Day 1940: It’s all coming together

Even though this blog has been coming together daily for several years,  I’ve never before quoted something my boyfriend Michael says all the time.  Whenever I express relief or another positive reaction to some development, minor or major, Michael says, “It’s all coming together.”

I think Michael says that so often because

• things seem to fall apart as often as they come together,
• we discuss many falling-apart and coming-together developments, and
• he wants to help me keep it together.

For example, yesterday I left the refrigerator door open when I left early in the morning, the refrigerator heated up to the extent that Michael had to throw away lots of food, I left my Fitbit at home, many people were falling apart at work, and whenever I looked at the news, it seemed like the whole world was falling apart. However, when I did a blood test last night and found my INR was in range (during a period where it’s often been out of range), Michael immediately declared, “It’s all coming together.”  It all came together for me and I said, “That’s the title of my blog post tomorrow.”

All my photos that weren’t loading to this site are now coming together, including several photos of ducks coming together.

It’s all coming together for me to share #8 on this top 30 list of awesome rock.

It’s all right now and it’s all coming together for me to express my thanks to all who help me write these posts and — of course! — to YOU, for coming together to this blog.

Day 1939: First AND last

The first thing I want to do in this post is let you know that my walking team at work is in first place  at this point in the six-week competition.  The six people on my team have walked more steps than any other team at the hospital where we all work: 1,162,290 combined steps in two weeks.

However, with 163,275 steps, I’m in last place on my team.

Despite being first AND last, I’m meeting the competition goal of 10,000 steps per day. The last thing I just saw on the challenge website was this:

Congratulations! You’re right on track!

So how do I feel about being first AND last?

Well,  I know I’ve been doing my best.  That’s paramount. And the team leader, Barbara, just messaged me

We are all part of the team….Go Ann!!!

Barbara makes you feel like you’re first, no matter where you are.  That — and the exercise benefits of walking in this competition — are going to last, for me.

Yesterday, I facilitated a retreat for group therapists — neither my first such retreat nor  my last.  It was the first warm and sunny day of Spring around here but (I hope) not the last. Even though I had to spend most of  that beautiful Sunday inside, my good feelings about the day are going to last.

I shall now share  my photos from yesterday’s retreat, from first to last.

 

 

What’s the first and last thing you notice in those photos?

The first thing I have to do today is get to work on time, so I’ll quickly go to the last blogging business of the day.  I hope that you

… and — last but not least — thanks to all who helped me create today’s first-AND-last post and  (of course!)  YOU.

 

Day 1938: Paramount

Yesterday, I was near the Paramount Theater in downtown Boston.

Today, it is paramount that I facilitate an all-day retreat for group therapists, where we’ll be talking about paramount issues.

Therefore, I am going to post all my photos of the Paramount  and let you decide which of the photos is paramount for you.

But first, an accurate definition of “paramount” might be paramount at this point.

par·a·mount
ˈperəˌmount
adjective
more important than anything else; supreme.
“the interests of the child are of paramount importance”
synonyms: most important, of greatest/prime importance

Finding one’s purpose is often paramount, no matter how difficult or funny it is.

Because some people think it’s paramount for me to include a video in these blog posts, here’s the result of my search on YouTube for “paramount song”:

It’s not paramount that you leave a comment, but it is paramount for me to thank Boston’s Paramount Theater, the Paramount School of Excellence, and — of course! — YOU.

Day 1937: What could go right?

In therapy lately, several people have decided to ask themselves “What could go right?” instead of consistently focusing on what could go wrong.

I’m pulling for everyone to have success in this valiant effort to change habitually negative thinking.  Would you like to follow us and redirect your thoughts from what could go wrong to what could go right?

What could go right, here and now?

These photos could go right.

 

For those of us who think about what could go wrong when we can’t fall asleep, it’s a relief to focus on what could go right.

There are endless YouTube videos about what could go wrong and this one about what could go right:

 

Gratitude for those who help me create these daily blog posts and  for you — of course! — always goes right.

 

 

Day 1936: Confused

Yesterday, I indicated on my feelings chart that I was confused.

If you’re confused about the feelings chart, read this post and that post.

I get confused when …

• people are mean for no apparent reason,
• bad things happen to good people,
• people I love leave, and
• somebody gives me directions for more than 30 seconds.

I love what U.N. Ambassador Nicki Haley said this week when Trump advisor Larry Kudlow remarked that “there might have been some momentary confusion” on her part.

With all due respect, I don’t get confused.

The media called Nicki Haley’s response a “clapback” which confused me, because I’ve never seen that word before.

Is anybody here confused about my other photos from yesterday?

 

Does anybody else get confused about how to spell “cancelled”?

Here‘s #1 from ranker.com’s Best Songs About Confusion:

With all due respect, I will not get confused by any comment you might leave below.

I hope nobody is confused by my gratitude for all who helped me create this confused post and — of course! — for YOU.

