Maria，a gentle，soft－spoken woman o f seventy，had always managed to view the world with a child\'s sense of wonderment．She greeted the dawn of each new day with the brightness of the sun itself and found joy in the smallest of things：a dove perched on her birdfeeder，the fresh morning dew，the sweet scent of jasmine in her garden．
A widow1)，Maria lived alone in a run－down2) neighborhood in Deerfield Beach，Florida．One day while out tending the small garden in front of her modest home，Maria had been injured in a drive－by shooting．The bullet had pierced through her skin with a ferocious3) bite and lodged itself in the old woman\'s right thigh．Crying out in agony，she had dropped to the sidewalk．When the mailman found her unconscious nearly an hour later，her injured leg had been bleeding profusely4)．She\'d made it to the hospital just in time and later，the doctor had told Maria she was lucky to be alive．
Returning home，Maria didn\'t feel so lucky．Before the shooting，the elderly woman had always been grateful that she was healthy for her age．Now just getting the daily mail required a Herculean5) effort．In addition，her medical bills were mounting alarmingly，straining her meager income．And although she had watched the neighborhood deteriorate6)，somehow things had seemed safe in the daylight－－but not anymore．For the first time in her life，Maria felt frightened，alone and vulnerable．
“I feel defeated，”she had told her friend Vera．“I\'m just an old woman with nothing to do and nowhere to go．
”When Vera came to pick up Maria for her checkup at the medical center，she hardly recognized her old friend．Maria\' s soft brown eyes held a haunting sadness and her face was gaunt and haggard．All the curtains were drawn and her hands shook with fear as she hobbled out onto the front porch，a cane stabilizing her injured leg．
They were a little early for Maria\'s appointment，so to try to cheer up Maria，Vera took a longer，more scenic route．They were stopped at a red light when Maria suddenly shrieked．“Look at that cat.It\'s trying to run across the street。”Vera looked up to see a small black－and－white cat bounding out in to the middle of traffic．Both women screamed as they saw one car，then another，and finally a third，hit the cat．The cat lay motionless，its small body flung onto the grass．Cars slowed，but no one stopped to help．
“We must save that poor creature，”said Maria．Vera pulled over，got out of the car and went to the hurt animal．Miraculously7)，it was still alive，but badly injured．
“Take my jacket and wrap the kitty in it，”said Maria．Vera carefully put the cat on the seat between them．It looked up at Maria and gave her a plaintive，barely audible meow．
“Everything will be all right，my little friend，”Maria said tearfully．
Finding an animal clinic，they went inside and told the receptionist what had happened．
“I\'m sorry，”she said，“but we cannot accept stray animals．”
It was the same at the next clinic．Finally，at the third clinic，a kind veterinarian8)，Dr．Susan Shanahan，agreed to help and quickly started working on the cat．
“This little guy is lucky to be alive，”she told Maria and Vera．“If you hadn\'t been there for him，he never would have made it．”
The vet took Maria aside．“The cat\'s injuries are very serious，”she said．“He has severe head trauma，crushed paws and a cracked collarbone．He\'ll need a lot of expensive medical attention．Today\'s bill alone will cost at least ＄４００．”
Maria gasped．But taking her worn cloth wallet out of her handbag，she gave the doctor all the money she had after paying her bills－－＄５０．
“It\' s all I have right now，but I promise I will pay you the rest over time．Please don\'t put that kitty to sleep.” she pleaded．“I\'ll take him home．We need each other．”
Sensing how important this was，Dr．Shanahan kneeled and took Maria\'s hands in hers．“I could get into trouble with my boss for doing this，”she said gently．“You see，I really shouldn\'t have helped the cat in the first place，but，don\'t worry．．．I will personally pay for this．”
While the cat was at the clinic，Maria went to check on him every day．She spoke softly to him and gently stroked his chin with her little finger．As the days passed，the cat began to purr9) and the sparkle returned to Maria\'s eyes．
The day arrived for the cat to come home．As excited as a little girl on Christmas morning，Maria smiled brightly as she walked into the clinic to pick him up． “What have you decided to name the cat？” asked Dr．Shanahan．
Cradling the cat in her arms，Maria answered happily，“I\'m going to call him Lucky，because together we have found a new life．”
At the age of forty－five，my usually well－ordered life became fraught with changes．
After twenty－two years of working for a major financial institution，a downsizing initiative and a major bank merger resulted in the elimination1) of over one hundred jobs，mine being one of them．
My once secure future became a fallacy2)．However，I was one of the lucky ones．I was not a single parent，nor dependent solely on my income，but just like the other ex－bankers，I had become a disposable3) employee，and a statistician．
My mantra4) has always been，“change is good，change is progress，”but when it affected my livelihood，I had to revise it to，“accept change and make the most of it．”From the beginning，I chose to look at this occurrence not as a misfortune，but as a welcome opportunity．I refused to become depressed or bitter；instead，I eagerly anticipated doing something new and different．
Having a positive attitude made all the difference in the way I perceived the future．First，I decided to return to college and graduate，several decades later than I should have．Doing this at my age took more than a little courage．Not being a graduate had never held me back in my career with the bank，but now it was a personal goal I longed to achieve．With a little trepidation5) and a lot of determination，I registered for evening classes，and became an adult student．
Oral presentations were often required for one class．I remember thinking that if I had known this beforehand，I would have taken something else to achieve my required accreditation．By nature，I am a rather reticent6) individual，and speaking in front of people terrified me．As I stood in front of the other adults with whom I shared a common goal，my knees were visibly knocking，and my heartbeat almost audible．Somehow，I found my voice and squeaked out my presentation．The next time it was easier，and soon，I was starting to enjoy it a little．Later in the year，I even voluntarily interviewed a local reporter for an English assignment，much to the amazement of my teacher．My confidence level soared．Suddenly I felt like I could accomplish anything．
