I took that last picture for people I graduated high school with in 1970, whom I love. I’m looking forward to seeing them at our Zoom reunion tomorrow evening.
If you love someone, what do you do?
I tell them how grateful I am that they (including YOU!) are still on this earth.
Last night, Michael, Aaron (who remains at our home near Boston while he attends his final year at University of Edinburgh online), and I were talking about how politicians were trying to remain in power by using fear. Michael said, “Well, as Joseph Conrad said, ‘When all other feelings are gone, fear remains.’ When I asked, “Doesn’t love remain?”, Michael and Aaron remained agreed as they swiftly replied, “NO.”
As that conversation remains in my heart, head, and soul today, I just googled “Joseph Conrad quote about fear” and found this:
“The wicked people were gone, but fear remained. Fear always remains. A man may destroy everything within himself, love and hate and belief, and even doubt; but as long as he clings to life he cannot destroy fear: the fear, subtle, indestructible, and terrible, that pervades his being; that tinges his thoughts; that lurks in his heart; what watches on his lips the struggle of his last breath.”
― Joseph Conrad
I’m hoping that in the struggle of my last breath, love remains.
What remains from my most recent photos?
Harley remains next to me on the sofa while I am blogging.
What remains of the great Chadwick Boseman, gone way too soon? So much remains, including this:
I remain agreed with Chadwick Boseman that everybody should be the hero of their own story.
There are many quotes from Chadwick Boseman that remain, including this one from the acceptance speech he gave when Black Panther won the award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the 2019 Screen Actors Guild Awards:
“To be young, gifted and Black, we all know what it’s like to be told that there is not a place for you to be featured,” he said. “Yet, you are young, gifted and Black. We know what it’s like to be told to say there is not a screen for you to be featured on, a stage for you to be featured on.
“We know what it’s like to be a tail and not the head. We know what it’s like to be beneath and not above. And that is what we went to work with every day because we knew, not that we would be around during awards season and that it would make a billion dollars, but we knew that we had something special that we wanted to give the world. That we could be full human beings in the roles that we were playing. That we could create a world that exemplified a world that we wanted to see.”
What remains for you after reading this post?
For me, gratitude always remains, so thanks to all who helped me create this post, including YOU.
Your participation is requested, as stated here:
Your participation is requested in this blog post, as I share these photos from yesterday.
How do you tend to participate? Do you participate more when your participation is requested?
Your participation is requested in answering this question:
When I was participating in the flow of love yesterday by taking one of the photos above, somebody came out of their house and asked, “Can I help you?” When I said, “I’m taking a picture of this because I thought it was funny,” she nodded, went back in her house while saying, ‘We are big skiers.” Which photo was it?
When I search YouTube for “your participation is requested” I find this:
Your participation is requested in appreciation and gratitude!
The amazing blogger beth made this hopeful, beautiful, helpful, and caring comment about my post from yesterday:
… hope that the memorial for your friend was beautiful and helped all of you who cared for her to say farewell for now.
That hope was realized, as I hope you can see in these photos from yesterday:
Those Ruth Bader Ginsberg socks were worn by Lisa, one of my co-workers. Until we were saying farewell for now to Eleanor, Lisa and I didn’t know we were connected by our love for her.
That’s my old friend Andy, who I’ve known almost as long as I’ve known Eleanor. We were reunited yesterday as we said farewell for now to her.
I was so happy to finally meet Eleanor’s children, Gabe and Rosa, after hearing so many wonderful things about them. As we said farewell for now to their mother, I could see Eleanor’s beautiful legacy in them.
Eleanor’s husband Ira and I spoke about how difficult it was to say farewell for now to Eleanor because she was soooo cool. We love her so much that we have trouble believing she’s gone from this world. We also know that she lives on in many, many loving hearts.
When I say farewell for now to somebody I love, everything reminds me of them.
I love you, Eleanor.
Here‘s Farewell … For Now by Georges Delerue:
Thanks to all who are helping me say farewell for now to my long-time and beloved friend Eleanor, including YOU.
Hello, dear hearts,
How many hearts can you find in this post?
In yesterday’s blog post, I asked the question “Who’s counting?” twice.
Today, as I am looking at others counting the horrific numbers of dead in the United States and around the world, I’m asking, “Who counts?”
I don’t know how people in power would answer that question, but I do know how the people I love, respect, and count on would answer it.
Everybody counts.
Who counts in the phots I took yesterday?
Who counts on love? I do.
When I search YouTube for “Who Counts”, I find this:
I count on you to watch that video and I count on you to vote.
Thanks to everybody who counts, including YOU.
Since so many people are telling me that they are avoiding the news these days, I’m hoping to provide some news you can use, here and now, including these headlines:
Is there any news you can use in these new photos?
More news you can use:
This may be more news you can use. My husband Michael and I have an old private joke, where we have this exchange:
Me: Michael! This (and I describe some thing that occurred that day) happened and guess what I did?
Michael: You cried.
I cry at lots of things, including Some Good News.
We can all use gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily blogs, including YOU.
Part of my comfort plan for yesterday included drinking some Yogi Tea, which had something to say about the ultimate law of life.
Do you agree that love is the ultimate law of life? If not, what is?
Might the ultimate laws of life include
Do the ultimate laws of life threaten to break down during a worldwide pandemic? If so, what can we do to preserve them?
Do you see any other ultimate laws of life in my other recent photos?
Harley ultimately loves to be on the table.
This is what I found on YouTube when I searched for “The ultimate law of life”:
One of the ultimate laws of my life is expressing gratitude, every day.
It’s kind of a big deal
It’s kind of a big deal that Julie wants to use the lyrics I wrote four days ago for her 10th annual Women’s Getaway Weekend on March 21 & 22 in New Hampshire.
It’s kind of a big deal that
It’s kind of a big deal that I took all these photos yesterday:
It’s kind of a big deal that I won that book at Michael’s family‘s Yankee Swap.
Here’s somebody else saying “I’m kind of a big deal.”
Here’s a big deal number from a big deal musical:
If you leave a comment, it’s kind of a big deal because YOU are kind of a big deal.
It’s kind of a big deal that there’s so much I’m thankful for this holiday season.
All you need is …
… love.
All I need is
All I need is my iPhone to take photos and to post this blog a few hours before my wonderful hostess Julie and I leave to drive to Hillel’s funeral in NYC.
All I need is that Connecticut Cat Nellie and a FaceTime call with Harley to help prepare me for the funeral today.
What’s all you need?
Is this music all you need?
All the love and thanks you need coming at you, here and now, from your grateful blogger.