Who is on your mind today?
Wonderful people?
Difficult people?
Shadows from the past?
People who are reassuring?
People who have a lot of nerve? People you see during Thanksgiving?
People who come together when the feeling’s right?
People who make music?
You’re on my mind today, so
As I roll out of bed every morning, I write a blog post, hoping for a minimum of eye rolls from my readers. That’s the way I roll.
Let’s roll out a definition of “That’s the way we roll.”
“That’s the way we roll” (“This is the way we roll”) means “That’s the way we are”. Another way of saying “That’s the way we roll” is “That’s the way we do things when we are being true to ourselves.”
“The way we roll” is how people behave when they aren’t “putting on a front” (faking it) but are expressing their true nature or their “real” attitude or reaction/s to that time and place. “That’s the way we roll” or “That’s the way I roll” is bluntly and unapologetically said with the unspoken addition of “and if you don’t like it, I couldn’t care less”.
….
The core meaning of “to roll” is “to move a certain way”. It’s my position that the slang meaning of “to roll” = “to behave in an intrinsic manner” comes from the belief that the way a person “lives and moves” reflects and determines that person’s being.
That’s the way pancocojams rolls and defines “That’s the way we roll.”
It’s time for me to roll out my latest photos, because that’s the way we roll here at The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally.
Harley rolls up on the sofa until people show up for a Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy Board Meeting. That’s the way he rolls.
According to the rolling bus pictured above, The Nutcracker is rolling into Boston soon. Here‘s one way it rolls on YouTube:
Here‘s the way Boston Ballet dancers roll in “The Russian Dance” from The Nutcracker:
People in political power are rolling all sorts of ways these days. I hope some will be rolling out of the way a year from now. That’s the way I hope our country rolls.
I’m looking forward to seeing the way you roll in the comment section, below.
Here’s the way gratitude rolls at the end of my daily blog posts.
It’s not unusual for “Families” to show up in my Coping and Healing groups.
Yesterday, the group chose to focus on families, telling stories about families they were born into and families they had chosen. I shared my experience of the world seeming less safe after my mother died in 2008 — when I realized I was now an orphan.
GoodReads has four thousand, eight hundred and eighty-nine quotes about Families (but who’s counting?). Here are a small percentage of them:
“All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is different in its own way.” — Leo Tolstoy
“The capacity for friendship is God’s way of apologizing for our families.” — Jay McInerney
“Parents were the only ones obligated to love you; from the rest of the world you had to earn it.” — Ann Brashares
“Happiness is having a large, loving, caring, close-knit family in another city. “– George Burns
“When everything goes to hell, the people who stand by you without flinching — they are your family. “– Jim Butcher
“My dear young cousin, if there’s one thing I’ve learned over the eons, it’s that you can’t give up on your family, no matter how tempting they make it.” — Rick Riordan
“If you can’t get rid of the family skeleton, you might as well make it dance.” — George Bernard Shaw
“After a good dinner one can forgive anybody, even one’s own relations.” — Oscar Wilde
I think this topic and these quotes are especially timely, because
… the holidays are here!
Let’s see if there are families in my other photos from yesterday:
Albert Schweitzer (shown above) is a member of the family I choose, as evidenced by these quotes from him:
“Success is not the key to happiness. Happiness is the key to success. If you love what you are doing, you will be successful.”
“Sometimes our light goes out, but it is blown again into instant flame by an encounter with another human being.”
“There are two means of refuge from the misery of life — music and cats.”
Here’s one means of refuge from the misery of life …
… and another:
Feel free to share thoughts and feelings about families, below.
I am grateful for all my family members out there, including YOU.
It’s not unusual for me to
In yesterday’s blog post — Day 2545: Transformation — I asked people to identify the guitarist on the 1965 Tom Jones hit, “It’s Not Unusual.”
While I was told the guitarist was Jimmy Page, it turns out that the guitarist was either Jimmy Page or Joe Moretti AND the keyboardist was definitely Reginald Dwight, more famously known as Elton John.
It’s not unusual for me to send an email like this to Michael:
Who was the keyboardist on “It’s Not Unusual”?
