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23 Mar 05 - 09:12 AM (#1441493) Subject: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite From: Jerry Rasmussen This is a companion thread to "Today Is A Good Day Because." On those days when it seems like everything is going wrong (which are for most people, more frequent than the days when everything is going right.) Today is good day despite the prediction that we are getting four to eight inches of snow tonight, and my practice with the New Haven Male Fellowship Chorus may well be cancelled. I was also tired when I got up this morning because I'd tossed and turned most of the night trying to get a grip on something in my life that is causing me a lot of distress. These last few days have been good "despite," too. Last Saturday, my practice with the Gospel Messengers was cancelled because one of the Messengers wives was very sick, and Sunday when we had a family gathering planned, we had to cancel that too because of sickness. Tuesday (yesterday) we cancelled the rescheduled Messengers practice because it was Derrick's birthday. Sometimes, it seems like everything is working against you. So, why is today "good?" Hey, I woke up tired, but I could see and walk, and there was food in the refrigerator. And, I have a beautiful wife and the confidence that all things DO come to pass... not just the good times, which can be fleeting, but the bad times, too. The times they are a-changing. Always. Best to savor the moment, even when so many things seem to be going wrong. So, if you woke up this morning and your cat just used your angora sweater for a kitty litter box, stop and think for a minute why today is a good day, "despite.." Jerry |
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23 Mar 05 - 09:14 AM (#1441496) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day DESPITE.. From: Jerry Rasmussen CALLING ALL CLONES! I misstyped the title on this... and when I changed it to "Today Is A Good Day Despite.." it still came out "Because." The Title should be with the word "Despite", not "Because". I didn't want to repeat an existing thread. Come on Joe... fix it for me.. Thanks, Jerry
-Joe Offer- |
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23 Mar 05 - 09:18 AM (#1441501) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Because.. From: wysiwyg I think a large number of the posts in the other thread speak to this subject, and/or people use it to keep their attention on the positive without necessarily stating or dwelling upon the "despite" parts..... I don't think we need another thread for it, and I hope they are combined. ~Susan |
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23 Mar 05 - 10:27 AM (#1441568) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Because.. From: Davetnova It's a good day because despite the bad things good things still happen. |
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23 Mar 05 - 10:47 AM (#1441583) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Because.. From: jimmyt I love the new thread Despite as it speaks to an entirely different area. I read once that each day you make a decision on whether you arwe going to be happy or sad. It may be because or it may be despite, but my friend Jerry has hit it dead center as usual. Joe Clone, please change to Despite! Have a great one Jerry. |
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23 Mar 05 - 02:35 PM (#1441799) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Ebbie Today is a good day despite the fact that I am fiercely missing my brother - who died in 1999- because I am listening to songs on the tapes he and I made in the years of his illness. Listening to his now silenced voice- weary and shaken as it was- reminds me so forcibly of his absence. On the other hand, it also reminds me of good times, lovely times. |
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23 Mar 05 - 02:56 PM (#1441815) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Jerry Rasmussen You're right, jimmy. It doesn't take much to be thankful for days when everything IS good. The trick is to be thankful, when they aren't. Jerry And thanks, Joe! Next time I'll be more careful.. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:01 PM (#1441879) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: gnu ... the fact that the doc screwed up a needle biopsy and the internal bleeding prevented a good draw on the mystery bump. When he went for the second needle, he stopped short and said, "Oh. Nurse, ice please." She turned, looked, said, "Oh.", and made a mad dash out of the room while he began wipng and applying gauze. I was kept for observation, told to go home and apply ice, and go to the emergency if it swells any more or turns dark red. The mystery bump is now three times as big and it hurts like a mother. But it's a good day. Since it's near the exterior of the neck, there's very little chance of suffocation. And, I guess he felt sorry because he booked a CT scan and requested it be WITHIN 30 days. Thirty days! That's damn near the front of the line! The only thing that bugs me is, when I said, "Thank you.", to both the doc and the nurse, they each replied, "Good luck." Not "Your welcome." Not "Bye now." Not "Take it easy." Not even, "Kiss me arse, goodbye." They said, "Good luck." Now, how many of us would find that uplifting in any sort of way? |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:10 PM (#1441891) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Jerry Rasmussen Hey, gnu: Pass the "good luck" off as insensitive and unthinking. With no malice and plenty of aforethought, we'll put you in prayer for a complete healing. (I realize that offering to pray for someone can be looked upon as offensive in here, but please take it in the spirit it is offered.) It's been pretty much proven that a positive attitude is beneficial