A Happiness Nugget
Old Hank was a cowboy philosopher back in the gold rush days, known far and wide for his smile and twinkling eyes. He never struck it rich, and in his years he had seen some hard times. Enough of them, in fact, to have left a lesser man bitter and mean.
But Hank was no lesser man. He was strong and kind, capable and self-possessed in an easy-going, unassuming kind of way.
Men tipped their hats to him when he came into town, and offered to buy him breakfast just to enjoy his company.
Mostly they wanted to know how he kept his happy disposition after all the trials and tribulations he’d been through in his life. And this is the tale he told them:
“No point in being miserable. When you wallow in your troubles, they got you lassoed. You don’t get out of the desert by thinkin’ about how hot and thirsty you are. You picture the creek and green grass in the mountains up ahead. When you’re stuck in a blizzard, you focus on the fire and biscuits you’ll have when you get home. When you finally get there and have that fire going and those biscuits baking, that’s the time to wallow.”
“It’s kind of like panning for gold,” Hank would tell them. “You pay no attention to the rubble; you just keep on looking for that gleam. Then – when you find a nugget – that’s what you tuck it in your pouch and take home.”
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