Day 3688: Coasting

Two days ago, in my “Defining Moments” blog post, I declared my intention to commit to coasting after 70 years of climbing.

What do I mean by coasting? I mean I’m going to stop trying so hard to get everything right and I’m going to enjoy the ride more. It means that I’m going to believe that over my life I’ve built up enough energy and accomplishments to just let go and say “wheeeee! as I go coasting along. Coasting means that I stop worrying about what other people think or anything else, for that matter.

Coasting doesn’t mean that I stop trying; it just means that I really commit in a new way to an old resolution — to lose my investment in the outcome while remaining present and committed to the process.

Coasting sounds like more fun, doesn’t it? Let’s check out a definition of “coasting.”

As Mel Brooks might say, sorry about the word “creep.” Do you see coasting in my images for today?

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Sounds like a good day to be coasting, doesn’t it? Here’s what I find when I search for “coasting” on YouTube.

I look forward to your coasting comments, below.

Thanks to all who are coasting together with me, here and now, including YOU.

Day 3677: Out of the frying pan

Today’s Daily Bitch has a different ending for “out of the frying pan into the fire.”

It still means the same thing: going to a worse situation when trying to better your current one.

No matter how we phrase it, that’s a fear that can worry us or even paralyze us about taking action — maybe I should stay in this frying pan because if I move, it might get worse!

For example, we stayed with a malfunctioning dishwasher for months (Michael had to bail out the non-draining water every day!) and now that we finally got a new one (delivered yesterday), I’m thinking we were afraid we might be going out of the frying pan into the fire, imagining things like “What if the new one doesn’t work?” “What if the installation people scare Harley so much he gets sick?” and other fire-y thoughts. Instead, now our frying pans can go into a dishwasher that was installed easily and works great. And Harley, as you can see, is neither in a frying pan nor a fire.

Now it’s time to move out of the frying pan …

… into the rest of the images for today.

Because we’re focusing on frying pans and fires today, you might think that “Burns Supper” means something other than this:

Happy Burns Supper Day and because it’s also National Opposite Day, maybe I’ll assume that I’m going out of the frying pan into BETTER situations today.

Here’s what I find when I search for “out of the frying pan” on YouTube.

Thanks to all who accompany me as I go out of the frying pan into other places every day, including YOU!

Day 3645: No worries

No worries, here and now, because

• I’m on vacation,
• I’m seeing my son and other beloved family members tonight and tomorrow,
• Almost everyone I love is healthy,
• I’ve got all my Christmas shopping done, and
• Worry never helps. It just doesn’t.

No worries about the images I have to share with you today.

No worries is a bitchin’ goal for many of us.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “no worries.”

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No worries but lots of gratitude for YOU!

Day 3334: Wasting Time

Today’s blog title is inspired by today’s Daily Bitch Calendar.

I have been wasting time this week, worrying about my presentation on groups tomorrow morning. Worrying is always a waste of time and I do have that covered.

I would like to stop wasting my time on worrying and to spend my time on more productive things, like ….. anything else besides worrying.

Here are some quotes about wasting time:

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I hope you enjoy wasting time with me and the rest of my images for today.

In order to celebrate National Do A Grouch A Favor Day, I am going to do grouchy me a favor by not worrying any more and also by sharing this video:

One of my favorite wastes of time is collecting expressions of gratitude, so thanks to all who help me blog every day, including YOU.

Day 3312: People’s responses

In the past, I’ve sometimes been hesitant to say or do something for fear of people’s responses. The responses I’ve feared have included:

• anger,
• disinterest,
• new upsetting information,
• misunderstandings,
• hurt feelings,
• needless worry,
• judgment,
• more work for me,
• disconnection, and
• no response at all.

I continually work on the courage to say and do what’s important without fear of people’s responses.

I wonder what people’s responses will be to today’s images:

I wonder what people’s responses will be to today’s National Days? And I assume that people’s responses to Michael’s first attempt at banana bread would be similar to mine: “OMG! This is so delicious!”

This is the first thing that pops up on YouTube when I search for “people’s responses”:

It helps me to know about other people’s responses to non-responsiveness.

No matter what people’s responses are, I’m grateful for you, every day!

Day 3274: Should you worry?

Should you worry that I took this photo at Quarry Hills Animal Hospital yesterday?

Should you worry that this blogger believes that worry never helps anybody? As I’ve discussed in this blog many times, worry wastes energy, takes us out of the moment, and distracts us from the awareness we need in order to react effectively to obstacles and problems.

Should you worry about these quotes about worry?

I have to admit that I’ve been worrying about our cat Joan’s recurring ear infections (which she’s had since we adopted her in August). Because I often assume the worst, I worried that her ear infections had come back for a fourth time, indicating that she had a food allergy.

Should I have worried about that? In case you haven’t noticed, the answer to that question is always NO. Worry never helps.

Also, the vet told us yesterday that both her ears look great. So I’m no longer worrying about doing a food trial with her, which sounded like it would be quite the trial for all of us.

Should you worry about any of these other images?

Should you worry about the Daily Bitch?

Should you worry about this video?

Should you worry about where to comment, please comment below.

Should you worry about whether I’ll express gratitude for all those who help me create my daily blog posts?

Day 3182: Freaking out

Yesterday, I asked this question on Twitter about freaking out:

People were freaking out about many things, including money, health issues, work, family members, relationships, the pandemic, other people’s behaviors, etc., etc., etc. Indeed, some people suggested that a better question might have been “What are you NOT freaking out about right now?”

I didn’t answer my own question, but I was freaking out about our kitty Joan, her ongoing mastitis, and how she outsmarts us and every cone we put on her to promote its healing.

There’s Joan, trying to figure out how she can lick her wounds after my husband Michael tried to adapt her cone with a well-placed paper clip.

