I wish you peace of mind

[Ray]

“The punishment of every disordered mind is its own disorder.”

Augustine of Hippo

Good morning, I hope all is well with you and that you are finding some semblance of peace of mind these days. I know many do not but in my view a lot of their turmoil is self-inflicted in part. Some of us seem to have developed impatience even to the point of a quick-to-anger style. I feel sorry for those who find little peace for there is not much happiness in anxiety and anger.

As I was thinking about peace-of-mind I remembered a conversation with a friend who now holds a key national position who at one time felt she had to respond quickly to whatever situation she was in. Often her rapid response polarized conversations and created so much negative energy that her mind was left in turmoil. Fortunately my friend has gone from a time when she was seldom effective to now where she is one of the most effective people I know and has a positive national reputation. The secret of her success, patience, after she added at least a 10 second delay to beginning her comments or actions, she was no longer driven by a need to rush to judgment but rather allowed her mind to provide reasoned answers.

When I started to think about the value of some level of mental tranquility I went to my trusty computer in search of some wisdom to share. Here is one piece I found on the SuccessConsciousness webpage that I think has value.

Tips for Inner Peace and Balance

1. The moments immediately after awakening are important, as they often influence the mood of the day. These moments have to be used correctly.

After waking up in the morning, instead of thinking about the difficulties or tasks that are awaiting you, smile, and tell yourself what a wonderful day you are going to have. Think about the pleasant things you are going to do or experience, not the about the difficulties. Repeat to yourself several times that today you are going to maintain inner balance, common sense and peace of mind.

2. From the moment you wake up in the morning, until you go to sleep at night, try to maintain some degree of emotional detachment. This does not mean being indifferent or uncaring. It means not reacting immediately to situations, words, emotions or thoughts. It might not be so easy, but if you persevere, you will win. Take a few deep breaths or count to 10 before acting. This will, to some extent, calm you down.

3. If someone tells you something that you don't like, instead of getting insulted or retorting in anger, hold and delay your reaction. I do not mean that you fret and boil inside you, and just remain calm on the outside. This is not healthy. What I mean is that you look at the incident in a broader perspective. Is what the other person saying really important? Why do his or her words mean so much to you? Maybe he or she are right, and it would be wise to heed their words and opinion, instead of reacting in anger?

4. When encountering a problem or a failure, this could be sometimes devastating. At these times, always remember that if you descend into a valley, but keep walking on, sooner or later, you will arrive to a point, where you will start climbing up again. No matter what happens, remember that there is always a way out. After every fall, there is rising up again. This understanding will help you restore your inner peace and balance in these situations.

5. Developing inner strength, and the ability to make the mind quiet, through concentration exercises, meditation and detachment, will take you a long way toward attaining and maintaining a state of inner peace and balance.

~~~

“Peace of mind arrives the moment you come to peace with the contents of your mind.”

Rasheed Ogunlaru

~~~

Two dogs were walking down the street.  The one dog says to the other, "Wait here a minute, Herb, I'll be right back." He walks across the street and sniffs this fire hydrant for a couple minutes, then walks back across the street.

The other dog, Herb, says, "So, what was all that about?"

The dog first dog says, "Oh, nothing much. I was just checking my messages."

~~~

"Being over the hill is lots better than being under it!"

~~~

A priest is repairing a fence surrounding his parish. He notices a small boy is standing nearby for a long time. The priest finally asks him, "Do you want to speak with me, my son?"

"Oh, no. I'm just waiting."

"Well, waiting for what?" came the priest's reply.

"Waiting to hear what a priest says when he hits his finger with a hammer."

~~~

The weak can never forgive. Forgiveness is an attribute of the strong.

Mahatma Gandhi

~~~

Two men went moose hunting every winter without success.  Finally, they came up with a fool-proof plan.

They got a very authentic female moose costume and learned the mating call of a female moose. The plan was to hide in the costume, lure the bull, then come out of the costume and shoot it. They set themselves up on the edge of a clearing, donned their costume, and began to give the moose love call. Before long, their call was answered as a bull came crashing out of the forest and into the clearing. When the bull was close enough, the guy in front said, "Okay, let's get out and get him."

After a moment that seemed like an eternity, the guy in the    back shouts, "The $%^&#% zipper is stuck! What are we going to do?"

The guy in the front says, "Well, I'm going to start nibbling grass, but you?   You'd better brace yourself."

~~~

Time flies whether or not you're having fun.

~~~

Morris bought a new fridge for his house. To get rid of his old fridge, he put it in his front yard and hung a sign on it saying . "Free to good home, You want it -- you take it". For three days the fridge sat there without even one person looking twice at it....

Eventually, Morris decided that people were too untrusting of the deal, that it looked "too good to be true"... So he changed the sign to read "Fridge for sale -- $150". The next day someone stole it.

~~~

If I had influence with the good fairy who is supposed to preside over the christening of all children, I should ask that her gift to each child in the world be a sense of wonder so indestructible that it would last throughout life.

Rachel Carson

~~~

A plane leaves Los Angeles airport under the control of a Jewish captain. His copilot is Chinese. It's the first time they’ve flown together and an awkward silence between the two seems to indicate a mutual dislike. Once they reach cruising altitude, the Jewish captain activates the auto pilot, leans back in his seat, and mutters, I don’t like Chinese."

"No rike Chinese?" asks the copilot, "why not?"

"You people bombed Pearl Harbor, that's why!"

"No, no," the copilot protests, "Chinese not bomb Peahl Hahbah! That Japanese, not  Chinese."

"Japanese, Chinese, Vietnamese... doesn't matter, you're all like!"

There's a few minutes of silence. "No rike Jews!" the copilot suddenly announces.

"Why not?" asks the captain.

"Jews sink Titanic," the copilot responds.

"Jews didn't sink the Titanic!" exclaims the captain, "It was an iceberg!"

"Iceberg, Goldberg, Greenberg, Rosenberg, no mattah... all same"

~~~

When we are unable to find tranquility within ourselves, it is useless to seek it elsewhere.

Francois de La Rochefoucauld

~~~

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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