Day 1903: Who does that?

Who tweets on a Saturday when there are so many other things to do?

Who fires somebody right before his retirement and calls it “A great day for Democracy”? I wish I didn’t know.

Who tweeted yesterday,  worked on her taxes, AND went to a wonderful performance of Into the Woods at Brandeis University?

Who believes the United States will survive its current administration?  Who believes that pain and strife can result in growth and learning?

Who takes photos like these?

Who believes in unicorns? Who believes that time heals all wounds and wounds all heels?

Who does “Who Are You?”

Who does her best to thank those who help her create these blog posts (including the Who) and all who read them, including YOU?  Who?

 

 

Day 1887: Chaos

About six months ago (but who’s counting?), I published a blog post with the same title as this one.   At the risk of somehow spreading the chaos in today’s news, I want to quote how chaos came up in my group therapy presentation yesterday. This happened in the question and answer period after I described how my open-access groups work in a primary care practice in a renowned teaching hospital in Boston.

Audience member: Ann, I am assuming you are comfortable with chaos. How do you deal with it in your groups, which people can attend as they choose?

Me: When you give people access to the behavioral health care they need, there is less chaos than you might expect.

I actually do not experience chaos in my therapy groups, but I do experience more of it, these days,  in the world outside my groups. As I said in my presentation yesterday, I believe people need the support of therapy groups even more in today’s chaotic world.

What do you see in the chaos of today’s pictures?

Even in all this chaos, I’ve got video. Somebody else on my discussion panel yesterday (Moving Forward: Opportunities for Group in the New Health Care Environment) showed a video like this:

I’ve also got video of some music to help deal with chaos:

I look forward to the chaos of your comments.

Chaotic thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 1842: The Least

At the least, I should share why I’m writing about “The Least” today.

U.S. President Donald Trump has declared

I am the least racist person you have ever interviewed.

I am the least racist person that you have ever met.

I am the least racist person.

At the very least, I should back up these quotes with some proof, here.

I don’t know who the least racist person is, but at least I know it is not the person who claims to be the least.

Yesterday, I tweeted

He is the least President you have ever interviewed or seen

which received at least seven likes.  The least I could do was quote him (although I left out the least unimportant word).

Going from the least to the most, here are the most quotes I have found about “the least.”

“The least I can do is speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves.” — Jane Goodall

“One can rarely achieve greatness on the path of least resistance.” — Wes Fessler

“The path of least resistance makes all rivers, and some men, crooked.” — Napoleon Hill

“Man is least himself when he talks in his own person. Give him a mask, and he will tell you the truth.” —  Oscar Wilde

The least I can say is this: Maybe we should give somebody a mask, so he will tell us the truth.

The least I can do now is share some photos which were at least taken by me.

The least I can do on this blog is squawk about what’s bothering me and share some music — “The Least of These” by Matt Maher.

The least I can do, at this point, is thank all  who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — you.

Day 1838: Holes

I see that holes are in the news this morning. Sad.  That’s why I’m reusing “Holes” as a blog title.

Here’s my first thought about holes, here and now:

Anybody who uses the word sh*thole to label an entire country is an *sshole.

Do you see any holes in my logic there?

Let’s fill the holes in this blog post with some photos, shall we?

To fill the holes of judgment and negativity with some goodness, compassion, and forgiveness, I’ll say that *sshole is a common label for somebody with a personality disorder.

Then why did I use the word *sshole above?  Out of anger and fear. Anger and fear can  feel like holes in the heart.

That heart-shaped cookie filled a hole in my stomach last night, after a therapy group where people talked about filling the holes in their lives with compassion, connections,  and helpful activities.

I’m sharing a song by Hole today, because I hope we’ll Live Through This.

 

Thanks to all the holes that helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 1833: New Lows

Let’s see what new lows I can achieve in today’s post, shall we?

The temperatures in the Boston area have reached new lows, here and now.  It’s MINUS 5 degrees F, without the windchill factor.

I’ve experienced a lot of lows in the almost sixty-five years I’ve lived here, but that’s a new low for me.

Speaking of new lows, I’d say that the U.S. President achieved new lows in his tweeting yesterday when he described himself as a “very stable genius” and “being, like, really smart.”

I’m afraid to check the news for new lows, so instead I’ll look for new lows in yesterday’s photos.

Nobody wanted to play Coda with me yesterday, including Oscar, which was another new low. Earlier in the day, I reached new lows playing Othello with my son, when Aaron DESTROYED me, twice.

I guess I’m not the very stable genius I thought I was or, like, really smart.

Let’s see what new lows I can find on YouTube.

 

For new lows in new comments,  please go below.

Was it a new low for me to stock up on thanks the last time I ventured out, when the temperatures weren’t quite so low?

 

Thanks to Aaron, Oscar, Middle Class Rut, and everyone else who helped me reach the new lows in today’s post and thanks  — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 1830: Non-disparagement agreement

Today, I’m waking up to news about a lawsuit regarding the violation of a non-disparagement agreement between Donald Trump and Steve Bannon.

