Tuesday, May 31, 2011

The Memory Bank

A 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud man, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o'clock, with his hair fashionably combed and shaved perfectly, even though he is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today.
His wife of 70 years recently passed away, making the move necessary. After many 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, I provided a visual description of his tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on his window.
"I love it,"  he stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy.
"Mr. Jones, you haven't 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."
"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.
Thank you for your part in filling my Memory Bank.
 I am still depositing.
 Remember the five simple rules to be happy:
 1. Free your heart from hatred.
 2. Free your mind from worries..
 3. Live simply.
 4. Give more.
 5. Expect less.
- author unknown

Tuesday, May 17, 2011

Character and success emerge from one’s heart



                                          The Secret Lies Within 

A man was selling balloons at a fair in a tribal village. He had balloons of different colors. To attract the attention of people, he would release a gas-filled balloon into the air. When children saw the balloon go up, they would jump with joy and rushed to buy one.

The Balloon man was busy in attracting his little customers, when he felt someone pulling his kurta (traditional dress worn in India). He turned around and saw a little dark tribal boy asking him, "If you release a black balloon, would that also fly high?"

For a moment the balloon man was taken aback – why is this little boy asking such a question? His eyes fell on the dark skin of the body, and in a flicker of moment, the balloon man realized the matter!
With lot of affection, he moved his hand on the head of the little boy and replied gently, "Son, it is not the color of the balloon, it is what’s inside it that makes it go up!"

Character and success emerge from one’s heart