Day 2069: Hopelessness

Hopelessness showed up in a therapy group yesterday.  Today, it shows up for the first time in this blog.

I hope you can see that hope showed up there, as well. Often, when I write topics on the white board during my therapy groups, I tell people that the opposites of the topics are also present. I hope that leaves room for all the reactions, thoughts, and feelings in the room.

Do you see hopelessness and/or hope in my other photos from yesterday?

 

What do you do with hopelessness?  I try to accept hopelessness AND to leave room for whatever hope exists, no matter how small that hope might be.

Whenever I search YouTube by typing the title of my blog post, I hope something helpful will turn up.

 

These days, the brilliant or perfect musician Jacob Collier is helping me focus more on hope and less on hopelessness (here on YouTube).

I hope that you comment, below.

Gratitude reduces hopelessness and increases hope.  Thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2068: Brilliant or perfect?

Four years ago (but who’s counting?), I wrote a blog post — Day 597: Brilliant — about how people in Edinburgh responded “Brilliant” to many things I said to them.  (If you could visit that old post, that would be brilliant.)

In 2018, when I was back in Edinburgh for our usual August visit,  people rarely told me I was brilliant.  That didn’t damage my ego, however, because instead of “Brilliant,”  I often heard “Perfect” in response to things I would do or say.

Actually, to be more perfect about that, I often heard this: “Perrrrrfect.”

Last week in Edinburgh, when I handed my ticket to a  Festival Fringe employee and he said, “Perfect,” I commented to him how I’d noticed that “Perfect” was the new “Brilliant.” He laughed and replied, “Six years ago, it was ….” but I am neither brilliant nor perfect enough to remember the last word in his sentence.

Personally, I think it’s brilliant and perfect to be kind and complimentary to visitors.  I wish I could witness more brilliant, perfect, and civil discourse in my own country, here and now.

Are any of my photos from yesterday brilliant or perfect?

I may not be brilliant or perfect, but I have fixed my photo-loading problems on WordPress, FOR NOW.

Here‘s what comes up on YouTube when I search for “brilliant or perfect.”

Believe it or not, that is one of THREE different videos on YouTube titled “Brilliant Tips on How to Select the Perfect Watermelon.”  Unfortunately, I don’t see any videos on YouTube about how to be brilliant and perfect about anything else, so I’ll just share this brilliant tune from Jacob Collier, which made me perfectly happy when I heard it yesterday.

I will not pressure you to post brilliant, perfect, witty or thought-provoking comments today. I will do my best to express brilliant or perfect thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2067: Something witty and thought-provoking

Now that I’ve provoked you into thinking that there will be something witty and thought-provoking in today’s post, here’s something I saw yesterday:

Do any of my other photos from yesterday contain something witty and thought-provoking?

This photo …

… might have been something witty and thought-provoking if I had managed to get a clear shot of that moving car, with the witty and thought-provoking license plate “TA DAHH.” That would have been something!

Try as I may to post something witty and thought-provoking every day on WordPress, I continue to run into thought-provoking technical problems loading my photos that require me to blog from my phone. It’s more challenging to be witty and thought-provoking when you’re typing on a tiny little phone keyboard and are all thumbs.

Was that last sentence something witty and thought-provoking or just provoking?

Because of the Spinal Tap reference in this photo …

… here‘s something witty and thought-provoking from them.

I look forward to something witty and/or thought-provoking in the comments section below, but any comment will do. The last thing I want to do is provoke any anxiety in anybody.

Gratitude doesn’t have to be witty or thought-provoking, so here’s thanks to all who helped me create “something witty and thought-provoking” today and — of course — to YOU.

Day 2066: What I’m not saying

What I’m not saying, here and now, includes many things, because I still have laryngitis.

However, I’m returning to work today, where I will do my best to encourage people to share in therapy what they’re not saying elsewhere in their lives.

Here’s a partial list of what I’m not saying:

• Some people scare me.
• I sometimes fear other people’s anger as well as my own anger.
• I miss my son (who is attending University in Edinburgh) and my late friend Michelle.
• I’m glad to be home.
• When I’m away from work for vacation, I fear  I’ve forgotten what I need to know to be a good therapist.
• When I name my fears, they seem more manageable.
• If I’m confused, I can take a breath and some time to choose the next right thing to do.
• I used to have recurring dreams of not being able to speak.
• Communicating effectively is very important to me.
• I will do my best to say things non-verbally today.

Whenever I put what I’m not saying into words, I feel better. See how it works?

Let’s see what I’m saying and not saying in my photos from yesterday.

 

 

What I’m not saying about that last picture includes this:

1. I’ve had that little book since I attended Berklee in the summer when I was in high school.
2. Those notations include the melody line and some chords for my fourth original song, “Shameless Appeals for Applause.”
3. When I was on a boat in Iceland recently, the man standing next to me was saying that he was proud of his son, who had recently graduated from Berklee.

What I’m not saying includes the fact that in the 1990s, I helped create Berklee College of Music’s recruitment video.  What I’m not saying is that I haven’t figured out a way to share that video here.