During this time，I realized that no matter what life throws our way，personal growth never stops．It comes from within，and needs only to be challenged in order to surface．It is entirely possible to step out of one\'s comfort zone to learn something new. My experience of going back to school ended up being far more valuable than just acquiring a diploma．
The second thing I did to improve my inner self was to reevaluate7) my life．It used to be filled with endless，and sometimes meaningless，events．Now，instead of working towards materialistic things and personal glorification，my heart and life are firmly entwined around people I care for．
Yes，having a fulfilling career is important，but it is no longer my reason for being．When I rejoin the “rat race8)”，it will be on my terms，as nurturing my soul is my first priority．Having simplified my life，I am enjoying living now，instead of just existing to make a living．
Is there life after banking？You bet there is．
The loss of my job was responsible for some positive changes in my life．Revisiting the past made room for the future．As I contemplate the meaning of my mantra，“change is good，change is progress”，I realize that I have accepted the change，and am making the most of it．
And，I have only just begun．The best is yet to come．
In over a dozen years as a stress consultant1)，one of the most pervasive2) and destructive3) mental tendencies4) I\'ve seen is that of focusing on what we want instead of what we have．It doesn\'t seem to make any difference how much we have；we just keep expanding our list of desires，which guarantees we will remain dissatisfied．The mind－set that says“I\'ll be happy when this desire is fulfilled” is the same mind－set that will repeat itself once that desire is met．
A friend of ours closed escrow5) on his new home on a Sunday．The very next time we saw him he was talking about his next house that was going to be even bigger．He isn\'t alone．Most of us do the very same thing．We want this or that．If we don\' t get what we want we keep thinking about all that we don\'t have－－and we remain dissatisfied．If we do get what we want，we simply recreate the same thinking in our new circumstances．So，despite getting what we want，we still remain unhappy．Happiness can\'t be found when we are yearning for new desires6)．
Luckily，there is a way to be happy．It involves changing the emphasis of our thinking from what we want to what we have．Rather than wishing y our spouse was different，try thinking about her wonderful qualities．Instead of complaining about your salary，be grateful that you have a job．Rather than wishing you were able to take a vacation to Hawaii，think of how much fun you have had close to home．The list of possibilities is endless．Each time you notice yourself falling into the “I wish life were different ” trap，back off and start over．Take a breath and remember all that you have to be grateful．When you focus not on what you want，but on what you have，you end up getting more of what you want anyway．If you focus on the good qualities of your spouse，she\'ll be more loving．If you are grateful for your job rather than complaining about it，you\'ll do a better job，be more productive，and probably end up getting a raise any way．If you focus on ways to enjoy yourself around home rather than waiting to enjoy yourself in Hawaii，you\'ll end up having more fun．If you ever do get to Hawaii，you\'ll be in the habit of enjoying yourself．And，if by some chance you don\' t，you\'ll have a great life anyway．
Make a note to yourself to start thinking more about what you have than what you want．If you do，your life will start appearing much better than before．For perhaps the first time in your life，you\'ll know what it means to feel satisfied．
In Bill Gates\' Book for high school and college graduates，there is a list of １１thing s they did not learn in school．In his book，Bill Gates talks about how feel－good，politically－correct teachings created a full generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this education set them up for failure in the real world．
The １１things are：
１．Life is not fair，get used to it．
２．The world won\' t care about your selfesteem1)．The world will expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself．
３．You will not make ４０thousand dollars a year right out of high school．You won\' t be a vice president with a car phone，until you earn both．
４．If you think your teacher is tough，wait till you get a boss．He doesn\'t have tenure2)．
５．Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity．Your grandparents had a different word for burger3) flipping；they called it opportunity．
６．If you mess up4)，it\'s not your parents\' fault，so don\' t whine about our mistakes，learn from them．
７．Before you were born，your parents weren\'t as boring as they are now．They got that way from paying your bills，cleaning your clothes an d listening to you talk about how cool you are．So before you save the rain forest from the parasites5) of your parents\' generation，try“delousing6)”the closet in your own room．
８．Your school may have done away with winners and losers，but life has not．In some schools they have abolished failing grades；they\'ll give you as many times as you want to get the right answer．This doesn\'t bear the slightest resemblance7) to anything in real life．
９．Life is not divided into semesters．You don\'t get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you find yourself．Do that on your own time．
１０．Television is NOT real life．In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs．
１１．Be nice to nerds．Chances are you\'ll end up working for one．
Are you dissatisfied with today\'s success? It is the harvest from yesterday\'s sowing. Do you dream of a golden morrow? You will reap what you are sowing today. We get out of life just what we put into it.
Nature takes on our moods: she laughs with those who laugh and weeps with those who weep. If we rejoice and are glad the very birds sing more sweetly, the woods and streams murmur our song. But if we are sad and sorrowful a sudden gloom falls upon Nature\'s face; the sun shines, but not in our hearts, the birds sing,but not to us.
The future will be just what we make it. Our purpose will give it its character
One\'s resolution is one\'s prophecy. Leave all your discouraging pessimism behind. Do not prophesy evil, but good. Men of hope come to the front.
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