Ray's Daily

Thank you Mary and Snjezana!

“Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean.”

Ryunosuke Satoro

When they said “It is an ill wind that blows no good,” I agreed. When they said “In every adverse situation there is a complimentary opportunity,” I wondered. But as the years have gone by I have found that it is almost always true that opportunity and often some good can come out of what at first appears to be a calamity.

My most recent example of how this is true has been the result of my need to find another way for some four hundred Google Group subscribers to get their copies of the Daily via e-mail. What I did was offer each of those subscribers the alternative of getting the Daily e-mailed directly from me or to find it on one of the many places where it is posted. That way we could stay connected until I set up another subscription service. What I was unprepared for was the response; here are excerpts from a couple of the notes I received.

This one is from a highly regarded doctor friend who I have not seen for 10 years or more. She is a special person who has worked under the most difficult situations for decades, the world is a better place due in part to Mary’s efforts. Here is what she wrote;

I have recently moved back to Geneva to take up a CDC posting with WHO.  So, I will be with WHO for at least 5 years.  This time, I am working on issues related to vaccinating children, and establishing surveillance systems that help the countries monitor the level of disease. 

Since I have started this job, I have been absolutely stunned to learn how poor the quality of hospital bacterial laboratories is globally.  In my work, we usually focus on the major paediatric hospital/s in a country…. and that hospital frequently does not have the capacity to identify bacteria properly.  Can you imagine?  Children with meningitis and so many bacterial diseases are just not being being treated as properly as possible, because the bacterial laboratories are in such poor shape. 

So, as with all things in life, it is a mixed message.  On the one hand, I am happy… in that what I am doing via the vaccines work helps to strengthen the general capacity of the bacterial laboratories.  That has such far reaching benefits for children (and frequently the adults).  But, on the other hand, I am appalled that in the year 2010 (and very soon to be 2011), the bacterial laboratory of so many major hospitals is so poor.  How can this be?

How are you doing?  I am following your health with a bit of worry. 

Take good care of yourself.   I really do appreciate your daily.  I look forward to it every day.  And, I file them away… so if I am having an off day, I can go through the list and pick one out at random and read it.  That really does help to lift my mood. 

Those of you who know me know how strongly I believe the solution to many of our problems will come from direct communications between people like you and me. Here is a small example of what is possible.

I like your writing. There’s wisdom but also laugh. And I don’t want to stay without it. Thank you.

When I received this message I asked the writer how we first became connected and here was the response:

Im from Croatia. When I was browsing web and kind of investigate google’s groups, just to see what is it, I bump into yours, read few, like it and decide to receive yours Daily. Simple, lol.

I saw on your last mail, that you also have fb profile but it would be a bit weird to sent friend request to someone who wouldn’t know who am I so I choose to send this note cose, like I said, I don’t want to stay without yours Daily. I even share some of your thoughts or jokes with my friends, 🙂

Warm regards from Croatia.

Snježana

There were other notes of a similar nature. I feel rewarded way beyond my expectations and paid more than I ever thought possible. Thank you all.

Ray

~~~

“People are lonely because they build walls instead of bridges.”

~~~

A meat counter clerk, who had had a particularly good day, proudly flipped his last chicken on a scale and weighed it.

“That will be $6.35,” he told the customer.

“That really is a little too small,” said the woman. “Don’t you have anything larger?”

Hesitating but thinking fast, the clerk returned the chicken to the refrigerator, paused a moment, then took it out again. “This one,” he said faintly, “will be $6.65.”

The woman paused for a moment, then made her decision.

“I know what,” she said, “I’ll take both of them!”

~~~

A Recently Spotted Bumper Sticker:

“The Ten Commandments Are Not Multiple Choice.”

GOD

~~~

A guy goes to the psychiatrist. “Doctor,” says the guy, “I feel as if I’m two different people! Two totally different personalities. Do you think I need help? Can you help me? Am I doing the right thing seeing a psychiatrist?”

