By virtue of having a family clinic, I have the great privilege of meeting some most exceptional people.
I would like to tell you about one in particular. He is a 90-year-old man who was a war veteran, husband, father, grandfather and great-grandfather.
I have had the benefit of caring for him for the past nine years.
He has piercing blue eyes, a full chest, a thick head of white hair, perfect posture and is well-muscled.
But that only describes the physical attributes of this gentleman.
What is most extraordinary about him is his attitude day in and day out.
My mother once said that in life you’ll meet two types of people: one will be a sink and one will be a fountain. This man is a waterfall.
It is impossible to feel bad around him as he is one of the most sincerely optimistic people I have ever met.
Just before the Christmas holidays, I said to him: “I would like to ask you a question, it has nothing to do with your care, rather it is more of a personal question. What is your secret?”
He told me that he indeed has a secret and he only shares it when asked.
Well, he was asked.
He said his success in life is due to one thing and one thing only—attitude.
He went on to say that attitude shapes everything and everyone around you from your health to your freedom to your relationships.
I said I had read many books on the power of attitude and altering the filter through which we experience this thing called life.
He chuckled and said “You can read about it or you can do it. No book is going to tell you about your attitude. It will tell you about someone else’s. Your attitude is entirely up to you and it’s the one thing that you control day in and day out.”
He added: “Let me tell you how I maintain this attitude of appreciation, gratitude and thankfulness each and every day.”
He sat down in my treatment room and instructed me to do the same.
“Let me tell you how I achieved this attitude. I don’t speak about it much, but you asked. There was a time in my life when I was in active combat in Europe,” he said.
“The reality of the situation was that there were many people who were not very far away from me, who were trained, paid and ordered to shoot at me day in and day out. They were there for the sole purpose to kill me. That was the simple reality of the situation.
“The way I see it, any day when there is no one shooting at me, well, that’s a pretty good day.”
The honesty with which he spoke took my breath away, as he was sincere as he could possibly be.
He taught me that it doesn’t matter how you achieve your attitude, just choose the one that serves you. And be thankful for what we have rather, than what we don’t have.
Markus Thiel is a doctor of chiropractic. Questions or comments can be be sent to him at:
askdrthiel@shaw.ca
