Mr.Palmer lives at 30，19th Avenue，Paterson，New Jersey.“Shortly after I returned from the Army，”he said，“I started in business for myself.I worked hard day and night.Things were going nicely.Then trouble started.I couldn’t get parts and materials.I was afraid I would have to give up my business.I worried so much that I changed from a regular guy into an old grouch.I became so sour and cross that well，I didn’t know it then；but I now realise that I came very near to losing my happy home.Then one day a young，disabled veteran who works for me said：‘Johnny，you ought to be ashamed of yourself.You take on as if you were the only person in the world with troubles.Suppose you do have to shut up shop for a while—so what？You can start up again when things get normal.You’ve got a lot to be thankful for.Yet you are always growling.Boy，how I wish I were in your shoes！Look at me.I’ve got only one arm，and half of my face is shot away，and yet I am not complaining.If you don’t stop your growling and grumbling，you will lose not only your business，but also your health，your home，and your friends！’
“Those remarks stopped me dead in my tracks.They made me realise how well off I was.I resolved then and there that I would change and be my old self again—and I did.”
A friend of mine，Lucile Blake，had to tremble on the edge of tragedy before she learned to be happy about what she had instead of worrying over what she lacked.I met Lucile years ago，when we were both studying short-story writing in the Columbia University School of Journalism.Nine years ago，she got the shock of her life.She was living then in Tucson，Arizonia.She had—well，here is the story as she told it to me：
“I had been living in a whirl：studying the organ at the University of Arizona，conducting a speech clinic in town，and teaching a class in musical appreciation at the Desert Willow Ranch，where I was staying.I was going in for parties，dances，horseback rides under the stars.One morning I collapsed.My heart！‘You will have to lie in bed for a year of complete rest，’the doctor said.He didn’t encourage me to believe I would ever be strong again.
“In bed for a year！To be an invalid—perhaps to die！I was terror-stricken！Why did all this have to happen to me？What had I done to deserve it？I wept and wailed.I was bitter and rebellious.But I did go to bed as the doctor advised.A neighbour of mine，Mr.Rudolf，an artist，said to me：‘You think now that spending a year in bed will be a tragedy.But it won’t be.You will have time to think and get acquainted with yourself.You will make more spiritual growth in these next few months than you have made during all your previous life.’I became calmer，and tried to develop a new sense of values.I read books of inspiration.One day I heard a radio commentator say：‘You can express only what is in your own consciousness.’I had heard words like these many times before，but now they reached down inside me and took root.I resolved to think only the thoughts I wanted to live by：thoughts of joy，happiness，health.I forced myself each morning，as soon as I awoke，to go over all the things I had to be grateful for.No pain.A lovely young daughter.My eyesight.My hearing.Lovely music on the radio.Time to read.Good food.Good friends.I was so cheerful and had so many visitors that the doctor put up a sign saying that only one visitor at a time would be allowed in my cabin—and only at certain hours.
“Nine years have passed since then，and I now lead a full，active life.I am deeply grateful now for that year I spent in bed.
It was the most valuable and the happiest year I spent in Arizona.The habit I formed then of counting my blessings each morning still remains with me.It is one of my most precious possessions.I am ashamed to realise that I never really learned to live until I feared I was going to die.”
My dear Lucile Blake，you may not realise it，but you learned the same lesson that Dr.Samuel Johnson learned two hundred years ago.“The habit of looking on the best side of every event，”said Dr.Johnson，“is worth more than a thousand pounds a year.”Those words were uttered，mind you，not by a professional optimist，but by a man who had known anxiety，rags，and hunger for twenty years—and finally became one of the most eminent writers of his generation and the most celebratedconversationalist of all time.
Logan Pearsall Smith packed a lot of wisdom into a few words when he said：“There are two things to aim at in life：first，to get what you want；and，after that，to enjoy it.Only the wisest of mankind achieve the second.”
Would you like to know how to make even dishwashing at the kitchen sink a thrilling experience？If so，read an inspiring book of incredible courage by Borghild Dahl.It is called I Wanted to See.
This book was written by a woman who was practically blind for half a century.“I had only one eye，”she writes，“and it was so covered with dense scars that I had to do all my seeing through one small opening in the left of the eye.I could see a book only by holding it up close to my face and by straining my one eye as hard as I could to the left.”
But she refused to be pitied，refused to be considered “different”.As a child，she wanted to play hopscotch with other children，but she couldn’t see the markings.So after the otherchildren had gone home，she got down on the ground and crawled along with her eyes near to the marks.She memorised every bit of the ground where she and her friends played and soon became an expert at running games.She did her reading at home，holding a book of large print so close to her eyes that her eyelashes brushed the pages.She earned two college degrees：an A B.from the University of Minnesota and a Master of Arts from Columbia University.