“Whoah! Whoah! Whoah!” says the doc. “Please, one at a time.”

~~~

“Some people believe that holding on and hanging in there are signs of great strength.

However, there are times when it takes much more strength to know when to let go –  and then do it.”

Ann Landers

~~~

Flying home after visiting her daughter in England, she arranged to have her husband meet her plane at the Vancouver, B.C. airport.  This meant a stop at the border crossing between the United States and Canada, where her husband was asked: “What is your reason for entering the country?” and “How long are you planning to stay?”

He replied that he was picking his wife up at the airport after her trip to England.

Without missing a beat, the guard asked two more questions in the same businesslike tone: “Is the house clean?”  And, “Are there fresh flowers on the table?”

~~~

“The word ‘aerobics’ came about when the gym instructors got together and said: If we’re going to charge $10 an hour, we can’t call it Jumping up and down.”

Rita Rudner

~~~

A bishop discovered a tribe of Indians in the Yukon who had never recorded a baptism, confirmation or marriage. 

The bishop soon rectified the situation by baptizing everyone. He also married every beaming couple that walked by.

Later, the tribal chief told the Bishop the tribe had never had so much fun.

The bishop asked the chief which part they enjoyed the most. 

“The marriage service,” the chief said, smiling, “We all got new wives!”

~~~

Take the mystery out of driving….use your turn signal.

~~~

Molly was worried that her three-year-old son was unusually precocious, and took him to a psychiatrist. “Right,” said the shrink, “We’ll just try a few simple tests.” To Morris the boy, he said “Say a few words – anything that comes into your mind.” The boy turned to his mother and asked, “Does he want logically constructed sentences or just a few random and purely isolated words without any split infinitives?”

~~~

“People are like stained-glass windows. They sparkle and shine when the sun is out, but when the darkness sets in, their true beauty is revealed only if there is a light from within.”

Elisabeth Kubler-Ross

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

It’s off to work I go

“Your work is to discover your world and then with all your heart give yourself to it.”

Buddha

A friend said to me the other day that his family was concerned about his having enough to do after he retired. I should have offered him some of my stuff since I am a little capacity challenged right now. I know yesterday that I said it was a good idea to walk away from some of what is too much only to find myself trapped by must-be-dones. My current major job is finding a replacement distribution method for the hundreds of readers who have been receiving the Daily via Google Groups. Can you believe that Google is shutting down the service without even asking me if it was all right to do so.

Sometimes I think there was less work when I had a job especially since my opportunities-for-service cup runneth over. But I know this too will pass and all will be well in Rayland soon.

So why do it, you ask, why worry if a few hundred miss the Daily? It is because I don’t want to loose the connection with them. I have already heard from a number of my Google readers that I hold in high regard, some that I had not heard from for a year or more and now I have. Many are working to make the world a better place both here and abroad and if the Daily occasionally brightens their day then it is all worth it.

We all face tasks that seem too burdensome on occasion and it is then when we get to let them get us down or we use them to invigorate us to action. Here is something Ralph Marston wrote that says what I mean better than I can.

 A good enough reason

Give yourself a good enough reason and you can get yourself to do whatever must be done. Give yourself a meaningful enough reason why, and it will happen.

Make yourself an offer that you can’t refuse. Give yourself a reason that you cannot resist.

In an instant you can go from apathetic and unmotivated to enthusiastic and energetic. All you have to do is find that raw nerve of authentic desire, and touch it.

Allow yourself to want what you really want. Then allow yourself to be driven by that desire.

Every possibility is open to you. Latch on to one so positive and compelling that it won’t leave you alone until you make it happen.

Give yourself a good enough reason and you’ll give yourself plenty of motivation. Give yourself a good enough reason and you’ll have no trouble moving quickly and decisively forward.

~~~

“A positive attitude may not solve every problem but it makes solving any problem a more pleasant experience.”

