Elderly Wisdom
75
I love older people....
Today a beautiful older woman sent me an email that made me think. I love to read things that cause me to pause, and also to connect with another way of viewing others.
The title was "Your Bank Account", but it was not at all what I thought it would be about. The story goes that a 92 year old man, legally blind was moving into a nursing home. His wife had passed away and he had no other choice, but to move since they had taken care of each other and now he was all alone.
He arrives at the nursing home facility where he will live. As health care institutions go, he had to wait for hours before his room was ready, and finally an attendant came to show him his new room. As he led the way he began to talk describing the room, trying to make it seem as though it were something exciting on the other side of the door.
Now if I'm the elderly man that just lost his dear wife of many years, and I have no close family to rely on, I am not particularly worried about whether the room is great or not. In my mind I am thinking this is the last place I will live out the last years of my life, so who cares about the room. Who will come and visit and spend time with me in this room, is what I would be thinking. Wouldn't you?
But in all the wisdom that comes with growing older, this dear sweet man's response to the description of the room was this;
"I love it, he stated with the enthusiasm of am eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy."
The attendant replied, how do you know, you've never seen the room.
The elderly man said "that doesn't have anything to do with it." He went on to say, "Happiness is something you decide on ahead of time. Whether I like the 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."
Awesome stuff right? Then he said, "Old age is like a bank account. You withdraw from what you've put in, so my advice to you would be deposit a lot of happiness in the bank account of memories!"
After reading this email from my dear older friend, I could not stop the tears from forming in my eyes. I was overwhelmed with old memories and I was so happy that I had any!
This beautiful elderly man gives (5) simple rules to be happy and I think we all owe it to ourselves to practice them:
1. Free your heart from hatred
2. Free your mind from worries
3. Live simply
4. Give more
5. Expect less and have a nice day, unless you already have other plans!
I love older people...they are filled with wisdom and a sense of calm that makes me want to hug them and never let go.
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Absolutely brilliant. Yet another one that makes one pause and ponder. Great hub!
Great elderly wisdom presented here CheryleJ. I love and agree with..."happiness is something you decide on ahead of time....it's how I arrange my mind...." Great hub. Thumbs up.
qlcoach,
Thanks for your comments. I do appreciate it. I'm going to read some of your work today. I love to be inspired by others.
Just goes to show that while a great deal of what happens in life is left up to fate and destiny, we do, in fact, hold power and control of our thoughts, outlook/approach to life.
Thank you Ananta65, Dottie and Meredith. I love you for taking the time to respond as much as I love older people for being filled with wisdom and insight.
I am currently in an assisted living facility. Today I presented the story about the 92 year old who sees everthing through his heart and wealth stored in his mind because he is blind. I found it on a website; they would like to have a copy in the main office, and now I can't find it. Help!
Wow I really love this hub. This is how my mom thinks, she always decides to be happy.
I moved into Assisted Living with encouragement from family. After a few days here, I started writing a daily story as if I was on a cruise. I pretended the facility was a cruise ship and my rooms are my cabin; meals are served just like a cruise ship, meal companions are becoming friends; writing about it took away the feeling of being isolated from the outside world. I still have my car and can drive, so I can "go ashore" when I please. It's fun!
I agree 100%, we need to listen to our elderly loved ones more often. I have created a website where families and friends can come together and create their own books of wisdom. My site is A Whole Village at awholevillage.com. I created a book for my daughter with the help of my parents and grandparents, we created a book full of their most valuable wisdom. Some of the greatest ideas I have ever read and they were from my family. Funny that unless we created this book I would have never heard these ideas in person, my family tends to be a little reserved. Truly a great gift for anyone.
I agree 100%, we need to listen to our elderly loved ones more often. I have created a website where families and friends can come together and create their own books of wisdom. My site is A Whole Village at awholevillage.com. I created a book for my daughter with the help of my parents and grandparents, we created a book full of their most valuable wisdom. Some of the greatest ideas I have ever read and they were from my family. Funny that unless we created this book I would have never heard these ideas in person, my family tends to be a little reserved. Truly a great gift for anyone.
I still believe that older people are the greatest people around! They give me hope and inspiration...Love them.
This is to IRENE...if your out there, please contact me. I found the article after all this time and would like to forward it to you but don't know how to reach you....my email is cherylewallace@yahoo.com if you still need the article. God bless.
This is a wonderful Hub!
There is a quote from one of Shakespeare's plays (I think Hamlet, but could be wrong), 'There's nothing good or bad but thinking makes is so.'
I have known people who make up their mind to be miserable, and as a result have a very sad life.
2patricias thank you for your kind words and I agree, if you make up your mind to be miserable you will, I know first hand! I choose to see things as happy & positive as I can and elderly wisdom inspires me to do this. Thanks for reading!
This is great inspirationto have a reason to share with our elders good moments.
I stay with my grandma and every time I move out of home, its my pleasure meeting old people. For God has bestowed in them expositional knowledge that is the hidden blessing. I have come to understand that all things can perish, but if an elder blesses you for the time you share with them;
its worth it all to take your geneaology from generation to generations.
God bless you Cheryl
I am happy you enjoyed the article and I do love older people and I learn every time I listen to them. My grandmother was the most loving and inspiring person I have ever known...she died in 2001 and I miss her everyday. Thanks for reading and leaving your comments! Have a great weekend.
Hi CheryleJ. Can you tell me how to get a hold of this story?
Hi Trish I apologize for being away but if you still need a copy of "The Bank Account" please email me at cherylewallace@yahoo.com and I'll forward this beautiful article. Have a blessed day!
qlcoach Level 4 Commenter 3 years ago
Wow. This is awesome.For some us wisdom truly does come with age. Your story also puts us in touch with our own sense of mortality. Thank you for sharing it. Feel free to see how I try to help others in new ways too. Sincerely: Gary Eby, author and therapist.