaved perfectly.
He was legally blind and he was preparing to move to a nursing home. His wife of 70 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 told his room was ready.
As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, he was given a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
“I love it,” he said 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,” said the nurse.
“That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” he replied.
He continued, “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 I can 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 it what you’ve put into it.”
“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’m still depositing.”
The nurse asked Mr. Smith how he could stay so happy at his age and he said, “I live by five simple rules. They are 1) I free my heart from hatred; 2) I free my mind from worry; 3) I live simply: 4) I give more than I take; and 5) I expect less.”
-Author Unknown -