Grant Fairley

~~~

After being interviewed by the school administration, the eager teaching prospect said: “Let me see if I’ve got this right.

You want me to go into that room with all those kids, and fill their every waking moment with a love for learning. And I’m supposed to instill a sense of pride in their ethnicity, modify their disruptive behavior, observe them for signs of abuse and even censor their T-shirt messages and dress habits.

“You want me to wage a war on drugs and sexually transmitted diseases, check their backpacks for weapons of mass destruction, and raise their self esteem. You want me to teach them patriotism, good citizenship, sportsmanship, fair play, how to register to vote, how to balance a checkbook, and how to apply for a job. “I am to check their heads for lice, maintain a safe environment, recognize signs of antisocial behavior, offer advice, write letters of recommendation for student employment and scholarships, encourage respect for the cultural diversity of others, and oh, make sure that I give the girls in my class fifty percent of my attention.

“My contract requires me to work on my own time after school, evenings and weekends grading papers. Also, I must spend my summer vacation at my own expense working toward advance certification and a Masters degree. And on my own time you want me to attend committee and faculty meetings, PTA meetings, and participate in staff development training. “I am to be a paragon of virtue, larger than life, such that my very presence will awe my students into being obedient and respectful of authority. And I am to pledge allegiance to family values and this current administration.

“You want me to incorporate technology into the learning experience, monitor web sites, and relate personally with each student. That includes deciding who might be potentially dangerous and/or liable to commit a crime in school. “I am to make sure all students pass the mandatory state exams, even those who don’t come to school regularly or complete any of their assignments. Plus, I am to make sure that all of the students with handicaps get an equal education regardless of the extent of their mental or physical handicap. And I am to communicate regularly with the parents by letter, telephone, newsletter and report card.

“All of this I am to do with just a piece of chalk, a computer, a few books, a bulletin board, a big smile AND on a starting salary that qualifies my family for food stamps! “You want me to do all of this and yet you expect me. . . . . . .NOT TO PRAY?”

~~~

“Dreaming permits each and every one of us to be quietly and safely insane every night of our lives.”

Charles William Dement

~~~

Top Ten Reasons Why It’s Great To Be A Dog

1. If it itches, you can reach it, no matter where it itches.

2. No one notices if you have hair growing in weird places as you get older.

3. Personal hygiene is a blast: No one expects you to take a bath every day, and you don’t even have to comb your own hair.

4. Having a wet nose is considered a sign of good health.

5. No one thinks less of you for burping. Some people might actually think you’re cute.

6. Who needs a big home entertainment system? A bone or an old shoe can entertain you for hours.

7. You can spend hours just smelling stuff.

8. No one ever expects you to pay for lunch or dinner. You never have to worry about table manners, and if you gain weight, it’s someone else’s fault.

9. It doesn’t take much to make you happy. You’re always excited to see the same old people. All they have to do is leave the room for five minutes and come back.

10. Every garbage can looks like a cold buffet to you.

~~~

Commonsense and good nature will do a lot to make the pilgrimage of life not too difficult.

W. Somerset Maugham

~~~

An astronomer is on an expedition to Africa to observe a total eclipse of the sun. He’s captured by cannibals. The eclipse is due the next day around noon. To gain his freedom he plans to pose as a god and threaten to extinguish the sun if he’s not released, but his timing has to be perfect. So, in the few words of the cannibals’ primitive tongue that he knows, he asks his guard when they plan to kill him.

The guard’s answer is, “Tradition has it that captives are to be killed when the sun reaches the highest point in the sky on the day after their capture so that they may be cooked and ready to be served for the evening meal.”

“Great,” the astronomer replies.

The guard continues. “But because everyone’s so excited about it, in your case we’re going to wait until after the eclipse.”

~~~

Far and away the best prize that life has to offer is the chance to work hard at work worth doing.

Theodore Roosevelt

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

I care for you too much to say yes!

The driver knows how much the ox can carry, and keeps the ox from being overloaded. You know your way and your state of mind. Do not carry too much.

Zen saying

I recently had breakfast with a friend who reported that his commitments and obligations had gotten to be more than he could handle. The load had become so heavy that it was getting him down and affecting his ability to perform as well as his mental state. He, like so many others I know, has a great heart and wants to help everyone. For him it is almost impossible to say no even when he knows he should.

