Ray’s Daily
March 25, 2021
The real beauty of a person comes from standing tall for what you believe in and showing confidence in yourself that you can make a difference!
I am often awe struck by some of my new friends. Many of them are even much older than I am, often with physical limitations due to their age. Even with that they maintain a positive outlook and face each day with optimism.
Their belief in themselves lets them continue to thrive. They may be frail but they continue to stand tall in my eyes. Here is a story that reminds me of many of my friends,
Stand tall like the Sunflower
I find it humorous sometimes that even the most mundane occurrences can have an impact on our awareness. My wife, daughter, and I moved into our home nine years ago and we spent a lot of time and energy in the yard to get it looking like it does today. We live on a corner, higher than street level, and the entire side of the yard is encased by a professionally built rock wall. The front of the house though is another story because instead of a wall along the sidewalk the rocks appear to be just thrown up onto the dirt as if someone were in a hurry to finish.
We did the best we could with what we had to work with and called this area our ‘rock garden’. Whenever we had left over flowers or plants, Denise or I would stick them out front, just to bring some colour to the area.
I still do all of my own yard work, even the dreaded weed-pulling. After putting on my knee pads I assume the position to clear the yard of weeds, even in the rock garden.
Last summer I had reached the end of the rock garden and found a tiny little plant that I could not immediately identify. I knew I didn’t plant it and Denise claimed that she didn’t either. We decided to let it continue growing until we could figure out what it was.
Weeks passed and as I made my way back to the mystery plant, it appeared to be a Sunflower. It was spindly looking with a tall skinny stalk and only one head on it. I decided to baby it along and weed around it. As I pulled rocks from the area to get to the weeds, I noticed something unusual. The Sunflower had not started where I saw the stalk begin. It actually had begun under a big rock and grown under and around it to reach the sun.
That’s when I realized that if a tiny little Sunflower didn’t let a big rock stand in its way of developing, we too have the capability of doing the same thing. Once our environment begins to see that we believe in ourselves like that little Sunflower, we can attain the same nourishment and nurturing as well.
First, we need to believe in ourselves knowing we have the capabilities in achieving our desires. Like the Sunflower, it knew it had the capability to overcome its obstacle because it trusted in the Universal Truth and had faith it would succeed.
Stand tall like the Sunflower and be proud of who and what you are and the environment will begin to support you. You will find a way to go under or around your big obstacle in order to reach your desires.
Written by Tony Masiello
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You can stand tall without standing on someone. You can be a victor without having victims.
Harriet Woods
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You’ll Know Yours Is A Redneck Church If:
The finance committee refuses to provide funds for the purchase of a chandelier because none of the members knows how to play one.
People ask, when they learn that Jesus fed the 5000, whether the two fish were bass or catfish, and what bait was used to catch ’em.
Opening day of deer season is recognized as an official church holiday.
The choir is known as the “OK Chorale.”
Boone’s Farm “Tickle Pink” is the favorite wine for communion.
Finding and returning lost sheep isn’t just a parable.
High notes on the organ set the dogs on the floor to howling.
People think “rapture” is what you get when you lift something too heavy.
The choir robes were donated by (and embroidered with the logo from) Billy Bob’s Barbecue.
The collection plates are really hub caps from a ’56 Chevy.
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INFLATION: Cutting money in half without damaging the paper.
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The Smiths were dining out when his wife noticed her ex-husband at the bar.
“Honey,” she said as she pointed the guy out, “that guy at the bar has been drinking like that since I left him seven years ago.”
Her husband said, “That’s silly, no one celebrates that much.”
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The nice part about living in a small town is that when you don’t know what you’re doing, someone else does.
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Perks of Being Over 60
1. Your supply of brain cells is finally down to manageable size.
2. Your secrets are safe with your friends because they can’t remember them either.
3. Your joints are more accurate meteorologists than the national weather service.
4. People call at 9 PM and ask, “Did I wake you?”
5. People no longer view you as a hypochondriac.
6. There is nothing left to learn the hard way.
7. Things you buy now won’t wear out.
8. You can eat dinner at 4 P.M.
9. You can live without sex but not without glasses.
10. You enjoy hearing about other peoples operations.
11. You get into heated arguments about pension plans and politicians.
12. You have a party and the neighbors don’t even realize it.
13. You no longer think of speed limits as a challenge.
14. You quit trying to hold your stomach in, no matter who walks into the room.
15. You sing along with the music piped into the Mall.
16. Your eyes won’t get much worse.
17. Your investment in health insurance is finally beginning to pay off.
18. Your ankles swell and you can’t feel them either.
19. You have lost your sense of smell.
20. Your taste buds only sense the alcohol in medicines. and worst of all…… You can’t remember who sent you this darn list.
~~~
Why do fat chance and slim chance mean the same thing?
~~~
The new Librarian decided that instead of checking out children’s books by writing the names of borrowers on the book cards herself, she would have the youngsters sign their own names. She would then tell them they were signing a “Contract” for returning the books on time.
Her first customer was a second grader, who looked surprised to see a new Librarian. He brought four books to the desk and shoved them across to the Librarian, giving her his name as he did so.
The Librarian pushed the books back and told him to sign them out. The boy laboriously printed his name on each book card and then handed them to her with a look of utter disgust.
Before the Librarian could even start her speech he said, scornfully, “That other Librarian we had could write.”
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Ever notice that you have to get to church pretty early to find a seat in the back row?
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A young man was walking past an old woman on a street corner, when she said, “Son, if it is not too much trouble, can you see me across the street.”
The young man said, “Just a minute.” Then he walked across the street, looked back and yelled, “Yes, I can see you!”
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Life brings what it brings. I might be young but I’ve learnt this: prepare for each blind corner with your strongest shoulder dropped, ready to smash through whatever is thrown at you next. Once the dust clears you will be standing tall, a champion, a victor. NOTHING will be able to knock you down once you’ve taken the biggest hits this life has to offer, so come on life, BRING IT!
Adam Johnson
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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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