Posted: Sunday, February 1, 2009 7:15 am

Many years ago I was a college intern in a large office building. On the first floor, near the elevators, there was a fruit and snack vendor. Since I passed there daily, I always spoke with the gentleman that operated the stand.

He greeted me every morning with a contagious smile. We would talk briefly about the day’s events. I once complimented him on his constantly bright attitude and asked him why he seemed so happy.

“Because I am happy!” he exclaimed. “I’m happy because I spend my day polishing apples.” I initially thought he was being somewhat sarcastic and then realized there was more to his answer. I stopped to listen to his explanation.

“I am very fortunate to be allowed to operate my business in such a great place, to meet such wonderful people, and enjoy the satisfaction of providing a service that people appreciate. I look forward to getting here each morning. I haven’t missed a day’s work for more than 20 years.

“But what about apples, why is polishing apples so rewarding?” I asked.

“I enjoy polishing these apples because each one reminds me of something wonderful in my life.”

He chose a deep red apple and began gently polishing it with a cloth he pulled from his pocket. Soon, the luster of the apple began to appear. “This one reminds me of my beautiful wife. She has been so good to me for so many years. She and I have been through tough times and easy times, and she always had faith in me.

“This one reminds me of our first child, my oldest daughter. She lives in Georgia now, and she is married and has three children. She has become such a wonderful young lady and her Daddy is so proud of her. She was the first child in my family to ever attend college.”

On he went, as he recounted his three children and their spouses and children, including a son that had run into trouble and spent time in jail. He expressed his thankfulness that the son was getting his life back on track. “He’s realized how precious life is and is working to learn how to give.”

I thanked him for his illustration of how polishing apples can be rewarding and was about to say goodbye and turn away.

“Wait!” he interrupted, “I want you to understand. You are a nice young man and I want you to understand how to be happy. Most people spend way too much time trying to polish bananas and they miss the joy of life.”

He held a banana and said, “Bananas are like the troubles in your life. You can’t polish a banana. You’re just wasting your time. Most people spend hours and hours worrying about their troubles or complaining about the things that bother them in life. That’s like me sitting here and spending my day trying to polish the bananas … it won’t do any good. You can’t fix anything by worrying or complaining.

“It’s best to just leave the bananas alone. Spend your time polishing the apples. The apples are the gifts and blessings that God gives you. Spend your time polishing your apples and you’ll never have an unhappy day.”

I’ve thought about that conversation dozens of times in my life. I appreciate that man taking the time to try to teach me an important lesson. I’ve had to re-learn that lesson repeatedly. I’m still trying to get it right.

Most people do spend too much time focusing on the annoying or disappointing aspects of life. Some people are waiting for things to turn around so that they can be happy. You know them. “I’ll be happy when this or that happens.” Or they hope someone else will make them happy. Meanwhile they continue to spend time and energy perpetuating their misery.

Someone once told me that we draw the things we think about near to us. If we worry, life brings disappointments that fulfill our expectations. If we rejoice in the blessings in life, we will be rewarded with more.

I’m thankful for the lesson of polishing the apples in my life.

Dr. Mark Kestner
mkestner@DrKestner.com