I understood his plight having taken on more than I could handle many times in my past which resulted in my missing deadlines, not performing well and even worse, sometimes failing completely. Neither my friend nor I do anyone any favors when we say yes and promise more than we can deliver. Fortunately I seem to have learned my lesson some time ago and have been pretty good at excess promise avoidance.

The difficulty my friend faced was that many wise folks advised him to select a few things he wanted to do and could do and then drop the rest. As you probably know that is easier said than done, it is hard to tell people you care about that you are going to renege on a commitment. And in my friends case having to face the need to do so created great personal anguish. He told me, “Folks tell you to just walk away but they don’t tell you anything about how to do it without destroying relationships.

His concerns resulted in our discussing the fact that there needs to be an exit strategy tailored to each situation. Our conversation helped us to see how an empathetic timed withdrawal coupled with an offering to assist in identifying other resources could make a positive difference. At least one of his situations that would benefit greatly from his assistance can still be done well if the others are willing to move the deadlines back.

It is never easy to say no, it is especially difficult to reverse a yes, but the price for not doing so is often too great a price to pay. But having to say no does not mean that you need to do it without doing it well. It is so much better to exit gracefully than it is to run for the exit without looking back.

~~~

Sometimes it seems your ever-increasing list of things to do can leave you feeling totally undone.

Susan Mitchell and Catherine Christie, I’d Kill for a Cookie

~~~

Passengers on a Continental airliner are waiting for the flight to leave; they’re getting a little impatient, but the airport staff has assured them that the pilots will be there soon, and the flight can take off immediately after that.  The entrance opens, and two men walk up the aisle, dressed in pilots’ uniforms–both are wearing dark glasses, one is using a seeing-eye dog, and the other is tapping his way up the aisle with a cane.

Nervous laughter spreads through the cabin; but the pilots enter the cockpit, the door closes, and the engines start up.  The passengers begin glancing nervously around, searching for some sign that this is just a little practical joke.  None is forthcoming. The plane moves faster and faster down the runway, and people at the windows realize that they’re headed straight for the water at the edge of the airport territory. As it begins to look as though the plane will never take off, that it will plow into the water, panicked screams fill the cabin–but at that moment, the plane lifts smoothly into the air.

The passengers relax and laugh a little sheepishly, and soon they have all retreated into their magazines, secure in the knowledge that the plane is in good hands.  Up in the cockpit, the copilot turns to the pilot and says, “You know, Darrel, one of these days, they’re going to scream too late, and we’re all gonna die.”

~~~

I’m not tense, just terribly A*L*E*R*T!!

~~~

HOW TO IDENTIFY WHERE A DRIVER IS FROM

One hand on wheel, one hand on horn: New York

One hand on wheel, one finger out window: Chicago

One hand on wheel, one hand on newspaper, foot solidly on accelerator: Boston

One hand on wheel, one hand cradling cell phone, brick on accelerator: California; with gun in lap: L.A.

Both hands on wheel, eyes shut, both feet on brake, quivering in terror: Ohio, but driving in California.

One hand on latte, one knee on wheel, one hand cradling cell phone, foot on brake, mind on game: Seattle

One hand on wheel, one hand on hunting rifle, alternating between both feet being on the accelerator and both on the brake, throwing a McDonalds bag out the window: Texas city male

One hand on wheel, one hand hanging out the window, keeping speed steadily at 70mph, driving down the center of the road unless coming around a blind curve, in which case they are on the left side of the road: Texas country male

Both hands on steering wheel in a relaxed posture, eyes constantly checking the rear-view mirror to watch for visible emissions from their own or another’s car: Colorado

Two hands gripping wheel, blue hair barely visible above window level, driving 35 on the interstate in the left lane with the left blinker on: Florida.

~~~

If I were here more often, I wouldn’t be gone so much.

~~~

A wife, one evening, drew her husband’s attention to the couple next door and said, “Do you see that couple?  How devoted they are?  He kisses her every time they meet. Why don’t you do that?”

