Ray’s Daily
February 23, 2021
Serenity comes when you trade expectations for acceptance.
Gautama Buddha
I have a friend who I really like who provides support to my fellow elderly residents. She has a good heart who morns the loss of the friends she has made when they pass on. Unfortunately in the world we live in the loss of others is a somewhat common experience.
I, too morn the loss of those who have offered their friendship. I also sometimes struggle with my feeling for those who have become ill and infirm. I have found that if I am to find peace in my life I must learn to live with its reality. I am glad that I seem to have learned that acceptance of what we can’t control has provided me with the ability to stay upbeat.
As outlined in the article below, serenity is something we all should have as our goal
Serenity
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom. It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control. Its presence is an indication of ripened experience, and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
A person becomes calm in the measure that one understands themselves as a thought evolved being, for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought, and as one develops a right understanding, and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect, one ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve, and remains poised, steadfast, serene.
The calm person, having learned how to govern themselves, knows how to adapt themselves to others; and they, in turn, reverence their spiritual strength, and feel that they can learn of them and rely upon them. The more tranquil a person becomes, the greater is their success, their influence, their power for good. Even the ordinary trader will find their business prosperity increase as one develops a greater self control and equanimity, for people will always prefer to deal with a person whose demeanor is strongly equable.
The strong, calm person is always loved and revered. They are like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land, or a sheltering rock in a storm. Who does not love a tranquil heart, a sweet-tempered, balanced life? It does not matter whether it rains or shines, or what changes come to those possessing these blessings, for they are always sweet, serene, and calm. That exquisite poise of character which we call serenity is the last lesson of culture; it is the flowering of life, the fruitage of the soul. It is precious as wisdom, more to be desired than gold, than even fine gold. How insignificant mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life – a life that dwells in the ocean of truth, beneath the waves, beyond the reach of tempests, in the eternal calm!
How many people we know who sour their lives, who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers, who destroy their poise of character, and make bad blood! It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of self-control flow few people we meet in life who are well-balanced, who have that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!
Written by James Allen
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If you cannot find peace within yourself, you will never find it anywhere else.
Marvin Gaye
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The following quotes were allegedly taken from actual medical records as dictated by physicians: (maybe even yours?)
~ By the time he was admitted, his rapid heart had stopped and he was feeling better.
~ On the second day, the knee was better and on the third day it had completely disappeared.
~ The patient has been depressed ever since she began seeing me in 1983.
~ Patient was released to outpatient department without dressing.
~ Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
~ The patient refused an autopsy.
~ The patient expired on the floor uneventfully.
~ The patient’s medical history has been remarkably insignificant with only a 40 pound weight gain in the past three days.
~ She slipped on the ice and apparently her legs went in separate directions in early December.
~ The patient had waffles for breakfast and anorexia for lunch.
~ She is numb from the toes down.
~ The skin was moist and dry.
~ When she fainted, her eyes rolled around the floor.
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“The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.
The optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.”
Winston Churchill
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This Marine drill instructor, completely frazzled by the ineptitude of his recruits, burst into a blue streak of swearing hot enough to blister paint. He broke off suddenly when he noticed one of the recruits had been talking in ranks.
“WHAT WAS THAT YOU SAID, RECRUIT??” the drill sergeant hollered.
In a quivering voice, the recruit replied, “I said, to myself, Drill Sergeant Sir, ‘if that sucker thinks I’m going to stand here and take his mess . . . well, he’s certainly an uncanny judge of character.”
~~~
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win.
Mahatma Gandhi
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The minister was preoccupied with thoughts of how he was going to ask the congregation to come up with more money than they were expecting for repairs to the church building.
Therefore, he was annoyed to find that the regular organist was sick and a substitute had been brought in at the last minute. The substitute wanted to know what to play.
“Here’s a copy of the service,” he said impatiently. “But, you’ll have to think of something to play after I make the announcement about the finances.”
During the service, the minister paused and said, “Brothers and Sisters, we are in great difficulty; the roof repairs cost twice as much as we expected and we need $4,000 more. Any of you who can pledge $100 or more, please stand up.”
At that moment, the substitute organist played “The Star Spangled Banner.”
And that is how the substitute became the regular organist!
~~~
Esther: “You’ll be sorry – I’m going to leave you.
Milton: “Make up your mind – which one is it going to be?”
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A little girl from Minneapolis came home from Sunday school with a frown on her face. “I’m not going back there anymore,” she announced with finality. “I don’t like the Bible they keep teaching us.” “Why not?” asked her astonished mother. “Because,” said the little girl, “that Bible is always talking about St. Paul, and it never once mentions Minneapolis.”
~~~
In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. But, in practice, there is.
~~~
Dear Sir,
Since taking your body building course, I now have a 44 inch chest, a 32 inch waist, 17 inch biceps and an 18 inch neck. I feel absolutely marvellous but at the same time, I do feel that my chances of marriage are spoiled.
Yours faithfully,
Mary Goldberg
~~~
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference. Living one day at a time; enjoying one moment at a time; accepting hardships as the pathway to peace; taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is, not as I would have it; trusting that He will make all things right if I surrender to His Will; that I may be reasonably happy in this life and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. Amen.
Reinhold Niebuhr
~~~
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
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