Day 2145: Come as you are

What does “come as you are” (which I saw in a magazine yesterday while waiting for an echocardiogram) mean to you?

Here comes an online discussion of “Come as you are”:

Best Answer: Come as you are on a party invitation indicates that the host or hostess is having a very informal party and Dress is not important. Now, if you were thinking about going naked to the party you might want to determine if it would be the best option. Things to consider might be 1. do you look good naked,2. are you secure enough in your looks to go to a party naked,3. how much importance do you put on shock and surprise of the other guests. Generally, come as you are means, if you have on jeans and a Polo and deck shoes, or in the summer if you have on shorts, a tee shirt, and sandals, you will be in acceptable attire. It simply means what it says come as you are, no need to dress up.

Only hell mama ever raised · 1 decade ago

Come as yourself and don’t try to make any false characteristics about yourself.
♥Caribbean American Princess♥ · 1 decade ago

In my Coping and Healing groups, I often say at the end, “I’m grateful that everybody showed up exactly the way they showed up today.”  I hope that’s an invitation for people to come as they are.

It’s time for my other photos from yesterday to come as they are.

As I’m creating this blog post as I am, this message keeps coming at me from WordPress:

A new editor is coming to level-up your layout.

I don’t know if I want a new editor coming to level-up my layout.   I’d prefer my blog posts to come as they are.

Here’s another entry from that online discussion about “Come as you are”:

it think that whoever has invited u listens to Nirvana, a lot…wear a Nirnana t-shirt or go naked.

Here comes Nirvana as they were, with “Come as You Are.”

 

If you’re coming here as you are from outside the USA, you may not be able to watch that video.

For the next two days, I’ll be coming as I am to a group therapy conference in New York. I assume I’ll come away from that experience as a better group therapist.

Here’s thanks coming from me to all those who helped me create this come-as-you-are post and — of course — to YOU, for coming as you are.

 

Day 1545: We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be

We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be, which is

• on earth,
• at my blog,
• accepting,
• close enough to water,
• breathing,
• alive,
• growing,
• searching,
• here,
• now, and
• looking at these pictures together.

We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. We’re at that point in my daily post where I share some music.

Last night, when I was exactly where I was supposed to be, I heard a wonderful orchestral piece on Boston’s classical radio station.

That’s Debussy‘s La Mer (The Sea). The sea is exactly where I’m supposed to be today, looking at a home by the ocean.

We’re exactly where we’re supposed to be. We’re at the end of today’s post, where I express thanks to all who help me create this blog and to you — of course! — who are exactly where you’re supposed to be.

Day 1452: Winter Wishes

Usually, when it’s winter, this blogger for all seasons wishes she were in a warmer place.

This year, my winter wishes include accepting and loving exactly where I am.

I wish for all my readers that same acceptance of exactly where you are, because that is always the first step to moving forward to where you want to be.

Some other winter wishes for this winter’s day:

• my son has an easy flight home from Edinburgh,
• my therapy groups at work are helpful for people,
• there’s no ice on the ground so I can safely drive and walk around, and
• I get a fabulous haircut.

What are your winter wishes?

Yesterday, on the first day of winter, my wishes included taking all these photos:

 

That last photo reminds me that one of my winter wishes for people in my therapy group yesterday was accepting ALL your feelings.

Here are some musical wishes for the season I found on YouTube (here and here):

My winter wishes also include that you comment below.

Good wishes to all who helped me created this Winter Wishes post and to you — of course! — no matter what your winter wishes, here and now.

Day 625: Where am I?

Question:

Where am I?

Answer:

Right here.

Question:

Where is here?

Answer(s):

1. In my kitchen.
2. On my laptop.
3. At WordPress.
4. In Massachusetts, USA.
5. In the midst of my life.
6. On my path.
7. At a specific longitude and latitude, which I don’t know.
8. Wait, there’s an app for that!
9. I can’t remember my password.
10. Where is the password?
11. I found my password.
12. I actually knew my password. I just typed it in wrong, the first time.
13. I typed it in wrong, again.
14. Got it, that time!
15. “Cannot connect to iTunes store.”
16. Who needs longitude and latitude, anyway?  It’s not like I’m friggin’ lost at sea.
17. Exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Question:

Where else am I?

Answer:

Happy that the list, above, had 17 items, since

• today is the 17th and
• 17 is my lucky number.

Question:

Where else am I?

Answer:

At the beginning of a day where I expect to:

1. Publish a good-enough blog post.
2. Help my son (if he needs any help) leave for school.
3. Be as present in the moment, as possible, for him and for myself.
4. Go to work.
5. Orient and register somebody for the therapy groups I do.
6. Facilitate a therapy group of people who have chosen to be wherever we are and wherever we go together.
7. Drink enough water.
8. Eat something.
9. See my cardiologist, Dr. Deeb Salem.
10. Meet all my son’s new teachers, at his high school, which is such a friggin’ labyrinth with so many stairs and confusing room numbers that I’ll probably wonder, “Where am I??” several times.
11. Ask directions, at my son’s school, from people who will help me get to all the right classrooms, on time.
12. Find my car, in the school parking lot.
13. Drive to a house in Arlington, Massachusetts, for the remainder of a Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy board meeting.
14. Drive home.
15. See my boyfriend Michael.
16. Find out about my son’s day. (Where will Aaron be? With his father, at that point on this Wednesday.)
17. Be in the moment as much as possible.

Question:

Where else am I?

Answer:

Wanting to give myself and my readers some gifts.

First, some photos of where I’ve been recently:

Finally, some music.  Where shall I find something

1. appropriate to today’s post,
2. that I love,
3. that you might enjoy, also?

