Yesterday, in both my Coping and Healing groups, people shared what they were looking forward to.
I’m looking forward to:
another Coping and Healing group today,
Michael’s stroganoff for dinner,
the weekend,
walks by the water,
music,
dancing,
connecting,
being in the moment,
letting go of regrets about the past and worries about the future,
accepting all feelings, and
sharing my images from the last two days.
One of my biggest fears used to be singing and playing imperfectly in front of people. I’ve done so much work on that I am truly looking forward to singing “Vaccinated Women” to the tune of “Fascinating Rhythm” tonight at an Open Mic. I’m also looking forward to sharing that imperfect performance with you tomorrow.
Here’s an imperfect performance of mine from two years ago in LA at the great Ron Lynch’s “Tomorrow” show:
What are you looking forward to? I’m looking forward to your comments, below.
If you’re looking forward to my gratitude to you for showing up here today, here it is!
Nobody likes to be found out, not even one who has made ruthless confession a part of his profession. Any autobiographer, therefore, at least between the lines, spars with his reader and potential judge.
Confession Time! Whenever I present quotes, I arrange them by the birthdate of the person I’m quoting.
Yesterday I declared “Confession Time!” on Twitter:
Confession Time! Here and now, I can’t include any other images and I don’t know if I can publish this blog post. WordPress keeps confessing, “You are probably offline” although I don’t see how that is true. I confess that I can’t upload anything from my laptop or my phone and I confess this has never happened before in all my years of daily blogging.
Confession time! I wanted to write a quick blog post this morning so I could watch a special presentation about the musical “Rent.” Oh well.
Confession Time! No photos doesn’t prevent my from quoting the Daily Bitch Calendar for today: “Why is being alive so expensive? I’m not even having a good time!”
Since it is confession time, are there any confessions you’d like to make in the comments section, below?
It’s always gratitude time, so thanks to all the people I quoted, above, and thanks to YOU.
It’s a sure thing in life that if you have a bright idea (like writing new lyrics to an old song) that somebody wonderful will have the same idea too.
It’s a sure thing that I’ll end each blog post with gratitude, so thanks to Dolly Parton, everyone else who contributed to the development of the COVID vaccines, all the people I follow on Twitter, the Man from U.N.C.L.E., the Daily Bitch, dogs, cats, Brené Brown, Susan David, and YOU!
I have a weakness for Twitter, where somebody recently asked, “Do you think crying is a sign of weakness or strength?” I had the strength to answer as follows:
Do you see weakness or strength in my other images for today?
Is admitting mistakes, like today’s Daily Bitch, a sign of weakness or strength?
When I search for “weakness or strength” on YouTube, I find this:
That reminds me that exactly a year ago, the week before lockdown, I was in Times Square in New York, attending a group therapy conference and contracting COVID. Is it weakness or strength to share that with you, here and now?
Actually, I think it’s helpful to think in terms of AND, not OR, so it’s all weakness AND strength.
Many thanks to those who help me share my weakness and strength in this daily blog, including YOU!
Yesterday, when I was craving connection with others, I posted this on Twitter:
Looks like I am not alone in craving certain types of foods and also connection with others.
What are you craving these days? Do you see anything you crave in my other images from yesterday?
I figured people might be craving today’s Daily Bitch Calendar, with a helpful reminder that it’s the beginning of a new month — the second March we’ve spent together in this worldwide pandemic.
In case you are craving Mark Ruffalo’s speech from last night’s Golden Globe awards, here it is:
And in case you are craving “Seasons of Love,” here it is, performed at another awards show in 2018:
As usual, I am craving comments, so please leave one, below.
Because you may be craving appreciation and gratitude, thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU!
Come experience the difference as I get my hair cut, eat inside at a restaurant for the first time in almost a year, and hang out on Twitter and in other familiar places, completely vaccinated.
Apparently I’m not going viral, AGAIN, because I was not dead when I posted that tweet last night:
I wrote that when I was experiencing the difference of being a vaccinated woman out at our local supermarket.
Come experience the difference of my song “Vaccinated Women” after I had some time to practice it.
Come experience the difference of posting a new comment, below, and the difference of a new expression of gratitude from me to YOU.
I think about going viral, so here’s a viral definition:
Why would I want to go viral, especially during these viral times? Maybe it’s a natural human yearning to be heard, appreciated, and connected with others.
Here and now, I’m good with not going viral and happy to connect with others as best as I can.
Is there anything viral in today’s images?
I think our cat Harley and Michael’s cooking are more likely to go viral than I am.
I doubt that my new song “Vaccinated Women” (to the tune of “Fascinating Rhythm”) will go viral, but I’m still looking forward to performing it this Friday at an Open Mic.
I wouldn’t want that recording to go viral since (1) I just figured out the ukulele chords and (2) neither my voice nor my looks are at their best this early in the morning.
What are your thoughts and feelings about this “Viral” post?
Thanks to all who help me create this non-viral blog every day, including YOU!
In last night’s Coping and Healing group, as people discussed how to cheer the f*ck up during this f*cking pandemic, somebody shared this coloring book:
How do you cheer the f*ck up these days? People in my groups cheer the f*ck up by
practicing mindfulness,
venting,
setting healthy boundaries,
swearing,
crying,
laughing
accepting all feelings, and
realizing they are not alone.
Do any of today’s photos help you cheer the f*ck up?
After a long working day, I cheer the f*ck up with Michael’s cooking.
I find this when I search YouTube for “Cheer the f*ck up” …
I can’t get enough of conversations with my husband Michael, including our recent one about breakfast cereals, in which I told him that my favorite cereal jingle was “I can’t get enough of that Sugar Crisp” as sung by the cool and crooning Sugar Bear.
Because I used to work in advertising, I can’t get enough of those vintage commercials and how they reflect societal norms, priorities, assumptions, and technology.
I can’t get enough of my son Aaron and I can’t get enough of this incredible creation his cousin Victoria made for Aaron’s birthday:
I can’t get enough of anything that promotes self inoculation against the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, including walks by the water, celebrating small victories and progress, education, Michael’s cooking, the Daily Bitch Calendar, fun conversations on Twitter, and cats.
I can’t get enough of your comments, so consider leaving one about what YOU can’t get enough of.
I can’t get enough of gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including you!
Two days ago, my post was self-destructive. Today, I’m writing about self inoculation, which is effectively preparing yourself for troubles ahead.
Yesterday, in a therapy session when we were talking about self-hatred, people committed to each other that the next time they did, felt, or thought something that triggered self-hatred, they would take a deep breath and love (or at least LIKE) themselves instead. In essence, people were self inoculating against a known destructive response.
This morning, before I got on the scale, I self inoculated by saying this to myself: “No matter what that number is, I am going to welcome it. That number is not going to affect my self worth.”
Blogging, for me, is another example of self inoculation. With each daily post, I am preparing myself for troubles ahead — refreshing my resilience. That’s why blogging has been such a priority for me over the past eight years.
Do you see any examples of self inoculation in today’s images?
As The Daily Bitch shows us, sometimes the way we self inoculate might cause trouble for other people.