Ray’s Daily
May 6, 2020
Sometimes it’s important to work for that pot of gold. But other times it’s essential to take time off and to make sure that your most important decision in the day simply consists of choosing which color to slide down on the rainbow.
Douglas Pagels
Ray’s Daily first published on May 6, 2005
I honestly think the real secret to success, both on the job and in life is the ability to just stop, drop out, and spend a little time with and for yourself. Later this morning I will be having breakfast with someone who is an achiever, she is dedicated, works hard and does good things, unfortunately never taking enough time for herself.
You know the feeling, I will be able to take some time this weekend, or after this project, or as soon as things lighten up. Lo and behold the weeks and months go by with no relief. The sad part is that most of us do much better when we keep things in balance, take some time for ourselves, and just rest once in awhile. I know it was always easier to come back to work than it was to never leave it. Maybe what a guy by the name of Will Pate wrote recently will help those who could use a reason to lighten up.
~~~
After 8 months as an entrepreneur I’m ready to give up on trying to squeeze more working hours out of the day. I’m absolutely convinced of the value of rest and recreation time. Without proper R&R the human mind experiences the law of diminishing returns; you simply cannot get more than 8 good hours of work out of a day. Intellectual and creative atrophy set in and work gets sloppy, details are missed and little overall progress is made. It’s a question of quality over quantity.
If I had a meeting the next day, I used to stay up as late as it took to get the work necessary done and then drag my corpse out of bed as late as possible the next day. Practice proved this was a bad idea. Now I do some personal reading, listen to something pleasing and drift off to sleep earlier than the returning bar hound. I get up early, do a little blog reading to get myself into the mental groove and start working. If inspiration strikes I do a little blogging as I sip (instead of chugging) coffee and listen to CBC Radio 3. I cut off work around 5 or 6 and then avoid the computer for the rest of the evening.
Weekends can be a chance for deeper renewal. This past weekend I went on a spiritual retreat, properly dubbed the “Weekend of Awesome”. Sure I lost some sleep but I made new friends, grew closer with older buds and played video games until my fingers hurt. The entire weekend I made a resolution to keep work out of my mind. Consequently, I’ve never been more ready to start the work week on a Monday morning.
~~~
Rest is not idleness, and to lie sometimes on the grass under trees on a summer’s day, listening to the murmur of the water, or watching the clouds float across the sky, is by no means a waste of time.
Lubbock
~~~
What to say to phone solicitors who call to sell you credit cards, vacation packages, etc.:
The police photographer is still here, and the county medical examiner hasn’t released the body to the coroner yet. Can you call back a little later?
What’s that you say? Speak up, please, will you? The battery has run down on my hearing aid. Louder, please, louder. Is that the best you can do? I’m afraid we’re just not communicating.
I’m gonna have to put you on hold. The baby is due any minute now. Quick someone, get some hot water. Lots of it. Sorry, gotta hurry now, don’t go away.
Oh, it’s you again. I was hoping you’d call back. The better business people said I need more positive identification to file my complaint. Now first let me have your name and telephone number…
~~~
There is more to life than increasing its speed. –
Mahatma Gandhi
~~~
READ SLOWLY—-IT MAY TAKE A WHILE FOR THE LIGHT TO SHINE, BUT THESE ARE RATHER CLEVER!
- ARBITRATOR: A cook that leaves Arby’s to work at McDonalds
- AVOIDABLE: What a bullfighter tried to do
3. BERNADETTE: The act of torching a mortgage
4. BURGLARIZE: What a crook sees with
5. CONTROL: A short, ugly inmate
6. COUNTERFEITERS: Workers who put together kitchen cabinets
7. ECLIPSE: What an English barber does for a living
8. EYEDROPPER: A clumsy ophthalmologist
9. HEROES: What a guy in a boat does
10. LEFTBANK: What the robber did when his bag was full of money
11. MISTY: How golfers create divots
12. PARADOX: Two physicians
13. PARASITES: What you see from the top of the Eiffel Tower
14. PHARMACIST: A helper on the farm
15. POLARIZE: What penguins see with
16. PRIMATE: Removing your spouse from in front of the TV
17. RELIEF: What trees do in the spring
18. RUBBERNECK: What you do to relax your wife
19. SELFISH: What the owner of a seafood store does
20. SUDAFED: Brought litigation against a government official
~~~
The younger we are the more we want to change the world. The older we are the more we want to change the young.
~~~
An attendant on a cross-country flight nervously announced: “I don’t know how this happened, but we have 103 passengers aboard and only 40 dinners.” When the passengers’ muttering had died down, she continued, “Anyone who is kind enough to give up his meal so someone else can eat will receive free drinks for the length of the flight.”
Her next announcement came an hour later. “If anyone wants to change his mind, we still have 29 dinners available!”
~~~
Whine less, breathe more; talk less, say more; hate less, love more; and all good things are yours.
Swedish Proverb
~~~
A voice on the office loudspeaker announced: “We will be testing the speaker system to make sure it will work properly in case of emergency. If you are unable to hear this announcement, please contact us.
~~~
Joyce: I’ve been asked to get married hundreds of times.
Gloria: (surprised) really?! By whom?
Joyce: My parents.
~~~
A man walked into a restaurant in a strange town. The waiter came and asked him for his order. Feeling lonely, he replied, “Meat loaf and a kind word.”
When the waiter returned with the meat loaf, the man said, “Where’s the good word?”
The waiter put down the meat loaf and sighed, bent down, and whispered, “Don’t eat the meat loaf.”
~~~
If The Phone Don’t Ring, You’ll Know It’s Me
~~~
It was a difficult subject to bring before his aged mother, but Morris felt that he must. “Mom, you are no longer a spring chicken and you do need to think ahead of what will happen in the future. Why don’t we make arrangements about when….. you know… when…. God Forbid …you pass on?”
The mother didn’t say anything, just sat there staring ahead.
“I mean, Momma, like…. how do you want to finally go? To be buried? Cremated?”
There was yet another long pause. Then the mother looked up and said, “Son, why don’t you simply surprise me?”
~~~
A poor life this if, full of care,
We have no time to stand and stare.
William Henry Davies
~~~
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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