Ray’s Daily
October 29, 2019
When we give cheerfully and accept gratefully, everyone is blessed.
Maya Angelou
Everyday I am reminded just how much we need each other. I am grateful that where I now live gives me opportunities every day to take an interest in the well being of others. Often there is not much I can do to help but I can let folks know that I care about them and sincerely wish them well.
I know of little else that can reward us as much as our expressing a sincere interest in the welfare of others. I know the people I respect most are those who regularly extend a helping hand
Here are excerpts from a piece written by Marc Chernoff that I wish everyone adhered to.
7 Hard Things You Should Start Doing for Others
Don’t just rant online for a better world. Love your family. Be a good neighbor. Practice kindness. Build bridges. Embody what you preach. Today. And always.
- Start being a source of sincere support. – The closest thing to being cared for is to care for others. We are all in this together and we should treat each other as such. The very demons that torment each of us, torment others all over the world. It is our challenges and troubles that connect us at the deepest level.
- Start giving people your undivided attention. – There is greatness and beauty in making time, especially when it’s inconvenient, for the sake of someone nearby. You don’t have to tell people that you care, just show them. In your relationships and interactions with others, nothing you can give is more appreciated than your sincere, focused attention.
- Start respecting and supporting people who are different than you. – Life’s greatest privilege is to become who you truly are. You have to dare to be yourself, one hundred percent, however anxious or odd that self may prove to be. The people who support you in doing so are extraordinary. Appreciate these people and their kindness, and pay it forward when you’re able.
- Start being willing to be wrong. – The mind is like a parachute; it doesn’t work when it’s closed. It’s okay to disagree with the thoughts or opinions expressed by others. But that doesn’t give you the right to immediately reject any sense they might make. Nor does it give you a right to accuse someone of poorly expressing their beliefs just because you don’t like what they are thinking and saying. Learn to recognize the beauty of different ideas and perspectives, even if it means overcoming your pride and opening your mind beyond what is comfortable.
- Start giving recognition and praise for the little things. – A brave, extraordinary soul recognizes the strength of others. Give genuine praise whenever possible. Doing so is a mighty act of service.
- Start giving people the space to save face. – What others say and do is often based entirely on their own self-reflection. When someone who is angry and upset speaks to you, and you nevertheless remain very present and continue to treat them with kindness and respect, you place yourself in a position of great power. You become a means for the situation to be graciously diffused and healed.
- Start being a bit more gentle. – Be gentle and compassionate with those around you. Mother Nature opens millions of flowers every day without forcing the buds. Let this be a reminder not to be forceful with those around you, but to simply give them enough light and love, and an opportunity to grow naturally.
~~~
There is no exercise better for the heart than reaching down and lifting people up.
John Holmes
~~~
Agnes feels his hand rubbing her shoulder. “Oh, that feels good,” she says.
Eddie’s hand moves to her breast. Agnes says “Gee, honey, that feels wonderful.”
Eddie’s hand moves to her leg. Agnes says “Oh, honey, don’t stop.” But Eddie stops.
Agnes asks “Why did you stop?“
Eddie replies, “I found the remote.“
~~~
I am beginning to learn that it is the sweet, simple things of life which are the real ones after all.
Laura Ingalls Wilder
~~~
Mr. Shwartz goes to meet his new son-in-law to be, Sol. He says to Sol (who is very religious), “So, tell me Sol my boy what do you do?”
“I study the Torah,” he replies.
“But Sol, you are going to marry my daughter, how are you going to feed and house her?”
“No problem,” says Sol, “I study Torah and it says God will provide.”
“But you will have children, how will you educate them?” asks Mr. Shwartz.
“No problem,” says Sol, “I study Torah and it says God will provide.”
Mr. Shwartz goes home and Mrs. Shwartz, his wife, anxiously asks what Sol is like.
“Well,” says Mr.Shwartz, “he’s a lovely boy, I only just met him and he already thinks I’m God.”
~~~
Be kind to unkind people. They need it the most.
Unknown
~~~
The priest was preparing a man for his long day’s journey into night. Whispering firmly, the priest said, “Denounce the devil! Let him know how little you think of his evil!”
The dying man said nothing. The priest repeated his order. Still the dying man said nothing.
The priest asked, “Why do you refuse to denounce the devil and his evil?”
The dying man said, “Until I know where I’m heading, I don’t think I ought to aggravate anybody.”
~~~
I don’t want to live in the kind of world where we don’t look out for each other. Not just the people that are close to us, but anybody who needs a helping hand. I cant change the way anybody else thinks, or what they choose to do, but I can do my bit.
Charles de Lint
~~~
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
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