to healing... glad you're taking it that way. And I lift up thanks that here in the not always so good old U.S.A. we can get things like catscans in a couple of days. I have friends in Canada, so I know that month's wait is almost faster than the speed of sound. Jerry |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:34 PM (#1441900) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST I do not understand the purpose of the thread. List all the bad things and then go on to say that life is wonderful anyway because why exactly? Let's see. This past week alone a good friend died unexpectedly, another was diagnosed with terminal cancer, my dog has 2 tumors on her stomach, the house is a disaster area, I'm broke, the front porch is about to cave in, there was a giant spider in the shower this morning, I dropped a jar of mayo on the floor, got up late, had nightmares, it's freaking cold in here, my heart condition acted up today, the chickens didn't lay any eggs, it's snowing and the roads are really bad, my loved one must travel on them for over 60 miles this evening to get home and I have something growing in my stomach that I'm pretty sure is going to require some type of surgery. Shall I go on? Despite all that, my toenails, while the ugliest ones on the planet, do not hurt. Hip hip hooray for me. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:43 PM (#1441903) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: jimmyt That's right Guest! You have the spirit! Those toenails may be your turning point. No, the point is , if I may paraphrase Jerry, that despite the gloom and doom you have aptly written above, things could be a lot worse. It may not be something you can do every day, but a positive outlook sure wouldn't hurt, would it? I hope things get better for you. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:46 PM (#1441907) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: gnu Because life sucks and then you die. Get use to it and laugh at it. You can laugh or cry. I choose to laugh. Thanks Jerry. After I left the hospital, I did laugh. And it's been two hours with no increase in the swelling so life is swell indeed. Could be the fact that I had no ice in the house so I used frozen veggies... peas and corn because I figured the green beans and carrots would be too bulky. I think the veggies have a healing power that ice just doesn't have. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:50 PM (#1441909) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: gnu Well, I didn't cut and paste that post correctly... anyway, you all get the drift. Oh yeah. I second jimmyt when he says he hopes things get better for you, Guest. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:55 PM (#1441910) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST Dearest Brother Jimmy, Things ARE worse. Things can ALWAYS get worse. No matter what anyone writes here you have no idea of how their lives truly are and I find it incredulous to think that it has been proposed that we all tiptoe through the tulips and sing about bluebirds when things are bad. Even worse, ask someone to write out what is horrible to them and then to list the good things. Why preface the good with the bad? Of course things can be worse, for all of us...in the meantime, I'll look to the good instead of the bad then to the good. It is much more productive. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:56 PM (#1441911) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST Gnu, I am glad to hear that things are better for you. I am glad you laughed. Having had a most difficult year I don't find having to focus and think about the bad to find the good. Makes no sense at all to me. If it does to you, GREAT. |
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23 Mar 05 - 04:58 PM (#1441912) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST That should read that I don't find having to focus and think about the bad to find the good in things to be helpful in any manner at all. |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:07 PM (#1441919) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: SINSULL ...the fact that the apartment I sold three years ago has changed hands twice and the last sale was $255,000 OVER what I sold it for. I am the happiest I have ever been in my life and the move to Maine made this possible. Mary Sunshine |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:21 PM (#1441928) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: jimmyt Guest. You know I like Brussels sprouts but don't suppose everyone does, nor do I try to suggest they like them nor do I really give a rip. If things are bad for you, I wish they werent. That does not, in any way indicate that I should nor will change my outlook on life because you don't find it constructive. Sorry for your sadness |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:26 PM (#1441933) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST Nowhere did I say I was sad. Nowhere did I suggest you change your outlook on life. What I did say is that I find it ridiculous to point out all the bad to locate the good. If it works for you, GREAT. |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:27 PM (#1441935) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Ebbie My mother once told me forlornly that my brother and his wife had had to have braces put on the teeth of each of their children- and it was " going to cost $2000" . I suggested that she be glad they had the money for it. ..."a good friend died unexpectedly, another was diagnosed with terminal cancer, my dog has 2 tumors on her stomach, the house is a disaster area, I'm broke, the front porch is about to cave in, there was a giant spider in the shower this morning, I dropped a jar of mayo on the floor, got up late, had nightmares, it's freaking cold in here, my heart