Day 2326: Special Attention

If you’ve paid special attention to this daily blog, you might know that I wrote two posts about attention in my first year of blogging (Day 31: The Effect of Attention and Day 319: Paying attention) and one additional post about attention a year ago.

Why am I writing about special attention today?

That “SPECIAL ATTENTION” tag is from a dry cleaner, informing me that they gave special attention to a stain on a silk skirt but were unable to remove it.  When I picked up the skirt yesterday, I said to them, “Thanks for giving this special attention.  We all need special attention sometimes.”

When you pay special attention to that last sentence, do you agree that we all need special attention sometimes?  When do you need special attention?  How do you get that special attention when you need it?  Do you ask for it? Or do you hope that special people will know that you need it without your asking?

I’ve been giving special attention to my second letter from the President for my professional organization’s newsletter. I’ve been working on that special letter for days and no matter how much special attention I give it, I don’t like what I’m writing. Maybe I’m giving it too much special attention.

When I have special trouble writing or completing other special tasks, I especially take  breaks and turn my attention elsewhere. Which of my latest photos deserve your special attention?

I’ll be paying special attention to a podcast about coronary heart disease because it’s my first appearance on a podcast! Firsts are always special. I don’t have coronary heart disease but I did ask some questions about my special heart condition.

Here’s “Special Attention” by Ambelique.

I hope you know I’ll be giving special attention to your comments for this “special attention” post.

Special thanks to all who helped me create today’s special post and — OF COURSE! — YOU.

Day 2323: Actions speak louder than words

My first loud action in today’s blog is to share this photo of five words:

I’m just now noticing that “louder” is the quietest word in that sign.

My second loud action is to share many words about when to shut up!?

Are the actions in my remaining photos louder than the words?

This might take several minutes to listen to the words and music in “Nobody’s Perfect” co-written by almost perfect social work intern Nat Shirley and me. Last night, Nat and I took the action of loudly performing our act at an Open Mic.

I look forward to your words and actions about today’s post.

Now, it’s time to take the action of loudly expressing words of gratitude to YOU.

 

Day 2301: Exhausted

Even though I’m up for anything these days, sometimes I get exhausted, especially on Thursdays, when I

• work from 10 to 9,
• facilitate two therapy groups,
• orient new people for my groups,
• see several people for individual therapy,
• go to a meeting of social workers,
• have about 20 minutes for lunch,
• try to decide whether to look at or avoid the news,
• practice my  latest song, and
• practice self-care.

In one of those therapy groups, a person exhausted by a major and unexpected loss shared that she practices self care by taking breaks, even if it’s a break for a moment.  I wasn’t too exhausted to hear that she had learned that skill in my groups.

I was so exhausted by the end of the day  that I added a new emotion to the emotions chart on my door:

Here and now, I’m exhausted by the possibility that somebody might tell me that “exhausted” is not really an emotion.

Here and now, I’m NOT too exhausted to share my other photos from yesterday.

I hope you’re not too exhausted to share what exhausts you and what energizes you, in a comment below.

Here‘s the late and great Madeline Kahn singing about how exhausted she is in Mel Brooks‘s Blazing Saddles.

I’m never too exhausted to express my gratitude for all those who help me create these daily posts and — of course! — for YOU.

 

Day 2272: Build your own adventure

Yesterday, when I was building my own adventure, I saw this:

Actually, I need help from others to build my own adventure.  How do you build your own adventure?

When my son was very young, he posted a build-your-own-adventure game on YouTube, which I can’t find.  Therefore, shall we build our own adventure together, here and now, using forty-eight of my photos from yesterday?

You can further build the adventure if you click on any photo you’d like to more adventurously explore.

Here‘s what comes up on YouTube for “Build Your Own Adventure”:

 

I don’t have time to make the choices for that scary adventure, because I’ve got to go out into the world and build my adventure for today.

I look forward to the adventures people build in the comments section, below.

Gratitude helps me build my own adventure, so thanks to all who helped me build today’s post and — of course! — YOU.

 

 

 

Day 2270: Whatever works

It works for me to tell you about a book a patient loaned me at work — CONTEMPORARY PRAYERS TO [whatever works] by conceptual artist Hannah Burr.

 

Every day, I am on the lookout for whatever works and making it fun!

 

 

 

Whatever Michael does to make his meals so delicious, it works!

Whatever song would work for this post?

