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We are the same age; she spoke no English, I spoke no Russian.
Yet we could point to a word in the dictionary and know exactly what thought the other was referencing. She asked to wash some clothes and when I took her down to the washing machine she carefully looked up the words “a thank you from all mothers” raising both hands into the air (also the word “lazy” followed by a laugh).
Through a translator, I found out later that day that she had seen a washing machine but never one that worked (and had assumed I hand-washed the clothes for our six family members).
Bingo! What I always knew to be true but had never acknowledged consciously came into focus: Thankfulness is the cornerstone of my happiness. It is a choice I can make every day in spite of all the bad and the sad and the scary. Gratitude is the decision to look for what is right with our world; the worthy-of-praise little stuff that is, in actuality, big stuff.
I know. The world has a lot of problems. Taxes are high and a gallon of gas costs more than a loaf of bread and a gallon of milk. Appliances break down the week after the warranty expires. Murphy’s Law kicks in so the smoke detector battery needs replacing and the every 30-second reminder bleep starts right in the middle of a really good dream at 3:30 a.m.
Some people think it is OK to throw garbage on the street instead of walking it to a trash can. And devastation happens way too often with regard to weather and illness and death.
Nevertheless, I live in a country where we have the freedom to disagree. My vote counts as much as the next guy’s. And it’s in writing; we have the right to pursue happiness. How cool is that? I have amazing friends and family who intentionally build dignity and meaning into their lives with their kindness and service and sacrifice. Our water is safe to drink. One end of Main Street is the edge of the Mississippi River and the other end is the top of Grandad Bluff!
Our summer school curriculum is enviable. For 42 cents I can send a letter to a friend 1,200 miles away. We have lots of our community regularly spending a good chunk of their time volunteering or a good chunk of their money donating to help clean up gardens and trails and creek beds, prepare meals to provide fellowship and nourishment, mentor those who need to figure out a new plan for their lives, and help folks with their health issues. People greet each other on the street enthusiastically and rush to hold open a door.
I think Robert Louis Stevenson was onto something when he said, “The habit of being happy enables one to be freed, or largely freed, from the domination of outward conditions.”
Sue Durtsche is one of 13 Tribune Community Columnists, whose writing appears every Sunday.
