Ray’s Daily
November 16, 2018
Lots of things that couldn’t be done have been done.
Charles Auston Bates
Mekong River Thailand
I probably told you before that we moved to Indianapolis in 1969 on what was ro be a short term assignment with my computer company employer. By the time we were asked to accept a new assignment we were so involved in the activities in our new home town we refused to leave.
As the years went by I became more involved in our cities activities as it transitioned itself in to the world class city it is today. My civic activities in a wide range of areas resulted in my appointment to numerous government and not-for-profit boards and committees as well as being selected to participate in a number of local and national programs.
My office walls were filled wirh pictures with dignitaries, plaques and awards. I always wondered why I displayed all of it, but it did help visitors define who I had become. I was glad for the opportunities I was given but they paled when measured against my second career working with Kiwanis International and UNICEF as the director of Kiwanis’ first worldwide service project which has helped millions of children around the world.
I was truly fortunate to be given the opportunity to do something significant. I traveled to Asia, Eastern and Western Europe in support of our effort and made many new friends, I will always be grateful for being selected by Kiwanis.
The Road to Significance and Success
The most traditional way to measure the quality of one’s life is to evaluate success by listing accolades, achievements, and acquisitions. After all, in its simplest terms, success is getting what we want and most people want wealth and status.
Yet, as much pleasure as these attributes can bring, the rich, powerful, and famous usually discover that true happiness will elude them if they do not have peace of mind, self-respect and enduring loving relationships.
Peace of mind doesn’t preclude ambition or desire for material possessions or high position, but it assumes a fundamental foundation of contentment, gratitude and pride – a belief that whatever one has is enough and an attitude of active appreciation for the good things in one’s life.
Feeling successful can generate satisfying emotions of self-worth, but feeling significant – that one’s life really matters – is much more potent. Peter Drucker, the great management guru, captured this idea when he wrote of the urge many high achievers have to . . . ‘move beyond success to significance.’
The surprise for many is that one of the surest roads to significance is service. It doesn’t have to be of the Mother Teresa missionary variety. Parents who sacrifice their own comfort and pleasure for their children are performing service, as are teachers, public-safety professionals, members of the military, and volunteers who work for the common good.
In addressing graduates, Albert Schweitzer said . . . ‘I don’t know what your destiny will be, but one thing I do know: The only ones among you who will be really happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.’
Written by Michael Josephson
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Knowing is not enough; we must apply. Willing is not enough; we must do.
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe
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Lefkowitz was a very pious old man, who had lived his life according to the Commandments, never asking anything, always giving to others. Finally, wanting to have something for himself, and to experience the other side of life, he began to pray to God.
“Lord”, he said, “All my life I have tried to be good, to follow all your Laws and Commandments, and to always help others, never asking anything for myself when I have prayed to you. Now that I am old, I am finally asking for something for myself. All that I want is to win the Lottery, so I can have a comfortable old age.”
For year after year, he repeated this prayer, and nothing would happen. Finally, in despair, he again prayed to God, saying “Why have you abandoned me? Is this all I am to have in life? All I have ever asked you for is to just once to win the Lottery. What have I done wrong that you punish me this way?”
And an aggravated voice boomed down from the heavens, saying, in exasperation, “Lefkowitz, BUY A TICKET ALREADY!!!”
~~~
Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.
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Signs That You Live In 2018
- You just tried to enter your password on the microwave.
2. You call your son’s cell phone to let him know it’s time to eat, he emails you back from his bedroom.
3. Your daughter sells Girl Scout cookies via her web site.
4. You chat several times a day with a stranger from South Africa, but you haven’t spoken with your next door neighbor yet this year.
5. Your grandmother asks you to send her a JPEG file of your newborn so she can create a screen saver.
6. You pull up in your own driveway and use your cell phone to see if anyone is home.
7. Leaving the house without your cell phone, which you didn’t have the first 20-50 years of your life, is cause for panic and turning around to go get it.
~~~
Why do they put Braille on drive through bank machines?
~~~
An old Jewish man and a young Jewish man are traveling on the train. The young man asks: “Excuse me, what time is it?” The old man does not answer.
“Excuse me, sir, what time is it?”
The old man keeps silent.
“Sir, I’m asking you what time is it. Why don’t you answer?!”
The old man says: “Son, the next stop is the last on this route. I don’t know you, so you must be a stranger. If I answer you now, I’ll have to invite you to my home. You’re handsome, and I have a beautiful daughter. You will both fall in love and you will want to get married. So tell me, why would I need a son-in-law who can’t even afford a watch?”
~~~
Artificial Intelligence usually beats real stupidity.
~~~
Two old men were sitting on a park bench outside the local town hall where a flower show was in progress.
One leaned over the other and said, “Cripes, life is boring! We never have any fun these days!” For a fiver, I’d take my clothes off and streak through the flower show!”
“You’re on!” said the other old boy, holding up a five dollar note.
As fast as he could, the first old man fumbled his way out of his clothes and, completely naked, streaked through the front door of the town hall.
Waiting outside, his friend heard a huge commotion inside the hall, followed by loud applause. The naked old man burst out through the door surrounded by a cheering crowd.
“How did it go?” asked his friend.
“Great!” said the streaker, “I won first prize as a dried arrangement!!!”
~~~
What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
~~~
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
Ray’s Daily has been sent for more than fifteen years to people who want to start their day on an upbeat. If you have system overload because of our daily clutter, let me know and I will send you the information via mental telepathy. If you have not been getting our daily you can request to be added by e-mailing me at raykiwsp@gmail.com. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are more than 2000 readers from around the world.
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