Day 2531: Feelings

Yesterday in a therapy group, people felt comfortable and brave enough to talk about and show their feelings, including sadness, joy, anger, and fear.

Another group therapist recently told me that a member of his group said, “In group, joy is doubled and fear is halved.”

I have many good feelings about being a group therapist.

Are there any  feelings  in and about my other photos from yesterday?

 

Spotify tells me that I listened to “Hajanga” by Jacob Collier more than any other song in 2019.  That’s because

• no matter what my feelings were in 2019, Hajanga always helped me feel better and
• I listened to it over and over again when I was driving to and from Westport, Massachusetts for the wake of my dear friend Tony.

Here‘s a live 2019 version of Jacob playing “Hajanga” at MIT:

 

Of course, I’m wondering about your feelings now.

As always, I’m feeling gratitude for all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

 

 

 

Day 2518: Mood swings

Yesterday was November 22, a day when I’ve often had mood swings.  Why? Because fifty-six years ago on that date, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated and I had my first heart surgery to get my first cardiac pacemaker.

After I swung myself out of bed, I put on my “I have mood swings” socks, hoping that my mood swings that day would be manageable.

Thankfully, my mood swings yesterday were not remarkable. For example, when I noticed that Michael had removed stuff from two kitchen cabinets during the night, I thought, “That can’t be good.”

But my mood didn’t swing dramatically.

When I noticed a truck that reminded me of death on my way into work …

…. my mood didn’t swing that much.

Here are more things that caused negligible mood swings yesterday:

Did any of those photos swing your mood in any way?

Here‘s The Mood Swings Orchestra, an all-woman big band located in the Boston area:

I expect my mood will swing up when I read your comments about this “Mood Swings” post.  Thanks to all, including YOU.

Day 2517: Who is on your mind today?

Who is on your mind today?

Wonderful people?

Difficult people?

Shadows from the past?

People who are reassuring?

People who have a lot of nerve?  People you see during Thanksgiving?

People who come together when the feeling’s right?

People who make music?

You’re on my mind today, so

• please let me know who is on your mind today and
• accept my mindful gratitude on November 22, 2019.

Day 2496: It’s that time of the year

It’s that time of the year for

• dressing up,
• holidays,
• traditions,
• changes,
• anniversaries,
• anxiety,
• comfort food,
• selfies,
• memories,
• celebrations,
• communication,
• complications,
• simplicity,
• faith,
• love,
• forgiveness,
• self-care,
• accepting all your feelings,
• balancing your needs with other people’s needs, and
• sharing photos.

It’s also that time of year for cats (at least around here) and music (here , here, and here on YouTube):

It’s always that time of the year for gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create timely posts, including YOU.

Day 2486: Hang ups

One of my hang ups is thinking about my and other people’s hang-ups, so when I saw this yesterday on my way to work …

… I thought, “Tomorrow’s blog topic is hang ups!”

The internet, which is a hang-up for many of us, includes these definitions of hang-up:

hang-up (hăng′ŭp′)
n. Informal
1. A psychological or emotional difficulty or inhibition.
2. An obstacle to smooth progress or development.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

hang′-up` or hang′up`,

n. Slang.
1. a preoccupation, fixation, or psychological block; complex.
2. a source of annoying difficulty or burden.
[1955–60]
Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

Noun 1. hang-up – an emotional preoccupation
preoccupation – an idea that preoccupies the mind and holds the attention

2. hang-up – an unforeseen obstacle

hang-up – an unforeseen obstacle
rub, hitch, snag
obstacle, obstruction – something immaterial that stands in the way and must be circumvented or surmounted; “lack of imagination is an obstacle to one’s advancement”; “the poverty of a district is an obstacle to good education”; “the filibuster was a major obstruction to the success of their plan”
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

I don’t want to get too hung up on presenting definitions and synonyms of “hang-up,” so here’s a list of hang ups that preoccupy me and others, these days:

• Worry about the future.
• Regret about the past.
• Resentment.
• Excessive guilt.
• Misplaced shame.
• A focus on what other people think.
• Cognitive distortions (including blaming, catastrophizing, personalization,  all-or-nothing thinking, comparisons, labeling, and shoulds).

Do you see hang ups in my other photos from yesterday?

I am very hung up on Michael’s cooking.

I’ve been hung up on the group Buffalo Springfield for decades.

The original and the cover version of “Hung Upside Down” are hanging up here and here on YouTube.

What are your hang-ups? Any hang ups about sharing them in a comment, below?

Here’s an expression of gratitude hanging up in my office:

A big thank you to all who help me create these daily blog posts, including YOU.

 

Day 2483: What we’re holding

Yesterday, one of my friends who works where I park my car on weekdays took my ukulele and posed while holding it, like so:

That’s the topic of my next blog post, I thought — What we’re holding.  So I held my iPhone while I took photos of what others were holding, throughout the day.

