As usual, I wasn’t sure what I wanted to blog about this morning. As usual, I considered and let go of several ideas.
Some of those ideas were related to love; some of the ideas were related to loss. Some were related to connection with others; some were related to being alone. Some of the ideas were heavy; some of them were light.
This is what I settled on, after checking my iPhone for recent photos:
After I saw this sign at work yesterday, I realized there were (at least) two different interpretations of the phrase “Help Yourself”:
- Share in this gift (in this case, coffee).
- Only you can change your life.
Signs are amazing, aren’t they?
Thanks to all who have visited here today, no matter where, who, or how you are*.
_____________________________________________
* And whether or not** you drink coffee.
** If you’re wondering if this was good grammar, check this out.
*** Aren’t footnotes fun?
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 
I like to think that it was written for both interpretations! A double whammy with a coffee chaser! 🙂
Great! Thanks so much for reading and for this wonderful comment.
I love the double-edges of this one, Ann. I just can’t help myself. Oh, my, I may have discovered a variation on the third … Have a great Saturday.
I’m glad you can’t help yourself, Mark; I always enjoy the play of your mind, Thanks for visiting and this comment, and I wish you a great Saturday, too.
The footnotes are definitely fun. 🙂
Thanks!! I’m smiling back at you.
Thank you for the reference to the use of “or not” after “whether”. I love tricky grammar issues (or hate them, as is the case when some media person uses the wrong construction), and have often wondered whether to use “or not”. (See? I got it — I think.)
You are welcome, Debbie, and whether or not I am being grammatically correct here, I love your visits.
yes signs and words can mean so many things to so many people!
Yes, indeed, Diana. Thanks for visiting and commenting.
Lovely post. I avoid creating footnotes, but I am addicted to reading them… hmm, some adjustment needed there.
Help yourself to any adjustment or change inspired by this post. And thanks, so much, for reading and commenting.
AnElephantCant tell Ann how happy he is
That she popped in to see him to escape from the clamour
He is quite surprised
Because she seems awfully nice
So he guesses she brushes up on her grammar
The definitive work of the 21st Century:
http://anelephantcant.me/2012/12/30/alliterative-onomatopoetic-oxymorons/
Whether or not you believe this is up to you!
I am so glad you told me (and that you popped in here, too). Oh, and thanks for the link to the definitive work. Very nice.
This post really made me laugh. Thanks! I love signs, too. (You might enjoy Stick Man’s Really Bad Day by Steve Mockus, if you see it around. It’s a picture board book with a wickedly dark sense of humour … every page is a sign)
Not long ago you commented that when you first started posting, you struggled with being public, or with having readers, something like that. I’m trying to figure out what to do now that I’ve been discovered by one of my kids. Just throw the doors open and let my kids read my blog? Change the name? Keep it private? Still debating. If you ever are short of ideas about what to blog about, I’d love to know how you made peace with that discomfort, as I notice some of your readers are your friends. Or is this already in your archives?
I love reading your blog, by the way. Every post is a gem.
I will look for “Stick Man’s Really Bad Day,” which is already a great title. As far as what I disclose in these posts, I definitely make choices, considering who might be reading. Sometimes I push the limits more than others. I have written about this, during the year.
I am so glad to have you as a reader. Your comments mean a lot. “Every post is a gem” is such a gift to me!
Oh, and this post, on self-disclosure, might include some relevant thoughts.
Thanks for reading my posts, Ann.
I like ‘Try growing, it’s Friday’.
I think Carl Jung is a very interesting person.
Many years ago I read about him quite a lot.
Hope your weekend is joyful and relaxing.
Cheerio, Aunty Uta 🙂
Thanks Aunty Uta. I’m glad to read your posts, and I’m happy you visited and commented here. Cheerio to you, too.
🙂
I thought “help yourself’ usually translated to “help me” by finishing off this [fill in the blank with some thing I really should not have bought] so I won’t blow up to the size of a rhino. I like the idea that it really translates to advice on your independence. Help yourself, quick! Because if I have to listen to you complain about [fill in the blank with some issue that makes my eyes cross] again I will scream. Funny how you can see a thing a hundred times, and yet someone can still make you see it in a new way. Thanks. I will probably never see a help yourself sign again the same way. What if I have to make a sign!! Oh no!! Perhaps “For Sharing.” I must be tired. I think I’ve achieved babbling. LOL
Love this comment, Brenda. I also like seeing familiar things in new ways. Thanks for your help in that. And I babble every day.
🙂 You made me laugh. Having a great time today. Now if I could just figure facebook out. Sigh.
I don’t think anybody has figured Facebook out. So good luck with that!
Yeah. Exactly. LOL
I would help myself and then help myself.
A double helping, Bradley. Great!
I believe you are always helping yourself when you help yourself to a cup of coffee.
Timothy ties it all together! Thanks for the visit and the comment.
‘Help Yourself’. I love it, Ann. I always find that I help myself most when I’m helping someone else.
I’m so glad, and I love this comment, too.
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I love coffee! And that’s definitely a deeper meaner to me too…help yourself, I mean. 😉
Thanks for the comment, Jess. I am helping myself, today, by responding to comments that go by me, some how. Always great to see you!
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