Day 3525: Too many

Yesterday, I blogged about having too many thoughts which interfere with my being in the moment. From my work in groups, I know that too many people share that difficulty of focusing on the present.

I hope I don’t have too many images to share today — I have to start my work day soon!

Some people get too many likes on Twitter.

Too many of us don’t get the forgiveness we deserve.

I ordered too many harnesses for Joan, but the third one works really well.

Joan ate too many plants, as we found out later in the day (you’ll just have to take my word on that one).

This blog post won’t have too many more captions, because they might distract from the too-cuteness of Joan.

Stop and smell the flowers! (Too many of us forget to do that.)

I’m not too many miles away from Boston.

After taking too many photos of this structure (which I’ve also seen from planes), I still don’t know what it is.

Some people think there are too many graffiti on whatever that is.

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

Thanks to Too Many Zooz, Joan, the Daily Bitch, and too many wonderful others to identify by name, including YOU!

Day 3506: Making a difference

This bumper sticker …

… inspired me to ask a question on Twitter last night about making a difference.

That question is getting fewer responses than my last questions of the day usually do, but I still hope it’s making a difference, even if it’s a small one.

It actually doesn’t make a difference to me what level of engagement my questions have on Twitter but it does pique my curiosity: Why is that question having a different level of responses? My best guess is that my Twitter followers are modest and unsure about the differences they are making. My work as a group therapist (which is how I would have answered my own question about making a difference) has taught me that people often make a difference well beyond their awareness.

Are any of my images today making a difference?

I’m relieved that the delicious ricotta gnocchi with pesto sauce from my favorite local Italian restaurant is not making a difference in my weight loss goal. We’ll see if the National Days for August 7 will be making a difference for anyone.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “making a difference.”

I also find this …

… this…

… and this:

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Thanks to all those who are making a difference, including YOU!

Day 3470: What cheers me up

What cheers me up includes:

• blogging daily,
• people I love,
• work I love,
• knowing I’m not alone,
• cats,
• games,
• positive reframes,
• group therapy,
• self care,
• good weather,
• fond memories,
• making new memories,
• learning new things,
• reconnecting with an old friend, and
• finding out what cheers up other people.

What does NOT cheer me up is doom-and-gloom news, including some unasked-for news alerts on my phone I’d like to block.

Done.

Taking action cheers me up, too, and so does sharing photos with you.

National Simplicity Day and Cow Appreciation Day are both cheering me up, here and now.

Music cheers me up and here’s some great music from somebody with different colored eyes:

What cheers you up?

Thanks to all who cheer me up, including YOU.

Day 3382: Anger

Decades ago, I learned that anger was the natural human reaction to not getting one’s needs met.

Because so many people disown, stuff, and fear their own anger, I once gave people at a psychiatric day treatment program the assignment of making a badge that said “I ❤️ my anger.”

In therapy groups, I sometimes ask people who their role models are for expressing anger, and often they can’t name anybody.

Obviously, a lot of us still have work to do regarding anger.

Do you see anger in my images for today?

I wonder if there’s going to be any anger because there are (1) so many National days today or (2) no pictures of Joan in this blog.

One of those issues I can fix.

Here’s an interesting TED talk about anger:

Feel free to express anger or any other feelings in the comments section below.

Thanks to all who do their best to deal with anger, including YOU.

Day 3352: Herding cats

A manager I know at work sometimes refers to her job as “herding cats.”

Here’s what I find online about herding cats:

Managing people can be like herding cats. Managing thoughts, which can go everywhere — into the future, into the past, miles away from where we actually are, and often to the worst-case scenario — can be like herding cats. People and thoughts are entities which are inherently uncontrollable.

Speaking of entities which are inherently uncontrollable, there’s cats. Yesterday, I didn’t close the front door correctly after we got home after food shopping amongst many unherded people. When the door came open later, our cat Joan (who used to live unherded on the streets of Tennessee with her sisters and lots of kittens) got out. My husband Michael, who was on the phone, noticed the door was open and his unherded thoughts went to disaster (a cat has escaped and is GONE!) but Joan, unherded, walked back in. When Joan jumped up on the sofa next to me, my unherded thoughts tried to figure out why she felt so cold.

We’re all very relieved that Joan didn’t take off — unherded and unheard from again — for warm Tennessee.

Now I’m going to herd my images for today into some sort of order.

I assume that someone on Twitter is going to herd those days into a single celebration, like “I’m going to go to the dentist wearing a dress after getting cavities from eating frozen food, oreo cookies, and white chocolate cheesecake, and getting a medal for finishing all those.”

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

Now I’ve got to go herd my blood-testing equipment into line and check my INR. Feel free to herd any thoughts and feelings you have about this post into a comment, below.

Thanks to all those who help me herd so many things into this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 3349: The Past

Some therapists focus on the past; others focus on the present. In group therapy, it can be especially healing to focus on the present — how the authentic interactions among the group members can help transcend and heal old patterns of relating to others that we have learned in the past.

I am thinking about the past in the present for many reasons, including a Facebook post I saw yesterday from a second cousin:

That my maternal grandmother, Etta, was from the city of Kyiv, Ukraine, which is being bombed and besieged by Russian forces in the present, brings this pain even closer to me.

