Day 2921: Unexpected gifts

During a holiday season when we did not exchange any material gifts, there were still unexpected gifts, including delicious vegetarian manicotti and Christmas cookies from my ex-in-laws.

I also got some unexpected gifts mailed to me from work.

Here’s another unexpected gift: the bitcoin that I won from my wager on the results of the USA Presidential election has already increased by 26%! That is even more of a gift because when I collected my winnings recently from the online betting site I was agonizing over my unexpected inability to figure out how to convert bitcoin into cash. My husband Michael, who is always a gift to me, suggested I just keep the bitcoin and “have fun watching it.” Having fun with the unexpected is always a gift.

Do you see unexpected gifts in these recent images?

Another unexpected gift — I am no longer worrying about pissing people off. That’s because of the gift that keeps on giving: therapy.

When I search YouTube for “unexpected gifts” this comes up first:

Are there any unexpected gifts you would like to share in a comment below?

An expected gift at the end of each of my daily posts is the gift of gratitude, so thanks to all who contributed unexpected gifts today, including YOU!

Day 2910: Problems to ignore

There are so many problems these days we cannot ignore, that I think it might be helpful to focus on the problems we can ignore, here and now.

For example, I can ignore the problem that I forgot to stop recording on ZOOM last night at the remote Open Mic, so this video includes much of the next performance:

I can also ignore the problem that when I was performing last night I was not on my screen, because I AM on screen in that recorded video.

Here are other problems to ignore:

• I still struggle with some aspects of the new editor here, so creating a bulleted list is harder for me than with the old editor.
• I had to use bitcoin to get my winnings out of a betting site on the results of the U.S. Presidential election and now I have no idea how to safely convert bitcoin to cash.
• I’m off on vacation for a week, so I’ll miss doing my Coping and Healing groups.
• My son is returning to Scotland next month to live with his girlfriend and be closer to the University of Edinburgh for his last semester there, so I’ll miss him when he leaves.
• I immodestly think my original songs are awesome and have no idea how to reach a wider audience.
• My likes here on WordPress are half of what they were a year ago.
• Almost every time I tweet on twitter, I get no response.
• I’ve gained four pounds in the last month even though I’m eating really heathy and going for long walks.
• My INR has been lower than I expected the last two times I’ve tested it.
• Three people over the last few years have stopped talking to me.
• I’m turning 68 in two months, and I don’t look as great as I did when I was younger.
• I have no idea how much to inflate my new wobble cushion for optimal results.

Even though those are problems to ignore, I have trouble ignoring them. As I tell others, the human brain is for focusing on problems, even those it should ignore.

Are there problems to ignore in these recent images?

I cannot ignore the fact that Michael’s delicious cooking MIGHT be the reason I’ve gained four pounds recently. He tells me to ignore that problem of weight gain every winter.

If you leave a comment below, it will not be ignored.

If gratitude is a problem for you, please ignore the ending of this post.

Day 2899: Insignificant

Is it insignificant that I did NOT call the Internal Revenue System yesterday about my significantly late tax refund, despite resolving to do so in my morning blog post?

Did I not call because I dislike how insignificant I feel whenever I deal with a huge bureaucracy? Or was it because the work I needed to do yesterday (remote psychotherapy and responding to crisis calls) made my contacting the IRS insignificant in comparison? Or did I have significant fear about what I might find out — that because my identity was stolen my tax refund was stolen too?

Sometimes, my confusion about the motives for my behavior is not insignificant.

Is the actual inspiration for today’s title insignificant?

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The Daily Bitch is never insignificant to me. Are today’s other images insignificant?

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I’ve done significant work to try to get to the point described in that last quote. Nevertheless, my mood shifted yesterday based on the insignificant actions of somebody else. Significantly, I communicated with that person and my mood shifted again. I believe that is not insignificant, although I clearly have more significant work to do.

Here is “Insignificant” by Spencer Elliott.

I hope you know your reactions to my posts are never insignificant to me.

My expressions of thanks here are insignificant in comparison with the gratitude I feel for all who help me blog every day, including YOU!

Day 2892: Transitions

As we experience the transition from November 2020 into December, transitions are on my mind, as you can see from today’s images.

It looks like the pink elliptical is transitioning into a towel rack.

Personally, I’m glad that the White House will be transitioning into a home for dogs and a cat next month.

As Bette Midler transitions today into her mid-70’s, here’s the song she sang to Johnny Carson twenty-eight years ago when he was making the transition to retirement.

What transitions are you dealing with, here and now?

Now it’s time for me to transition to gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.

Day 2839: The expert on crazy

When my non-crazy patients worry out loud about being or seeming crazy, I often say, “You’re not crazy, and I’m the expert on crazy.”

The expert on crazy thinks the President of the United States is crazy.

The expert on crazy thinks this is driving many people crazy, including me.

The crazy expert on crazy, in attempts to remain sane, captured these images yesterday.

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The expert husband of the expert on crazy made a crazy good risotto yesterday. I would have been crazy not to marry him last December, before things got really crazy.

Here’s the expert on “Crazy” — Patsy Cline.

The expert on crazy is crazy about your comments, so please leave one below.

The expert on crazy is grateful to be alive, even during crazy times, and she is very grateful for you.

