Ray's Daily

Do not spoil what you have by desiring what you have not; remember that what you now have was once among the things you only hoped for.

Epicurus

One of the realities we have to face when we are well past the entry into the golden age is thatan income is fixed but the cost of living is not. When you add that to a shrinking nest egg the need for some spending restraint becomes important. Plus those who are wise set side something for the emergencies that often are part of old age.

But one of the benefits of the realty of the economics of later life is that you learn to make choices. There is something positive to be said for selecting expenditures because they are important to your happy life instead of buying so much more than we need only because we can. When you pick something to buy because it is important to you it adds a special luster when it is not among the unnecessary clutter that comes from excess consumption.

Here are excerptsfrom an  article written by Laura Tong that helped me realize that I am not missing anything important.

How to Live With Less Stuff But More Happiness

“Do you want some more?” Seems a dumb question, doesn’t it? The answer is of course, it depends what the ‘more’ is. More of what, exactly?

Of course you’d enjoy more money to buy more cool stuff, more space to store it, and more time to play with it, who wouldn’t? But you see, it’s not necessarily the question that’s wrong, it’s the answer. Let’s try again and this time we’ll let Epicurus inspire the answer.

“Do you want some more?” “Well, it depends. Why would I want more in the first place?”

Nothing is sufficient for the person who finds sufficiency too little – Epicurus

You see, wanting more has become a conditioned response. A need. Unhappy? You need more friends.

In debt? You need more money. Clutter up to the ceiling? You need more rooms.

But the reality is, ‘more’ often fails, because we never asked whether ‘more’ was actually the solution in the first place.Perhaps the solution was less…

Unhappy? Maybe you need less friends, or less demanding ones. In debt? Maybe you need to learn how to spend less of your pay check each month. Clutter up to the ceiling? Maybe you need to buy less stuff and hoard less.

‘More’ in fact often exacerbates the problem…More friends just puts more pressure on you to spread your friendship and time more thinly.More money just gives you more temptation to spend even more beyond your income.More rooms, closets and shelves just give you more opportunity to amass more clutter.

You see, more tends to lead to more. And we’ve been conditioned to think that more is automatically better.  And less tends to lead to less and we’ve been led to believe that less is for losers… or hermits. Now, I’m no puritanical kill joy. This is no ‘grab some sackcloth and go live in a cave’ hermit sales pitch.

I’m just saying…Give Less A Chance. “Do you want less?” “Well it depends, less of what?”

“Less of all the things you’re supposed to be. Less of all the things you’re supposed to do. And definitely less of all the stuff you’re supposed to own?”

“Well, I might just be interested in less of all that.”

Rather than endlessly chasing cash in the race for riches, give less a try – take the time to work out what you really need to make you happy and secure. It may be way less than you imagine. Measuring your internal worth by your external wealth may not be the surest route to happiness.

Expectations to have the latest gadget, the latest fashion, the latest must-have, a bigger house, a better car….

Rather than constantly consuming, give less a try – work out what possessions actually give you enough joy to be worth swapping your money and time cleaning, repairing, insuring, replacing and worrying over.

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Not what we have, but what we enjoy, constitutes our abundance.

Epicurus

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An older couple went on a cruise for their anniversary.Their conversation with the other couples they met tended towards political and international events.

At one point, the husband asked, “Honey, what do you think about the Middle East position?”

She replied, “Oh, I don’t know, dear, you know I’m not into any of that kinky stuff.”

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EVER STOP TO THINK AND FORGET TO START AGAIN?

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Abe is in New York on business. On his third night, he goes back to his hotel room feeling quite miserable. Although the trip’s going well, business-wise, he’s feeling very lonely – he’s missing his wife Sarah. He casually picks up the Gideon bible from his bedside table and opens it. On the first page, he reads: –

“If you’re sick, read Psalm 18.” “If you’re troubled, read Psalm 45.” “If you’re lonely, read Psalm 92.”

That’s it! He stops there, immediately turns to Psalm 92 and starts to read. How surprised he is, then, when he gets to the end of the Psalm, to see someone has written: – “If you’re still lonely, why don’t you call Monique 212-755-1234.”

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She said: MY HUSBAND AND I DIVORCED OVER RELIGIOUS DIFFERENCES. HE THOUGHT HE WAS GOD AND I DIDN’T.

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Rabbi Bloom and Rabbi Levy are sitting in their local kosher deli and when the waitress comes over, ask for two glasses of water. When the water arrives, they take out homemade sandwiches from inside their coat pockets and start to eat.

Moshe the deli manager is not happy with what he sees. So he goes over to them and says, “Look, I’ll give you both one of our snacks free of charge.  My customers won’t mind, seeing you are Rabbis. But please, you can’t eat your own sandwiches in here!”

Rabbi Bloom and Rabbi Levy look at each other with twinkles in their eyes.  Without saying a word, they shrug their shoulders, exchange their homemade sandwiches and carry on eating.

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The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest.

Thomas Moore

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A little boy got lost at the YMCA and found himself in the women’s locker room. When he was spotted, the room burst into shrieks, with ladies grabbing towels and running for cover. The little boy watched in amazement and then asked, “What’s the matter –haven’t you ever seen a little boy before?”

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“I’m trying to read a book on how to relax, but I keep falling asleep.”

Jim Loy

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A woman was shopping in a fairly nice dress store. Trying on a dress and liking it, she asked the salesman the price. When he told her she launched into a tirade about prices these days, covering just about everything from housing to auto tires.

After ten minutes or so, the salesman had obviously had enough and said, “My dear lady. If the cost of living is so high and obviously so offensive to you, why do you bother?”

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He who knows that enough is enough will always have enough.

Lao Tzu

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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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