Ray’s Daily
November 15, 2019
“For the unlearned, old age is winter; for the learned, it is the season of the harvest.”
Hasidic saying
It has been a busy week with a lot scheduled for today so I am againg sending you a reprint from yea.
Ray’s Daily first published on November 15, 2005
I friend I made through the daily (we have never met) sent this to me sometime ago. All I can say is that she and I have everything in common.
Ray
~~~
THE OTHER DAY A YOUNG PERSON ASKED ME HOW I FELT BEING OLD. I WAS TAKEN ABACK, FOR I DO NOT THINK OF MYSELF AS OLD. UPON SEEING MY REACTION, SHE WAS IMMEDIATELY EMBARRASSED, BUT I EXPLAINED THAT IT WAS AN INTERESTING QUESTION, AND I WOULD PONDER IT AND LET HER KNOW. OLD AGE, I DECIDED IS A GIFT. I AM NOW, PROBABLY FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, THE PERSON I HAVE ALWAYS WANTED TO BE. OH, NOT MY BODY! I SOMETIME DESPAIR OVER MY BODY—BUT I DON’T AGONIZE OVER IT FOR LONG.
I WOULD NEVER TRADE MY AMAZING FRIENDS, MY WONDERFUL LIFE, AND MY LOVING FAMILY FOR LESS GRAY HAIR AND A FLATTER BELLY. AS I’VE AGED, I’VE BECOME MORE KIND TO MYSELF, AND LESS CRITICAL OF MYSELF. I’VE BECOME MY OWN FRIEND. I DON’T CHIDE MYSELF FOR EATING THAT EXTRA COOKIE, OR FOR NOT MAKING MY BED, OR FOR BUYING THAT SILLY CEMENT GECKO THAT I DIDN’T NEED, BUT LOOKS SO AVANT- GARDE ON MY PATIO. I AM ENTITLED TO OVEREAT, TO BE MESSY, TO BE EXTRAVAGANT. I HAVE SEEN TOO MANY DEAR FRIENDS LEAVE THIS WORLD TOO SOON BEFORE THEY UNDERSTOOD THE GREAT FREEDOM THAT COMES WITH AGING.
WHOSE BUSINESS IS IT IF I CHOOSE TO READ UNTIL 4 A.M., AND SLEEP UNTIL NOON? I WILL DANCE WITH MYSELF TO THOSE WONDERFUL TUNES OF THE 50’S AND 60’S, AND IF AT THE SAME TIME I WISH TO WEEP OVER A LOST LOVE, I WILL. I KNOW I AM SOMETIMES FORGETFUL. BUT THERE AGAIN, SOME OF LIFE IS JUST AS WELL FORGOTTEN, AND I EVENTUALLY REMEMBER THE IMPORTANT THINGS. SURE, OVER THE YEARS, MY HEART HAS BEEN BROKEN. HOW CAN YOUR HEART NOT BREAK WHEN YOU LOSE A LOVED ONE, OR WHEN A CHILD SUFFERS. BUT BROKEN HEARTS ARE WHAT GIVE US STRENGTH AND UNDERSTANDING AND COMPASSION. A HEART NEVER BROKEN IS PRISTINE AND STERILE AND WILL NEVER KNOW THE JOY OF BEING IMPERFECT.
I AM SO BLESSED TO HAVE LIVED LONG ENOUGH TO HAVE MY HAIR TURN GRAY, AND TO HAVE MY YOUTHFUL LAUGHS BE FOREVER ETCHED INTO DEEP GROOVES ON MY FACE. SO MANY HAVE NEVER LAUGHED, AND SO MANY HAVE DIED BEFORE THEIR HAIR COULD TURN SILVER. I CAN SAY”NO”AND MEAN IT. I CAN SAY “YES” AND MEAN IT. AS YOU GET OLDER, IT IS EASIER TO BE POSITIVE. YOU CARE LESS ABOUT WHAT OTHER PEOPLE THINK. I DON’T QUESTION MYSELF ANYMORE. I’VE EARNED THE RIGHT TO BE WRONG.
SO, TO ANSWER THE QUESTION, I LIKE BEING OLD. IT HAS SET ME FREE. I LIKE THE PERSON I HAVE BECOME. I AM NOT GOING TO LIVE FOREVER, BUT WHILE I AM STILL HERE, I WILL NOT WASTE TIME LAMENTING WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN, OR WORRYING ABOUT WHAT WILL BE. FOR THE FIRST TIME IN MY LIFE, I DON’T HAVE TO HAVE A REASON TO DO THE THINGS I WANT TO DO. IF I WANT TO PLAY GAMES ON THE COMPUTER ALL DAY, LAY ON THE COUCH AND WATCH OLD MOVIES FOR HOURS, OR DON’T WANT TO GO THE BEACH OR A MOVIE, I HAVE EARNED THAT RIGHT. I HAVE PUT IN MY TIME DOING EVERYTHING FOR OTHERS, SO NOW I CAN BE A BIT SELFISH WITHOUT FEELING GUILTY.
