Ray’s Daily
January 9, 2020
“The hardest arithmetic to master is that which enables us to count our blessings.”
Eric Hoffer
How are you doing? That is a question worth frequently asking ourselves in order for us to realize just how fortunate we are. I find these days that many things I have over looked in the past have become more valuable to my wellbeing today.
I think understanding what is good in our lives is important to happy aging. Recently I read an article written by Kevin and Jackie Freiberg that I think is worth our time. Here are excerpts of what they wrote.
12 Things To Be Thankful For
- Good Friends – Good Memories – Not long ago, a client told us she chooses to spend money on memories, not things. Things perish. Memories last a lifetime.
- Hard Times – Most people hate hard times, but in difficult times character grows. People develop perseverance and a greater appreciation for the good times. People can get through almost anything when they know they are loved and know someone has their back.
- Disruptive Honesty – People see the world through personal filters. People who know us intimately and love us unconditionally, who are willing to speak the truth, can be disruptive and unnerving. Yet, they are a rare gift because those relationships help us become better.
- Wellness – We often take it for granted until we lose it. If you are spiritually, emotionally, mentally and physically well, be thankful, many people aren’t.
- Modern Technology – The Internet has expanded global connections and democratized everything. Think of the knowledge people have access to today that they did not 10 years ago.
- Simple, Taken-For-Granted Privileges – If you went to bed with a full stomach, woke up with a roof over your head, flipped on a light and used an indoor toilet, consider yourself blessed.. If you have access to proper medical care and if you don’t have to walk down the street looking over your shoulder in fear for your life, be thankful.
- People Who Serve – Every day someone lightens the load and makes life a bit more enjoyable for someone else. Show appreciation for servers who show courtesy when you’re hungry and hurried.
- Teachers, Mentors, Coaches – When people believe in us, they make us bigger, stronger and more capable than we ever thought we could be. An affirming and supportive teacher, coach or mentor can change the direction of a person’s life. Be thankful for those people who believed and invested in you and may have even redirected your life.
- Freedom – The freedom to have a voice. The right to vote and shape policy. The joy to love and be loved and the freedom to choose how to respond to circumstances you can’t control are among the greatest freedoms and highest privileges we enjoy. Cherish them.
- Humanity – Although the 24-hour news cycle seems to polarize, demonize, separate and divide people, random and generous acts of humanity abound.
- Abundant Life – Thanks to modern medicine, adults are more likely to live longer than any other generation in history. Tremendous advancements have been made in the fight to cure cancer, heart disease, Alzheimer’s and other sicknesses. By realizing that our lives are more abundant than we think, perhaps we can be more grateful and then reach out to those who are suffering from a greater scarcity than our own.
- Gratitude Scales – Gratitude is contagious. Personally, the more grateful you are the more you have to be thankful for and the more joyful you will be.
~~~
“Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”
Oprah Winfrey
~~~
It is a good idea to every once in a while stop and ask, is it worth it.
The American investment banker was at the pier of a small coastal Mexican village when a small boat with just one fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were several large yellow fin tuna. The American complimented the Mexican on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them.
The Mexican replied, “Only a little while.”
The American then asked, “Why didn’t you stay out longer and catch more fish?”
The Mexican said, “With this I have more than enough to support my family’s needs.”
The American then asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”
The Mexican fisherman said, “I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take siesta with my wife, Maria, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitar with my amigos, I have a full and busy life.”
The American scoffed, “I am a Harvard MBA and could help you. You should spend more time fishing; and with the proceeds, buy a bigger boat: With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats. Eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. Instead of selling your catch to a middleman you would sell directly to the processor; eventually opening your own cannery. You would control the product, processing and distribution. You would need to leave this small coastal fishing village and move to Mexico City, then Los Angeles and eventually New York where you will run your ever-expanding enterprise.”
The Mexican fisherman asked, “But, how long will this all take?”
To which the American replied, “15 to 20 years.”
“But what then?” asked the Mexican.
The American laughed and said, “That’s the best part. When the time is right, you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and become very rich. You would make millions.”
“Millions?…Then what?”
The American said, “Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing village where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take siesta with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your amigos.”
Author Unknown
~~~
Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won’t bother you for weeks.
~~~
Flying Rules
- Every takeoff is optional. Every landing is mandatory.
- If you push the stick forward, the houses get bigger. If you pull the stick back, they get smaller. That is, unless you keep pulling the stick all the way back, then they get bigger again.
- Flying isn’t dangerous. Crashing is what’s dangerous.
- It’s always better to be down here wishing you were up there than up there wishing you were down here.
- The ONLY time you have too much fuel is when you’re on fire.
- The propeller is just a big fan in front of the plane used to keep the pilot cool. When it stops, you can actually watch the pilot start sweating.
- When in doubt, hold on to your altitude. No one has ever collided with the sky.
- A ‘good’ landing is one from which you can walk away. A ‘great’ landing is one after which they can use the plane again.
- Learn from the mistakes of others. You won’t live long enough to make all of them yourself.
- You know you’ve landed with the wheels up if it takes full power to taxi to the ramp.
- The probability of survival is inversely proportional to the angle of arrival. Large angle of arrival, small probability of survival and vice versa.
- Never let an aircraft take you somewhere your brain didn’t get to five minutes earlier.
- Stay out of clouds. The silver lining everyone keeps talking about might be another airplane going in the opposite direction. Reliable sources also report that mountains have been known to hide out in clouds.
- Always try to keep the number of landings you make equal to the number of take offs you’ve made.
- There are three simple rules for making a smooth landing. Unfortunately no one knows what they are.
- You start with a bag full of luck and an empty bag of experience. The trick is to fill the bag of experience before you empty the bag of luck.
- Helicopters can’t fly; they’re just so ugly the earth repels them.
- If all you can see out of the window is ground that’s going round and round and all you can hear is commotion coming from the passenger compartment, things are not at all as they should be.
- In the ongoing battle between objects made of aluminum going hundreds of miles per hour and the ground going zero miles per hour, the ground has yet to lose.
- Good judgment comes from experience. Unfortunately, the experience usually comes from bad judgment.
- It’s always a good idea to keep the pointy end going forward as much as possible.
- Keep looking around. There’s always something you’ve missed.
- Remember, gravity is not just a good idea. It’s the law. And it’s not subject to repeal.
- The four most useless things to a pilot are the altitude above you, runway behind you, gas back at the airport, and a tenth of a second ago.
- There are old pilots and there are bold pilots. There are, however, no old, bold pilots.
~~~
“The healthiest people are often those who laugh at themselves. No wonder, laughter is the best medicine.”
~~~
A medieval astrologer prophesied to a king that his favorite mistress would soon die. Sure enough, the woman died a short time later. The king was outraged at the astrologer, certain that his prophecy had brought about the woman’s death. He summoned the astrologer and commanded him: “Tell me when you will die!”
The astrologer realized that the king was planning to kill him immediately, no matter what answer he gave. “I do not know when I will die,” he answered finally. “I only know that whenever I die, the king will die three days later….”
~~~
“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.”
Melody Beattie
~~~
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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