Day 1728: Not a day goes by

Not a day goes by that I’m not

• grateful,
• worried,
• happy,
• sad,
• satisfied,
• disappointed,
• nourished,
• nourishing,
• trying my best to be in the moment,
• letting go of judgment,
• blogging, and
• taking photos.

 

 

 

Not a day goes by that I’m not amazed how many wonderful people have unusual hearts (like my new friend Annie, with me, above).

Not a day goes by that I’m not hearing a Stephen Sondheim song in my head, like this one from “Merrily We Roll Along.”

Not a day goes by that I’m not eager to hear people’s different perspectives, in blog comments and elsewhere.

As I stated at the beginning of this post, not a day goes by that I’m not grateful — for all those who help me create these posts and YOU.

Day 1416: Healing

I hope it is healing for you, dear readers, to read about my healing in this blog.

Yesterday, my healing included seeing friends, eating delicious food, watching Hamlet starring Benedict Cumberbatch at a local movie theater, and appreciating my outrageous good fortune of being alive for another day.

Here are some lines from Hamlet which I found healing last night:

There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so.

Doubt truth to be a liar; but never doubt I love.

This above all; To thine own self be true.

One may smile, and smile, and still be a villain.

Listen to many; speak to a few.

When sorrows come, they come not single spies. But in battalions!

Madness in great ones must not unwatched go.

What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals!

If we are true to ourselves, we can not be false to anyone.

O God, I could be bound in a nutshell, and count myself a king of infinite space – were it not that I have bad dreams.

Give every man thine ear, but few thy voice; Take each man’s censure, but reserve thy judgment.

Where love is great, the littlest doubts are fear; Where little fears grow great, great love grows there.

Tis the times’ plague, when madmen lead the blind.

the play’s the thing
Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the King.

Rich gifts wax poor when givers prove unkind.

Lord, we know what we are, but know not what we may be.

Brevity is the soul of wit.

Since  brevity is the soul of wit, I’ll be brief in sharing that  I am seeing battalions of doctors and other healing people in hospitals today.  I shall reserve my judgment until after I see them all.

Here are the rich gifts of  healing images from yesterday:

Some of those photos show Benedict Cumberbatch, before the play began, interacting with young people from many cultures about Hamlet, which I found very healing. The play — which was the thing — began with Hamlet listening to a song I always find healing.

 

For all who helped me create today’s post and for you — of course! — I have one more healing image from yesterday:

Day 1389: Within Reach

Here are some things that are within reach for me, as I write today’s post.

1. My laptop.
2. The end of the 2016 U.S. presidential contest.
3. Halloween.
4. My getting the go-ahead to drive again, as my sternum heals from my September 21st open heart surgery.
5. My returning to (and probably exceeding) my exercise “baseline” through cardiac rehab.
6. Determining my weekly dose of Coumadin/Warfarin, an anticoagulant I now need because of my new mechanical heart valve.
7. The replacement of my recalled St. Jude Medical  ICD (Implantable Cardiac Device) on November 2.
8. My seeing Mel Brooks in person for the first time, two days from now.
9. My next teeth cleaning, in five days.
10. My return to work as an individual and group psychotherapist, probably during election week.

All day, yesterday, I took photos of things that were within reach of my iPhone camera:

 

Here‘s a tune whose title was within reach in one of my photos, above:

 

What’s within reach for you, here and now?

The end of this post is within reach, as I thank all those who helped me create it and all those who are reading it today, including you!

 

Day 1298: How to Not Die

As I approach my 1300th consecutive daily post here at WordPress, I am thinking that important topics, for me, include “How to Not Die” both as

• a blogger and
• a human being.

How to Not Die  as a blogger could very well include changing the title of this blog from “The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally” to  “How to Not Die.” Don’t you think that new title would

• attract more readers and
• be a better representation of my life-long story of figuring out how to not die from heart-related challenges?

Unfortunately, this picture, taken yesterday, proves that my using “How to Not Die” would be a deliberate act of plagiarizing a beloved celebrity and author:

I guess you and I are stuck with the title of this blog, as I look ahead to the next 1300 consecutive daily posts.

How to Not Die, for me, includes getting up and out and taking photos of what’s alive around me, including these:

What music might you choose for a post titled “How to Not Die?”

“Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees?

 

Please help this blog post not die by leaving a comment, below.

Staying-alive thanks to Mel Brooks, the Bee Gees and everybody else who helps me create this “How to Not Die” blog, including you!