Happiness Is Something You Decide Ahead Of Time

While out on Facebook the other day, I came across this on Tatia Smoot Meyers' wall and just had to share it:

Photo: Molly Alexander

I love this story. It reminds me of Abraham Lincoln's quote:

 "Most Folks are as happy as they make up their minds to be."

"A 92-year old, poised and proud lady, who was known for being fully dressed each morning by eight o-clock - including her hair fashionably coifed and her make-up perfectly applied - even though she was legally blind - moved to a nursing home. Her husband of 70 years had recently passed away, making the 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 maneuvered her walker to the elevator, I had the opportunity to provide her with a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet curtains that had been hung on her window.

"I love it," she stated, with the enthusiasm of an eight year old having just received a new puppy.

"But Mrs. Jones, you haven't even seen the room yet."

"That doesn't have anything to do with it," she replied. 

"HAPPINESS IS SOMETHING YOU DECIDE 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."

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Now, I know I needed to hear that today - how about you?