Here’s the best I can do, where I am:

(Question: Where is that YouTube video of Buffalo Springfield‘s “Questions”?  Answer: Here)

 

Thanks to everybody reading this, no matter where you are.

Day 367: Screen Shots

Since my style can be somewhat spontaneous*, it is rare that I decide, ahead of time, what my topic or image is going to be for my daily post.

Yesterday, however, I saw something on my computer and thought, “I HAVE to take a screen shot of THAT. I’m probably going to use that in my blog tomorrow.”

My next thought was, ” Arrrrgh!  I can’t remember how to take screen shots!” Next thought: “Google it!”  And I did.

I don’t know, people, why I panic when I can’t remember something like that. It’s like I have ongoing amnesia about the fact that things are easily retrievable.  Apparently, my brain hasn’t caught up to the realities of technology, with which I’m interacting every day.

Get with the program, Brain!

Anyway, I did manage (pretty easily) to take a screen shot of that image, which had inspired some fear, on its own. THAT fear, ladies and gentlemen, had to do with ………

(can you guess?)

(hints: I live in the Northeast United States. It’s January.)

Time’s up!

The weather.

Here’s the screen shot:

If you’re easily distracted, like me, allow me to call your attention to the weather portion of that screen shot:

I love comparing my perceptions to other people’s, so I’m curious, right now: What did you notice first about that weather report?

I’ll tell you what struck me, big time.  The numbers — those wild variations in temperature in my immediate future. My thoughts: “It’s going to be THAT friggin’ freezing on Friday and then THAT warm on Monday?!??? Eeeek!! Arrrghhh!  HOW ARE WE SUPPOSED TO REMAIN SANE AROUND HERE????”

It was at that point that I decided to capture that screen shot, to share my feelings with the blogging world. I then turned my attention to other things.

Soon after that, I picked up a phone message from my son’s father, stating that he was trying to get snow tires put on his car, and could I bring my son over to his girlfriend’s home?

On my way driving my son there, here was a thought that eventually snuck into that brain of mine:

WHY is he trying to get snow tires on New Year’s Day?

This didn’t make sense to me, for several reasons:

1. Most people, in these parts, don’t get snow tires put on their cars. They have year-long tires that do well enough during the snow.
2. On New Year’s Day, pretty much everything is closed.

When I can’t make sense of something, it can be difficult for me to remain on task, trying to solve a problem. The result of that, yesterday: Vague confusion, with some sense of dread.

I mentioned my confusion to my son. “I can’t figure out why your father is trying to get snow tires put on his car today. I’m wondering if this is something I should be concerned about.”

And then we went back to talking about other things.

When we reached our destination, I said to my son’s father’s girlfriend, “I have to ask: Why is Leon trying to get snow tires put on his car on New Year’s Day?”

And as often happens when I’m confused, somebody else has a perfectly reasonable explanation. She said, “His car is too light, and had so much trouble getting up the hill in the last snow.  And, that big snow storm is coming tomorrow.”

My response: “Big snow storm?”

Hers (somewhat incredulously): “You didn’t hear about the storm?”

Just then, I realized I had missed something important.  And sure enough, those scary numbers in that screen shot had distracted me from something else in that picture.

Those nice-looking clouds with snow flakes, two days in a row.

Get with the program, Brain!

Thanks to confused people everywhere, to people who have to drive in snow, and to you — of course! — for visiting today.

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I am, apparently, transitioning here, from yesterday’s post to today’s.

Day 340: Humble Hesitation

This post was inspired by many things, this morning, including:

• A blogger I greatly appreciate, prayingforoneday, nominated me for “The Versatile Blogger” award.
• Another blogger I greatly appreciate, sittingonmysofa, wrote that she had tried nominating me for that award, too, “although I sensed a humble hesitation on your part about accepting any awards.”

I love that phrase, “humble hesitation.”  That reminds me of ambivalence, which was a topic of yesterday’s post.

And sittingonmysofa was correct.  I AM ambivalent about accepting awards.

Why?

• I wonder if I’m deserving.
• I’m concerned about doing “the right thing“ in response.
• It takes me a lot of time to respond to the nominations, especially if I am concerned about responding “the right way.”
• I haven’t quite figured out what my personal  “right way” is.

I haven’t decided, yet, what I would like to do, when nominated for an award here. And each time, throughout the year, my response has been somewhat different.

I’ve noticed what other people do, in response to awards.  There’s a whole range of behaviors.

Some people follow the rules of each award exactly.  That’s great.

Some people indicate, on their blogs, that they do not accept awards.  That’s great, too.

Some people are in the middle — they follow some of the rules of the award. Or they respond in spirit, somehow.

I appreciate other people’s decisions about What To Do, In Response to Awards.

I especially appreciate those who are clear about their stance on awards.

I love clarity.

However, I am not in a clear place about this, yet.  I can’t clearly communicate to people what I want, regarding awards here. Not yet. I assume I will get to that place. But I’m not there, yet, in this moment.

And I have to admit, I have some judgment about my own ambivalence — about being in middle of a process of deciding what works for me.  Regarding awards, and other things, too.

Okay!  I am ambivalent about some aspects of this post, but it’s time to wrap things up.  And I KNOW there’s something else I wanted to write about, today.

I’m going back to the title of my post, now.

I associate the word “humble” with this man:

*

… but I don’t associate the word “hesitation” with him.

However, when I read his words carefully, I am learning something from him, again.

I want to rewrite this old adage:

He who hesitates is lost.

to this:

Those who hesitate are human.

AND let’s add this, too, today:

Take the next step, as best you can.

Thanks to Nelson Mandela, for yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And thanks to prayingforoneday, sittingonmysofa, all the other bloggers here whose paths have crossed with mine, and to you — no matter where you are — for reading today.

___________________________________________

* I found this image here.

** I found this image here.