 鲜花( 29)  鸡蛋( 0)
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A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed
7 ~# A* {0 G# y* C" q. P" Y7 t. qeach morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably coifed and
0 X! ~4 q- l; j6 Sshaved perfectly applied, even though he is legally blind, moved to a
9 A5 \; k7 Z9 k# _6 ? Dnursing home today. ' b) S7 V j G x3 Z! }
8 u9 J# X3 Z4 x. ^8 t5 sHis wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. ; o9 j3 |! V0 o8 l4 |
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, 9 O; ]- m( v; N- ?; ~
he smiled sweetly when told his room was ready. 7 v4 F2 X4 _0 Z% `0 V- \+ U) D
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As he maneuvered his walker to the elevator, I provided a visual 4 I7 K4 J/ t8 d6 Z
description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been
2 N# l7 |2 h0 U6 yhung on his window. - z+ c. o3 O3 G9 {5 d7 {2 B
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"I love it," he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having
; Z5 `( g2 { u! n! t- a# ~just been presented with a new puppy. . r: S) L1 ?4 v! h; y# M
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"Mr. Jones, you haven't seen the room; just wait."
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"That doesn't have anything to do with it," he replied. * {" o& f# @' H% x3 _( H# r+ n
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"Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my
( O! \0 V5 o4 hroom or not doesn't depend on how the furniture is arranged ... it's how ! w- }0 l& H2 H; E6 i2 \
I arrange my mind. I already decided to love it."
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2 P2 f! K; h% H- FIt's a decision I make every morning when I wake up.
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1 B5 ^" f j0 ~) e8 f) p* o' @I have a choice; I can spend the day in bed recounting the difficulty I 2 r5 p1 @- f, v! y
have with the parts of my body that no longer work, or get out of bed
! ]$ L' x4 j+ i7 _8 Mand be thankful for the ones that do. + M+ h- i/ v' P; b* K0 A) ~
. l4 T* N5 u. i7 Z: iEach day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open I'll focus on the new ' G, K2 \. ~3 A! h) `0 Q8 n
day and all the happy memories I've stored away.
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& \1 o, w9 e. [Just for this time in my life.
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Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in.
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$ I4 ?0 _3 S5 C/ o9 i" iSo, my advice to you would be to deposit a lot of happiness in the bank
3 E% s3 @4 v4 o3 W8 R" @, ~account of memories! Thank you for your part in filling my Memory bank.
. w2 C0 I" ?, g) R0 _, h- L# I/ SI am still depositing." Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
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7 O& j. y! x" L* e; e, k4 `4 s 1. Free your heart from hatred. ' ?0 `- c+ _. p5 R
2. Free your mind from worries. 5 V3 H" G2 v9 X. m9 D* w" S m
3. Live simply. + }1 E* ~. R7 V
4. Give more. 0 p$ M( n' g4 h9 q4 a
5. Expect less. |
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