I’m not saying which of these “I’m Not Sayin'” performances I like best.

I’m not saying that those are three different songs but I am saying that I found all three on YouTube here, here, and here.

I’m not saying who wrote that song but you can find that out here.

What I’m not saying, until now, includes saying thanks to Gordon Lightfoot, The Replacements, Nico, Oscar, Harley, Berklee, Iceland, all those who are healing the best they can, and — of course! — YOU.

Day 2065: Unspeakable

For the first time in my life, I have laryngitis, which means most things are unspeakable for me right now.

After reading the news today, I can’t speak about some unspeakable stories.  However, I can write my thoughts and feelings here.

It’s unspeakable to me how many mass shootings there are in the USA.  When my son got into the University of Edinburgh and a few USA colleges in 2016, I spoke to him about my preference of where he might go to school. I spoke of my belief that he would be safer outside of the USA because of all the unspeakable school shootings and the unspeakble access to guns here.

It’s also unspeakable to me how a person in power can speak unspeakably unkindly about other people, even war heroes.

Even though my thoughts and feelings are unspeakable right now, I can still share photos from my first day back in the USA.

 

Yes, Michael’s meals are unspeakably good. I can’t speak to why we saw coconuts on the beach yesterday.

Here‘s Jimmy Kimmel speaking about President Trump’s attempt to speak directly to Hindi-speakers.

 

Please feel free to share speakable and unspeakable thoughts and feelings in the comments section, below.

As always, I need to somehow speak my gratitude to those who helped me create this unspeakable blog post and — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 2064: Kose seg

Yesterday, when I was sitting on an airplane, thinking about promoting emotional well being in cozy settings, I saw this:

When I am experiencing and promoting emotional well being, I often take one photo that somehow applies to all the other photos I want to share in a blog post. I hope you are in a cozy (or cosy) setting as you look at all these other promoting-emotional-well-being pictures.

What helps you experience Kose seg?

My boyfriend Michael often says, “It’s not the place, Ann,  it’s the people.”  Here’s a closer look at a person with whom I’ve been hopefully  promoting emotional well being in cozy settings for over twenty years:

That’s my son Aaron, looking out the window of Edinburgh’s Beehive Inn while he was in the middle of his stand-up routine yesterday. When he noticed I was sitting outside in the cozy setting of Edinburgh’s Grassmarket with my suitcase, he had the entire audience yell, “Hi Mom!”

Now that I’m experiencing Kose seg back in my home south of Boston, it would promote my emotional well being to share two videos promoting Iceland and the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (here and here on YouTube).

 

I shall now await your comments promoting emotional well being in the cozy comments section, below.

Emotional-well-being-promoting thanks to all who helped me create today’s “Kose seg” post and — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 2063: How to be Amazingly Happy

When I was amazingly happy yesterday at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, I noticed this:

What do you know about how to be amazingly happy?

I am amazingly happy that I travelled to Iceland and Edinburgh, spent time with people I love, and am returning home later today.

Do any of my other photos from yesterday make you amazingly happy?

I am amazingly happy that I blogged every day of my vacation, despite many internet connection challenges.

I would be amazingly happy to read any comment from you.

As usual, I am amazingly happy to express gratitude to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to you, for being so amazing.

Day 2062: Performing Together

Yesterday, inside the Music Museum at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (where people from all over the world are performing together), I saw this:

In these days of divisiveness, performing together seems more vital than I can ever remember before.

Can you see the theme of performing together in my other photos from yesterday?

People in Edinburgh are so into performing together that when we asked our adorable server to take our picture last night at the Cellar Door Restaurant, she had to get into the act.

I look forward to seeing how my readers will be performing together in the comment section, below.

As always, I appreciate all those performing together in this blog, including YOU!

Day 2061: What are the themes?

What are the themes in yesterday’s photos from the Edinburgh Festival Fringe?

The themes I notice there include music, performers, location, help, animals, food, love, family, friendship, honesty, and humor, all important themes in my life.

When I do therapy groups, I always ask people, “What are the themes?” If I do a Fringe show in Edinburgh next year, I’ll ask that question too.

One constant theme in this daily blog is gratitude. Thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2060: We are in search of greatness

Yesterday, the Beehive Inn (which is one of hundreds of performance venues at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe) was in search of greatness.

Aren’t we all in search of greatness in one way or other?

Yesterday, I found greatness in the performance of my son doing stand-up comedy at the Beehive.

I didn’t have to search hard to find greatness elsewhere, too.

I searched my son’s room and found the greatness of that award for the champion of Edinburgh student stand-ups.

After I publish this, we will be in search of greatness for a photo of me suitable for a poster. I’m searching for great words to tell you that I’ve decided to search for greatness with a show next year at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe!

When I get WiFi again later today, I’ll be in search of greatness in your comments.

When we are in search of greatness, it’s always great to express gratitude. Thanks to all who help me search for greatness for this blog and — of course! — to YOU!