One of the most famous keyboardists in rock and roll history!
Don’t cheat! Answer provided tonight!
Love,
One of the least famous keyboardists in history
It’s not unusual for me to share my latest photos.
It’s not unusual for a cat to look at a king or a blogger.
It’s not unusual for me to share definitions, like this one:
A CAT MAY LOOK AT A KING
A cat may look at a king is an English proverb that means even someone of low status has rights. A cat may look at a king implies that all people have certain minimal rights by virtue of being alive. Like many proverbs, the origin is unknown. The first printed version of the idiom a cat may look at a king was published in 1562, in The Proverbs And Epigrams Of John Heywood, “What, a cat may look on a king, ye know!” It is almost certain that the proverb existed in oral tradition long before it was written down. A cat may look at a king is a proverb that is not as popular as it was in the past, perhaps because inalienable human rights are more recognized in the present time, or perhaps because the power of kings is not what it once was.
It’s not unusual for me to appreciate any comments you might share, below.
It’s not unusual for me to express gratitude for all who help me create these daily blog post, including YOU!
When I search my old blog posts for “transformation,” I immediately find this:
When I wrote that post last June, I was definitely performing some self-transformation, as I often do with this blog. That day, I was transforming the sadness, anger, and shock I felt about somebody’s behaviors into a positive and upbeat blog post. I left some subtle clues about that transformation in my photos of book titles (which include lots of “f-cks,” one “sh-t”, and a “You Can’t Hurt Me”). That behind-the-scenes transformation helped me cheer up, move on, and face another day.
Today, I want to share transformation of a different kind. Yesterday, my Coping and Healing group transformed our roving thoughts into focused mindfulness by using the angel cards which a past transforming group member left me years ago. One of the members chose this card:
I chose this card …
… which was one of the few blank cards in the pack. When I focused on that card during the mindfulness exercise, I noticed a transformation. Somebody had tried to write something on that card, with a pen that had no ink. Can you see it?
I tilted the card into the light, to try to discover the hidden markings.
At first, I thought the hidden word (which definitely started with a “T”) was “Thankfulness” ( probably because I find thankfulness so transformative). After many moments of mindful scrutiny, I finally discovered what somebody had tried to write on that angel card, years ago.
Transformation
Then, when it was my turn to check in, I shared that transformation with the rest of the group.
Do you see transformation in any of my other recent photos?
One of the group members yesterday asked the rest of us how we would transform ourselves, if transformation was possible. Somehow, that transformed into a conversation about ducks, including
Here‘s “Vital Transformation” by John McLaughlin and The Mahavishnu Orchestra, which I experienced as very transformative during the 1970s.
Now it’s time for another transformation — I shall transform this blog post into a guessing game! Last night, Michael chose this classic Tom Jones song for us to dance to after dinner:
Michael told me that the young guitarist playing on that track later transformed into one of the most famous guitarists in rock and roll. After I guessed Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, and others, I finally came up with the right answer. Can you?
Feel free to transform your thoughts and feelings into a comment, below.
As always, I end these posts with a transformation of thankfulness for all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU!
In the past, when I have had red eye (which I am prone to developing because I’m on anti-coagulant medication for the rest of my life), I have asked people to please pardon my appearance.
I assumed that
No more! From now on, whenever I get red eye, I shall ask for no pardons. Why should I? After all,
I am also not going to ask you to please pardon the appearance of my latest photos.
I’m also not going to ask you to pardon the appearance of last night’s special at the Birch Street Bistro in Roslindale, Massachusetts, which was delicious.
Personally, I find it very freeing to stop asking for pardons about appearances. Does anybody want to join me in that?
Here‘s “Guide for the Perplexed” from PARDON OUR APPEARANCE by The XVIII Century Greats.
I like the appearance of that dog and I look forward to your appearance in the comments section, below.
Please accept the appearance of my gratitude, here and now.
