Attitude is Everything

Listen to this simple and profound story that came last week in an e-mail:

"The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud mother-in-law of my best friend, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed 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.

Maurine Jones is the most lovely, gracious, dignified woman that I have ever had the pleasure of meeting. While I have never aspired to attain her depth of wisdom, I do pray that I will learn from her vast experience.

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. 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."

This story really got my attention because my own mother now lives in a retirement center where she gets the medical attention she needs. We live only 12 minutes away, so Sue and I see her often. Living in the same place is Mrs. Hamann, a blind 93-year old lady who still plays the piano every day. The last time I saw her, she was playing the piano and said: "Timmy, do you have a favorite?" I mentioned "Farther Along," never dreaming she could play it. She knew it of course, and we sang a verse a bit off tune. She's happy...apparently a choice she made a long time ago. HAPPINESS IS A CHOICE. ATTITUDE MAKES THE DIFFERENCE.