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“Appreciation isn’t a matter of taste or sophistication.”

A thought by John C. Maxwell from his book, Make Today Count: The Secret of Your Success Is Determined by Your Daily Agenda (p. 6). Center Street. Kindle Edition. (Click on the title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

Have you found that to be true?  John then said, “It’s a matter of perspective.”  And it is.

Earlier John asked, “Have you ever known people who complain about everything? Their soup’s too hot. Their bed’s too cold. Their vacation’s too short. Their pay’s too low. You sit side by side with them at a magnificent banquet, and while you enjoy every morsel, they tell you what’s wrong with each and every dish. Such people don’t appreciate life no matter how good it gets.”  They really don’t.  I hope you are not one of those.

He goes on, “A friend e-mailed to me the story of a very ‘together’ and independent ninety-two-year-old lady who was moving into a nursing home. Since she was legally blind and her husband of seventy years had passed away, the move was her only option. She waited in the lobby of the facility for a long time before finally being told that her room was ready. As she was escorted down the corridor, her attendant described the room, down to the curtains hung on the windows.

“‘I love it,’ the elderly lady enthused. ‘But you haven’t even seen the room yet. Just wait,’ the attendant responded.

“‘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.’”  That is such a great way to view life.

John then gives the thought, “Appreciation isn’t a matter of taste or sophistication. It’s a matter of perspective. John Wooden said, ‘Things turn out best for the people who make the best of the way things turn out.’ The place to start is with the little things. If you can learn to appreciate them and be grateful for them, you’ll appreciate the big things as well as everything in between.”


Oh, if we would only do that.  So, will you change your perspective on your life?
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