Bank Account of Happiness
Friday, June 22, 2007 at 09:44PMA 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed 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, 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.
Reader Comments (5)
it makes sense really...so, now i am feeling happy and contented with what i have in the four cornered walls of the cloister--coz i know, that in the end--i am gonna reap the harvest of eternal happiness ..naku, wag naman agad agad,Lord! gusto ko pa pong tumagal ang buhay ko ng mga 50 yrs more--para nakikita at nakakasalauha ko pa dito sa mundong ibabaw ang aking mga mahal sa buhay at mga kaibigan lalo na po si rebecca...AMEN....
AMEN! my dear friend...thank you :)
I checked out the Monastery's Website and hopefully someday I get to visit there and meet you. :)
hello becca,
its so nice to have known you my frend...
ay sige- punta ka dito sa amin-ako bahala sa accomodations mo, in case you push thru with your plan- the best you can do is to email bro andre -our guestmaster thru the monastery website- pero uy, wag mong banggitin sa kanya na nagkakilala tayo sa blogworld--hahaah, hindi kasi nya alam na nag ba blog pa ako at tinuloy tuloy ko ito--meron din siyang blogspot noon at sabay pa kami kung mag update ng aming kanya kanyang blog, pero he deletet it na ng magsawa-durinf that tym naman ay boss ko pa siya as my junior master= and he urged me to also do the same thing.. i said i did. pero hindi ko kayang i delete ang pinaghirapan kong bunuin ng halos mag tatlong taon ng blog huhuhuhuhu--kaya ayun, nilihim ko na lang sa kanya ang lahat--at ganun na din sa mga monkees dito -so, baka madulas ka sa kanya pag nag email ka---. just mention me as your pinoy frend- dito naman sa amin kapag pinoy o pinay ay hindi na nila tinatanung kung saan mo yan nakilala? kailan mo nakilala? basta alam nila na kabayan- ay ok na sa kanila-may tiwala sa aming mga pinoy monks eh hahahahah---sige, basta pag natuloy ka ay email mo ako sa aking gmail account and inform me agad para ma waive ko ang room fees na i re reserve sau ni brother andre---kasi sympre pag kabayan at lalo na kaibigan ay hindi na nila pinababayad---este pinag do donate pala--hahaha, ayaw nilang tawaging bayad ang room accomodation fees- panget daw pakinggan....mas ok kung donations!...sige becca..have a good day to you- uyyy, araw araw kita ipinagdarasal ....
Someday pag ok na ako talaga sana nga matuloy *crossing my fingers*
Thank you again for your prayers ha :)
Hi Rebecca! Wow, thank you for this :) I have been too busy taking care of the money making programs I'm enrolled with that I often forget to update my blogroll and even my site.
You pinched my heart a bit ;) Thanks for reminding me :)
Happy Friday!