Each morning when I open my eyes I say to myself: I, not events, have the power to make me happy or unhappy today. I can choose which it shall be. Yesterday is dead, tomorrow hasn’t arrived yet. I have just one day, today, and I’m going to be happy in it.
Groucho Marx
Yesterday I attended a performance of the musical Chorus Line that I thoroughly enjoyed. It has always been a favorite of mine and I had been looking forward to seeing it again. I am grateful that my life is frequently enriched with such events, some entertaining, some rewarding and some heartwarming. All in all they do add polish to a life that would be pretty dull if I had decided to choose to just sit back resting as the world passed me by.
The more I thought about the enjoyment I get from the events that take place in my life I realized that in reality each day is an event unto itself. In other words I don’t have to wait for the opening of another show or the beginning of another cruise for I have the ability to enjoy every day by savoring its content. My enjoyment is not deferred awaiting another pleasurable experience as I get to recognize the value that comes from the people I meet every day, the mind pictures that are generated by the books I listen to as I drive from place to place, the discoveries that I make as I visit both new and old venues.
How great it is to have the opportunity to have my life’s picture painted with interesting special events in the foreground backed by rich scenery the results of the brush strokes I add every day. And you know what, I get to choose what is put on the canvas, I get to let the dark clouds fade into memory never being captured on my canvas.
A few years ago my friend ken sent me a list of natural highs that we can enjoy, here are a few that we might overlook instead of understanding that our recognizing them as the paint that always exists on our personal artist’s palette just waiting for us to apply it’s colors to our life canvas. Here are a few of those on his list:
A special glance.
Taking a drive on a pretty road.
Lying in bed listening to the rain outside.
Laughing at yourself.
Waking up and realizing you still have a few hours left to sleep.
Making new friends or spending time with old ones.
Running into an old friend and realizing that some things (good or bad) never change.
Getting out of bed every morning and being grateful for another beautiful day.
Getting a hug from someone you care about.
Knowing you’ve done the right thing, no matter what other people think.
~~~
The more passions and desires one has, the more ways one has of being happy.
Charlotte Catherine
~~~
“Sir, What is the secret of your success?” a reporter asked a bank president.
“Two words”
“And, Sir, what are they?”
“Right decisions.”
“And how do you make right decisions?”
“One word.”
“And, What is that?”
“Experience.”
“And how do you get Experience?”
“Two words”
“And, Sir, what are they?”
“Wrong decisions”
~~~
Doctors can be frustrating. You wait a month-and-a-half for an appointment, and he says, I wish you’d come to me sooner.
~~~
A customer called the airline’s reservation office to pay for his ticket with a credit card. The reservation specialist asked him, “Would you please spell the name as it appears on the card, sir?”
The customer carefully replied, “V-I-S-A.”
~~~
A little boy was overheard praying, “Lord, if you can’t make me a better boy, don’t worry about it. I’m having a real good time like I am.”
~~~
G.K. Chesterton and several other literary figures were once asked what book they would prefer to have with them if they were stranded on a desert island.
“The complete works of Shakespeare,” said one writer without hesitation.
“I choose the Bible,” said another.
“How about you?” they asked Chesterton.
“I would choose Thomas’ Guide to Practical Shipbuilding,” replied Chesterton.
~~~
According to a recent survey, men say the first thing they notice about a woman are their eyes. And women say the first thing they notice about men is they’re a bunch of liars.
~~~
A Sunday school teacher asked her little children, as they were on the way to church service, “And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?”
One bright girl replied, “Because people are sleeping.”
~~~
Have you noticed since everyone has a phone camera these days no one talks about seeing UFOs like they use to.
~~~
Some members of a health club were having their first meeting. The director of the group said, “Now, I’d like each of you to give the facts of your daily routine.”
Several people spoke, admitting their excesses, and then one obviously overweight member said, “I eat moderately, I drink moderately, and I exercise frequently.”
“Hmm?” said the manager. “And are you sure you having nothing else to add?”
“Well, yes,” said the member. “I lie extensively.”
~~~
“If you can’t be a good example, then you’ll just have to be a horrible warning.”
Catherine Aird
~~~
A businessman who needed millions of dollars to clinch an important deal went to church to pray for the money. By chance he knelt next to a man who was praying for $100 to pay an urgent debt. The businessman took out his wallet and pressed $100 into the other man’s hand. Overjoyed, the man got up and left the church. The businessman then closed his eyes and prayed, “And now, Lord, that I have your undivided attention…”
~~~
The best things in life are nearest: Breath in your nostrils, light in your eyes, flowers at your feet, duties at your hand, the path of right just before you. Then do not grasp at the stars, but do life’s plain, common work as it comes, certain that daily duties and daily bread are the sweetest things in life.
Robert Louis Stevenson
~~~
Stay well, do good work, and have fun.
Ray Mitchell
Indianapolis, Indiana
Management is not responsible for duplicates from previous dailies. The editor is somewhat senile.
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