Ray's Daily

Appreciate what you have, before time teaches you to appreciate what you had.

The other day I suggested how much benefit we can derive from living simpler lives. I recommended that we really don’t need the flashiest, fastest, or most fashionable whatever’s to enjoy life. I included a story that suggested that we are often mislead by the wrappings when it is the contents of the box that matters. The bottom line is that I think we take for granted so much of what we have without appreciating their value leaving us vulnerable to searching for something more than we need.

Here are excerpts from an article written by Mike Robbins that holds an answer that can make many of our lives better than we ever thought possible.

Want What You Have

Recently someone said to me, “Mike, I read the best book of my life a few years ago. It only had four words in it, ‘want what you have’.” As simple of a concept as this is, I was struck by its wisdom and began to think about it in my own life. Sadly, as I thought about it more deeply, I realized that I put more of my attention and energy than I’d like to admit on either wanting things I don’t yet have or thinking that some of what I have isn’t quite good enough the way it is. Can you relate?

How much of what you have in your life do you truly want (i.e. desire and choose)? How much time and energy do you spend wishing things were different, or that you had a little more of this and a little less of that?

While the circumstances of our lives – both “positive” and “negative” – do have an impact on us, the truth is that we always have a choice about how we relate to our circumstances and to ourselves in the process. A great job, big house, large amount of money, fit body, incredible relationship, or anything else we say we want, can’t and won’t make us happy if we don’t choose to be. In other words, to create an authentic sense of fulfillment in life, we have to learn how to want what we already have in our lives with gratitude.

Wanting what we have doesn’t mean everything is “perfect” in our lives, which is almost never the case, or that we can’t desire for things to change or evolve in a way we deem positive. It simply means we choose to accept what we have in our life, right now, with a sense of gratitude and surrender.

Surrendering is not about complacency, weakness, or giving up – it’s about learning to make peace with life as it is. It’s important for us to remember that the passion, joy, and fulfillment we experience doesn’t come from life itself, it comes from us and our ability to accept, appreciate, and celebrate what we have in our lives.

By putting more of our attention on wanting what we already have, and less attention on fixing things or wanting what we don’t yet have, we can create a deep sense of peace and joy in our lives, our work, and our relationships, which, more than most specific outcomes or material possessions, is what most of us truly want anyway.

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“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

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You Know Your Church Is A Redneck Church if . .

The finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.

When the pastor says, “I’d like to ask Bubba to help take up the offering,” five guys and two women stand up.

Opening day of deer season is recognized as an official church holiday.

The choir is known as the “OK Chorale”.

In a congregation of 500 members, there are only seven last names in the church directory.

Baptism is referred to as “branding”.

People think “rapture” is what you get when you lift something too heavy.

The minister and his wife drive matching pickup trucks.

The service wine is Boone’s Farm “Tickled Pink”.

The final words of the benediction are, “Y’all come back now, ya hear?”

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Q: Why are so many Jewish girls still single these days?

A: They have not yet met Dr. Right.

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A man said to his wife one day, “I don’t know how you can be so stupid and so beautiful all at the same time.” The wife responded, “Allow me to explain it to you. God made me beautiful so you would be attracted to me; God made me stupid so I would be attracted to you!”

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I know I got a lot of exercise the last few years, just getting over the hill was enough.

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The math teacher posed this problem, “A wealthy man dies and leaves ten million dollars. One-fifth is to go to his wife, one-fifth is to go to his son, one-sixth to his butler, and the rest to charity. Now, what does each get?”

The savvy student answered, “A lawyer!”

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Success never rests. On your worst days, be good. And on your best days, be great. And on every other day, get better.

Carmen Mariano

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The U.S. Treasury announced it is recalling all of the Alabama quarters that are part of its program featuring quarters from each state. The quarters are being issued in the order in which the various states joined the U.S. “We are recalling all the new Alabama quarters that were recently issued,” Treasury Undersecretary Jack Shackleford said Monday.

“This action is being taken after numerous reports that new quarters will not work in parking meters, toll booths, vending machines, pay phones, or other coin-operated devices.” “The problem lies in a design flaw,” Shackleford said.

The winning design was submitted by an Auburn University student. “Apparently,” Shackleford said, “the duct tape holding the two dimes and nickel together keeps jamming the coin-operated devices.”

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Keep a green tree alive in your heart and a songbird may come to sing there.

Chinese Proverb

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A factory owner said to a store owner, “Thank you, Mr. Smith, for your patronage. I wish I had twenty customers like you.”

“Gosh, it’s nice to hear that, but I’m kind of surprised,” admitted Smith. “You know that I argue every bill and always pay late.”

The factory owner said, “I’d still like twenty customers like you. The problem is, I have two hundred.”

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“Life is full of beauty. Notice it. Notice the bumble bee, the small child, and the smiling faces. Smell the rain, and feel the wind. Live your life to the fullest potential, and fight for your dreams.”

Ashley Smith

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Stay well, do good work, and have fun.

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.

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