Looking at the Bright Side

Reflections On Growing Older – Part C

Looking At The Bright Side

Fed up and disenchanted with himself and his life and feeling thoroughly sorry for himself, a man was sitting in his study. After a moment or two of contemplation, he picked up a pen and started to write: ‘I had surgery last year during which my gall bladder was removed. Because of the operation I had to stay in bed for a long time. I was approaching the age of sixty in the same year and was disappointed that after having spent thirty years of my life in a publishing company and done well for them, I was asked to retire to make room for a younger person. This meant giving up my favourite job. During that year my father died and my son failed his medical exam, because he had been involved in a car accident and spent several days in a hospital bed with a cast on his foot. The car was a write-off. Ah, what a miserable year!’

If only the man had known that he was going through his second Saturn return, and that with it the time had come for clearing out the things that were no longer of any use in his life. Be that as it may, later that day his wife came to see him and found him looking sad and lost in thought. For some time she had been watching how he was sinking ever deeper into a mood of despondency and depression. Standing behind him she read his notes. An idea came to her and she silently left the room. But after a while she returned with a sheet of paper, which she placed by the side of what her husband’s notes.

The woman had recently consulted the Great Mother of all life, the wise one within her, and asked: ‘What can I do to help my husband?’ It was the Mother’s love and wisdom that guided the wife’s hand and thoughts when she wrote:

‘Last year I finally got rid of a gall bladder that had caused me many years of discomfort and pain. In the same year I turned sixty-five. I am of sound health and having retired from my job, I can now use more of my time to compose the master novels I have always dreamed I would write one day. They are going to be stories that have purpose and meaning, because I am now much more focussed and at peace.

‘After having lived to the ripe old age of ninety-five without needing to depend on others or suffering from any serious illnesses, in that same year my father passed into the world of light. Reunited with my mother, he is sure to be exploring his new home now and enjoying its greater freedom. I look forward to seeing them again in due course. If I last as long as my father did, I have another thirty-five years before me. It’s up to me whether I spend them unhappily dwelling on the things that once were, or whether I make them into the most happy and creative time of my life.

‘It is true, it was also the year my car was a complete write-off. However, the main thing is that our son is alive and has survived the accident without disabilities. All in all, I think the year passed well and when looked at in the right way, it has brought many blessings into my life, for which I give thanks and praise to the Highest.’

The ability to see the bright side of all our experiences is one of the finest and rewarding art forms Earth life has to offer. And if we but take a closer look at our lives, there is always something to be thankful for. Being grateful for the many gifts the Universe bestows upon us at any given moment fills our whole being with a sense of fulfilment, happiness and the goodness of life.

Count your garden by the flowers,
Never by the leaves that fall.
Count your joys by golden hours,
Never when life’s worries call.

Count your days by smiles, not tears,
And when birthdays come around,
Count your age by friends, not years,
And the gifts of love you’ve found.

Anon.

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