“I would love to,” replied the husband, “but I don’t know her well enough.”

~~~

Sign at a railroad station:

“Beware! To touch these wires is instant death. Anyone found doing so will be prosecuted.”

~~~

HONOR SYSTEM VIRUS

This virus works on the honor system:

Please forward this message to everyone in your address book.

Now delete all the files from your hard disk.

Thank you for your cooperation.

~~~

If you have nothing to do, don’t do it here.

~~~

Did you know that:

In every episode of Seinfeld there is a Superman somewhere.

Average life span of a major league baseball: 7 pitches.

A duck’s quack doesn’t echo, and no one knows why.

The only 15 letter word that can be spelled without repeating a letter is uncopyrightable.

           I know, who cares?

~~~

If at first you don’t succeed, redefine success.

~~~

The flight home from a recent business trip was pretty empty. So, the pilot made a simple request of the passengers.

“We have a little extra room tonight, folks,” he said over the PA system. “So, if you wouldn’t mind, please take a window seat so that the competition thinks the plane is full.”

~~~

Is everything as urgent as your stress would imply?

Carrie Latet

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

You can’t enjoy what you don’t see!

“It’s not because things are difficult that we dare not venture.

It’s because we dare not venture that they are difficult.”

Seneca

Recently two different friends shared with me that they were not very happy and that their lives had become uninteresting and routine. Their friends had drifted away and their lives now were dominated by their job and boring leisure time. It sounded to me that they had become prisoners with their offices being their cell and their homes their recreation yard.

As I heard their stories I could understand their depression, I know I would go bonkers if I lived the restricted life they said they did. What surprised me is that both of my friends are smart and in the prime of life. I always enjoy my time with them as they are always interesting and reward me with stimulating conversation so I was shocked by their reported loneliness.

It is hard to understand why folks who don’t really have to lock themselves away from a world full of great offerings end up doing so. In both cases I asked why they did not get out more, especially since we live in a city with many things to do everyday where most can be done by oneself requiring little or no money. Both reported their reason for not doing so was that they did not read about anything they thought they would like, and that my friends almost guarantees that happiness will continue to allude them. I can promise you that you will never enjoy something if you don’t go to see it and I can assure you that you will never find new and stimulating friends if you keep yourself in solitary confinement.

I know in my case great things happened when I decided that I did not need to prescreen an event or opportunity in order to see if it matched my fantasies. When I started to attend theatre and lecture series that included offerings that I never would have thought I would like I found that my boundaries extended and my interests broadened. When I started to show up in places where good and smart people hung out I found friendships that I never would have made if I had not been there. I have learned that life can be a wonderful adventure filled with exciting discoveries, but only if you leave the confines you impose upon yourself.

Ralph Marston sent what I viewed as a challenge last spring when he wrote that happiness is a choice, something you don’t chase but let happen. While I agree you can’t chase it, it is hard to find it if you only hang out where it does not exist. Here is what he wrote:

Choose to be happy

If you chase happiness, it will run away faster than you can catch up with it. Why is that?

Because when you strive to create happiness, that very act of striving pushes the happiness away. The more you want it, the less you have of it.

Happiness is not something you can go out and get. Real happiness does not have to depend on creating a certain set of circumstances.

Happiness is a way you can choose to be. And you can simply choose it at any time, in any circumstance.

When you do, you instantly become more creative and effective, more authentic and fully alive. Living from a perspective of happiness, you’re able to live at your best because you see positive value everywhere you look.

Stop striving to get happiness and just choose to be happy, right where you are. Give your happiness to life, and watch as its positive power fills your world.

~~~

“It is impossible to win the race unless you venture to run, impossible to win the victory unless you dare to battle.”

Richard M. DeVos

~~~

As he lay on his deathbed, the man confided to his wife, “I cannot die without telling you the truth.  I cheated on you throughout our whole marriage. All those nights when I told you I was working late, I was with other women. And not just one woman either, but I’ve been with dozens of them.”

His wife looked at him calmly and said, “Why do you think I gave you the poison?”