To assume that I and I alone have all the answers is to eventually find myself entirely alone without any answers. — Craig D. Lounsbrough
I always assumed that everybody shared my love for overcast skies. It came as a shock to find out that some people prefer sunshine. — Glenn Gould
Assumptions are quick exits for lazy minds that like to graze out in the fields without bother. — Suzy Kassem
Before you assume try this crazy method called “asking.” — curiano.com
I don’t assume there’s a song called “Don’t Assume.” I’m going to ask YouTube about that.
It took a while, but I found “Don’t Assume” by Nichols’n’Nu (Maggie Nichols and Peter Nu).
Don’t assume that Maggie’s name is always spelled correctly on that album cover.
I don’t assume
Don’t assume that people know how much you appreciate them. Thank them every day.
“Coping and Healing” is the name of the therapy groups I offer at the Primary Care Practice of a major teaching hospital in Boston.
Because I’d like as many people as possible to be coping and healing, I designed the flyer for Coping and Healing to invite everybody in.
Anybody interested in coping and healing would likely be on board with
Do you see signs of coping and healing in my other photos from yesterday?
Here‘s the Coping and Healing song I wrote last year (to the tune of “Mack the Knife”):
If your patients need support, dears,
For anxiety, depression or stress.
Coping and Healing is a group, dears,
They can start in a week or less.
It meets five times every week, dears,
And the patients can attend when they choose.
Good for sharing and learning skills, dears,
And it helps to deal with blues and the news.
Tuesday afternoons,
Wednesday mornings, a-ha,
Twice on Thursdays,
And Fridays at lunch.
If you refer some patients to me,
We will all thank you a bunch.
© Ann Koplow, 2018
Sharing helps with coping and healing, so feel free to share any thoughts and feelings in a comment, below.
Gratitude is also good for coping and healing, so thanks to all who help me create these daily coping and healing posts, including YOU!
Everything you’re handed includes today’s blog and this image I captured with my hand yesterday:
Ready to be handed my thoughts about that?
My hands have now rewritten the title to this post several times …
Day 2537: Everything we hand you
Day 2537: Everything I hand you
Day 2537: Everything I’m handed
Day 2537: Compostable
Day 2537: Hand outs
Day 2537: Everything
… before returning to my original title. As my fiancé Michael says, “First guess, best guess.”
Now you’re going to be handed more images my hand, heart, and mind have chosen.
Sometimes, everything you’re handed can feel like too much. Please keep these thoughts at hand when you’re overwhelmed:
Here‘s Marc Cohn with “The Things We’ve Handed Down.”
Now it’s time to hand you my gratitude for all who help me create these posts with my own two hands, every day.
So you won’t be feeling left out, I want to explain the meaning of today’s blog title.
In yesterday’s therapy group, people wanted to focus on the topic of feeling left out. By the end of the group, several people had noticed the irony that feeling left out is such a universal and common human experience. Chances are, when you’re feeling left out, others are too, even if they don’t show it. I didn’t want to be leaving out this helpful reminder:
Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides.
In the group, we all wrote and/or drew about our personal experiences of feeling left out. Here’s my “Feeling Left Out” poem:
If you’re having trouble reading that, please don’t be feeling left out — I’m sure you are not alone. Here’s “Feeling Left Out” by me.
When I feel left out
I’m afraid to shout
“I feel left out!”
What is that about?
There must be shame
That’s the feeling I’ll name
Feeling left out of a game
Or anything else can affect me the same.
I doubt my worth
Been doing that since birth
If I feel left out
I have no doubt.
What helps with this?
It doesn’t miss
If I do self care
Compliment myself if I dare
Be brave enough to share
And emerge from my lair.
I don’t want my other photos from yesterday to be feeling left out, so here they are:
Nobody seemed to be feeling left out at the Steely Dan concert last night; even the police there were singing along to the songs. So that those of us missing the late Walter Becker wouldn’t be feeling left out, Donald Fagen thanked him at the end of the show.
When I search YouTube for “feeling left out steely dan,” the first song they performed last night immediately pops up:
If you sign in and leave a comment below, your thoughts won’t be feeling left out.
I don’t want gratitude to be feeling left out, so thanks to all who help me not leave out any feelings here on WordPress, including YOU.
