… amid all the spin.
.
I found a sign about how others are finding God.
.
I found photos of beloved animals.
.
I found ways to brace myself for a week away from home and Michael.
.
I found peace in nature.
.
I found everything I needed to pack for my trip to New York City today.
I found compassion for my own and others’ fragility, and I found this song written by Sting and performed by Stevie Wonder and Sting.
As usual, I found gratitude.
I wrote a short post titled “Life is short” about 1,200 days ago. (My calculations may be imperfect, but — hey! — life is short.) But … is that the end of the story?
Apparently not.
Life is short …
… stop and smell the roses.
Life is short …
… eat mindfully.
Life is short …
… try to get your act together.
Life is short …
… accept that people will disappoint each other.
Life is short …
… learn the important differences.
Life is short …
… expect the unexpected (like those three photos on my iPhone). Also accept the light AND the dark.
… share what’s important to you (like music, travel, and love).
Life is short and your comments can be, too!
Life is short …
… thanks!
Shocking confession. I often steal the titles for these posts.
I’m wondering if this shocks my old friend Lawry, a lawyer who specializes in intellectual property and who used to read this blog every day. Shocking confession: Lawry and I are both attending our 45th college reunion this weekend.
Shocking confession: I keep rewriting the first paragraph of the five-minute “Ted Talk” I’m giving at the reunion, which includes shocking confessions.
Everyone in our class, I’m sure, remembers where you were on November 22, 1963. I’m different from you. I have no memories of that day, because I was having heart surgery to get my first cardiac pacemaker. While the world was being traumatized by the assassination of President Kennedy, my family and I were being traumatized by that unexpected surgery, by hospital rules preventing parents from staying with their children, and by medical staff not knowing how to answer the questions of a frightened 10-year-old girl, like “What’s that coffin on the TV screen?” and “What’s this giant thing sticking out of my body?”
It’s shocking how many mistakes people made back then. Unless I’m mistaken, giving this speech in front of my classmates will be a reparative experience, even if I make mistakes in my presentation.
Shocking confession. I’ve made mistakes every day of my life. Let’s see if I’ve made mistakes in my other photos from yesterday.
Shocking confession. I like to make up stories based on what I see around me. What story might you make up using the photos in this post? Don’t worry about making mistakes.
Shocking confession. One of the people pictured in today’s blog played the role of Ursula in a local production of “The Little Mermaid.” Can you guess who that was? Here is a song Ursula sings about mistakes being made:
Shocking confession. We’re all poor unfortunate souls who make mistakes. Ariel makes the mistake of giving up her voice in the Disney version of “The Little Mermaid,” but she recovers it in the end.
Shocking confession. I’d love to see your comments about this post and I’m grateful to all who helped me create it.
Yesterday, somebody in a “Coping and Healing” group suggested that we share thoughts and feelings about “It’s okay,” especially since the week before we had focused on “It’s NOT okay.”
I hope it’s okay that I share what I wrote in that group:
It’s okay that my “It’s okay!” poem is on its side.
Here are more photos residing on my okay iPhone:
It’s okay that I missed last night’s spectacular sunset, because I was facilitating the Coping and Healing group. Yes, somebody else took that much-more-than-okay last photo.
Here‘s OK (Anxiety Anthem) by Mabel:
Whatever comment you choose to leave, it’s okay.
I know it’s okay for me to end these posts with gratitude, so thanks to all who helped me create another okay post and — of course! — to YOU.
Yesterday morning, after saying YES to sharing another daily blog post, I looked at a previously published post, also titled “Messes,’ and found this:
I will tell you that I messily shared at the end of the group session my inspiration to make a new t-shirt that says, “Say YES to the mess.”
Over two years later, I am belatedly saying YES to that intention by designing and ordering this t-shirt:
I said YES to that typestyle of “Say YES to the Mess” because it’s called “Unkempt.” YES!
Here on this blog, and also in my therapy groups, we often discuss how and when to say NO, but it’s equally important to know how and when to say YES.
Say YES to …
… listening to music you love.
Say YES to …
… being mindful and non-judgmental of your moods.
Say YES to …
… observing what’s around you.
Say YES to …
… long life by practicing good habits.
Say YES to …
… the most valuable people in your life.
Say YES to …
… creating your dreams, even if it’s just one.
Say YES to …
… welcoming all.
Say YES to …
… whimsey.
Say YES to …
… the dress (I THINK that’s what that is).
Say YES to …
… beautiful sunrises and sunsets.
Say YES to …
… staying in touch.
Say YES to …
… curiosity, partnership, empathy, apology (when appropriate), reflection, legitimization, support, and wellness.
Say YES to …
… sharing what’s important to you with other people.
Say YES to …
… feelings.
Say YES to …
… flowers.
Say YES to …
… safety.
Say YES to …
… love.
Say YES to …
… healthy hearts, fewer worries, and good sleep!
Say YES to …
… group support.
Say YES to …
… taking the stairs.
Say YES to …
… Yoko, a valued member of the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy executive board, who says YES to fresh fruit in her drinks and who also says YES to sitting with Oscar.
What do YOU say YES to?
Here‘s “Ascent” by Lyle Mays (featured, yes, in this post).
I always say YES to gratitude at the end of these posts, so thanks to all who helped me create this one and — of course! — to YOU.
“Keep doing what you’re doing” is
Because WordPress and my laptop keep doing what they’re doing,
Keep doing what you’re doing, including smiling,
scanning,
welcoming,
watching,
noticing signs,
celebrating,
avoiding danger,
and focusing on what’s important to you.
