Day 3832: It must be nice

It must be nice to have many people in one’s life like my beloved friend Megan, who talked to me yesterday about the phrase “it must be nice.” It must be nice to have a job coach like Megan has, who is helping her embrace and celebrate the joys in her life without fear about other people’s jealousy.

Before I spoke with Megan yesterday, I was thinking it must be nice for people to realize their dreams of writing a book, which I haven’t been able to do. It is more than nice that Megan and I agreed yesterday to write a book together about our experiences as psychotherapists.

It must be nice to be able to write a book on your own, but I think it’s nicer to have a writing companion.

It must be nice to have a new puppy like Megan has…

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… but I’m happy with all the blessings I have around me.

It must be nice to have a corvette to drive to work.

Here’s “It Must Be Nice” (actually “Washington on Your Side”) from Hamilton.

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It must be nice (and it is!) to have wonderful readers like YOU.

Day 3831: What we have in common

What we have in common doesn’t get much attention these days; instead, the focus is on what divides us.

Do you see what we have in common in my images for today?

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What we have in common might include no need to continue reading about National Bomb Pop Day.

Here’s what I find when I search for “what we have in common.”

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I also find this, again:

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What we have in common might include gratitude, here and now.

Day 3830: Too many

Yesterday, in my remote Coping and Healing group, people were talking about things they had too many of. I said that I had three nail files within reach …

… and more elsewhere, which is really too many mail files. People shared that they got too many of necessities (like bags of flour) because they lost track of how many they already had and didn’t want to run out.

Besides nail files, I have too many scissors, watches, fears about the future, and thoughts when I’m trying to fall asleep (which are NOT necessities).

Is there too many of anything in my other images for today?

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DO YOU THINK THERE ARE TOO MANY CAPS LOCK DAYS?

There’s no caps lock on my phone (that I’m aware of), so I spend too many moments typing that last sentence.

Here’s what I find when I search for “too many” on YouTube:

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You can never have too many expressions of gratitude and appreciation, so thanks for reading this too-many post!

Day 3829: We are as one

We are as one is …

• Very Zen.
• A reassuring thought for me, here and now.
• Reminiscent of this joke: What did the Zen master say to the hot dog vendor? “Make me one with everything.”
• The title of today’s blog post.
• A message I got from the Wordle bot yesterday when I matched all of its guesses.

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We are as one as we make our way through the rest of this blog post.

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We are as one in awareness of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder as we deal with traumatic stresses together.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “we are as one.”

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We are as one as we experience gratitude together.

Day 3828: Observances

Here and now, my observances include the following:

• I’m glad my son is spending the next month with friends in Europe before he starts a PhD program in mathematics,
• I want to write an article or book about my Coping and Healing groups,
• I love every Beatles song but there’s one I love just a little bit more,
• I don’t mind getting old,
• Cats are everywhere, even in my dreams, and
• Forgiveness can be very healing.

What other observances can you find in today’s blog post?

Out of all those observances, the one I’m wondering about is Please Take My Children to Work Day.

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

I look forward to reading your observances in the comments section below.

Thanks to all who have observances, including YOU!

Day 3827: Quaesitum

My quaesitum is to learn new things and to share them with others.

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I have many quaesitums (or quaesita), including:

• group work,
• spending time with those I love,
• reading,
• writing,
• music, and
• sharing my daily experiences with you.

After my second heart surgery in 1965, when I was in eighth grade, my quaesitum was to get a color TV so I could watch my favorite shows while I was recovering. Here and now, my quaesitum is to wish my first husband and the father of our son Aaron a Happy Leon Day!

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

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My quaesitum is to let people know I appreciate them, so many thanks to Mary Alicia Barnes (whose office at Tufts University is so beautifully “bloggy”), Leon, other people I love, those who heal in groups, my friends on Twitter, and — of course! — YOU!

Day 3826: Letting go

Yesterday, on Let It Go Day, my Coping and Healing group focused on letting go of negative self talk. We started out with a new mindfulness exercise: letting go of any negative self talk for five minutes. This was challenging, because letting go of old, familiar habits takes a lot of practice.

I will be letting go of any negative self talk as I create this “letting go” blog post today.

I’m letting go of any judgment I have about going to bed at 8 P.M. last night.

Here’s the song that comes up for people about “letting go.”

Consider letting go of your reactions to this blog post by putting them in a comment, below.

Thanks to all who are doing their best letting go of unhelpful old habits, including YOU.

Day 3825: What captures our attention

People who want to sell us something spend a lot of time and money trying to figure out what captures our attention.

Based on the latest news story that captured our attention (the missing submersible Titan), what captures our attention includes:

• danger,
• hope,
• novelty,
• money,
• adventure,
• mystery,
• controversy,
• hubris,
• mistakes,
• strong emotion, and
• lack of closure.

Now that the story has ended, tragically, I assume that something else will capture our attention.

What captures your attention in my images for today?

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Here’s what I find when I search for what captures our attention on YouTube.

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What captures my attention includes you and your comments. Many thanks for your attention, here and now.

Day 3824: Are things worse or better?

I often notice that people believe that things are worse, not better, than they used to be, which is the subject of this piece in the New York Times:

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Now I better include this excerpt from that article by Dr. Adam Mastroianni, an experimental psychologist:

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Are things worse or better in my other images for today?

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I have to say that things are worse in the world rainforests because of certain stupid guys doing their thing, and we better do something about that soon.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “are things worse or better?”

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Thanks to all who make my world better, including YOU!

Day 3823: Wildlife

I donate to wildlife organizations, including the World Wildlife Fund.

My husband Michael used to enjoy watching nature shows about wildlife, but this week he told me he might stop because every show is about the disappearance of wildlife.

It makes me wild to think about how we’re harming wildlife.

Do you see wildlife in my images for today?

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

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Thanks to Kris and Doug Tompkins and all those who care about wildlife, including YOU.

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Note: Minutes after I published this post, this showed up: