Ray’s Daily
November 18, 2020
“At first glance, it may appear too hard. Look again. Always look again.”
Maryanne Rodmacher
It is time for us to recognize that we must hunker down and do what we can to avoid becoming infected with the Covid virus. In my case it means again more isolation and patience as I wait for the day when when we will be able to restart are lives.
We must believe that there will be a time when we can rejoin society. I think the new normal will be a lot different than what it has been. It is going to be up to us what our normal will be. Rather than regret what we have lost we can use the process to make it as good as possible. Here is an article I got from the Zen Habits blog that reminds us ho a fresh start frees us to make positive plans.
The Magic of a Fresh Start
By Leo Babauta
One of the biggest obstacles to sticking with a habit change, a new system, a goal or long-term project … is that we get disrupted. Something interrupts our progress — we skip a workout day or two — and then some programming in our brains turns that into a message of how we’re not good enough, we can’t do it, we should just give up. This stops so many people from making long-term progress. It stops us from simply starting again. This is because most of us don’t realize the power and magic of a Fresh Start.
A Fresh Start is when we get to start anew, with a blank slate. It’s waking up to a brand new morning, with a day we get to use however we want.
When we miss a few days of meditation, or eat junk for a week because of various celebrations, or fall off from writing our book … instead of making that to mean that this whole thing is a waste of time or that we somehow suck … we can look at it as a Fresh Start.
I’m not simply reframing things to “be positive.” There’s a lot of power available to us in a Fresh Start that we miss out on.
A Fresh Start is magical:
We can see the habit or project with fresh eyes, as if we’d never seen it before, and bring a sense of wonder and curiosity to what we’re doing. There’s a sacredness to letting everything go from the past and just showing up in a new moment
We can learn something from the past failure or disruption, and use this new start as a way to get better at that difficulty, armed with this new information, so that every Fresh Start becomes a new opportunity to learn, grow, get better at something. We get to reinvent ourselves, reinvent what we’re taking on, reinvent what we want to make our lives to be.
We can recommit, and remind ourselves of why we’re committed to this. This is all missed when we ignore the magic and power of a Fresh Start!
The beautiful thing is that a Fresh Start is available to us not only when we get disrupted or stumble … but in every moment. Every day. Every new meditation or workout or work session. Every new meeting with someone, every new conversation. Every new breath.
~~~
“Believe in yourself. Believe in your capacity to do good and great things. Believe that no mountain is so high you cannot climb it. Believe that no storm is so great that you cannot weather it. Believe in yourself.”
Gordon B. Hinckley
~~~
In his attempt to put a new patient at ease during a checkup, my friend, a gynecologist, struck up a casual conversation. After noticing the label on her sandals read “Hecho en Mexico,” he asked his patient, “So when were you in Mexico?”
Flabbergasted, the patient asked, “You can tell all that from a pelvic exam?”
~~~
“Maturity is only a short break in adolescence.”
Jules Feiffer
~~~
Things You Will Never Hear In A Western Movie:
“I reckon I’ll have me a half-caf double latte with a twist.”
“Gentlemen, rather than get caught up in mindless reaction, let’s draw upon our feminine selves for a more intuitive solution.”
“Can we postpone this duel till 12:05? I gotta use the little boys room.”
“Y’know, Badlands Pete… a roaring campfire, good coffee, nice prairie breeze, just you ‘n’ me… what say we put on the rhinestone gowns and dance a jig or two?”
“Let’s see… hardtack and pemmican… that’s three grams of fat, seven grams of protein, and two starches.”
“You ‘n’ Slim round up them strays, and I’ll tell Cookie to get started on the gazpacho and the fondue.”
“That’s him! That’s the yella-bellied varmint who shot my therapist!”
“He was a strong man, a good marshal, and I reckon he had a keen eye for interior decoration.”
“Hey, Buck, do these chaps make my butt look big?”
“It’s like I keep tellin’ ya, Earl: men is from Tombstone, women is from Dodge.”
“HANG HIM HIGH, BOYS!! …Okay, now a little to the left… …Oooh! Stop right there. Perfect!”
~~~
“It is said that power corrupts, but actually it’s more true that power attracts the corruptible. The sane are usually attracted by other things than power.”
David Brin
~~~
A rabbi, a priest and a minister have their houses of worship side by side, so they decide to car pool .On the first day, the other two are shocked to see the pastor lay hands on the hood and pray silently. “What are you doing?” the priest asks.
The pastor looks up. “I’m just dedicating the car to the Lord’s service.”
“Good idea! Be right back!” the priest exclaims, running into his church. He emerges with a bulb on a short stick, shaking water out of it onto the car. The rabbi stares. “What are you doing?” he says.
“I’m consecrating it with holy water,” the priest replies.
“Great idea!” the rabbi says, and runs into his synagogue’s tool shed. He emerges with a hacksaw and takes off an inch of the tailpipe.
~~~
You’re just jealous because the voices only talk to me.
~~~
Late one night, a man walks into a dentist’s surgery and says, “Excuse me, can you help me. I think I’m a moth.”
Dentist: “You don’t need a dentist. You need a psychiatrist.”
Man: “Yes, I know.”
Dentist: “So why did you come in here?”
Man: “Well …. the light was on…”
~~~
“Always remember, money isn’t everything. But also remember to make a lot of it before talking such fool nonsense.”
Earl Wilson
~~~
A man walked into a dress shop and told the clerk he wanted to buy an evening gown for his wife as a surprise.
“What size?” asked the clerk.
The man shrugged blankly.
Trying to help, the clerk inquired, “Well then, what are your wife’s measurements?”
The man thought for a moment. “Small, medium, and large, in that order.”
~~~
She said: Most men say they read Playboy for the articles. Right, and I go to shopping malls for the music!
~~~
“Playing big doesn’t come from working more, pushing harder, or finding confidence. It comes from listening to the most powerful and secure part of you, not the voice of self-doubt.”
Tara Mohr
~~~
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 twenty 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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