Five simple rules to be happy from a 92-yr old

I shared this wonderful post on Facebook and wanted to share it here with you as well. What I love about this story of Amber Brown is that it totally reflects my own personal approach to achieving happiness in life. I do my best to live by Amber Brown's 5 rules to be happy and although it is not always easy on some days when things happen that are so difficult to make sense of, it is certainly worth this reminder. Like any habit, it takes conscious effort so I aim to remain self-aware of that self-talk inside my head that can steer me in a positive or negative direction depending on what I choose to allow it to do. I invite you to take this moment to look at the photo and read this short post about Amber Brown, a 92-year old lady with a great attitude and five simple rules to be happy. 


AMBER BROWN - NOV. 4, 2015



The 92-year-old, petite, well-poised and proud lady, who is fully dressed each morning by eight o’clock, with her hair fashionably coiffed and makeup perfectly applied, even though she is legally blind, moved to a nursing home today. Her husband of 70 years 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 provided a visual description of her tiny room, including the eyelet sheets that had been hung on her window. “I love it,” she stated with the enthusiasm of an eight-year-old having just been presented with a new puppy. “Mrs. Jones, you haven’t seen the room …. just wait.” “That doesn’t have anything to do with it,” she 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.” She went on to explain, “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.” And with a smile, she said: “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


Roslyn Franken is an inspirational speaker, proud cancer survivor and author of MEANT TO BE: A TRUE STORY OF MIGHT, MIRACLES AND TRIUMPH OF THE HUMAN SPIRIT. Visit http://www.roslynfranken.com