At the beginning of this year, one of my resolutions was to offer positive and inspiring content to you, our readers. In keeping with that promise, I want to pass along an inspiring, little gem of a story I found a while back. I don’t know who originally wrote this, but if I could, I would most certainly give credit where credit is due.

Mr. Jones is a 92-year-old man who moved into a nursing home today. His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. Well-poised and precise, he is the kind of man who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, perfectly shaved and with his hair neatly combed—even though he is legally blind. After several 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, a nurse provided a visual description of his tiny room, right down to the eyelet curtains hanging on his window.

“I love it,” he stated with the enthusiasm of an 8-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.

“Mr. Jones,” said the nurse, “you haven’t even 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.

“This attitude 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.

“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 especially for this time in my life.”

It occurs to me that old age is sort of like a bank account. You withdraw from it what you’ve put in. The same can be said of family life, friendships and even healthy habits.

So, my advice to you is this: Make deposits! Deposit a lot of happiness in your bank account of memories! Deposit humor, goodwill and the precious gift of time with family and friends. Make regular deposits toward a healthy lifestyle. And thank you for what you’ve deposited in my own good-memories bank.

Finally, I’ve seen these Five Simple Rules for Happiness before, and they are worth repeating:

1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.


I hope the story I shared and the rules I recapped brighten your day and point you in a positive direction. You can’t change the craziness going on in the world today, but you can change how you react to it. Every day is a gift. Use that gift wisely. Time is precious; that is why God gives it to us one second at a time. I encourage you to find joy and happiness in whatever you do.