May 31, 2021
There’s a story of an elderly woman who understood the power of choice. It illustrates not only the benefits of a positive attitude toward every situation, but also the importance of making good decisions and setting your mind in the right direction.
The lady is 92-years-old, petite, well poised and proud. She is fully dressed each morning by 8 o’clock, with her hair fashionably coifed and her make up perfectly applied, even though she’s legally blind. Today she has moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years recently passed away, making this move necessary.
After many hours of waiting patiently in the lobby of the nursing home, she smiled sweetly when told her room was ready. As she maneuvers her walker to the elevator, the staff person provides a visual description of her tiny room, including her eyelet curtains that have been hung on her window: “I love it,” she states 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,” the staff person says.
“That does not have anything to do with it, “she gently replies.
“Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like my room or not does not depend on how the furniture is arranged … it’s how I arrange my mind that matters. I have already decided to love it.”
“It is 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 I can get out of bed and be thankful for the ones that do work. Each day is a gift, and as long as my eyes open, I will focus on the new day and all the happy memories I have stored away… just for this time of my life.”
This story reminds me of a statement my 100-year-old grandma made, just a few years back. When a friend from church asked about her pastime hobbies, she shared her love of spending time organizing family history and photos. Her friend’s response was, “Oh, doesn’t going through all that make you sad?” My grandma’s response back was: “No! I love it. It gives me a chance to relive my life!”
As I age and move into different chapters of life, I will always bring this story and my grandma’s comment with me. It reminds me that I get to choose how I am going to respond to life.
“Your living is determined not so much by what life brings to you as by the attitude you bring to life; not so much by what happens to you, as by the way your mind looks at what happens.” - Khali Gibran
-Adapted from How to Age Without Growing Old