Day 3617: Listening

Yesterday, on the National Day of Listening, I asked a question about listening on Twitter.

There are many things besides Joan I love listening to; can you see any of them in my images for today?

Listening to the Daily Bitch calendar, I’m thinking that for many years I WAS the youngest, baddest bitch in cardiology clinics; these days, not so much.

I love listening to the Daily Bitch calendar, the ocean, animals, the sounds of change, jokes, good advice, and — especially! — people I love, like my friend Jeanette, who was visiting yesterday from D.C.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “listening.”

I feel better after listening to that.

Thanks to all who are listening, including YOU!

Day 3551: Ruminating

Here and now, I’m ruminating about

• my health, after I had a TIA last week on vacation,
• my anticoagulant medication,
• travel insurance,
• my dental appointment today,
• those aspects of my job I really dislike doing,
• our upstairs bathroom, which has been out of commission for over a year because of water damage,
• the change of seasons from warmer to colder,
• the USA midterm November elections,
• the death of Queen Elizabeth,
• pain and suffering in the world, and
• things I cannot control.

I guess it makes sense that I’m ruminating over things I can’t control, because otherwise I could friggin’ do something about them!

When I am ruminating, it helps to identify a simple next step I can take (including sharing my thoughts so I’m not alone with them).

Do you see ruminating in my images for today?

I was also ruminating about getting good tickets on National New York day for a new NYC production of the Sondheim musical Merrily We Roll Along, but tickets actually don’t go on sale until October.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “ruminating.”

I also find this …

… and this:

I look forward to ruminating on your comments about this Ruminating post.

Thanks to all who know something about ruminating, including YOU!

Day 3534: What’s going on?

Yesterday, as I was trying to figure out what’s going on in the world, I saw this at a local college:

.

Let’s see what’s going on in my other images for today.

.

In case you forgot the title of today’s post, here’s “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye.

.

What’s going on here, now, is gratitude for all of you.

Day 3520: How to cheer yourself up

In general, cheer yourself up by

• letting go of fears and worries about the future,
• letting go of regrets about the past by realizing you were doing the best you could at the time,
• focusing on your blessings, and
• celebrating whatever and whenever you can.

Yesterday, I cheered myself up by

• going for a long walk,
• returning some newly bought luggage I didn’t need,
• starting to pack for my upcoming trip to Florida and Georgia,
• treating myself and my husband Michael (whose birthday is today!) to a nice dinner,
• focusing my thoughts on those I love,
• realizing I don’t need a psychic to know what my late mother wanted to tell me before she died,
• appreciating a new wrinkle on my face as proof that I’ve survived much longer than expected,
• listening to wonderful music, and
• capturing these images for you and me.

.

I’m cheering myself up, here and now, by

• realizing I can embrace my most beautiful self without a Brazilian Blowout,
• celebrating that I’m a senior citizen, and
• sharing “Hanging Around with You” by Uncle Mike Johnson.

How to cheer yourself up also includes sharing with others (in the comments section below) (hint, hint) and expressing gratitude for those you appreciate, every day.

Day 3512: Showing up

If you’ve been showing up for this blog for years, you might remember I’ve learned that the secret of life is three things:

1. Show up.
2. Be gentle (with others and yourself).
3. Tell the truth.

That simple wisdom keeps showing up for me. Now, let’s see what images are showing up on my iPhone.

Those National Days will be showing up on Twitter soon, posted by this left hander.

Here’s a song that was showing up for me on my walk yesterday:

Here’s another version showing up on YouTube:

Thanks to all strangers and friends showing up here and now, including YOU.

Day 3474: Could haves and should haves

I could have named this blog post differently but I didn’t. I should have enough experience after blogging daily for almost 10 years to know that the title doesn’t make or break a post.

I could have written a different opening paragraph, but that one is good enough.

Yesterday, in a therapy group, I told people that today was National Toss Away the “Could Haves” and “Should Haves” Day. I could have said more but I didn’t need to, because we often talk about tossing away unhelpful thoughts in order to live more in the moment.

Do you see any “could haves” or “should haves” in my images for today?

.

I could have gotten my first dog last year but instead I chose to adopt Joan. No regrets.

This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “could haves and should haves.”

.

I could and should express gratitude to all those who help me blog every day, including YOU!

Day 3471: Unknowns

When I write notes for therapy sessions, I document people’s stressors, and those stressors often include “unknowns about the future.”

People have always dealt with unknowns, but unknowns these days include

• when the pandemic will end,
• what other diseases will emerge,
• how people will make it to their next paycheck,
• the future of democracy,
• whether injustices will ever be satisfactorily addressed,
• the planet’s response to climate change, and
• who and what will survive.

No wonder so many people are stressed by unknowns!

For some unknown reason, I still hold out hope for the future. Maybe it’s because I have to, in order to face unknowns here and now.

Do you see unknowns in my images for today?

.

Roller skates are not unknown to me but that Jefferson Starship lullaby is. Sometimes, unknowns can become knowns almost immediately.

What are your unknown (to me) thoughts and feelings about unknowns?

It’s probably unknown to you how much I appreciate your visits here, but I do my best to let you know!

Day 3455: What’s trending

I don’t look for what’s trending, but that list automatically popped up when I was googling the National Days for June 2022, the currently trending month.

The only thing on that list that’s trending where I am is the coronavirus. Also trending here are:

• the recent Supreme Court decisions on guns and women’s rights,
• injustices,
• climate change,
• denial,
• the mid-term elections,
• inflation,
• George Carlin’s American Dream,
• group therapy,
• home repair, and
• every image I recently captured on my iPhone.

PTSD is definitely trending, which I’m very aware of as a psychotherapist.

Here’s what I find when I search for “what’s trending George Carlin.”

What’s trending where you are?

What’s always trending here — no matter what day it is — is gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these blog posts, including YOU.

Day 3447: It’s about time

It’s about time for my daily blog and as I look over the images I’ve collected for today’s post, “It’s about time” seems like a good title for today.

It’s about time for me to share those images.

This immediately comes up when I search YouTube for “it’s about time.”

It’s about time for me to request comments on this “it’s about time” post and to thank all those who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 3419: Where every hour is happy hour

Yesterday, as my beloved friend Maria and I spent many happy hours exploring The Joy Store and other happily wonderful parts of Portland, Oregon, I noticed this sign:

Every hour in Portland has been a happy hour for me. I’m also happy about returning back to Boston and to my happy husband, son, and cats today (although I doubt that every hour of my loooooong flight back is going to be happy).

Here and now, I’m happy to spend a happy hour creating today’s blog post and sharing all these images with you.

On International Being You Day, I am so happy to be spending more happy hours with Portland people who are always their wonderful selves.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “where every hour is happy hour.”

Gratitude makes every hour happy hour, so thanks to all who help me spend happy hours creating this daily blog, including YOU!