I SOMETIMES FEEL SORRY FOR THE YOUNG. THEY FACE A FAR DIFFERENT WORLD THAN I KNEW GROWING UP, WHERE WE FEARED THE LAW, RESPECTED THE OLD, THE FLAG AND OUR COUNTRY. I NEVER FELT THE NEED TO USE FILTHY LANGUAGE TO EXPRESS MYSELF. AND THEY TOO WILL GROW OLD SOMEDAY.
I AM GRATEFUL TO HAVE BEEN BORN WHEN I WAS, INTO A KINDER, GENTLER WORLD.
~~~
I have enjoyed greatly the second blooming that comes when you finish the life of the emotions and of personal relations; and suddenly find – at the age of fifty, say – that a whole new life has opened before you, filled with things you can think about, study, or read about…It is as if a fresh sap of ideas and thoughts was rising in you.
Agatha Christie
~~~
What I learned at the senior center:
- Eventually you will reach a point when you stop lying about your age and start bragging about it.
- Don’t let anyone tell you you’re getting old. Squash their toes with your rocker.
- The older we get, the fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
- Some people try to turn back their odometers. Not me. I want people to know why I look this way. I’ve traveled a long way and some of the roads weren’t paved.
- Maturity means being emotionally and mentally healthy. It is that time when you know when to say yes and when to say no, and when to say WHOOPEE!
- How old would you be if you didn’t know how old you are?
- When you are dissatisfied and would like to go back to youth, think of Algebra.
- You know you are getting old when everything either dries up or leaks.
- I don’t know how I got over the hill without getting to the top.
- The golden years are really just metallic years, gold in the tooth, silver in your hair, and lead in the rear.
- Life would be infinitely happier if we could only be born at the age of 80 and gradually approach 18.
- One of the many things no one tells you about aging is that it is such a nice change from being young. One must wait until evening to see how splendid the day has been.
- Age seldom arrives smoothly or quickly. It is more often a succession of jerks.
- Yeah, being young is beautiful, but being old is comfortable.
- Old age is when former classmates are so gray and wrinkled, and blind they don’t recognize you.
- If you don’t learn to laugh at trouble, you won’t have anything to laugh at when you are old.
~~~
Some people have a wonderful capacity to appreciate again and again, freshly and naively, the basic goods of life, with awe, pleasure, wonder, and even ecstasy.
A.H. Maslow
~~~
TOP FIVE SIGNS YOU’RE A TYPICAL MOM. . .
You’ve eaten your weight in Girl Scout cookies.
You always have at least 12 Legos and a Barbie shoe in your purse.
You catch yourself humming theme songs from kiddie shows about 3 times a day.
You can take construction paper, glue, pudding cups, and aluminum foil and make a delightful holiday centerpiece.
You know that a suspiciously sweet, “Mommy, I love you!” really means…
“I just decorated the wall with all your makeup.”
~~~
If you don’t have the time to do something right, where are you going to find the time to fix it?
Stephen King
~~~
A man walks into a Chinese restaurant but is told by the Maitre’d that there will be at least a twenty minute wait.
“Would you like to wait in the bar, Sir?”, he says.
The man goes into the bar and the bartender says, “What’ll it be?”
The man replies, “Give me a Stoli with a twist.”
The bartender pauses for a few seconds, then smiles and says, “Once upon time, there were FOUR little peegs . . . ”
~~~
Professor: You can’t sleep in my class!
Student: If you didn’t talk so loud, I could.
~~~
An elderly, wealthy woman in Florida was boring fellow beachcombers as she bragged on and on about her two remarkable grandchildren.
Unable to stand it any longer, a fellow sunbather interrupted her.
“Tell me, Mrs. Rosenwasser, how old are your grandsons?”
Mrs. Rosenwasser gave her a grateful smile and replied, “The doctor is four and the lawyer is six.”
~~~
All the world’s a stage and most of us are desperately unrehearsed.
~~~
A story is told of a Jewish man who was riding on the subway reading an Arab newspaper. A friend of his, who happened to be riding in the same subway car, noticed this strange phenomenon.
Very upset, he approached the newspaper reader: “Moishe, have you lost your mind? Why are you reading an Arab newspaper?”
Moishe replied: “I used to read the Jewish newspaper. But what did I find? Jews being persecuted, Israel being attacked, Jews disappearing through assimilation and intermarriage, Jews living in poverty, etc. So, I switched to the Arab newspaper.
“Now what do I find? Jews own all the banks, Jews control the media, Jews are all rich and powerful, Jews rule the world. The news is so much better!!!”
~~~
Age is something that doesn’t matter, unless you are a cheese.
Billie Burke:
~~~
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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