Ray’s Daily
February 24, 2021
Let us not bankrupt our todays by paying interest on the regrets of yesterday and by borrowing in advance the troubles of tomorrow.
Ralph W. Sockman
Life can be a challenge, especially these days. It is important that we don’t let the little things bother us. It helps if we look around us and find there is so much to appreciate.
Here is an abridged article that offers us the value of keeping things in perspective.
How Wonder Can Help You Overcome Worry
It can help put everything else in perspective.
By Whitney Hopler
This world is full of situations that can trigger worry – falling ill, losing a job, navigating conflict in a relationship, and much more. Yet you can develop the strength within you to overcome worrying about the stressful circumstances around you. Pursuing wonder can prevent your life from shrinking down to the level of circumstances that make you feel anxious. When you encounter wonder and feel awe, you gain a greater perspective on your circumstances that can empower you to overcome anxiety. Here’s how wonder can help you overcome worry:
Wonder Can Shift Your Perspective – Discovering and enjoying the wonder around you lifts your perspective beyond your concerns to the positive possibilities that exist for you. Wonder can help you stop worrying about what scares you and start hoping and working for the best in your circumstances.
Rather than worrying when you feel afraid, choose to pursue wonder instead. Do something that sparks awe in your soul. Go outside to stargaze, take a wonder walk, pray or meditate, laugh with a loved one, enjoy music, savor a meal, etc. The possibilities for experiencing wonder are endless. The key is to intentionally search for wonder. By moving forward toward wonder with purpose, you’re training your mind to become more aware of it.
Wonder Can Inspire You to Find Peace – Whenever someone or something triggers worry in you, choose to pray or meditate about that worrisome thought instead of wallowing in it. Intentionally release the anxiety you feel and pray for the help you need to navigate your circumstances well.
Wonder inspires you to look beyond your circumstances to a greater source of hope – and as you do, you’ll gain a sense of peace that will eclipse your worries.
Worry isn’t worth your time and energy. You can stop worrying and start enjoying peace by searching for the wonder around you. Once you start the habit of pursuing wonder, you’ll discover it – along with the strength to help you overcome worry.
~~~
Look up at the stars and not down at your feet. Try to make sense of what you see, and wonder about what makes the universe exist. Be curious.
Stephen Hawking
~~~
Makes sense?
There is no egg in eggplant nor ham in hamburger; neither apple nor pine in pineapple. English muffins weren’t invented in England or French fries in France. Sweet meats are candies while sweet breads, which aren’t sweet, are meat.
Quicksand works slowly, boxing rings are square and a guinea pig is neither from Guinea nor is it a pig. And why is it that writers write but fingers don’t fing, grocers don’t groce and hammers don’t ham?
If the plural of tooth is teeth, why isn’t the plural of booth beeth? One goose, 2 geese. So one moose, 2 meese? Doesn’t it seem crazy that you can make amends but not one amend. If you have a bunch of odds and ends and get rid of all but one of them, what do you call it? Is it an odd, or an end?
If teachers taught, why didn’t preachers praught? If a vegetarian eats vegetables, what does a humanitarian eat? In what language do people recite at a play and play at a recital? Ship by truck and send cargo by ship? Have noses that run and feet that smell?
How can a slim chance and a fat chance be the same, while a wise man and a wise guy are opposites? You have to marvel at the unique lunacy of a language in which your house can burn up as it burns down, in which you fill in a form by filling it out and in which, an alarm goes off by going on.
English was invented by people, not computers, and it reflects the creativity of the human race, which, of course, is not a race at all.
~~~
“If there is anything the nonconformist hates worse than a conformist,
it’s another nonconformist who doesn’t conform to the prevailing standard of nonconformity.”
Bill Vaughan
~~~
An anthropologist was assigned to Borneo, where he found a guide with a canoe to take him up the river to the remote site he where he would make his collections. At noon on the second day of travel up the river they began to hear drums. “What are those drums?” asked the anthropologist, knowing he was in cannibal country.
The guide turned to him and said “No worry. Drums OK, but very bad when they stop. “They both went ghostly pale when the drums suddenly stopped. The guide crouched in the belly of the canoe and covered his ears. “Do as I do! Very important!”” intoned the guide with great urgency.
“Why? What does this mean?” asked the panicked anthropologist. “Drums stop! Next come guitar solo!”
~~~
“The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can’t read them.”
Mark Twain
~~~
Ways to Tell If You Have PMS
* Everyone around you has an attitude problem.
* You’re adding chocolate chips to your cheese omelette.
* The dryer has shrunk every last pair of your jeans.
* Your husband is suddenly agreeing to everything you say.
* You’re using your cellular phone to dial up every bumper sticker that says, “How’s my driving- call 1-800-###-####.
* Everyone’s head looks like an invitation to batting practice.
* Inanimate objects get on your nerves.
* You’re counting down the days until menopause.
* You’re sure that everyone is scheming to drive you crazy.
* The ibuprofen bottle is empty and you bought it yesterday.
* You dump the pretzels out of the bag, and eat the salt. While simultaneously eating a gallon of ice cream.
* You cry at commercials one minute, and contemplate assault the next.
~~~
Change is inevitable — except from vending machines.
~~~
Tourists picked up a 9 year old boy walking along a dirt road, soaked to the skin and very cold. “How did this happen,” they asked.
“Well every night my old man drives me down to the lake and rows out to the middle and throws me in. I have to swim to shore and walk all the way home.”
“That’s got to be hard on a little fellow like you.”
“Nah”, he says, “gettin’ outta the bag is the hard part.”
~~~
“Sometimes, when I look at my children, I say to myself, “Lillian, you should have remained a virgin.”
Lillian Carter
~~~
A young scholar from New York was invited to become Rabbi in a small old community in Chicago. On his very first Shabbat, a hot debate erupted as to whether one should or should not stand during the reading of the Ten Commandments.
The next day, the rabbi visited 98 year-old Mr. Katz in the nursing home. “Mr. Katz, I’m asking you as the oldest member of the community,” said the rabbi, “what is our synagogue’s custom during the reading of the Ten Commandments?”
“Why do you ask?” asked Mr. Katz.
“Yesterday we read the Ten Commandments. Some people stood, some people sat. The ones standing started screaming at the ones sitting, telling them to stand up. The ones sitting started screaming at the ones standing, telling them to sit down… “
“That,” said the old man, “is our custom.”
~~~
Good habits, which bring our lower passions and appetites under automatic control, leave our natures free to explore the larger experiences of life. Too many of us divide and dissipate our energies in debating actions which should be taken for granted.
Ralph W. Sockman
~~~
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@comcast.net. Back issues are posted at http://rays-daily,com/ currently there are hundreds of readers from around the world.
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