condition acted up today, the chickens didn't lay any eggs, it's snowing and the roads are really bad, my loved one must travel on them for over 60 miles this evening to get home and I have something growing in my stomach that I'm pretty sure is going to require some type of surgery." Guest It isn't easy to see the flip side- but Guest, in the midst of the troubles looming on your horizon and those already there, you might try being glad that you have a loved one, with all the richness that entails. Couldn't hurt. Nor that amidst all the bad things life throws at you, it also throws unexpected good things, things that include good news, good outcomes, and bad things that never happened. Count on it. |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:35 PM (#1441944) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: kendall Gnu, I don't blame you for being pissed. Some health pros studied under Doctor Kevorkian. |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:35 PM (#1441945) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: sian, west wales Well, it's raining - but, Hey!, that's what's bringing the snowdrops up and before long it'll be primrose season too! And I've spent the day doing Arts Council grant applications - but, Hey!, if I don't apply they won't send me any of that nice folding stuff that pays bills. And there's another work day tomorrow - but, Hey!, I HAVE work to GO to (many don't) and then it's a LONG WEEKEND. Not only that, but Easter weekend - and for us Christians Easter is ... well, it's the whole point, ain't it? Move over, Pollyanna, you've got some serious competition for your Glad Game in this thread! siân |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:44 PM (#1441954) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST Ebbie Perhaps you should have told your mother to be happy the grandchildren had teeth. |
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23 Mar 05 - 05:47 PM (#1441959) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: jimmyt many children are born without teeth. |
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23 Mar 05 - 06:50 PM (#1442006) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Ebbie sian, west wales, you've got it! Seriously, when it comes to happy and sad, I've tried both ways. I prefer happy. |
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23 Mar 05 - 07:11 PM (#1442040) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Bunnahabhain And optimism is so much better than pessimism. Not quite the same as happy and sad, but close. I have also tried both, and pessimism left me skirting round a nervous breakdown. |
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23 Mar 05 - 07:14 PM (#1442043) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Liz the Squeak ... some persons best effort to spoil it, I'm still here, still happy and have very pretty toenails. LTS |
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23 Mar 05 - 07:20 PM (#1442049) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST It's funny how you folks have missed my point entirely. No skin off my back. If you feel you must bring up painful events, thoughts, experiences to share before you type up your happy thoughts, so be it! There has been no attempt or intent to make anyone unhappy. Happiness to you and your pretty toenails! |
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23 Mar 05 - 07:29 PM (#1442058) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Jerry Rasmussen Guest: Nobody would be foolish or insensitive enough to tell someone else to always look on the sunny side. (Although the Carter Family did.) I've had times in my life where I couldn't see anything positive... went into a depression. Sometimes, the suffering just overwhelms whatever good you might otherwise be able to see in your life. To the other extreme though, there are people whose whole day can be ruined because someone beat them to a parking place. A while back, I was waiting in a check out line at a supermarket and a new girl was behind the counter. She messed up something and got all confused and had to call her supervisor to straighten it out. In the meantime the guy in front of me was having a fit, bitching loudly so that everyone could hear him. That just made the girl more upset. Finally, I said to him, "I just got back from visiting someone in the hospital who would give every cent they have if they could just take your place and stand here in line. They'll never walk again." The man shut up, but when the girl finished checking him out, he turned to her and me as he left and said, with a big smile, "Have a nice day!" I don't know what you've gone through in the last year, and I am not telling you to brush it off as nothing. I do hope that in time you will be able to begin appreciating some of the good things in your life. Someone must care about you, and there must be something that gives you pleasure. If not, I hope it's on it's way. Jerry |
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23 Mar 05 - 08:46 PM (#1442109) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Liz the Squeak Why, thank you GUEST.... I didn't meant to imply you personally, although you must be aware that there is another GUEST who goes around doing just that... pissing on people's chips, yanking their chains, pushing their buttons and generally being a monumental pain in the ass..... It is for them that this thread is meant, I'm sure! LTS |
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23 Mar 05 - 10:20 PM (#1442181) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: freda underhill hi Jerry this is a good thread, thank you for starting it. today is a good day for me, despite having to wait around for hours wasting time, waiting for someone who is already over two hours late, because .. i used to live with this person and did a lot of waiting over a decade and a half. despite all those years of waiting, and the separation, we are still good friends, and he is being kind enough to take my gear to canberra today for the folk fest. now, i know he'll get here eventually, pick up my stuff, drive off, and then i can go into the city and get my other stuff done. so, today is a good day. |
