Day 2372: Accepted

Yesterday, I got this message from my son Aaron:

Hi, my fringe show has been accepted. There are shows from the 20th to the 24th.

Since Aaron and I both applied many months ago to perform our own shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival  (which starts in August), we’ve accepted the ever-growing possibility that neither of our shows would be accepted.

My son and I accepted the process of waiting to hear about our shows  very differently — I kept holding out hope (until  very recently) that we would both be accepted and Aaron very quickly accepted the stance of assuming that both of our shows would not go on.

I hope Aaron accepted both of my responses to his wonderful news:

Great!

What can we learn from this?

I hope you’ve accepted my intent there: to invite Aaron to hold on to hope in the future.

Personally, because I’ve accepted years of uncertainty dealing with medical issues from birth, it helps me to hold onto hope.  I’ve accepted that other people deal with uncertainty very differently. (It’s accepted that I sometimes say this in my Coping and Healing groups: “Different strokes for different folks.”)

I’ve also accepted that I probably will not get a Fringe show, which was titled Group “Therapy” with Ann. However, if I do get accepted, I’m ready!

In the meantime, YouTube has accepted a two-minute version of Free Therapy with Ann.

Aaron was accepted to teach English in Jordan this month, so when he gets back here on July 20th, we’ll make sure that YouTube accepts a longer version of that.

Also, I applied yesterday to join a panel in September for my 45th reunion at Harvard on “Picking up the Pieces: How Did You Embrace Life and Find Happiness Again?” In my application, I offered to talk about dealing with conflicting medical advice and finally getting a mechanical heart valve in 2016 (a process well documented and accepted on this blog). I wonder if my application will be accepted, especially since I offered to perform my original song “Shameless Appeals for Applause.”

Five years ago, I applied to be on a “Voices of Our Class” panel at my college reunion, and my application was not accepted.  I’ve accepted that often you have to try, try again.

In other “accepted” news, I’ve been accepted by the “Heart to Heart with Anna” podcast to be interviewed about my life with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (cctga).

I hope that my photos from yesterday are accepted by my readers:

I’ve accepted that my boyfriend Michael doesn’t like to be photographed for this blog, but I think he can accept that last photo, above.

As always, your comments are accepted, below.

I think it’s accepted here that I’ll be ending my posts  with thanks to all who help me create them and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2371: Tell me about it

I’m going to tell you about Merriam-Webster’s definition of “tell me about it.”

tell me about it (idiom)

Definition of tell me about it
informal
—used to say that one understands what someone is talking about because one has had the same or a similar experience
“Something is wrong with that computer.” “Yeah, tell me about it. I can never get it to work properly.”

I don’t know if something is wrong with my computer, but I can’t post a shortened version of this video (in which I seem to be saying “Tell me about it” for 18 minutes) (and which I first told you about in this post) to YouTube.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1xTT1B5mT6uiWAp_Z-k4MB9fcDFDGg8Mb/view?usp=sharing

Let me tell you about what happens when I (and perhaps you)  click on that link.  I receive a message that says “Unable to process this video.”  However, I could still download it, although I got a message that told me “Google Drive can’t scan this file for viruses. Free.mp4 (1.4G) is too large for Google to scan for viruses. Would you still like to download this file?”

Too complicated or too much trouble?  Tell me about it.

Once my son returns from teaching English in Jordan, maybe he can tell me about how to post that video (which he shot in our gazebo two weeks ago) to YouTube.  If you do look at the video, tell me about which title you prefer:

• “Tell me about it.”
• “Free therapy with Ann.”
• “I’m listening.”

I can also tell you about the original, unedited, noisy, uncentered version of that video, which is here:

At this point, when I’m looking at a preview of this post, I’m telling you that video has this message: “Please wait. We are converting this video.”

Tell me about it.

In the meantime, I’m going to tell you about these recent photos I haven’t told you about before.

Which is your favorite photo?  Tell me about it.

Tell me about your reactions to this music in the air:

I want to break free of more technical problems, but I won’t tell you about it.  Instead, I’ll tell you about my gratitude to all who support my telling you about it, every day, here on WordPress.

Thoughts about those ways of expressing gratitude?  Tell me about it.

---

YouTube now tells me that this very abbreviated, silent version of “Free Therapy with Ann” has shown up there.

My expression in that still shot, above, seems to say, “Tell me about it.”  If I manage to post a longer version, I’ll tell you about it.

Day 2370: The conversations you didn’t know you needed

“The conversations you didn’t know you needed” could be part of an advertisement for group therapy.

It’s also a phrase I photographed between my two “Coping and Healing” groups yesterday.

Did you know you needed these conversations?

What about these conversations?

If you need another look at my “poetic”  conversation about family (pictured a few conversations above), here it is:

I’m going to try to write a poem about family,

It’s probably not going to be very grammarly,

Families are where we are born,

They can make us happy or forlorn,

You can pick your nose but you can’t pick your family.

Here’s a recap of some other important conversations photographed above:

Ignore the environment, it will go away …

The best things in life aren’t things …

Don’t compare your insides to other people’s outsides.

Never worry alone.

