Spiritual Thoughts for the week

January 23rd

Cultivating a Spirit of Joy & Optimism

Here’s a story about opting to view life’s ups and downs in the most optimistic & hopeful way:

“Roberto De Vincenzo, the great Argentine golfer, once won a tournament, and after receiving his check and smiling for the cameras, went to the clubhouse and prepared to leave. In the parking lot, he was approached by a young woman. She congratulated him on his victory, and then told him she had a child who was seriously ill and near death. Tearfully, she did not know how she would pay the doctor’s and hospital bills. Touched by her story, De Vincenzo took out a pen and endorsed his winning check for payment to the woman. ‘Make some good days for the baby,’ he said, as he pressed the check into her hands.

The following week De Vincenzo was having lunch in a country club when an official of the PGA came to his table. ‘Some of the parking valets told me that last week you met a woman there after the tournament.’ De Vincenzo nodded. ‘Well,’ said the official, ‘I have news for you. She’s a phoney. She has no sick baby. She’s not even married. She fleeced you, my friend.’ ‘You mean there is no baby who is dying?’ said the astonished De Vincenzo. ‘That’s right,’ said the official. ‘Then that’s the best news I’ve heard all week,’ the golfer declared.

Rather than let ourselves become bitter and callous by life’s harsher experiences, we can respond and shape them in ways that lead to a richer, fuller life.