Quote:
Originally Posted by simpkinp
Happiness is in you. It is not in TV or anywhere else. If you can't be happy here, you won't be happy anywhere. Enjoy every day because you never know what tomorrow brings.... Life is beautiful, and it was another beautiful day in TV....
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Several years ago my friend Tillie turned 100, and a big party was held for her. A young guest commented to me that Tillie typified the picture in her mind of a "sweet little old lady." Tillie always smiled, was always gentle and loving, never complained, was white-haired and pink-skinned, and was a joy to be with.
I explained to this young woman that that isn't how it works, that Tillie didn't suddenly achieve "sweet little old lady" status. Tillie was like that when she was 20, when she was 40, when she turned 60, when she became 80, and now that she's 100. I was with her once at the nursing home (she could no longer walk) during lunch and asked her how the food was. She smiled sweetly and asked me if I'd like to eat it.... It didn't look great (understatement), and she ate it day in and day out, never complaining!
And if a person chooses to be miserable, negative, constantly whining and complaining and alienating others, he or she will be like that at 20, 40, 60, 80 (if living that long), and so on. We are who we choose to be, much like the Abraham Lincoln quote to the effect that we are as happy as we choose to be. We all have adversity to deal with; it's just part of life. But some of us are like this even without adversity. I feel sad for those people, as they are clueless. Somehow they think--and likely really believe it--that things will improve the more negative they are. And some will go through their entire lives like this and never figure it out. Wouldn't you agree sad?
Tillie died peacefully in her sleep last year, surrounded by her family, at age 104. She never for a moment wavered in her goodness--and she is missed!