 

Are you going to leave a comment?  Whatever works for you.

it works for me to express my thanks to all who helped me create this whatever-works post and — of course! — to YOU, for your time, effort, great energy, and whatever!!

 

 

Day 2264: Choices

Exactly three hundred and seven days/posts ago (but whose choice is it to count?), I published a post titled “Choices” in which I chose to share an exercise about the topic of “Choices” from a therapy group the day before.   Today, my repetitive choice is to mention yesterday’s therapy group, wherein people made choices to focus on the topic “Choices” from all the topics discussed and to share (1) important choices from the past, (2) choices coming up for them, and (3) what makes choices more difficult or easier.

My photographic choices yesterday included these choice images:

 

Note that a patient made the choice of “anticipation” over “hopelessness” from the feeling chart on my office door:

Also, I didn’t make the choice to photograph my list of important life choices, which included:

• Going back to social work school to become a therapist in the 1990s,
• Deciding to specialize in group therapy, and
• Developing my Coping and Healing groups.

What important life choices have you made?

Earlier this week, I made the choice to ask Nat —  a social work intern and fellow musician —  to write a song with me, which we will choose to perform together, singing close and choice harmonies, at a future open mic..  Together Nat and I have already made some choices including this one:  I write the lyrics and Nat writes the music.

My choice is to share these lyrics with you:

Nobody’s Perfect

lyrics by Ann Koplow

Nobody’s perfect

Even us two.

We try to be perfect

But that doesn’t do.

We both make mistakes,

In that, we’re like you.

Nobody’s perfect.

That’s perfectly true.

Nobody’s perfect,

Including your friends.

If you’re looking for perfection

Those friendships might end.

Your friends make mistakes,

In that, they’re like you.

Nobody’s perfect.

That’s perfectly true.

Perfectionism makes us imperfectly judgy,

Rigid, unhappy, refusing to budge-y,

It makes thoughts and feelings uncomfortably sludgey

With harsh self-flagellation even if you’re just pudgy.

Nobody’s perfect,

Even a star.

Stars may need to look perfect

But they seldom are.

They all make mistakes,

In that they’re  like you.

Nobody’s perfect

And that’s perfectly true.

© Ann Koplow, 2019

 

Nat chose to tell me he’s glad we’re writing a song together with the choice words “self-flagellation.”

Nat made the choice yesterday to send me some choice music he’s already composed for “Nobody’s Perfect.” Soon, we’ll be making  more musical choices together, including featuring the choice fiddle stylings of our talented co-worker, Alice Malone.

Other people have made the choice to write songs titled “Nobody’s Perfect” including this one:

I wonder what choices my readers will make in the comments section, below.

As always, I make the choice to end my posts with gratitude for all those who helped me create this post and — of course! — YOU, for making the choice to visit this blog, here and now.

 

 

Day 2074: Voting

Since many of us in Massachusetts, USA were voting yesterday, today I’m inviting my readers to think about voting.

What does voting mean to you?  Will you be voting this year? What influences your voting?

Voting is now open for your favorite images among these:

No worries about my sharing this photo of my write-in voting for my boyfriend Michael:

According to this site, that used to be illegal in Massachusetts,  but now it’s okay to take a photo of your own voting here. In the future, I hope to be voting for Michael for public office.

I’m voting for “Vote” by Blazer Fresh at GoNoodle.

I hope you’ll be voting in the comments section, below.

Any interest in voting for the preferred way to thank all those who helped me create today’s “Voting” post and — of course! — YOU?

Day 1936: Confused

Yesterday, I indicated on my feelings chart that I was confused.

If you’re confused about the feelings chart, read this post and that post.

I get confused when …

• people are mean for no apparent reason,
• bad things happen to good people,
• people I love leave, and
• somebody gives me directions for more than 30 seconds.

I love what U.N. Ambassador Nicki Haley said this week when Trump advisor Larry Kudlow remarked that “there might have been some momentary confusion” on her part.

With all due respect, I don’t get confused.

The media called Nicki Haley’s response a “clapback” which confused me, because I’ve never seen that word before.

Is anybody here confused about my other photos from yesterday?

 

Does anybody else get confused about how to spell “cancelled”?

Here‘s #1 from ranker.com’s Best Songs About Confusion:

With all due respect, I will not get confused by any comment you might leave below.

I hope nobody is confused by my gratitude for all who helped me create this confused post and — of course! — for YOU.