Day 1935: Dot dot dot

I’ve been noticing a lot of dot dot dot’s lately, in tweets and elsewhere…

I just did a google search about dot dot dot …

An ellipsis (plural ellipses; from the Ancient Greek: ἔλλειψις, élleipsis, “omission” or “falling short”) is a series of dots (typically three, such as “…”) that usually indicates an intentional omission of a word, sentence, or whole section from a text without altering its original meaning.
Ellipsis – Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellipsis

The three dots tattoo is a common prison tattoo that represents “mi vida loca,” or “my crazy life.” It’s not associated with any particular gang, but with the gang lifestyle itself. This tattoo is typically found on the hands or around the eyes. Jan 8, 2016

I don’t feel like I’m intentionally omitting a word, sentence, or whole section, but maybe I am unconciously …

I’m not even sure what my original meaning is, except to share some thoughts and some pictures …

 

I don’t know if anybody noticed, but there were three dots in those six pictures …

The three dots tattoo represents “mi vida loca” …

… and vida does seem particularly loca these days.

I wonder what the Russians thought about Ricky Martin …

Sometimes I feel shy about asking for comments …

… but I never feel shy about expressing my gratitude to all who help me create these posts and to YOU.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Thanks.

Day 1934: Love is the answer

Here and now, when I ask myself the daily question, “What should I blog about today?” this is the answer:

When I ask myself, “What song do I want to hear now?”  this is the answer:

I love sharing the lyrics to Todd Rundgren’s “Love is the Answer” plus that live performance.

Do I have other photos from yesterday?  Here is the answer:

I love this: if you look for love, it’s there around you. That is the answer.

I love all answers to this blog, so consider commenting below.

I love thanking all who help me create my posts and — of course! — YOU, for all the questions and answers you bring.

Day 1933: Overthinking

Over the past few weeks, I’ve heard several people in therapy express concerns over how they’ve been overthinking.

Overthinking (as described by a thinker at inc.com) “can cause problems. When you overthink, your judgment gets cloudy and your stress gets elevated.  You spend too much time in the negative. It can be difficult to act.”  Overthinking  also interferes with sleep and contributes to anxiety, depression, and self-medicating with food, drugs, or alcohol (there’s more about  overthinking over at thelawofattraction.com).

Last night, I called Michael over to go over my many worried thoughts about matters hanging over me. When my fitful monologue was over, Michael thought over what he’d heard and said, “Ann, the way you’re overthinking borders on the completely ridiculous.”   I realized that the way I was overthinking didn’t border on the completely ridiculous — it actually went over the border into the completely ridiculous.

Michael helps me get control over my overthinking.  However, I’m not over overthinking — it’s a habit that’s hard to get over.  I know I’m overthinking again this morning, because I’m anxious over decisions I made over the long weekend and I’m overthinking the consequences.  However, I’m not thinking that I might be overlinking  to that inc. article about “10 Simple Ways You Can Stop Yourself from Overthinking,” which includes

• Don’t think about what can go wrong, but what can go right.
• Distract yourself into happiness.
• Put things into perspective.
• Stop waiting for perfection.
• Change your view of fear.
• Realize you can’t predict the future.
• Accept your best.

Yes, I was overthinking many things yesterday, but not my early morning tweeting:

After reading the latest dispatches in these celebrity/political feuds: When did “turn the other cheek” become hit them in the cheek 10 times harder?

And I wasn’t  overthinking when I took these photos:

I don’t think I’m all by myself alone in overthinking, even though it drives people bananas. At this point, I don’t want to rethink anything, including my pretzel.

When this post is over, please bring over your thinking about overthinking, rethinking, and other kinds of thinking.

Here’s “Overthinking” by L2M:

The last recommendation in that inc. article about stopping overthinking is “be grateful.”  That’s why I don’t overthink my thanks, I just express them.

Day 1932: Fit

This morning, I’m reading news reports about people being fit or unfit for their jobs.

What makes somebody fit or unfit? I wonder.  I also wonder what else I’m going to fit into today’s blog post.

Yesterday, my Fitbit measured another day of over 10,000 steps, as I work on getting more fit.

The weather around here does not fit my expectations for mid-April. I’m continuing to fit into my winter coat as I brave the cold, rainy days and nights.

Today, many people will be fitting themselves into running shoes and into the crowds at the Boston Marathon. I’m assuming some people will get fit and others might throw a fit because of traffic and other obstacles.

Tax day can give people fits.  I almost had a fit yesterday when I noticed that my tax payment wasn’t withdrawn from my bank account as I had scheduled.  I think it’s fitting that I have fewer fits in the future, because there’s only so much we can fit into each precious day.

I take photos as I see fit.

 

Work with me, people, and please fit your thoughts and feelings about this blog post into a comment below.

What music fits here?

 

No matter what the topic of the blog post, gratitude is always a good fit.

 

Day 1931: No outlet

What happens when there is no outlet for

• feelings,
• thoughts,
• beliefs,
• opinions,
• uncertainties,
• vulnerability,
• strengths,
• talents,
• honesty,
• secrets,
• pain,
• pleasure,
• differences,
• connections,
• needs,
• disagreements,
• the urge to move forward,
• the wish to stay still,
• learning,
• self-expression,
• growth,
• communication,
• self-doubt,
• self-confidence,
• mistakes,
• humanity,
• creativity or
• vision?

One of my outlets (for all those things and more) is this daily blog, where I can share what I experience within and around me.

Another outlet for me is music (found here and here).

What are your outlets?

Letting out my gratitude for all who help with this daily blogging outlet (including you!) is another great outlet for me.