If you need important conversations about this blog post, please participate below.

I don’t know about you, but I always need conversations about gratitude, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2369: Live with intention.

Yesterday, when several of us were living with intention and saying goodbye to our long-time social work manager (who always has the best intentions), I saw this:

live with intention. walk to the edge. listen hard. play with abandon. practice wellness. laugh.  risk love. continue to learn. appreciate your friends.  choose with no regret.  stand by your family.  celebrate the holidays that make sense.  lead or follow a leader.  do what you love. live as if this is all there is.   — mary anne radmacher

I copied those words-to-live-by with intention, so I could “remember and do what matters” (another intentional quote by Mary Anne Radmacher).

Steve, the social work manager who is retiring, has lived with intention where we work for almost forty years.  If it wasn’t for his intention, I would not be living and working with intention as  I am now.  Steve posted my position eight years ago through the Northeastern Society of Group Psychotherapy, intentionally stating he was looking for somebody with “a passion for groups.”

Last night, I told Steve that I had quoted him, with intention,  in my group that day, as follows:

Never worry alone.

If you click on that “Never worry alone” link with intention, you’ll see that I quoted Steve in this intentionally daily blog one thousand, five hundred and sixty-six days ago (but who’s counting with intention?).

Steve spoke with intention last night, ending with “I love you all.”

I shall now share my other photos from yesterday, with intention.

I organized those photos with intention.

Here‘s Kaitlyn Aurelia Smith with “An Intention”  live on Soundcheck at WNYC.

I invite you to comment with intention, below.

Every day, I express gratitude, with intention, for all who help me create these intentional posts and — of course! — for YOU.

Day 2368: ACT

I act, every day, to

• publish a blog here at The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally  and
• encourage people to act in beneficial ways.

And yet, this is my first blog post with the word “act” in the title.  Time to act!

What does “act” mean to you? To Merriam-Webster, it means:

act noun
\ ˈakt \
Definition of act
1a : the doing of a thing : DEED
an act of courage
b law : something done voluntarily
2 : the process of doing something : ACTION
caught in the act
3 : the formal product of a legislative body : STATUTE
an act of Congress
also : a decision or determination of a sovereign, a legislative council, or a court of justice
4 : one of the principal divisions of a theatrical work (such as a play or opera)
a play in three acts
5a : one of successive parts or performances (as in a variety show or circus)
a magic act
b : the performer or performers in such an act
a two-person comedy act
c : a performance or presentation identified with a particular individual or group
They took their act on the road.
d : the sum of a person’s actions or effects that serve to create an impression or set an example
a hard act to follow
6 : a display of affected behavior : PRETENSE
put on an act that deceived nobody
His friendly concern was just an act.
7 often capitalized : a formal record of something done or transacted
8 : a state of real existence rather than possibility
into the act or in on the act
: into an undertaking or situation as an active participant
saw the success they were having and wanted to get in on the act
act verb
acted; acting; acts
intransitive verb

1 : to take action : MOVE
think before acting
acted favorably on the recommendation
2 : to conduct oneself : BEHAVE
act like a fool
3a : to perform on the stage
began acting at the age of eight
b : to behave as if performing on the stage : PRETEND
seemed angry but was just acting
4 : to perform a specified function : SERVE
trees acting as a windbreak
5 : to produce an effect : WORK
wait for a medicine to act
6 : to give a decision or award
adjourned without acting on the bill
7 of a play : to be capable of being performed
a play that acts well
transitive verb

1a : to represent or perform by action especially on the stage
will act the part of Romeo in tonight’s play
b : FEIGN, SIMULATE
act indifference
c : IMPERSONATE
2 : to play the part of as if in a play
act the man of the world
3 : to behave in a manner suitable to
Act your age.
4 obsolete : ACTUATE, ANIMATE
ACT abbreviation
Definition of ACT
1 Action for Children’s Television
2 Association of Classroom Teachers
3 Australian Capital Territory

To therapists, ACT (abbreviation)  also means Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. I shall now act to quote the Wikipedia description about ACT:

The objective of ACT is not elimination of difficult feelings; rather, it is to be present with what life brings us and to “move toward valued behavior”.[6] Acceptance and commitment therapy invites people to open up to unpleasant feelings, and learn not to overreact to them, and not avoid situations where they are invoked. Its therapeutic effect is a positive spiral where feeling better leads to a better understanding of the truth.[7] In ACT, ‘truth’ is measured through the concept of ‘workability’, or what works to take another step toward what matters (e.g. values, meaning).

ACT (abbreviation) also means this:

When I was caught in the act taking that photo yesterday, I acted to smile and give a thumbs up to the ACT workers near that truck.

Here are other ways I acted yesterday:

I have to act fast to finish this post with a  Stephen Sondheim song  (which features actors avoiding action by focusing on fault).

 

It’s never just an act when I express gratitude to all who help me act to create this daily blog and — of course! — thanks to YOU.

Day 2367: Never underestimate

Never underestimate people’s

• resilience,
• ability to change,
• hidden pain,
• capacity to heal,
• humor,
• creativity,
• strengths,
• differences,
• similarities,
•  connections,
• inner life,
• hunger,
• generosity,
• sanity,
• feelings,
• thoughts,
• problems,
• principles,
• accomplishments,
• importance,
• love, and
• powers of observation.

