Ray's Daily

Ray’s Daily

October 12, 2017

www.rays-daily.com

True greatness consists in being great in little things.

Charles Simmons

I think I am returning to my new normal. In fact, I plan on venturing out to test my leg strength and balance after my two days of recuperation. I am so optimistic that I have even planned a breakfast with a friend in a few days.

My wife’s and my recent health challenges require us to make a realistic appraisal of the years ahead. I know that I never want to walk away from the important little things in life. I have found as the years go by the little things become the big things they probably always were, it is rewarding to now appreciate them more.

Here is a short piece that I picked up a while ago. The unfortunate truth is that not all of us have been as wise as this 24-year-old.

What’s Really Important In Life? The Little Things

AGE 18

I know I’m all grown up now. I want to leave, to run, and to live my own life. I want my parents to let me be, I know what I’m doing. I want my friends to be the most important things in my life. I want to live life fast, and relax later.

I want to live life by my own rules. I want to have everything now, no matter the consequences. I want to be left alone. I want to live in the here and now, and worry about the future later. 

AGE 24

I know I have a lot of growing up to do. I want to listen to advice from others. I want to stop in the middle of Mother Nature, and take in the beauty of it all. I want fulfill the promises I made to those loved ones who have passed. I want to make my family the most important part of my life, for they have always been there. I want to live life, so that when I die, people rejoice, for mine was a life lived.

I want my loved ones to know how sorry I am for the way I was. I want to slow down, and enjoy every second, because so many do not. I want to see those loved ones at the beginning of life, grow, and make their way. I want to remember my past, but live in the present and for the future. I want to make a difference in this world. I want to be here, stand back, and enjoy the ‘The Little Things’ in life.

The true measure of success, is measured by lives you touch, and those who touch yours.

Matthew Dittrich

~~~

Life is made up, not of great sacrifices or duties, but of little things, in which smiles and kindness, and small obligations given habitually, are what preserve the heart and secure comfort.

Humphry Davy

~~~

Our 13 year old niece spent last night with us.  When we dropped her off at home, my sister-in-law asked how she behaved.  “She was an angel,” I informed her.

“Really?” she questioned.

“Yes, really.  A perfect angel.”  I assured her.

“I just don’t understand.  Whenever she is with you she is well behaved.  Whenever she is at home, she is a monster.  She misbehaves for everyone else.  In fact, the teachers at her school drew straws to see who would be stuck with her in their class.  How come she always behaves for you?” my sister in law asked.

“I don’t know.  I guess I just have a way with children.  I also try to educate them as well.  A child is never too young to learn.”  I answered.

“What do you mean.  What did you teach her?” she inquired.

“Well, for instance, children need to learn about death and dying so they better understand this process.  I explained this concept very carefully to her.”  I informed my sister-in-law.

“Really?  You explained this to her at 13?” she asked dumbfounded.

“Well, actually she was much younger when I explained this.  She now understands death perfectly.  Which is good, because it makes threatening her with it, much more effective.”

~~~

“Cleaning your house while your kids are still growing is like shoveling the walk before it stops snowing.”

Phyllis Diller

~~~

Murphy’s Law for Frequent Flyers

1. No flight ever leaves on time unless you are running late and need the delay to make the flight.
2. If you are running late for a flight, it will depart from the farthest gate within the terminal.
3. If you arrive very early for a flight, it inevitably will be delayed.
4. Flights never leave from Gate #1 at any terminal in the world.
5. If you must work on your flight, you will experience turbulence as soon as you touch pen to paper.
6. If you are assigned a middle seat, you can determine who has the seats on the aisle and the window while you are still in the boarding area. Just look for the two largest passengers.
7. Only passengers seated in window seats ever have to get up to go to the lavatory.
8. The crying baby on board your flight is always seated next to you.
9. The best-looking woman on your flight is never seated next to you.
10. The less carry-on luggage space available on an aircraft, the more carry-on luggage passengers will bring aboard.

~~~

It’s the things in common that make relationships enjoyable,

but it’s the little differences that make them interesting.

Todd Ruthman

~~~

A tourist is traveling with a guide through one of the thickest jungles in South America, when the guide shows him an ancient Mayan temple. The tourist is entranced by the temple, and asks the guide for details.

To this, the guide states that archaeologists are carrying out excavations, and still finding great treasures. The tourist then queries how old the temple is.

“This temple is 1,503 years old,” replies the guide.

Impressed at this accurate dating, he inquires as to how he gave this precise figure.

“Easy”, replies the guide, “the archaeologists said the temple was 1,500 years old, and that was three years ago.”

~~~

To be really great in little things, to be truly noble and heroic in the insipid details of everyday life, is a virtue so rare as to be worthy of canonization.

Harriet Beecher Stowe

~~~

Ray Mitchell

Indianapolis, Indiana

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

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