“The things you think are useless I can’t understand” is a line from an early Steely Dan song.
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I think about this line a lot because so many people seem to think that
are useless, and I can’t understand.
I hope the things you think are useless don’t include today’s blog.
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As always, thanks for your understanding!
I’ve been going through mind changes about several things lately, including:
I have NOT been going through mind changes about my core values, which include authentic connection with others during the precious time we have together on this earth.
Do you see mind changes in my images for today?
Originally I was going to call this blog post “The Little Things,” but I had a mind change about that.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “mind changes.”
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Thanks to all who experience mind changes, including YOU!
When I was walking around my neighborhood on trash and recycling Tuesday, I noticed several throwaways:
I took that throwaway shot of my favorite building in the neighborhood because demolition trucks were parked outside, and I’m afraid it’s going to become a throwaway.
Last night, I asked this question on Twitter:
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Personally, I would never throw away
Because I’m trying to throw away a few pounds, I saved part of that latest culinary masterpiece by Michael for today’s lunch.
Here’s a throwaway definition,
… a few more throwaway lines,
… and the song “Throwaway” by SG Lewis and Clairo:
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I look forward to your comments on this throwaway post.
Thanks to all who choose to throw away some of their valuable time on this blog, including YOU!
When our cats scratch the furniture or otherwise create havoc in our material world, my husband Michael says, “See, Ann? This is why we can’t have nice things.”
I think that’s a nice thing and a funny thing for Michael to say, because, at this point in our lives, we’d rather have nice cats than nice things.
Do you see nice things in my other images for today?
Here’s “Nice Things” by the nicely amazing Hayes Carll.
I’m thankful for all the nice things, cats, and people in my world, including YOU!
A few hours after I published Day 2529: What could possibly go wrong? yesterday, I noticed that somebody had written “What could happen” on the group room whiteboard:
What could and did happen is that somebody could use a marker that is hard to erase:
What could happen is that I turned my cleaning that whiteboard into a mindfulness exercise for me and the group members.
What could happen after that is that the group could talk about values (among other things).
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What could happen next (and a lot happened) is documented in the rest of my photos from yesterday.
What could happen is that one of those photos could get many likes on Facebook and another one could get even more likes, even though neither of them have any caption.
What could happen is you could guess what those two photos are, I could share some music ,
and I could give thanks for everything, including YOU!
Yesterday, I was near the Paramount Theater in downtown Boston.
Today, it is paramount that I facilitate an all-day retreat for group therapists, where we’ll be talking about paramount issues.
Therefore, I am going to post all my photos of the Paramount and let you decide which of the photos is paramount for you.
But first, an accurate definition of “paramount” might be paramount at this point.
par·a·mount
ˈperəˌmount
adjective
more important than anything else; supreme.
“the interests of the child are of paramount importance”
synonyms: most important, of greatest/prime importance
Finding one’s purpose is often paramount, no matter how difficult or funny it is.
Because some people think it’s paramount for me to include a video in these blog posts, here’s the result of my search on YouTube for “paramount song”:
It’s not paramount that you leave a comment, but it is paramount for me to thank Boston’s Paramount Theater, the Paramount School of Excellence, and — of course! — YOU.
If you value blog posts about values, you might value this, this, and/or this.
If you value my photos, here’s the first one I took yesterday:
If you value definitions, here’s one:
val·ue
ˈvalyo͞o
noun
1. the regard that something is held to deserve; the importance, worth, or usefulness of something.
“your support is of great value”
synonyms: worth, usefulness, advantage, benefit, gain, profit, good, help, merit, helpfulness, avail
2. a person’s principles or standards of behavior; one’s judgment of what is important in life.
“they internalize their parents’ rules and values”
synonyms: principles, ethics, moral code, morals, standards, code of behavior
“society’s values are passed on to us as children”
verb
1. estimate the monetary worth of (something).
“his estate was valued at $45,000”
synonyms: evaluate, assess, estimate, appraise, price, put/set a price on
“his estate was valued at $345,000”
2. consider (someone or something) to be important or beneficial; have a high opinion of.
“she had come to value her privacy and independence”
synonyms: think highly of, have a high opinion of, hold in high regard, rate highly, esteem, set (great) store by, put stock in, appreciate, respect
Is there anything you particularly value about that definition? I notice the very different values of the estates in those examples. I do not value people based on the size of their estates. Do you?
Now that the tax bill has passed both chambers of the U.S. Congress, it’s clear that their values are very different from mine.
Do you see value in my other photos from yesterday?
I have sustainable love for this valuable song from Newsies, which cheered me up yesterday.
Finally, here’s a quote I value from that definition of value, above:
“your support is of great value”
These days, I am looking for a new home, where values and value meet.
In other words, I’m looking for a home that meets the values of me, my boyfriend, and my son and that also has solid monetary value.
Does such a place exist?
Is it near this sign I saw yesterday?
My values include being near water — an ocean, a river, or a lake. My boyfriend’s values include enough space to stretch out. My son’s values include getting a great education in Edinburgh, Scotland.
How do I weigh and prioritize different value(s) to make a decision?
Might I get some guidance from the other photo I took yesterday?
If I give love to
I’ll get love.
And what has more value than love?
Here’s a valuable tune I love about a river:
What are your thoughts and feelings about values and value? You know I’d value any comment you leave, below.
Valuable thanks to all who helped me create this post and to you — of course! — for the value you bring, here and now.
Last night, when my outrageous boyfriend, outrageous son, and my outrageous self were shopping for boots, rainwear, adaptors, and other things my son will value outrageously once he gets to Scotland for college, I saw an outrageously valuable sign.
It’s outrageous how much I value thoughts inspired by signs like “Outrageous Values.” I hope you value my outrageous thoughts about that outrageous sign:
Values ARE personal, so somebody might think my values are outrageous. It’s outrageous how difficult it is to value other people’s values. Wouldn’t it be outrageously valuable if we could learn to recognize other people’s values as valuable as our own?
Before I saw that outrageously valuable sign, I saw my friend Barbara, whom I’ve been valuing outrageously for sixty years. Barbara and I share an outrageous number of values, and we also outrageously respect each other’s valuable differences.
Here are some outrageously valuable creations by Barbara:
I value all that Barbara creates and I outrageously value her creations with hearts. Hearts are outrageously valuable to all, including those of us whose hearts are outrageously unusual.
My outrageous values include wanting to eat whatever I like. Outrageously, I’m going to need to adjust that outrageous value after I get outrageously valuable heart surgery on September 21. Because I’ll be taking the outrageously valuable medication Coumadin after my heart surgery, I’ll be adjusting my diet (which could outrage me). Last night, I said to my outrageously valuable boyfriend after reading this article on Coumadin “It looks like I’ll never be able to eat guacamole again.” Michael outrageously replied, “Well, you’ll just have to eat a lot of guacamole over the next two weeks.”
Isn’t that outrageous? Here are some other images I outrageously valued yesterday:
Are there any photos there that you thought had outrageous values?
Before I leave for my outrageously valuable work, here’s some music with outrageous values:
I outrageously value that Barbara and I will be seeing a production of Sunday in The Park with George next Saturday.
If you leave a comment about your outrageous values, I hope you know it will be valued here to an outrageous degree.
One of my outrageous values is gratitude, so thanks to all who helped me create this post and to you — of course! — for your outrageously valuable presence.