Day 3591: Should I stay or should I go?

“Should I stay or should I go?” is a question I hear on social media and in real life. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’ve been hearing it there.

“Should I stay or should I go?” can be a difficult question to answer because there are pros and cons to doing either. One might say that Hamlet’s soliloquy — “To Be or Not to Be” — is asking the question “Should I stay or should I go?”

Personally, I’ve asked the question “Should I stay or should I go?” about

• relationships,
• work,
• homes,
• organizations,
• the USA,
• Twitter,
• and — for a dark moment many years ago — life.

At this point, I’m staying for as long as I can, everywhere.

Here’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by the Clash…

… and by “First Drafts of Rock” on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon and Kevin Bacon.

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Is anyone asking “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” in my images for today?

Now I have to go to work, but I hope you stay and leave a comment, below.

Thanks to all who give me the courage to stay or go, including YOU.

Day 3590: Trust

In therapy, people work on trust. They ask, Who can I trust? Can I trust myself? What happens if I trust too much or trust too little?

I’ve been working in trust in therapy, too. If I have trouble trusting myself or others, I take a deep breath, slow down, and trust in my ability to move forward.

I trust there are trustworthy quotes about trust I can share with you, here and now.

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Is there trust in my images for today?

I trust in young people, including my son Aaron.

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

Thanks to all those I trust, including YOU.

Day 3589: Hideaway

I’ve been spending many hours thinking about how to remodel our upstairs shower, because I want that to be a hideaway.

I don’t want to hide away why that’s so important to me: When I was a child spending too much time alone in the hospital, the private bathroom with a tub, at the end of the long hallway, was really my only hideaway. The rest of the time, I was under the eyes of doctors and nurses, hooked up to a cardiac monitor that beeped out my unusual heartbeat, day and night.

Years ago in therapy, I gave myself the healing assignment of drawing a floor plan of that Children’s Hospital cardiac unit, and the room with the tub stood out as a precious and safe hideaway.

I’m also thinking of how Jerry Seinfeld described the shower as a hideaway:

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Do you see any hideaways in my images for today?

It’s such an amazing coincidence that I’m writing about hideaways on National Hermit Day!

Here’s “Hideaway” by the incredible Jacob Collier:

I can’t hide away my gratitude for all who help me share these daily posts, including YOU.

Day 3588: What we own

I own all my thoughts, feelings, and actions, including blogging every day.

Most of today’s images show things I do not own.

I don’t currently own a lot of chocolate but I expect to own more by the end of National Chocolate Day.

Here’s “You Don’t Own Me.”

One thing I do own is my gratitude for all who visit this blog, including YOU.

Day 3587: Whatever gets you through the night

Now that I’ve gotten through another night, I’m hearing John Lennon’s “Whatever Gets You Thru the Night” in my head.

Whatever got me through the night included these images that I captured yesterday.

Whatever gets you through this October day and night, it’s all right, it’s all right.

Gratitude gets me through the day and night, so thanks to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 3586: Scared

I’m scared about

• the USA midterm elections,
• the future of this country, and
• the future of the world.

When I’m scared, it’s difficult to focus on the gifts of the present moment, even though there are many around me. I will take a breath and try to be less scared, here and now.

Are you scared by any of today’s images?

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I’m scared of stupid people voting awful and greedy liars into power. If they do, I’m scared that we’re dead.

Here’s “Scared” by the Tragically Hip.

I’m not scared of any reactions you might have to this “scared” post.

Thanks for keeping me company when I’m scared — that helps!

Day 3585: I am very busy

I am very busy

• working at the hospital on Mondays,
• doing remote therapy from my home the rest of the week,
• blogging and tweeting every day,
• keeping up with bills,
• keeping up with technology,
• maintaining my health,
• doing word games,
• making decisions about our upstairs shower repair,
• dealing with insurance companies and contractors,
• explaining things to people,
• balancing my needs with the needs of others,
• listening to music,
• staying on top of the news even when the news is bringing me down,
• rewatching movies that cheer me up, and
• keeping track and taking care of those I love.

No matter how very busy I am, I can still feel guilty about all the things that I’m not doing, so maybe I need this “I am very busy” desk sign (which a co-worker showed me yesterday at the hospital).

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I am very busy, here and now, putting together the rest of this blog post.

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I am very busy trying to think of the perfect line to write here. How about this: The Daily Bitch is very busy celebrating Sourest Day.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “I am very busy.”

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Thanks to all who are very busy reading this blog post, including YOU!

Day 3584: Body Armor

Yesterday, when I saw this in the supermarket …

… I thought about a recent therapy session when I had suggested that someone — who was dealing with many slings and arrows of outrageous fortune in their lives — visualize and design some imaginary body armor to protect themselves. This person loved that assignment and looked forward to sketching some cool body armor they could then imagine putting on when they were feeling vulnerable.

This morning, as I get ready to go out into the world, I feel like I could use some body armor, too. My body armor would be colorful, strong, comfortable, and allow myself to move and react nimbly. My body armor would repel bad news, aggression, and toxicity from the outside and let my own self-defeating thoughts escape easily.

Do you see any examples of body armor in today’s images?

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Do you think imagining and wearing body armor might help you live your best life during these scary times?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “body armor.”

When I spent hours looking at tiles for our shower remodel yesterday, little did I know that I was looking at body armor.

Thanks to all who — like imaginary body armor — help me feel safer, including YOU.

Day 3583: National Mole Day

Today, October 23, is National Mole Day in the USA.

What kind of mole would you guess is being recognized?

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Have you made your guess? If not, I’ll wait.

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Okay! Here’s the answer:

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Even though Avagadro’s number is something I learned in high school Chemistry that I simply CANNOT FORGET (although I can easily forget almost any other number that exists), I still didn’t put it together that the date 10/23 was related to 10 to the 23rd.

I do not have 10 to the 23rd images to share with you on National Mole Day, but the number is somewhere between 10 and 23.

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Here’s what I find when I search for “National Mole Day” on YouTube.

Thanks to all who are helping me celebrate National Mole Day, including YOU!

Day 3582: Cool

As the weather here turns cool and we approach the midterm elections, I am trying to keep my cool, which was difficult yesterday when Joan the cat suddenly disappeared when I momentarily got distracted when we were outside together and I was inspecting the cool construction work on our home. I lost my cool as I searched for Joan, catastrophizing that I would never see that cool cat again. After many uncool minutes when Joan was uncharacteristically silent while I was calling her, she suddenly popped up, cool as a cucumber (although cats actually are not cool with cucumbers, as you can see here).

Also, my cool yellow Honda Fit with manual transmission has a brand new alternator which travelled all the way from Arkansas to Massachusetts, so now I’m cool about it starting up in the cool mornings. I find it cool and fun to drive a car with a stick shift and I think it’s uncool that they’re phasing out those kinds of cars.

At the end of the day, I did some cool EMDR therapy to help me stay cool while others are losing their cool around me, and my therapist and I came up with a cool positive cognition: “I can trust myself.”

How cool are my images for today?

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It’s cool to make a difference and here is “Cool” from West Side Story on The Ed Sullivan Show!

I have many cool memories of watching that show when I was a kid.

I look forward to your cool comments and thanks to all the cool creatures who help me blog every day, including YOU