I keep doing groups and I keep doing rhymes. Yesterday, I wrote this rhyme in a group focusing on “the unexpected.”
The unexpected
Needs to be respected
And not neglected
And definitely accepted.
People keep listening to this podcast interview about my heart keeping on:
I keep sharing what I’m sharing in this blog, including this song by Anita Wilson:
Keep doing what you’re doing and if that includes commenting on this blog, thank you!
I keep expressing gratitude every day for the help I receive from others, including YOU.
When I search for “weirdness” in this blog, Weird WordPress tells me that weirdness exists in 2 out of my previous 2414 posts, a weirdness percentage of only 0.08%.
Since I look for weirdness (in addition to looking for love), I would have expected a much higher weirdness percentage. Nevertheless, as always, the weirdness in me honors the weirdness in you.
Today, we’re looking for love AND weirdness in my photos from yesterday.
I took that last photo because of this weirdness:
And is non-vegan arugula even a thing? Weirdness.
Here’s “AMAZING VIDEO WEIRDNESS” compiled by CDTcrew.
Here’s some weirdness from the comments for that video:
christian style swag on god
5 years ago
This video is the reason I haven’t killed myself yet.Anton Sinner
5 years ago
You’re doing god’s work.Guetto Con Botas
6 years ago
Like if U are a disco dancer (Y)gred cz
6 years ago
80s and 90s were awesome…i want them back…Daniel Etheridge
6 years ago
Thats enough internet for today.Moshugaani
7 years ago
To think of all the phantastical things contained on this Earth…VideoVast
7 years ago
No one brought me here
I’m looking forward to the weirdness in your comments.
I’m very grateful for the weirdness in me and in others (including YOU).
Yesterday, I got this message from my son Aaron:
Hi, my fringe show has been accepted. There are shows from the 20th to the 24th.
Since Aaron and I both applied many months ago to perform our own shows at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival (which starts in August), we’ve accepted the ever-growing possibility that neither of our shows would be accepted.
My son and I accepted the process of waiting to hear about our shows very differently — I kept holding out hope (until very recently) that we would both be accepted and Aaron very quickly accepted the stance of assuming that both of our shows would not go on.
I hope Aaron accepted both of my responses to his wonderful news:
Great!
What can we learn from this?
I hope you’ve accepted my intent there: to invite Aaron to hold on to hope in the future.
Personally, because I’ve accepted years of uncertainty dealing with medical issues from birth, it helps me to hold onto hope. I’ve accepted that other people deal with uncertainty very differently. (It’s accepted that I sometimes say this in my Coping and Healing groups: “Different strokes for different folks.”)
I’ve also accepted that I probably will not get a Fringe show, which was titled Group “Therapy” with Ann. However, if I do get accepted, I’m ready!
In the meantime, YouTube has accepted a two-minute version of Free Therapy with Ann.
Aaron was accepted to teach English in Jordan this month, so when he gets back here on July 20th, we’ll make sure that YouTube accepts a longer version of that.
Also, I applied yesterday to join a panel in September for my 45th reunion at Harvard on “Picking up the Pieces: How Did You Embrace Life and Find Happiness Again?” In my application, I offered to talk about dealing with conflicting medical advice and finally getting a mechanical heart valve in 2016 (a process well documented and accepted on this blog). I wonder if my application will be accepted, especially since I offered to perform my original song “Shameless Appeals for Applause.”
Five years ago, I applied to be on a “Voices of Our Class” panel at my college reunion, and my application was not accepted. I’ve accepted that often you have to try, try again.
In other “accepted” news, I’ve been accepted by the “Heart to Heart with Anna” podcast to be interviewed about my life with congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (cctga).
I hope that my photos from yesterday are accepted by my readers:
I’ve accepted that my boyfriend Michael doesn’t like to be photographed for this blog, but I think he can accept that last photo, above.
As always, your comments are accepted, below.
I think it’s accepted here that I’ll be ending my posts with thanks to all who help me create them and — of course! — to YOU.
Yesterday, at a Coping and Healing group where we were practicing reframes, forgiveness, the serenity prayer, acceptance of ourselves and others, and some new perspectives, one of the group members spoke about the concept of practicing happinesss — much like one practices a musical instrument. We practiced that by going around the room and naming specific ways we could practice happiness, starting now.
One of my named ways to practice happiness was listening to music I love.
I heard “Down the Line” last night by Jacob Collier (who has obviously been practicing a lot) as I was walking down the line through the Fenway after work.
I’ve also been practicing happiness daily by blogging and by taking the photos I share here at The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally. Can you see any examples of practicing happiness in today’s pictures?
Voila! When you practice happiness, just like when you practice anything else, you get better at it.
I look forward to practicing happiness later by reading comments, below, about how you might practice happiness, here and now.
Practicing happiness includes expressing gratitude, so thanks to all who helped me write this practicing-happiness post and thanks to you, for reading it.
No denial here that I’ve already written one post titled “Denial.”
No denial here that I’m surprised I haven’t written more posts about denial, because there’s so much denial around, including understandable human denial about the devastating effects of climate change. It’s been difficult for me to remain in denial since I followed that link in my previous sentence to read that interview with David Wallace-Wells, the author of The Uninhabitable Earth.
There’s definitely denial in my photos from yesterday.
Maybe I’m in denial, but I can’t find the Bee Gees “Nigt Fever” on YouTube, so here‘s “Stayin’ Alive” instead.
All your thoughts and emotions about denial are welcome, below.
Undeniable thanks to all who helped me create today’s denial post and — of course! — to YOU.
