“Life is wonderful!”

I had a friend whose catch-phrase was “Life is wonderful!”

You may think he was one of those annoyingly jolly people who had no idea how others suffer.

Not so. He was a Jew. In Austria. In 1938.

While dreadful things were happening to his family and friends, he was fortunate that he was able to escape Vienna with his life. He arrived in England and was promptly confined to a camp in the Lake District, which is where the government of the time parked the influx of foreigners who may or may not have been dangerous spies.

The camp was full of others like him - musicians, artists, scientists. So what did they do? They formed string quartets, chamber groups, even an orchestra! They took what they had and made it into something special.

And what they all had in common was their lives, and a deep gratitude for having been given sanctuary.

So after that, Hans could always find the good in any situation! Nothing could ever be as bad as what he and his family had gone through, had witnessed.

And when he said “Life is wonderful!” he said it with fervour and deep appreciation.

Fortunately, most of us will never have to endure what my friend Hans did. For most of us, our moans and complaints are about relatively insignificant things - disturbances rather than disasters; complications rather than catastrophes. 

We can learn from Hans’s fortitude!

We can model his approach, and truly celebrate what is good in our lives.

What is one thing you can be appreciative of today - however big or small? You can see in the image above, a little snow on my gatepost inspired me when it was freezing cold!

What one thing do you think is wonderful today?

Tell us in the comments below ..

And to meet other likeminded souls, join us in Creativity Central, and make this your best year ever!