 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed \% x; v' d& f9 r4 P. F
each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
+ c8 G8 X$ P* G9 |4 j* Fshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a 1 _- B4 N& {# E* C1 H$ }9 K
nursing home today. x7 F V# H0 j! x2 e# |2 N
; ^$ E, x9 [6 Q0 iHis wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. 9 N0 v/ I6 T0 a; d; R. j; w
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, ( X8 T4 D! l3 |
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready.
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1 u [/ T2 M% s1 `As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual
' G8 s' L; T0 ~2 w1 ^) Ddescription of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been 0 @) \" ?& h1 e5 b% X; a* x
hung on his window. 0 l2 y) g& v' @( F8 g! o2 p; \" z
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having " x5 m" x' O6 z' Z
just been presented with a new puppy. ) }; o6 w: e& _. I6 f& U% p
& N" l2 C* b. s9 L; d: v( r9 h, Y1 P"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait." $ h) e0 m/ N# {- S4 F' j
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied.
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my ! q, F+ |* c# Z& i3 Q
room or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how
- t6 d5 K9 b' D3 a+ Z* Q7 |# II arrange my mind. I already decided to love it." - ]- M3 w4 k6 p+ y0 z- y1 w, T
5 E) X! H w* r. c. H/ J8 j: {It's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
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I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I
* j# g, y, W/ N' W' rhave with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed 3 _3 K8 g3 B. K$ N3 n
and be thankful for the ones that do. 8 g" N$ S$ D# ^8 ~$ C9 a
, H& {: B7 O' C* d+ C. ?/ V( PEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new
* E) K$ O: c- H. A1 p, e2 vday and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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% U8 |; V" y. J* k1 y7 k$ ^. |Just for this time in my life. * a4 T$ I& K2 s+ B9 N9 |5 x# T
2 k" L# S I5 y) z1 ]Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in. ; A% Q; ?: A+ n! e" s D
; Z- c8 E# E/ O LSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank $ Q& F$ k' Y$ U. S% b+ [1 Y
account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank. K# t7 O; h3 Q/ @9 Y
I am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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1. Free your heart from hatred.
% Z0 U; m7 t1 j3 k" H% q% l9 C8 m 2. Free your mind from worries.
, h4 O/ _' g1 a3 C+ d 3. Live simply. : u7 U( u# w9 H7 E! t
4. Give more.
) K2 S h) V7 E* b4 k2 R8 n3 {) D 5. Expect less. |
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