Ray's Daily

“It is through cooperation, rather than conflict, that your greatest successes will be derived”

I was on a field trip to Ohio yesterday and did not return until late last night and had an early meeting this morning. I did not even make it to the Gym for my daily exercise. I hope you’ll understand why another reprint.

Ray’s Daily first published on November 15, 2007

We just had a local election in my city and the incumbents lost in what appeared to be a tax protest. Many in our community like so many other communities wants the services they like continued and paid for but only those and not those that others favor. The result is a polarization between those who consider only their own needs and those that support investments that contribute to the quality of life of the total community.

Similarly as I observe the national polarization as expressed in the current political debates and in Washington I get concerned that we are slipping into an “us guys – those guys” mindset that drives us to the view that those guys are always wrong and always will be and there is no use ever considering their point of view since us guys are never wrong. I think we are getting in deep trouble when we think that everything is a war that requires that those who don’t agree with us unconditionally surrender.

I think we need to continuously ask ourselves if we really want the other guys to be wrong. Is it more important that they fail trying to do the right thing or that they succeed. What I am trying to say is that far too many of us find it easier to live in a black and white world and then to defend our choices beyond reason. Is it our ego that makes us need to always feel we are right versus revisiting what we thought to see if we really are. Is our need to always be right more important than supporting the right thing even when it is done by others?

I think I may have written about this recently but I needed to do it again. I truly hope I am wrong about the people I voted against in the election. I want them to keep my city safe, vibrant and thriving for while if they fail to do so I might have been right in voting against them but it would come at too high a price. I will keep an open mind, cheer their good works, help when I can, and let them know when I have a concern.

Yes my friends I really do hope I was wrong and I will be glad to be proven so. I hope you too will eye results instead of who got them. We need to quit beating each other up and start doing good together.

Ray

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“The only thing that will redeem mankind is cooperation.”

Bertrand Russell

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A little girl was observed by her pastor standing outside the pre-school Sunday School classroom between Sunday School and worship, waiting for her parents to come and pick her up for “big church.”

The pastor noticed that she clutched a big storybook under her arms with the obvious title, “Jonah and the Whale.” Feeling a little pernicious, he knelt down beside the little girl and began a conversation. “What’s that you have in your hand?” he asked.

“This is my storybook about Jonah and the Whale,” she answered.

“Tell me something, little girl,” he continued, “do you believe that story about Jonah and that whale to be the truth?”

The little girl implored, “Why of course I believe this story to be the truth!”

He inquired further, “You really believe that a man can be swallowed up by a big whale, stay inside him all that time, and come out of there still alive and OK? You really believe all that can be true?”

She declared, “Absolutely, this story is in the Bible and we studied about it in Sunday School today!”

Then the pastor asked, “Well, little girl, can you prove to me that this story is the truth?”

She thought for a moment and then said, “Well, when I get to Heaven, I’ll ask Jonah.”

The pastor then asked, “Well, what if Jonah’s not in Heaven?”

She then put her hands on her little hips and sternly declared, “Then YOU can ask him!”

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A characteristic of the normal child is he doesn’t act that way very often.

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MEN’S LANGUAGE TRANSLATED

“I’m hungry.” = I’m hungry.

“I’m sleepy.” = I’m sleepy.

“I’m tired.”= I’m tired.

“Nice dress!” = Nice cleavage!

“What’s wrong?” = I don’t see why you are making such a big deal out of this.

“What’s wrong?” = What meaningless self-inflicted psychological trauma are you going through now?

“What’s wrong?” = I guess sex tonight is out of the question.

“Yes, I like the way you cut your hair.” = I liked it better before.

“Yes, I like the way you cut your hair.” = $50 and it doesn’t look that much different!

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A light heart lives long.

~~~

She said:

If I am trying to sleep, it’s because I am exhausted from my almost super-human level of daily achievement; if he is trying to sleep it’s because he is lazy.

No matter what the activity, he doesn’t do it as well as my past boyfriend.

If he pays attention to me, he is smothering me. If he gives me space, he is ignoring me.

I demand to be treated as an equal in everything – except when paying for meals, airplane tickets, concerts, beers, clothes, etc. – these are required gifts proving his love.

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I’m so broke, I can’t even pay attention.

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KNOW YOUR GETTING OLDER WHEN:

You know all the answers but nobody asks you any questions.

You get winded playing checkers.

You need a fire permit to light all of your birthday candles and you need oxygen after blowing them out.

You order Geritol on the rocks.

You sink your teeth into a thick steak and they stay there.

You stop to think and forget to start again.

You don’t need an alarm clock to get up with the chickens.

Your pacemaker opens the garage door whenever a cute gal goes by.

The only whistles you get are from the tea kettle.

A fortune-teller wants to read your face.

You finally get it all together, but can’t remember where you put it.

You pray for a good prune-juice harvest.

Everything hurts, and what doesn’t hurt, doesn’t work.

You feel like the morning after, and you haven’t been anywhere.

Your little black book contains only names ending with M.D.

You look forward to a dull evening.

You join a health club and never go.

You need your glasses to find your glasses.

You sit in a rocking chair and can’t get it going.

Your knees buckle, but your belt won’t

You have too much room in the house, and not enough in the medicine chest.

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“Who among us is willing to pay the real cost of a right and beautiful world? The real cost is unselfishness; real caring; true cooperation and self-sacrifice-in short, less ego. If we fool ourselves that our ideals, our values, and our visions could work without effective ego-reduction, then ego has the last laugh, because it’s pulling the wool over our eyes.”

Unknown

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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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