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Day 2834: Healing ?

Here and now, there are many questions out there about whether people are healing or getting worse.

Yesterday, while I was taking a healing walk outside, I noticed this:

In today’s photo gallery, do you see healing ?

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What is the most healing image, for you? What’s the most painful one?

Lately, I’ve been healing from painful experiences by doing Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy. That reminds me of my original song “Triggers,” which I hope will be healing to share.

That’s from my hopefully healing Edinburgh Festival Fringe show, August 2019.

Any comment you leave below will be healing for me. And as I like to say, “All healing is mutual.”

Gratitude is always healing, so thanks to all who are healing and helping others heal, including YOU.

Day 2816: Other people’s stories

As a psychotherapist, I love listening to other people’s stories.

What I DON’T love is other people who act like only their story is:

• real,
• legitimate, and
• worth listening to.

These days, more than ever, it’s important to make room for the stories that are not being heard. Why aren’t they being heard? Because people with power/the spotlight are

• loud,
• disrespectful of others,
• disinterested in the facts,
• obsessed with their own grievances,
• trying to hold on to power, and
• apparently not interested in other people’s stories.

If you do not leave room for other people’s stories, the dominant story becomes strident, repressive, demoralizing, inaccurate, and eventually obsolete. Personally, I am fighting for other people’s stories (including my own!) to be heard, so we can all survive together.

Here is one person’s photographic story for the day:

In my story, there is always room for the the Daily Bitch, love, AND your stories (in the comments section below).

Yesterday, when I was creating today’s photographic story, I heard the Prologue to Stephen Sondheim‘s Into the Woods, which includes lots of other people’s stories.

My stories always include gratitude for all who help me create these daily stories, including YOU.

Day 2808: It’s a beautiful day

It’s a beautiful day to

• blog,
• return to my work as a group and individual psychotherapist after a long staycation,
• let go of worry about the future,
• let go of regret about the past,
• be in the moment,
• show up,
• be gentle,
• tell the truth,
• take achievable next steps,
• stay safe,
• look up,
• look down,
• look all around,
• listen carefully,
• trust myself to figure things out,
• accept all feelings,
• recognize that I cannot change others but I can change myself,
• lose my investment in the outcome,
• stay committed to the process,
• recognize and use my personal power,
• be aware of internalized and unconscious messages,
• do more of what helps,
• do less of what doesn’t help,
• just be,
• make long lists, and
• share these photos.

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It’s a beautiful day to hide in my office at home (which I’m doing right now as I’m creating this blog).

It’s a beautiful day to share “It’s a Beautiful Day” by Tohpati (featuring Moonlight Project).

It’s a beautiful day when I find out about an Indonesian jazz guitarist and songwriter whose “most significant influence came from Pat Metheny.”

Is it a beautiful day to comment on a blog?

It’s a beautiful day to express gratitude, so thanks to all those who make my days more beautiful, including YOU.

Day 2608: Fun with Phobias, Part 5

I have no phobias about sharing these links for my previous “Fun with Phobias” posts:

Day 416: Fun with Phobias

Day 417: Fun with Phobias Part II

Day 496: Fun with Phobias (Part III*)

Day 1594: Fun with Phobias, Part 4

Yesterday, somebody expressed surprise about other people’s fears and phobias being different from theirs.  Because I don’t have Googlephobia, I searched for a list of phobias and took this photo:

Because I don’t have Facetime-o-phobia, later in the day I communicated with somebody who had Trypanophobia when he was young:

It’s a good thing that my son Aaron doesn’t have Kosmemophobia (fear of jewelry) because his mother’s earrings are HUGE.

I  don’t have pun-o-phobia, as you can see in this subsequent communication between Aaron and me:

Do you see any phobias in my other photos from yesterday?

 

When I was a kid, I had a fear of the dark.  My Phone, which keeps taking pictures like that last one,  seems to have no Achluphobia, Nyctophobia, or whatever you want to call it.

Even though Politocophobia is a real thing,  here’s a limerick about one of the  2020 Democratic candidates for President:

My choice at this moment is Pete
And it’s not only because he is neat.
At Harvard, the Navy, South Bend
He had many an appreciative friend,
Plus his deep thoughts won’t fit in a tweet.

Here’s “The Phobia Song” by Pushing Daisy.

Fear of comments is a thing,  but consider leaving one anyway.

Do you have fear of gratitude?  I hope not.

 

 

Day 2603: Metaphors

As an English literature major and a clinician practicing narrative therapy, I often notice metaphors, including thinly veiled ones:

If you read carefully that comic strip by Levni Yilmaz, you’ll also discover cognitive distortions including shoulds, emotional reasoning, labeling, and blaming.

Do you see any metaphors in my other captured images from yesterday?

I wonder if it’s a metaphor that on this Presidents’ Day weekend my phone and my laptop are not communicating and are refusing to share images with each other. Maybe it’s a metaphor that I’m working harder to create these posts, starting on my phone and then completing my daily blog on my laptop.

Nevertheless, it’s easy enough to share this metaphor-filled song, performed by The Temptations and UB40:

I look forward to any metaphors, similes, or other figures of speech in your comments, below.

Thanks to all who helped me create this “Metaphors” post, including YOU!