Ray’s Daily
November 24, 2021
The thankful heart opens our eyes to a multitude of blessings that continually surround us.
James E. Faust
I hope those of you in the US enjoy Thanksgiving tomorrow. I know I will as I join with my wife at her special care residence. We will also go to my oldest daughters on Saturday to celebrate with with three generations of our family. Because of the Holiday there will be no Daily on Thursday or Friday this week. We will get together again next Monday.
In the meantime here are some Thanksgiving thoughts penned by Jon Gordon I would like to share with you.
THE POWER OF THANK YOU
In the spirit of Thanksgiving this week I’d love to share with you the benefits and power of two simple words. THANK YOU.
They are two words that have the power to transform our health, happiness, athletic performance and success. Research shows that grateful people are happier and more likely to maintain good friendships. A state of gratitude, according to research by the Institute of HeartMath, also improves the heart’s rhythmic functioning, which helps us to reduce stress, think more clearly under pressure and heal physically. It’s actually physiologically impossible to be stressed and thankful at the same time. When you are grateful you flood your body and brain with emotions and endorphins that uplift and energize you rather than the stress hormones that drain you.
Gratitude and appreciation are also essential for a healthy work environment. In fact, the number one reason why people leave their jobs is because they don’t feel appreciated. A simple thank you and a show of appreciation can make all the difference.
Gratitude is like muscle. The more we do with it the stronger it gets. In this spirit here are 5 ways to practice Thanksgiving every day of the year.
1) Take a Daily Thank You Walk – I started this practice 15 years ago and it changed my life. Take a simple 10-30 minute walk each day and say out loud what you are thankful for. This will set you up for a positive day.
2) Meal Time Thank You’s – On Thanksgiving, or just at dinner go around the table and have each person, including the kids, say what they are thankful for.
3) Gratitude Visit – Martin Seligman, Ph.D., the father of positive psychology, suggests that we write a letter expressing our gratitude to someone. Then we visit this person and read them the letter. His research shows that people who do this are measurably happier and less depressed a month later.
4) Say Thank You at Work – When Doug Conant was the CEO of Campbell Soup he wrote approximately 30,000 thank you notes to his employees and energized the company in the process. Energize and engage your co-workers and team by letting them know you are grateful for them and their work. Organizations spend billions of dollars collectively on recognition programs but the best and cheapest recognition program of all consists of a sincere THANK YOU. And of course don’t forget to say thank you to your clients and customers too.
5) Say Thank you and Goodnight – At bedtime reflect on your day, identify and share all that you are thankful for. If you have children you can read Thank You and Goodnight with them and add to it.
I hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Thank you for allowing me to share this newsletter with you. I’m thankful for YOU.
Jon
~~~
Give thanks not just on Thanksgiving Day, but every day of your life. Appreciate and never take for granted all that you have.
Catherine Pulsifer
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Don’t adjust your mind, the fault is with reality.
~~~
MOMMY, WHAT IS THE DEFINITION OF…?
Amnesia What did you just ask me?
Apathy I don’t care.
Bigotry I’m not going to tell someone like you.
Damnation Go to hell!
Dyslexia Beeing Sackwards
Egotistical I’m the best person to answer that question.
Evasive Go do your homework.
Hostility If you ask me just one more question, I’ll kill you!
Ignorance I don’t know.
Indifference It doesn’t matter.
Influenza You’ve got to be sick to ask me that question.
Insomnia I stayed awake all last night thinking of the answer.
Irreverent I swear to God, you ask too many questions!
Narcissism Before I answer, tell me, don’t I look great?
Over-Protective I don’t know if you’re ready for the answer.
Paranoid You probably think I don’t know the answer, do you?
Procrastination I’ll tell you tomorrow.
Repetitive I already told you the answer once before.
Self-Centered Well, I know the answer, that’s all that matters.
Suspicious Why are you asking me all these questions?
~~~
A friend is a person before whom I may think aloud.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
~~~
Weary of constantly picking clothes up from the floor of her son’s room, a mother finally laid down the law: Each item of clothing she had to pick up would cost her son 25 cents. By the end of the week, he owed her $1.50. She received the money promptly, along with a 50 cent tip and a note that read, “Thanks, Mom — Keep up the good work!”
~~~
Some friends were on vacation in Maine, and while watching fireworks heard their small son say, “Oh, God!” The father quickly cautioned his son, “Please don’t speak the Lord’s name in vain.” The boy nodded but obviously misheard, because he asked quietly, “Is it OK if I speak his name back in Minnesota?”
~~~
Diner: I can’t eat such a rotten chicken. Call the manager!
Waiter: It’s no use. He won’t eat it either.
~~~
Four Catholic ladies are having coffee together, discussing how important their children are.
The first one tells her friends, “My son is a priest. When he walks into a room, everyone calls him ‘Father’.”
The second Catholic woman chirps, “Well, my son is a bishop. Whenever he walks into a room,
people say, ‘Your Grace’.”
The third Catholic woman says smugly, “Well, not to put you down, but my son is a cardinal. Whenever he walks into a room, people say “Your Eminence.”
The fourth Catholic woman sips her coffee in silence. The first three women give her this subtle “Well…?”
She replies, “My son is a gorgeous, 6′ 2”, hard bodied, well-hung, male stripper. Whenever he walks into a room, women say, “My God….”
~~~
Having been married ten years and still living in an apartment, the wife would often complain about anything, as she was tired of saving every penny to buy a “dream home.”
Trying to placate her, the husband found a new apartment, within their budget. However, after the first week, she began complaining again.
“Honey,” she said, “I don’t like this place at all. There are no curtains in the bathroom. The neighbors can see me every time I take a bath!”
“Don’t worry,” replied her husband. “If the neighbors DO see you, they’ll buy curtains. Maybe for us, too!”
~~~
Why can’t life’s problems hit us when we’re seventeen and know everything?
A.C. Jolly
~~~
Coming home from his Little League game, Billy swung open the front door very excited.
Unable to attend the game, his father immediately wanted to know what happened. “So, how did you do son?” he asked.
“You’ll never believe it!” Billy said, “I was responsible for the winning run!”
“Really? How’d you do that?”
“I dropped the ball.”
~~~
In the end, though, maybe we must all give up trying to pay back the people in this world who sustain our lives. In the end, maybe it’s wiser to surrender before the miraculous scope of human generosity and to just keep saying thank you, forever and sincerely, for as long as we have voices.
Elizabeth Gilbert
~~~
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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