Day 2739: It’s hard to see

It’s hard to see …

• when this pandemic will end,
• so many people ignoring social distancing rules,
• all the deaths from COVID-19,
• relief from the suffering,
• all the social injustice,
• when you have tears in your eyes,
• all obstacles in our way,
• the beauty of each moment,
• into another’s heart,
• the inappropriate behaviors of world leaders,
• the state of the world,
• who is going to save us,
• what people are really thinking,
• what animals are really thinking,
• when you’re overwhelmed,
• when you’re looking away,
• when so many things are hidden,
• when there are so many different perspectives,
• when your glasses fog up, and
• when the world is foggy.

In case it’s hard to see what’s going on in this photo …

… all but one of the balloons at CVS yesterday were masked. I said to Michael, “There’s one in every crowd.”

It’s hard to see any song I like on YouTube called “It’s Hard to See,” so here is “It’s Hard to be Human” by Kina Grannis instead.

It’s not hard to see why people would write these comments about that song:

Emma Anderson
6 days ago
Kina Grannis: The singer to soothe the nation.

Jasmine Her
6 days ago
I feel this song so much. I had literally been through a horrible rut since quarantine began. I’m starting to finally feel okay, trying to learn and grow.

Tabitha S-O
6 days ago
Well, I’ve been crying for a bit listening to this but it’s ok to feel my feelings

It’s hard to see how so many people don’t know it’s ok to feel their feelings.

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you know it’s not hard to see gratitude here.

Day 2732: Go back to your dreams.

If you go back to my previous blogs, you’ll find

• many posts about dreams (going back to here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) and
• that I have trouble going back to sleep when I wake up too early, which I almost always do.

Last night, I woke up too early (AGAIN!) and I was able to go back to sleep by reciting this phrase to myself, over and over:

Go back to your dreams.

Now, I shall go back to all the photos I took yesterday, to see if there are any dreams there.

Oscar could only dream about eating that flounder last night.

Go back to YouTube if you want to find the official music video of “Dreams” by The Cranberries:

 

Now I have to go back to another Zoom-y meeting — this one with my fellow behavioral health workers, in which we will discuss our dreams of going back to work in person.

My dream is that going back to gratitude will help us achieve our dreams.

Day 2326: Special Attention

If you’ve paid special attention to this daily blog, you might know that I wrote two posts about attention in my first year of blogging (Day 31: The Effect of Attention and Day 319: Paying attention) and one additional post about attention a year ago.

Why am I writing about special attention today?

That “SPECIAL ATTENTION” tag is from a dry cleaner, informing me that they gave special attention to a stain on a silk skirt but were unable to remove it.  When I picked up the skirt yesterday, I said to them, “Thanks for giving this special attention.  We all need special attention sometimes.”

When you pay special attention to that last sentence, do you agree that we all need special attention sometimes?  When do you need special attention?  How do you get that special attention when you need it?  Do you ask for it? Or do you hope that special people will know that you need it without your asking?

I’ve been giving special attention to my second letter from the President for my professional organization’s newsletter. I’ve been working on that special letter for days and no matter how much special attention I give it, I don’t like what I’m writing. Maybe I’m giving it too much special attention.

When I have special trouble writing or completing other special tasks, I especially take  breaks and turn my attention elsewhere. Which of my latest photos deserve your special attention?

I’ll be paying special attention to a podcast about coronary heart disease because it’s my first appearance on a podcast! Firsts are always special. I don’t have coronary heart disease but I did ask some questions about my special heart condition.

Here’s “Special Attention” by Ambelique.

I hope you know I’ll be giving special attention to your comments for this “special attention” post.

Special thanks to all who helped me create today’s special post and — OF COURSE! — YOU.

Day 2186: Animals

In two thousand, one hundred, and eighty-six days of daily blogging, I’ve never written a post with “animals” in the title. That seems strange to this blogging animal, since there are so many animals in my blog posts.

What animals will be inside my post today?

 

 

 

Here are some musical animals …

… and more here.

 

Feel free to make animal noises in the comments section, below.

I wonder what animals feel gratitude? I know I do, so thanks to all the animals who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU!

 

 

Day 1878: What does P.T. stand for?

P.T. stands for Physical Therapy for Partially Torn rotator cuffs, like mine.

P.T. also stands for the Painkiller Tramadol, Perhaps Taken Prior to Therapy Proceeding Today.

What else does P.T. stand for?

Photos Taken!

Psychotherapy Themes, Projected Thusly:

Positive Therapy:

Podiatric Therapy:

Posted Tips:

Perfectionism Tempered:

Panoramic Tableau:

Prepared Treats for Pescatarian Tastes:

P.T. also stands for President Trump and Piano Tickler Paul Tobey Playing This Peanuts Theme.

Personal Thoughts?  Please Transcribe.

Passionate Thanks to Paul Tobey and Primarily To People Taking Precious Time to Perceptively Try this P.T. Post Today (including YOU).

Day 1829: Worry vs. Planning

I didn’t plan to write about this today, but no worries.

In therapy, we often talk about reducing worry. A lot of people believe that worry is an essential part of planning. They confuse worry with planning and have trouble separating the two.

I suggest to people that

• you can plan without worrying and
• worry doesn’t help with anything, including planning.

Yesterday, we made a list of Worry vs. Planning:

I wasn’t planning to put that list in this blog so I didn’t write neatly.  I’m not worrying about that.

You might not have planned to think about this today, but what do you think are the differences between worry and planning?

Here are some other unplanned photos from yesterday:

 

 

 

I didn’t plan on sleeping late this morning, but I did.  I’m not going to worry about that, either. I’m just going to quickly find a video for this post, publish it, and get ready for work.

 

I always plan to thank everybody who helps me create these posts and who reads them. These days, I’m not worrying about how I express my gratitude — I just do it.

Day 1815: This year has been ____ .

How would you fill in the blank in today’s title?

This is my choice:

This year has been nuts.  I decided that even before I saw  today’s headline:

Confusion and chaos ahead as new tax rules take immediate effect.

Confusion and chaos ahead?  What about all the confusion and chaos we’ve experienced this year already?  All this confusion and chaos is

To distract myself from the confusion, the chaos and the nuts, I took these other photos yesterday.

I also distracted myself yesterday by talking to Karen, who was  our neighbor before we moved near the ocean.  She told me this story:

This friend of mine,  who is a wonderful cook, sent invitations for a dinner that was “Soup to Nuts.”  I was expecting the best meal ever.  When we got there, there was soup, different kinds of soup, and nothing else.  She was serving soup to nuts and we were the nuts!

If you search for “nuts” on Youtube, you might find this video:

Thanks to all who helped me not go nuts this year, including my boyfriend, my family, my friends, my co-workers, my cats, and — of course! — YOU.

Day 1753: When we die

When I die, I won’t be checking the news any more.    Because I’m still alive, I recently read this news story stating “Some studies suggest our minds still work after we die.  Meaning, when we die…we know we are dead.”

I know that’s a coincidence, because I recently had a  we-died-laughing conversation about when we die. I said:

1. My body could be stuffed and placed in my usual chair in the group room and
2. The groups would probably still do great work with a facilitator who doesn’t say anything.

I know I haven’t died, yet, because I’m still taking pictures with my iPhone.

Isn’t that flounder dish to die for?  I’m not trying to impress you, but I have the perfect song for today’s blog post.

 

I’m dying for some comments, here and now.

Undying thanks to all who helped me create today’s blog post and — of course! — to all my living readers.