~~~

The sooner you fall behind, the more time you’ll have to catch up.

~~~

The kids said:

“If you want to be loved by somebody who isn’t already in your family, it doesn’t hurt to be beautiful.” — Anita, age 8

“Beauty is skin deep. But how rich you are can last a long time.” — Christine, age 9

“It isn’t always how you look. Look at me. I’m handsome like anything, and I haven’t got anybody to marry me yet.” — Brian, age 7

~~~

The Trouble With the Gene Pool Is That There’s No Lifeguard

~~~

Things they told me:

1. Thank you. We’re all refreshed and challenged by your unique point of view.

2. I don’t know what your problem is, but I’ll bet it’s hard to pronounce.

3. I like you You remind me of when I was young and stupid.

4. I’m not being rude You’re just insignificant.

5. Ahhh, I see the screw-up fairy has visited us again.

6. I will always cherish the initial misconceptions I had about you.

7. Yes, I am an agent of Satan, but my duties are largely ceremonial.

8. How about never? Is never good for you?

9. I’m really easy to get along with once you people learn to worship me.

10. You sound reasonable: Time to up my medication.

11. I’ll try being nicer if you’ll try being smarter.

12. I’m out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message.

13. I don’t work here. I’m a consultant.

14. Who me? I just wander from room to room.

15. It might look like I’m doing nothing, but at the cellular level I’m really quite busy.

16. At least I have a positive attitude about my destructive habits.

17. You are validating my inherent mistrust of strangers.

18. I see you’ve set aside this special time to humiliate yourself in public.

~~~

Better living through denial.

~~~

A guy is walking down the street with his friend. He says to

his friend, “I’m a walking economy.”

His friend replies, “How’s that?”

“It’s like this: My hair line is in recession, my stomach is a victim of inflation, and the combination of these factors is putting me into a deep depression.”

~~~

Adults are just kids who owe money.

~~~

As I was driving home from work one day, I stopped to watch a local Little League baseball game that was being played in a park near my home. As I sat down behind the bench on the first-baseline, I asked one of the boys what the score was.

“We’re behind 14 to nothing,” he answered with a smile.

“Really,” I said. “I have to say you don’t look very discouraged.”

“Discouraged?” the boy asked with a puzzled look on his face. “Why should we be discouraged? We haven’t been up to bat yet.”

~~~

“I just recently had my Visa card stolen … Right now it’s everywhere I want to be.”

Scott Wood

~~~

A guy had been feeling down for so long that he finally decided to seek the aid of a psychiatrist.

He went there, laid on the couch, spilled his guts then waited for the profound wisdom of the psychiatrist to make him feel better. The psychiatrist asked me a few questions, took some notes then sat thinking in silence for a few minutes with a puzzled look on his face.

Suddenly, he looked up with an expression of delight and said, “Um, I think your problem is low self-esteem. It is very common among losers.”

~~~

“I see my path, but I don’t know where it leads.

Not knowing where I’m going is what inspires me to travel it.”

Rosalia de Castro

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Happy?

The Constitution only guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.  You have to catch it yourself.

Benjamin Franklin

I wish there were more people who learned that they have the ability to live happier lives. Just getting through life can be challenging but at the same time rewarding and even fun. I just would like to see more of us recognized that we overlook far too many of the good things we have and experience. It boggles my mind sometimes when I see folks who seem to have unconsciously chosen to be unhappy by focusing their thoughts and energy on what’s wrong to the extent that they can’t see what’s right. To a large degree I think happiness is a matter of choice.

Not long ago a personal growth observer, Warren Wojnowski offered five tip’s on how to make our lives work better. What he suggests can go a long way in developing a happier life. Here is what he wrote in part:

5 Simple Ways It Makes Your Life Work Better

When was the last time you actually, deliberately stopped and decided it was time to make your happiness a priority for yourself? If you’re like most people, it has been a very long time because for the most part, you are placing all of your time, energy, and focus on all of the things you feel you have to do. No doubt you have heard the phrase “change the way you look at things, and the things you look at change.” Well… here’s a novel suggestion. If you’d like to make your life work better, start focusing on your happiness instead of the absence of it. Consider the following five ways in which by you focusing your thought and attention on what makes you happy — and making a point of looking for and acknowledging those things each day — you will begin to notice things working better in your life.