Please don’t disparage me about this, but I didn’t know that non-disparagement agreements were a thing, much less legally enforceable.

In five years of writing this daily blog — even without the benefit of having a non-disparagement agreement with my readers — I can’t remember receiving any disparaging comments.  Maybe non-disparagement agreements don’t have to be in writing. Maybe we can all just agree not to disparage each other, even when we don’t agree.

However, I’m thinking that written  non-disparagement agreements might be useful for reducing self-disparagement. Here’s a first draft of that kind of non-disparagement agreement:

I agree not to disparage myself, silently or out loud.

Signed,

(your name here)

I agree not to disparage myself about my other photos from yesterday.

I don’t want to disparage the people in the news these days, but I wish they’d act more like adults. If they did, perhaps people in my therapy groups wouldn’t be focusing so much on self-protection.

Should we disparage this  YouTube video?

 

What do you think about non-disparagement agreements? No disparagement here, even if we disagree.

As always, I agree to  (1) write every day that I am able and (2) express gratitude at the end of each post.

 

Day 1745: Chaos

When I scan the news headlines this morning, I keep noticing the word “chaos.”

Some people thrive on chaos. Most people don’t.

How does chaos affect you? Does it scare you?

Should I apologize for the chaos in this random collection of photos?

Time flies when you’re having fun, said somebody sometime. Do you have time for some musical chaos?

Even in the midst of chaos, I give thanks to all who help me create some order out of chaos by blogging and — of course! — to you.

Day 1535: Impulse Control

“Impulse control” is a phrase we use in the psychotherapy biz.

I now have an uncontrollable impulse to share a definition.

Impulse control disorder (ICD) is a class of psychiatric disorders characterized by impulsivity – failure to resist a temptation, urge or impulse that may harm oneself or others. — Wikipedia

I am impulsively and uncontrollably thinking about impulse control this morning, probably because

• the President of the United States demonstrates impulse control issues on Twitter and
• some people I know have not controlled their impulses to share their  doubts with me about a decision I recently made.

I hope I control my impulses in responding to people who do not control theirs.

I had photographic impulse control yesterday — I took only these four:

I will not control my impulse to share this video from YouTube:

 

Please share your thoughts about impulse control in an impulsive and/or controlled comment.

As always, I shall not control my impulse to express gratitude to all who helped me impulsively create today’s post and to you — OF COURSE! — for impulsively reading it.

 

Day 1517: My own experience

My own experience is that I am the expert on my own experience.

That is my own t-shirt, which I’ve experienced owning for two years. I own that I enjoy the experience of wearing that t-shirt to appointments with my  own doctors.

Yesterday, my own experience included talking to Josh  from Liberty Mutual who is now managing my long-term disability claim. Josh started off our conversation with, “You’ve had quite the year, haven’t you?” My own experience is that Josh has had good experience dealing with disability claims.

My own experience has included all this:

My own experience is that pictures can tell a story.

Ann Judith Koplow …

… has been having lots of feelings lately.

But because she’s with the King of Cheeses …

… who is silly, honest, and kind …

… she’s going to be okay.

My own experience is that Jimi Hendrix is one of the most amazing guitarists that the world has ever experienced. Here’s a behind-the-scenes look at “Are You Experienced?” and a rare live performance:

 

What is your own experience of today’s post?

My own experience is that I’m grateful to all who helped me create it and to you — of course! — for sharing my experience, here and now.

Day 1490: Dreams

Because dreams are so important to me, I’ve written several posts about dreams (including here, here, here, here, here, here,  and here) since I started dreaming this blog. When I look at those previous dreamy posts, I realize I wrote each one never dreaming we’d have the U.S. President we have today.

Last night, I woke up in the middle of the night from a very scary dream where morphing people and frightening creatures were staring me in the face and grasping me by the hand.  I immediately posted on Facebook:

I was having a bad dream and just woke up to another bad dream.

My friend Marc Zegans soon replied with this dream of a comment:

Here‘s something a little sweeter to dream by.

Before I had those dreams, I spent yesterday looking at a possible dream house for me and my dreamy boyfriend Michael with our dream of a real estate agent, Jane C. Hoffmann.

While I was taking photos of Jane, she was also taking photos of me and Michael (which was probably a nightmare for him, since he hates to have his picture taken).

Today, we might make an offer on a dreamy house by the sea in Quincy, Massachusetts. If we don’t end up in that dream house, we’ll end up in another one.

Quincy, by the way,  is called “The City of Presidents.”  I wonder if John Adams,  John Quincy Adams, or John Hancock — who were all born in Quincy —  ever dreamed we’d have the kind of U.S. President we have today.

In four days, I’ll be turning 64 years old, an age nobody ever dreamed I’d reach when I was born in 1953 with a very unusual heart.

I shall now look to all the other dreamy photos I took yesterday for ideas about how to live and dream in the future:

I trust you know I have the intelligence and integrity to express my thanks to all who helped me create this dream of a post and to you — of course! — for your dream of a visit, here and now.