Never underestimate my ability to come up with wacky ideas, including  asking my son to record my being an empathically listening therapist in the gazebo pictured above.

Never underestimate the time it takes to publish something like that to YouTube. Never underestimate how hard I’ll try to get that linked to this post.

Never underestimate the power of music, as shown in this YouTube video:

Never underestimate the depth of my gratitude to all who help me write these daily blogs and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2366: All Thumbs

One thousand, four hundred, and forty-four days ago (but who’s counting on all thumbs or all fingers?), I typed — with all thumbs and fingers — a post titled  Day 922: Thumbs, which included a discussion of thumb-related phrases including “all thumbs,” “thumbs up,” and “thumbs down.”

Yesterday, I was all thumbs at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport, as

• I was so focused on removing liquids or semi-liquids that might be more than three ounces from my bag that I forgot to remove my laptop,
• security gave me a thumbs down and sent my bag through twice, the second time without zipping it up,
• I didn’t noticed that the bag was unzipped,
• people told me everything was falling out of my bag after I picked it up, and
• I got so flustered I dropped my laptop on my toe.

I’m glad to report that all thumbs and all toes were all okay, even if my dignity got temporarily damaged.  After all that happened, I hung around the scene of the crime and said all this to myself:

See!  You were trying to avoid feeling shame about doing the wrong thing by taking out those items from your bag, but you missed the obvious one!  And what you feared came true: you did the security thing wrong, people got annoyed, strangers noticed your mistakes,  things fell out of your bag,  you were exposed, you looked like you were all thumbs (and maybe like a crazy old lady), but you know what?  It doesn’t matter! You survived and you’re flying home to those you love!  Hooray!

And I celebrated by grabbing, with all thumbs, the #1 Best Airport Grab-and-Go Dining in the Country  (which turned my thumbs orange).

It’s time to thumb through all my photos from yesterday, when I was feeling all thumbs (but lots of heart, too).  By the way,  I thought “thumbs up!” when I was taking one of these pictures.  Can you guess which one?

Here‘s “All Thumbs” by Mark Casstevens:

I’ll reply to all  comments later (using all thumbs if I’m on my iPhone).

Thanks to all who helped me create this all-thumbs post and — of course! — to YOU, for visiting, here and now.

Day 2365: You are here

I’m so glad you are here!

Yesterday, when I was here in Chicago, I saw this here mural during a wonderful architecture boat tour on  the amazing Chicago River.

Yes, that’s a map of the Chicago River  on the side of a riverside high-rise, with the red marker indicating: “You are here” ! (If you want to hear more about that building and that map, click here.)

When we were here at this building …

I was definitely hearing some boo’s. If you want more information about that building, click here.

I hope the rest of my photos make you feel like you are here, in the mostly beautiful city of Chicago.

Yesterday, when I was here …

… I gained another, useful perspective on the building I had photographed the day before (here).

When you are here at my blog,  there will be different perspectives and the occasional pun.

Who’s here in my last photo from yesterday?

Here‘s “Here to Stay” by the Pat Metheny Group, from the album We Live Here.

Since you are here, why not let me know where you are in a comment below?

As always, I’m grateful that you are here!

 

Day 2364: Leaving town

Sometimes, leaving town is a great way to

• get perspective,
• find unity with new people,
• unify the different parts of yourself,
• replenish & refresh,
• put down some baggage,
• practice saying “hello” and “goodbye,”
• leave worries behind,
• change your mood,
• explore your feelings,
• get smarter,
• notice what’s there, waiting for you,
• get recharged,
• put a new spin on things,
• become more social,
• find your voice,
• take the next step towards change, and
• get new ideas.

Yesterday, as I was in the process of leaving my home town of Boston and traveling to the great town of Chicago, I took these photos:

Ah ha!  There I am in Chicago.

Here and here are today’s songs about leaving town:

Last night, I was feeling kind of shy  in Chi-town when I was having dinner with some people I didn’t know,, but when the group organizer asked me to sing, I stood up, found my voice, and  sang my latest song  — “Everybody’s Somebody’s Asshole.”

People seemed to like my new song but even if they didn’t, I’ll be leaving town tomorrow.

No matter what town I’m in, I see gratitude everywhere.  Thanks to all who helped me create this out-of-town post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2363: You can’t change other people’s behaviors

 

You can’t change other people’s behaviors.  You can only change your reactions to them and/or your own behaviors.

You can’t change my behaviors, including

• blogging daily,
• working hard, and
• sharing my photos, including these:

I can’t change Michael’s behaviors, which include monogramming my slice of left-over gelato cake last night.

You can’t change my flying to Chicago today to spend the weekend with group therapists from the American Group Psychotherapy Association, but you can wish me a safe trip.

We can’t change Brian Wilson‘s behaviors, but we can wish him a happy belated birthday and appreciate his music.

 

Keep an eye on summer, because it begins today!

I can’t change your commenting behaviors, but I’ll appreciate any comment you leave.