Ray’s Daily
June 27, 2020
A man’s growth is seen in the successive choirs of his friends.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
I hope you are doing OK during these trying times. If you are like I am you have come to appreciate being able to communicate with friends and family. I am sorry for those whoare so alone with little human contact.
Over the years I have valued making new friends even though it was not easy. I am glad I had the patience to learn more about the people I met even if at first I did not like them much. In fact I would not have some friends I now like the most if it was not that I learned more about them and liked what I learned. There has never been a time in our lives that we have not needed others more. So my friends I am so glad I know you and I like forward to the day we can meet again.
Recently Marc Chernoff wrote and article about being grateful, here is an excerpt from that article.
Gratitude
Yes, there are incredibly painful parts of my life, and it’s OK to feel the pain they bring. But it’s also important that I remember the rest of my life too, and to also remember that even the painful experiences make life as intricate and remarkable as it is. Life would be impossible without challenges. There is no happiness without some sadness—one requires the other.
The makeover of my mindset and how I felt about my life in that moment, on that really hard night, was extraordinary. And it all stemmed from going back to the fundamentals—I found some gratitude.
I’ve used this same process dozens of times since that night, and it continues to make a world of difference:
- When someone upsets me, I try to find one thing about them I’m grateful for.
- When I catch myself procrastinating on a task, I look at why I’m grateful for a opportunity to complete the task.
- When I get sick or injure my body, I focus on how grateful I am to be alive and able to heal.
- When I lose someone I love, I grieve, but I am also grateful for the time and experiences I shared with them.
- When something negative happens with the work I do, I remember to be grateful for the ability to work and serve others, and that these challenges allow me to grow wiser.
- When someone doesn’t like me, or judges me unfairly, I do my best to be grateful that they care enough to even pay me some attention. Attention is time, and time is a gift.
The bottom line is that the art of being grateful on really hard days starts with you. And make no mistake about it: the secret to being grateful is no secret. You choose to be grateful. Then you do it again and again. If you forget, begin again.
~~~
Friendship improves happiness and abates misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief.
Marcus Tullius Cicero
~~~
The restaurant where I took my two sons for a meal was crowded with fans watching a sporting event on television…
A harried waitress took our order, but more than half an hour passed with no sign of her return.
I was trying to keep my kids from becoming restless when suddenly shouts of victory came from the bar.
“Hey,” commented my 11-year-old, “it sounds as if someone just got their food.”
~~~
You see a lot of smart guys with dumb women, but you hardly ever see a smart woman with a dumb guy.
Erica Jong
~~~
He said… What have you been doing with all the grocery money I gave you?
She said…Turn sideways and look in the mirror.
~~~
He said… Let’s go out and have some fun tonight.
She said…Okay, but if you get home before I do, leave the hallway light on.
~~~
Only men who have worn a ski suit understand how complicated it is for a woman to go to the bathroom when she’s wearing a jumpsuit.
Rita Rudner
~~~
A young couple decided they needed an au pair, and arranged for a girl to come over from Northern Finland. When she arrived, the wife asked, “Can you cook?”
“No,” said the girl, “My mother always did that.”
“Can you do housework?” asked the wife.
“No, my oldest sister always did that.”
“Well,” said the wife, “You’d better just look after the children.”
“I don’t know how,” said the girl. “My youngest sister always did that.”
“What can you do, then?” asked the wife, in desperation.
“Well,” said the Finnish girl brightly, “I can milk reindeer.”
~~~
You’re just jealous because the voices are talking to me and not you!
~~~
Kisses blown are kisses wasted
Kisses aren’t kisses unless there tasted
Kisses spread germs and germs are hated,
So kiss me baby, i’m vacinated!!
~~~
All’s well that ends.
~~~
A Congressman was once asked about his attitude toward whiskey. He replied, “If you mean the demon drink that poisons the mind, pollutes the body, desecrates family life, and inflames sinners, then I’m against it. But if you mean the elixir of Christmas cheer, the shield against winter chill, the taxable potion that puts needed funds into public coffers to comfort little crippled children, then I’m for it. This is my position, and I will not compromise.”
~~~
“Things could be worse. I could be one of my creditors.”
Henny Youngman
~~~
Mike was lying on his deathbed. “You only have a little while longer in this world,” the kindly parish priest warned the sick man. “If there is anything you would like before you go, I shall do my best to get it for you.”
The weakening patient replied, “Father, I’d like to hear the village band play once more.”
The band was summoned and played its best, after which Mike remarked, “Now I can die happy. There’ll be nothing in hell worse than that.”
~~~
Think young. Aging is for wine.
~~~
Audrey Greyson was a busy housewife with a demanding husband, six children and a large house. The only relief Audrey got from her chores was the twice-a-week bridge game she shared with a dozen other women. The only flaw in the bridge club relationship was that Audrey loved to tell off-color stories and the girls didn’t want to hear them.
To teach Audrey a lesson, the other women decided that the next time she told an off-color story, they’d just get up, walk out, and meet at another home but without Audrey.
Sure enough, at the next bridge club meeting, Audrey started, “You know, girls, there’s a rumor going around that a busload of prostitutes will be leaving in the morning for that big gold find up in Alaska, and they say…” Just then, the women all stood up and started for the door.
Audrey was disconcerted, but only for a moment. Then she understood
what was going on and said, “Hey! Girls! Hold on, hold on! There’s plenty of time because the bus doesn’t leave until morning!”
~~~
Imagination is the only weapon in the war against reality
~~~
The temporary Sunday School teacher was struggling to open a combination lock on the supply cabinet. She had been told the combination, but couldn’t quite remember it. Finally, she went to the pastor’s study and asked for help.
The pastor came into the room and began to turn the dial. After the first two numbers he paused and stared blankly for a moment. Finally, he looked serenely heavenward and his lips moved silently. Then he looked back at the lock and quickly turned to the final number and opened the lock.
The teacher was amazed. “I’m in awe at your faith, pastor,” she said.
“It’s really nothing,” he answered.
“The number is on a piece of tape on the ceiling.”
~~~
There is a magnet in your heart that will attract true friends. That magnet is unselfishness, thinking of others first; when you learn to live for others, they will live for you.
Paramahansa Yogananda
~~~
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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