When I freak out, it’s usually because I feel helpless, so yesterday I ordered TWO MORE cones in addition to the inflatable cone that’s being delivered today.

Joan’s irritated area extends down into the top of her rear leg, so it’s very difficult to get a cone that completely prevents her from accessing it with her rough kitty tongue. Also, most cat post-surgery body suits don’t cover that area.

Over the past month, as we’ve treated her with antibiotics, applied topical lotion to the area, sent lots of pictures of the area to the vet, and helped Joan adjust to the different types of treatment (while trying to bond with her), we’ve seen the problem area get better and then get worse.

It freaks me out that I know so much about trying to help a cat heal, but we’re still not past this.

When I freak out, Michael tries to calm me by focusing on the positive: she’s not in pain, it’s not going to kill her, and she will get better, even if it takes much longer than we expected.

When I freak out, it also helps me to write about it in this blog. This blog — and all of you — have helped me get through many freak outs over the years.

Let’s see if the Daily Bitch is all about freaking out today.

It is!

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “freaking out.”

What might you be freaking out about right now? Whatever it is, chances are you’re not alone.

I have so much freaking gratitude for all who help me write this daily blog, including YOU!

Day 3160: How not to be wrong

How not to be wrong starting a blog post? I’m just repeating today’s title and letting it flow from there.

“How Not to Be Wrong” is one of the books I’m reading/not reading on my two-week vacation from work.

Personally, I think I spend too much time thinking about how not to be wrong, which can inhibit what I say and do. These days, I’m embracing mistakes as learning experiences and spending less time worrying about the consequences of being wrong.

Granted, it’s very important for us not to be wrong about our health and safety — for ourselves and others. For example, if I forget to take my Coumadin and if I don’t eat a consistent amount of vitamin K, my mechanical heart valve might clog and fail. So I need to think about not being wrong about THAT every day. Also, there are a lot of creatures that depend on me, so I don’t want to be wrong in such a way that jeopardizes their future.

However, I’m not wrong about knowing myself well enough to choose to focus on accepting that I WILL be wrong, every day, and that not every mistake will result in disaster.

Do you see any examples of how not to be wrong in my other images for today?

How not to be wrong on August 26, 2021 MIGHT include having a cherry popsicle, but I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that women’s equality day should be every day.

By the way, usually I spend more time arranging the order of the images in my blog posts — is it wrong that today I’m not worrying about how not to be wrong in creating a good enough post for you?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “how not to be wrong”:

How not to be wrong about guessing how much time you have to watch a video today:

How not to be wrong about sharing your thoughts and feelings about any of my blog posts? Leave a comment, below.

How not to be wrong about any interaction with other people? Express gratitude when you can.

Day 3096: The people who are grabbing your attention now

Who are the people who are grabbing your attention now, besides me?

I often grab people’s attention by pointing out that the people who are grabbing our attention are often the difficult ones. They grab our attention because we experience them as a problem, even a danger, and our mind wants to find a “solution” to make our environment safer.

Last night, when I thought I might lose sleep because of people who were grabbing my attention, I tweeted this:

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This response to that tweet grabbed my attention:

Thank goodness, one person who was grabbing my attention yesterday was my old student, Chris Delyani, writer extraordinaire, who wishes me well and who has previously appeared in this blog (here, here, and here). I hope the word “old” doesn’t grab Chris’s attention in a negative way, because he looks great!

Chris and I grabbed each other’s attention yesterday by reminiscing about when he was a student in my writing section at Boston University in the 1980s. Now he is grabbing people’s attention with his wonderful books.

Chris and I grabbed my husband Michael’s attention when we told the story of how Chris and my other students had graded the printed directions I had given them to find my place for a celebratory party at the end of the semester. Mimicking the way I had graded and commented on their papers, they wrote (among other things):

“These directions were okay — they got us there, but we couldn’t tell how you FELT about it.”

“You show unspeakable talent… C+“

Chris and my other students also grabbed my attention back then by correcting my one spelling mistake on the directions — I wrote “wonderous” instead of “wondrous.” That grabbed my attention so much that I’ve never misspelled that word since.

What grabs your attention in my other images from yesterday and why?

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Is “Cool” from West Side Story grabbing your attention now?

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It’s grabbing my attention now that this …

… was my attempt to photograph Michael’s attention-grabbing, very cool flounder-with-mango dish last night. Oh well.

Feel free to grab my attention with any comment you leave, below.

Images of gratitude always grab my attention, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post, including YOU!

Day 3058: Very busy brains

Two nights ago, when my very busy brain woke me up and prevented me from getting back to sleep, I tweeted this …

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I received very many helpful responses about very busy brains.

My very busy brain did come up with this mantra a month ago: “I am at peace. We are all one, connected.“ However, when my very busy brain is interfering with my sleep, I have trouble remembering it! This reminds me of the very first time I ever noticed the very busy Jeff Goldblum.

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Do you see evidence of very busy brains in my other images for today?

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Just like Scorpio Rising …

… I calm my very busy brain by spending time in nature and photographing it. Here are some photos I took within 20 busy miles from where I grew up:

Very busy brains tend to go into the future, often with worry about what will be. We need to refocus, over and over again, on the precious present moment.

My very-busy-brained husband, Michael, suggested yesterday that we calm our very busy brains by committing, once again, to no worry for a year. We tried that once before, starting in April 2019, and, unfortunately, our brains got very busy with worry in March of 2020, when I and very many other people came down with COVID.

Do any other very busy brains want to join me and Michael in committing to no worry for a year?

My very busy brain goes into the future and the past, so here’s one of my very favorite TV show theme songs from the distant past:

My very busy brain looks forward to some very busy activity in the comments section, below.

Finally, here’s some very busy gratitude for all who help me create these very busy posts, including YOU!