Day 3000: Three Thousand Days of Blogging!

To celebrate my 3000th day of blogging, I am going to post a few typical photos.

A seascape near where I live.

A delicious and nutritious meal prepared by my husband Michael.

A cat!

The Daily Bitch Calendar for this momentous and precious day.

Here are links to some blog posts from those 3000 days:

Day 6: The Ascending Coil

Day 38: Reasons why I should move to Charleston, SC

Day 120: A walk down Boylston Street on April 29, 2013

Day 277: Very Unique

Day 377: Free-floating, re-sticking anxiety (The __ Metaphor)

Day 581: Ann’s Beauty Tips

Day 759: We go on

Day 783: Best supporting Oscars

Day 822: April Fools

Day 1000: A Thousand

Day 1358: In the clouds

Day 1367: What does “INR” stand for?

Day 1379: My boyfriend, Michael

Day 1505: The Year of the _______

Day 1818: Children

Day 2000: Two thousand days of blogging

Day 2292: A Year of No Worry

Day 2423: The Greatest Theatrical Event Ever

Day 2553: Why we love weddings

Day 2608: Fun with Phobias, Part 5

Day 2684: Oscar

Here‘s “I Love You 3000” with Stephanie Poetri & Jackson Wang:

No matter what numbered day it is, it is Day 1 of the rest of your life, so here‘s “On Day One” by Pat Metheny:

Three thousand thanks to all who have helped me blog over three thousand days, including YOU!

Day 2741: Troubling Questions

What troubling questions are on your mind, here and now?

My troubling questions include:

• What do I do about the realities of white supremacy?
• How do I deal with the realities of the coronavirus?
• Why is wearing a mask a political issue?
• What does the American flag even mean these days?
• How will we know when (and if) to euthanize our cat Oscar, who has cancer?
• Why am I so worried about making mistakes?
• Should I go back to being a vegetarian?
• Why is it so difficult to wait?
• Why is it so difficult for the human mind to stay in the present moment?
• Why are people so concerned about their image and how they appear to others?
• Why is it that when life is more difficult,  people often feel worse about themselves?
• Why are trauma and abuse so often multi-generational?
• What do you do when you suspect a friend or colleague is having a mental breakdown?
• Does power corrupt and does absolute power corrupt absolutely?
• What is going to happen to nature as the world keeps warming?
• What kind of world is my 22-year-old son going to live in?
• Should we try to protect those we love from pain?

Do you see any troubling questions in these recent photos? (And is that a troubling question?)

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If you have any troubling questions about why I have slinkies in my office, see this very early blog post.

Jennifer Eberhardt answers troubling questions about racial bias in this excellent TED talk:

Unquestionably, that is a very important video.

Circling  back to the image that inspired today’s title …

… here is the live studio version of “Cloisonné” from Album Raises New and Troubling Questions by They Might Be Giants:

 

Feel free to raise new and troubling questions or answer any question in a comment, below.

Thanks to all who took the trouble to read this “Troubling Questions” post today, including YOU.

Day 2685: Despair

In all the two thousand, six hundred and eighty-five days I have been blogging, I have never once used the word “despair.”

Today, the news causes me to despair.

What should I do with despair?  I shall turn to others who have written about despair before:

“Because I remember, I despair.  Because I remember, I have the duty to reject despair.” — Elie Weisel

“The opposite of hope is despair, and when we despair, it is because we feel that there are no choices.” — Warren G. Bennis

“It is not despair, for despair is only for those who see the end beyond all doubt. We do not.” — J.R.R. Tolkien

“Never despair, but if you do, work on in despair.” — Edmund Burke

“The most common form of despair is not being who you are. ” — Søren Kierkegaard

“Despair is is the price one pays for self-awareness.  Look deeply into life, and you’ll always find despair.” — Irvin Yalom

“Despair is the fleeting fury of a hopeless soul.” — Immanuel Kant

“Despair is the suicide of the heart.” —  Jean Paul Richter

“Human life begins on the other side of despair.” — Jean-Paul Sartre

“Life, which creates despair, is stronger than despair.” — Alain Grandbois

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it–always.”
― Mahatma Gandhi

“But what we call our despair is often only the painful eagerness of unfed hope.” —  George Eliot

“Action is the antidote to despair.”  — Joan Baez

I was beginning to despair that all the quotes today would be from men, until I found those last two.

Do you see despair in any of my photos from yesterday?

Here is “Despair” by the Yeah Yeah Yeahs:

I believe gratitude is an antidote to despair, so thanks to all who help me create this blog, day after day.