In the present, my heart breaks for the people of Ukraine and for all who love them.

Do you see the past and/or the present in my other images for today?

On National I Want You to be Happy Day, I want you to know that I want you to have all your feelings, no matter what they are. In the past, many of us have squelched, disowned, and judged some of our feelings, which is unhealthy for the present. In the present, I try to notice and acknowledge all my feelings, letting them naturally run through me (like joy does), leaving room for what’s happening in the present.

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

I’ve loved Pat Metheny in the past and I love him in the present.

I’m grateful for the past and grateful for you, here and now.

Day 3287: My Best and Worst of 2021

Hello, best blog readers! It’s time for my personal best and worst of the year.

This was not the best of years nor the worst of years, personally. I did my best to compile my lists and here they are:

BEST

My son Aaron and all his wonderfulness.

My husband Michael and all his wonderfulness (including his delicious meals, taking care of our home, and making me laugh every day).

Good health for me and my loved ones.

My therapy groups.

My friends.

Adopting our new adorable cat Joan and our old adorable cat Harley adjusting so well to that.

Walks near the water.

Sustaining music, including songs from Anaïs Mitchell’s Hadestown.

Trip to NYC with Aaron, including the Sondheim musical Company and the Stephen Colbert Show!

Trip to Nashville on my own, including a very successful Open Mic and meeting fellow blogger Chris!

The book “Radical Acceptance.”

Connecting with people here and on Twitter.

WORST

Climate change.

COVID.

January 6 insurrection and other threats to democracy.

Pain, suffering, and deaths of good people.

Systemic injustices.

Toxic narcissists.

Gun violence in the USA.

Miscommunication and misinformation and the painful divisions those cause.

Extensive (and hidden) water damage to our home because of a leaking shower.

The nosebleed from hell (caused by a combo of Joan’s claws and my anticoagulant medication).

Joan’s medical problems which necessitated her being in a cone for MONTHS.

Stephen Sondheim (one of my musical heroes) leaving this earthly realm.

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Do you see any bests or worsts in my images for today?

I celebrated Make Up Your Mind Day by making up my mind about what to include in my best and worst lists for 2021!

I think it’s best if I include my favorite song from Hadestown here.

What is your best and worst of 2021?

Thanks to all who made it to my best list, including YOU!

Day 3231: How do you prepare yourself?

How do you prepare yourself for the challenges of a new day?

I prepare myself by gathering all my photos and captured screenshots from the day before and somehow creating a new blog post out of them.

How do you prepare yourself for today’s images?

How do you prepare yourself for National Donut Day, National Love Your Red Hair Day, and National Jersey Friday?

I need to prepare myself for a day when I am facilitating a telehealth therapy group from home, talking to contractors who will be assessing the structural damage from our leaky shower, and taking our kitty Joan to the vet to see if her ear infection has cleared up.

Prepare yourself for the inspiration of Muniba Mazari in this YouTube video, PREPARE YOURSELF.”

How do you prepare yourself to share your thoughts and feelings with others? If you choose, you can prepare a comment below.

Prepare yourself for the end of this blog post, which always includes thanks to YOU!

Day 3197: Giving yourself credit

Often, in therapy sessions, I encourage people to give themselves credit. Many people aren’t accustomed to giving themselves credit, which can definitely take practice.

Last night, I encouraged people to give themselves credit on Twitter (and I’m giving myself credit for this tweet, here and now):

I can also give myself credit for all the photos in today’s blog.

I want to give my son Aaron credit for making those cookie ice cream sandwiches while we were watching the new “biscuits” episode of the latest season of the Great British Baking Show, in honor of National Homemade Cookie Day in the USA.

I can take credit for this other tweet …

… but I don’t think I can really take credit for the other images in today’s blog.

I definitely can’t give myself credit for coming up with the National Days, but I can give myself credit for naming this car …

… The Canary.

When I search YouTube for “giving yourself credit,” there are many things to choose from, so I’m giving myself credit for making a decision and sharing this:

Thanks to all who might give themselves credit (perhaps in the comments section, below?), including YOU.

Day 3173: Ampersands

Today is National Ampersand Day & the second day of Rosh Hashana & the day I go back to see the Ear Nose & Throat people at the hospital about my nosebleed caused by my anticoagulant medications & our new & adorable cat Joan trying to wake me up by scratching my nose & so much more.

Yesterday I started working again after my 2-week vacation & people were very glad to reconnect in an online therapy group & had a lot to say.

Today, as always, I want to welcome all thoughts & feelings including happiness & sadness & fear & anger & despair & hope & so on.

Here are photos & screen captures for today’s post.

How are you going to celebrate & otherwise mark this precious & unique day?

Last night, when we were eating this delicious & nutritious vegetarian chili …

… my husband & cook Michael & my son Aaron & I were talking about the many ways you can get chili in Cincinnati, including with cheese & beans & spaghetti.

Here’s “Ampersand” by They Might Be Giants (a band that Aaron & Michael & I saw in person years & years ago).

Thanks & more thanks to all who visit this blog, including you & you & you & YOU!