The Best of Jack’s Winning Words 11/13/23
“I’ve made up my mind to never have another bad day in my life. I dove into an endless sea of gratitude from which I’ve never emerged.” (Patch Adams) Patch is a physician and clown, dedicated to bringing humor to hospital patients (children and adults) around the world, His is an alternative form of healthcare not covered by insurance. He believes that “bad days” are often caused by looking at the world in the wrong way. If you’re having a bad day, try looking through the lens of gratitude. 😉 Jack
Originally sent August 18, 2020.
Patch Adams is both a real person and was a 1998 movie by the same name, staring Robin Williams as Adams. Patch Adams is best known for his work as a medical doctor and a clown, but he is also a social activist who has devoted over 40 years of his life to changing America’s healthcare system. He believes that laughter, joy and creativity are an integral part of the healing process and, with the help of friends, he founded the Gesundheit Institute in 1971 in order to address all the problems of health care in one model.
It’s not as hard as you may initially think to take the advice that Patch Adams offered, if you make it a habit to wake up each day and find something for which to be grateful; be it just being alive for another day or something else. As I get older, the just being alive for another day thing takes on more meaning and provides a reason to be grateful.
There will always be days when things are not going the way that you had hoped they would. Those don’t have to be “bad” days. They are, after all, days in which you will experience something new and hopefully learn from the experience. Phrases like “It keeps you on your toes” or “That’s what makes life interesting” come to mind.
How the day goes for you – good or bad – is greatly impacted by the frame of mind in which you start the day. Adams has resolved to be grateful at the star of each day and that has allowed him to find happiness in each day. You can find happiness, too.
Adams never mentions faith, but I would be willing to bet that at the heart of his approach to life there is a strong faith. Just looking for someone or something to express your gratitude for another day will inevitably lead to thanking God. Once you are in that frame of mind with God, you are off to a great start on what will be another great day.
So, take the advice of Patch Adams and start each day with an attitude of gratitude and see if that doesn’t change your life. Dive in to the endless sea of gratitude and be happy.
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