“The Shutdowns of Life”
Hello to you all! First, thanks for taking the time to read my stories brought to you here each week. I certainly hope that you get as much joy out of reading the stories as I do writing them.
As many of you may already know, I’ve seen a considerable amount of hardship and trouble and bad news in my life, and if there’s one thing that I’ve learned, it’s that you have to determine what you will do with what hand life deals to you.
A wise man once said, “Your life is made up of 10% what happens to you, and 90% what you do with it”. So, as we turn on our TV set, or read our newspaper, or look online at the latest happenings in our world, the question is, “What do we do with all of this stuff?” It is truly getting harder and harder with each day to even want to know – it’s just no fun!
The following story was sent to me by one of my Podcast subscribers; thanks Phil for this great story.
A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, 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, he was 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 have already decided to love it.”
He went on: “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 will open, I’ll focus on the new day and all the happy memories I’ve stored away – Just for this time in my life. You see, I have learned that old age is like a bank account. I can withdraw from it what I’ve put in.”
Wow, smart guy – and a lesson we should all remember. So, today, among the shutdowns, and the knockdowns of life, let us find a way to see things from the bright side. And one last thing – let us spend time everyday depositing happiness into our own memory bank account so that we can withdraw from it as needed.
See you next week. In the meantime, remember that I love to hear from you. You can email me at jerrystewartusa@gmail.com or you can follow me at www.jerrystewartusa.com.