All day, I was holding  sadness and concern for a beloved group therapist and teacher with a serious illness.  What I didn’t know, while I was holding that card, was that she had already passed away.

What we’re holding — even if we don’t show it — includes loss, love, pain, and so much more.

Whatever you’re holding now,  dear reader, feel free to share it in a comment below.

As always, I’m holding so much gratitude for you.

Day 2480: Expectations

As I am well into my seventh year creating and sharing this daily blog, my expectations are that I would have blogged about this important topic of expectations before (which I did, here, here, and here).

I have no expectations about whether you will read those previous blog posts.

Yesterday, in a Coping and Healing group, the chosen topic was expectations.

I wrote about how my expectations for the So You Think You Can Dance live tour on Sunday night affected my experience of the performance.

My expectation is that my drawing, above, needs some explanation:  There were big black boxes (which contained stage lights) blocking our view of the dancers’ feet, which was not what I expected.  At first I was disappointed (“So you thought you could see!”) , but then I let go of that expectation (“Okay.  It is what it is.”) and thoroughly enjoyed the performances.

I wonder if people have any expectations about my other photos from yesterday?

 

If you attend your high school reunion wearing your old prom outfit, that will probably go against people’s expectations.

My expectations, here and now, include the following:

• People will express thoughts and/or feelings in comments, below.
• The United States of America will have a new President by 2021.
• There are certain things I can control and other things I cannot control.
• Letting go of expectations helps me be more committed to the present moment.
• On Day 2525 of this blog I will include the song “In The Year 2525.”
• I will be able to find a good enough song for today’s post.

 

My expectation is that some people will be able to view that Official Music Video of “Expectations” by MAGIC! and others will not.

If you had expectations that I would end this post with thanks to all who help me create these daily posts (including YOU), you were right!

 

 

Day 2469: What are they thinking?

When I look at the news these days, I’m often thinking, “What are they thinking?”

I don’t know what they are thinking and I don’t know what the audience was thinking, last night, about my latest performance of my original song, “What Are Other People Thinking About You?”  

What are they thinking?  Can you tell?

One person expressed his thinking to me immediately after my performance, “That was a very precocious song.”

I expressed my thinking with this reply: “How can somebody of my age be precocious?”

He didn’t answer that question, so I have no idea what he was thinking about that. Instead, he asked if I was a teacher and said, “That was very brave.”

As I say in my song, “What are other people thinking about you?  Face it, we can never know for sure. So why not think they’re thinking that you’re gorgeous, talented, smart, and secure?”

What are you thinking about that and about this photo from yesterday?

I’m thinking that my little yellow car is okay, because it started up fine all day. I don’t know what it was thinking when it refused to start up the night before.

I don’t know what my laptop and my iPhone are thinking, as they selectively share the photos I’m taking. I’m thinking it takes more work to get all my photos here these days, but it’s worth it.  Here are more photos from yesterday:

I don’t know what that dog is thinking but I’m thinking that I love that sticker.

What are you thinking about this blog post?

I’m thinking that it’s time to express my gratitude to everybody who helps me create this daily blog, including YOU.

 

Day 2468: There’s a magic about you

My co-worker Alice, who has a magic about her, has this sign about you in her office:

YOU ARE

UNREPEATABLE.

THERE IS A MAGIC

ABOUT YOU THAT

IS ALL YOUR OWN…

– D. M. DILLINGER

 

Because there’s a car about me that wouldn’t start up in my work garage last night, I’m going to make this post very short.  I’m hoping that the car trouble is unrepeatable but just in case it isn’t,  here are all my other photos from yesterday. Is there a magic about them?

What’s the magic about you, here and now?

I have magic gratitude about me,  so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to my magic readers.

Day 2446: Difficult people

Yesterday, in a Coping and Healing group, non-difficult people talked about difficult people.

If it’s difficult to see “difficult people’ in that list of topics, it’s on the third line, third topic from the right. Some solutions to dealing with difficult people are also on that third line: “self care” and “letting it go.”

Coincidentally,  I was researching difficult people the day before that group.  Here‘s a link to a Psychology Today article by Kimberley Key — “How to Handle a Crazymaker:  4 keys to keep from losing it when they start playing games.”  Kimberley Key’s 4 keys to dealing with difficult people are:

1. Take an observer’s point of view.
2. Maintain a healthy sense of self worth.
3. Keep a healthy distance.
4. Cultivate internal validation.

I need to deal with a difficult person at work today.  Blogging about that, here and now, is reducing the difficulty for me — I’m actually looking forward to the opportunity to practice these helpful skills.

Is that difficult to believe?

Let’s see if there are difficult people in my other photos from yesterday:

Harley deals with difficult people by hiding under the bed.

Even difficult people can inspire good things.  It was because of a difficult person that I wrote my first original song, 16 months ago:

And a difficult person inspired my latest song, which I performed at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe last month:

How do you deal with difficult people?

Here’s another way I deal with difficult people: I get in touch with the gratitude I have for all the non-difficult people in my life, including YOU.