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24 Mar 05 - 05:21 AM (#1442338) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: GUEST,Hungover Yesterday the lady I've been having a great adventure with for the last ten months or so told me that she had to go back to the guy she was seeing when we met and started loving. Having got wrecked last night, and this morning having not just a hangover but also that horrible caving-in feeling in the pit of my stomach whenever I think about her, the sun is shining and, every so often, I have an image of her face being happy, and I know that's how she's going to be with the other bloke, so that can't be bad, can it? |
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24 Mar 05 - 05:31 AM (#1442343) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Pied Piper Martin PP |
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24 Mar 05 - 05:57 AM (#1442356) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: gnu Kendall... I wasn't "pissed" at the doc. Just kinda taken aback when he said, "Good luck." I was, however, rather pissed at one of his nurses, but that's another story. Okay then. It's a new day, sooo... today is a good day because I have a coupon for two dollars off an ice cream cake from DQ. Wait, that's not right. I have to think of something crappy for this thread. Oh yeah. ... the fact that I had to TRY to sleep in a semi-sitting position on my back all night and had nightmares. I know what brought on the bad dreams. When I was leaving the hospital yesterday, I saw my ex for the first time in nearly six years. The last time I saw her was when she picked up our cat and we both had tears in our eyes. I miss Maggie so much, even after nearly six years apart. Best cat I ever had. |
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24 Mar 05 - 07:57 AM (#1442461) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Fibula Mattock Today is a good day despite the-bloke-with-whom-I-am-smitten still being indecisive about stuff, because I've had such a brilliant time with him for the past 2 weeks. But I'm afraid I have to agree with earlier Guest - if it had been a bad day it's unlikely I'd have anything nice to say, to or about anyone. |
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24 Mar 05 - 08:45 AM (#1442501) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: sian, west wales Hungover guest, the up side being that somewhere in the Mudcat threads is one about single mudcatters looking for luuuuuuvvvvvvv. Can't think how the title ran, or I'd look it up for you. You probably ain't interested at present, but (happily) it'll still be there when you are. see? despite ... siân |
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24 Mar 05 - 09:16 AM (#1442532) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Rapparee Like the bumper sticker said, "Every Day Above Ground's A Good One." Considering where I've often been told I'll probably end up, I agree. But then, I also agree with Mark Twain: "Hell for the company and Heaven for the climamte." |
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24 Mar 05 - 10:00 AM (#1442570) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Jerry Rasmussen gnu: I got a good laugh out of your last posting. And, in keeping with the title of this thread (tongue firmly in cheek) I suppose I HAVE to think up something crummy about today. I could say that I'm not looking forward to going out to shovel snow as soon as I get off the internet, but I really don't mind, so that doesn't count. But, I did have a really upsetting dream where I awoke heart-hurting, and I realize it's all part of something I am trying to work out in my waking hours. Reminds me of a story. Doesn't everything? The Pastor of a Lutheran church I was a member of many years ago told me of his early years as a Pastor when he was a young man. At his first church, he was trying to find a way to get to know his parishioners so in a bible study, he asked each person to tell which bible saying gave them the greatest comfort and encouragement when they were struggling through hard times. The most common response was the 23rd Psalm... "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I shall fear no evil..." But, when an elderly man's turn came, he said that whenever he is having hard times, the biblical saying that gets him through them is "And it came to pass." I really laughed when my friend Dennis told me that. In the bible, I've always thought of that phrase as a means of saying that time had passed, or just moving on to another "scene" in the bible. Kinda like a biblical version of "Meanwhile, back at the bunk house." But, that's not the way this old man took it. He figured that if it said "It came to pass" that it must be true, and whatever he was going through, it too would come to pass and he'd be alright. Kinda like a kidney stone. So, whatever we are going through right now, it too will come to pass. It's a matter of getting through it, and in the meantime, trying to stay focused on the good things around us, so they don't slip away without notice. "How many good times are taken for granted, and only remembered when they've passed away? Jerry |
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27 Mar 05 - 06:06 PM (#1445137) Subject: RE: BS: Today Is A Good Day Despite.. From: Jerry Rasmussen Today is a good day, despite reading some of the on-going threads in here. Life is too good to get sucked in to endless exchanges of insults. Happiness is not a four letter word. Jerry |