 1. You’ll be more attractive to others. As you place your focus and attention on what’s right and what’s working in your life, you immediately start to feel a little bit better. Because you feel better, you begin to behave and carry yourself differently. And that shift in how you carry yourself makes you much more attractive to others, which means you’re going to start receiving more invitations, more opportunities, and more things that are working well for you.

2. Your relationships will work better. Because you are carrying yourself differently, you begin to come across as friendlier, and you’ll find that you’re better able to listen because you’re not so preoccupied with what isn’t working.

3. Your job or business performance will improve. Your shift in focus carries benefits over to your overall work performance. You will find yourself thinking more clearly, more alert, and making better decisions.

4. Your health will improve. Because you are feeling happier as you place your attention on what is working, a whole set of physiological changes start to occur. Your blood pressure lowers. Your blood flow improves. Your immune system starts working better. These all have a positive impact on the state of your health.

5. You will start to have more flow. By law of attraction, you attract more of what you focus upon. Since you have repositioned your focus and attention on your happiness rather than your unhappiness, guess what happens? You get more of the things that are working better. And now you’ve got a positive spiral that you’ve started that is going to deliver more flow and positive momentum into your life going forward.

Think about it, who would you prefer to be with an unhappy person or a happy person? Pleasant people live and unpleasant people exist, I choose to live, what about you?

~~~

What a wonderful life I’ve had!  I only wish I’d realized it sooner.

Colette

~~~

Religious Thought

1. Some people are kind, polite, and sweet-spirited-until you try to sit in their pews.

2. Many folks want to serve God, but only as advisers.

3. It is easier to preach ten sermons than it is to live one.

4. The good Lord didn’t create anything without a purpose, but mosquitoes come close.

5. When you get to your wit’s end, you’ll find God lives there.

6. People are funny, they want the front of the bus, the middle of the road, and the back of the church.

7. Opportunity may knock once, but temptation bangs on your front door forever.

8. Quit griping about your church; if it was perfect, you couldn’t belong.

9. The phrase that is guaranteed to wake up an audience: “And in conclusion.”

10. If the church wants a better pastor, it only needs to pray for the one it has.

11. Not only are the sins of the fathers visited upon the children, but nowadays the sins of the children are visited upon the fathers.

12. God Himself does not propose to judge a man until he is dead. So why should you?

13. To make a long story short, don’t tell it.

14. If your left hand doesn’t know what your right hand is doing, you should consider running for a job in Washington, DC.

15. Some minds are like concrete, thoroughly mixed up and permanently set.

16. Peace starts with a smile.

17. I don’t know why some people change churches; what difference does it make which one you stay home from?

18. A lot of church members who are singing “Standing on the Promises” are just sitting on the premises.

19. We were called to be witnesses, not lawyers or judges.

20. Outside of traffic, there is nothing that holds this country back as much as committees.

~~~

For people who like peace and quiet – a phoneless cord.

~~~

Two youngsters were walking home from Sunday School, each deep in his own thoughts. Finally one said, “What do you think about all this devil business we studied today?”

The other boy replied thoughtfully, “Well, you know how Santa Claus turned out. This is probably just your Dad, too…”

~~~

Accept no one’s definition of your life, but define yourself.

Harvey Fierstein

~~~

“When a woman says she’ll be ready to go out in five more minutes, she’s using the same meaning of time as when a man says the football game just has five minutes left. Neither of them is counting time outs, commercials, or replays.”

~~~

“There are bigger things in life than money — bills, for instance.”

~~~

Ronnie volunteered to strip the bricks from the exterior of his parent’s house.  One morning he was out front chipping away when a man came by looking for his father.

“He’s not here,” Ronnie said.

The man thanked him, watched him remove a few more bricks, and said, “I’ll bet next time they’ll leave the key for you.”

~~~

We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.

Frederick Keonig

~~~

Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

 Indianapolis, Indiana

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