Day 2586: What are the chances?

What are the chances that

• I’d still be blogging daily after seven chance-filled years,
• I’ve never used the word “chance” or “chances” in a title before, and
• two photos I took yesterday had to do with chances?

What are the chances that there are at least  two timely quotes about chances from Mark Twain?

Necessity is the mother of taking chances.

When a person cannot deceive himself the chances are against his being able to deceive other people.

What are the chances of anybody understanding the meaning of this button, which I found on the floor of my car?

What are the chances of anybody being able to read this blurry photo?

What are the chances of there being a cat in today’s blog?

What are the chances of there being a dog in today’s blog?

What are the chances that traffic is going to suck in Boston today?

What are the chances that somebody would give somebody they love this t-shirt as gift?

What are the chances that there are several  “Chances Are” songs (here, here, here, and here on YouTube)?

What are the chances that I knew about only one of those songs before today?

What are the chances that you’re going to comment about this post?

Finally, what are the chances that I’ll end this post with gratitude?

 

Day 2482: So easy

It’s so easy for me to take photos on my drive into work because it’s so easy to be stuck in traffic around Boston.

It’s so easy for me to free associate about the phrase “so easy” …

• When I tell people that my Coping and Healing groups focus on doing more of what helps and less what doesn’t help, we agree that sounds so easy but is actually so difficult to do.
• As was pointed out by Ukrainian-American comedian, actor, and writer Yakov Smirnoff somewhere (it’s not so easy for me to remember where and when),  English has confusing idioms about pie and cake to describe something  that is so easy  (“easy as pie” and “piece of cake”),
• It’s so easy to fall down and not so easy to get up again.
• It’s so easy for me to fear the winter and not so easy for me to embrace it.
• It’s so easy to focus on the negative but not so easy to focus on the positive.
• It’s so easy to write the words “hope” and “love” but not so easy to hold on to them.
• It’s so easy for me to share my words and photos with you.

 

What I really really want is to share two version of “It’s So Easy” (so easy to find here and here on YouTube):

 

It’s so easy to be grateful to Buddy Holly, Linda Ronstadt, Yakov Smirnoff, people who learn and grow in groups, Boston, and YOU!

Day 2273: What I Don’t Want to Do Today

What I don’t want to do today includes:

• my taxes,
• reactions to the release of the Mueller report,
• anger,
• nothing,
• denial,
• desperation,
• cognitive distortions,
• too little or too much,
• dirty looks,
• pests,
• traffic,
• sexism,
• racism,
• ageism,
• homophobia,
• politics,
• judgment,
• robots,
• yesterday,
• tomorrow, or
• dying.

What I DO want to do today includes sharing my photos from yesterday …

… and this wonderful original creation by Jacob Collier.

What do you not want to do today?

I do want to thank Jacob Collier and everyone else who helped me do today’s blog and — of course! — YOU.