Day 3459: When you’re feeling down

When you’re feeling down, know that you’re not alone.

When you’re feeling down, remember that you’ve felt down before and made it through.

When you’re feeling down, resist the temptation to get down on yourself and beat yourself up.

When I’m feeling down, I share my heart with people I trust, observe what’s around me, set an achievable goal, access good memories, and get in touch with humor.

When you’re feeling down, get down with the Daily Bitch (and maybe eat a creative ice cream flavor or a ginger snap).

When you’re feeling down, listen to music that brings you up.

When you’re feeling down, get in touch with gratitude. Thanks to all who help me get up every day and create these blog posts, including YOU!

Day 3120: What day is it?

Many people tell me they have trouble keeping track of what day it is, especially since March 2020.

I hope this helps:

Today is also the first anniversary of American Statesman and Civil Rights Activist John Lewis’s death. And it’s the birthday of Angela Merkle, Phoebe Snow, Peter Schickele, etc.

July 17, 2021 is also just another day when I share new images with you.

How are you going to celebrate July 17, 2021?

I’m going to share this song that always cheers me up, no matter what day it is.

Thanks to all who are sharing this day with me, including YOU.

Day 2654: What I choose to see

There is so much to see, every day, that we all choose to see certain things.

During these times, I choose to see

• hope,
• the best in people,
• the light at the end of this dark, who-knows-how-long tunnel,
• signs of spring,
• the benefits of  my on-line therapy groups,
• helpful connections, and
• probable immunity to COVID-19 for me and Michael.

What do you choose to see in my photos from yesterday?

 

Did you choose to see the robin, the dog, the ducks, and the milk fish? What else did you see?

I choose to see one of my favorite songs — “I Can See Clearly Now”  by Johnny Nash — on YouTube.

As always, I choose to see gratitude, so thanks to all who are doing their best during these strange and difficult times (including YOU).

Day 2006: I Can’t See Clearly Now

Even though “I Can See Clearly Now” is one of my favorite songs, I can’t see clearly now.

I can see clearly, now, the original lyrics:

Here are new lyrics for “I Can’t See Clearly Now””

I can’t see clearly now

There’s darkness here.

So many obstacles in our way.

It seems like everyone is acting blind.

When’s the next bright (bright) bright (bright) sun-shiney day?

When’s the next bright (bright) bright (bright) sun-shiney day?

 

I hope we can make it now

The pain is here.

All of these bad feelings have reappeared

Where is the rainbow I’ve been praying for?

When’s the next bright (bright) bright (bright) sun-shiney day?

 

Look all around, I don’t see blue skies.

Look straight ahead, I’m sighing some blue sighs.

 

I can’t see clearly now

There’s darkness there.

So many obstacles in our way.

Where are the the people so humane and kind?

When’s the next bright (bright) bright (bright) sun-shiney day?

When’s the next bright (bright) bright (bright) sun-shiney day?

Can you see clearly, now, my other photos for today?

 

 

 

Even though there’s not much left to take from that kristindudish.com heart, there’s still inspiration there. Let’s take what we need wherever we can find it.

I can see gratitude clearly here, always.

 

Day 1436: Endurance

Even though I’ve had the endurance to keep this daily blog going for almost four years (but who’s counting?), I’ve never written a post titled “Endurance” before.

So why write about endurance today?

Because I see endurance everywhere — not just in manufactured products but also in myself and other beings.

Even if we temporarily lose track of our amazing endurance, remember this: we’ve all had the endurance to get here, to this very moment. And I have this enduring belief:  for each of us, that endurance has NOT been easy.

Do you have the endurance to get through all my other photos from yesterday, when I endured cardiac rehab and much more?

 

We had the endurance to get through those. Yay!  I live to share many things with you, including music. Do you have the endurance to sing along?

Now I need the endurance to work on this bright, bright, bright sunshiny day.  What will help me have that endurance?  Patients, patience,  co-workers, and work that I love.

Do you have the endurance to leave an enduring  comment? I have the endurance to appreciate anything you live to share.

Thanks to all who helped me have the endurance to create today’s post and to you — of course! — for having the endurance to be here, now.

Day 1396: Views

Here are some quotes about views I’m viewing right now:

Behind your view there are other views; to see them, you must first visit the view you see!”
― Mehmet Murat ildan

“I think we each come out of the womb with some unique way of looking at the world and if we don’t express it, we loose faith in ourselves.”
― Gloria Steinem, Revolution from Within: A Book of Self-Esteem

“View every obstacle as a learning post.”
― Azim Jamal & Brian Tracy

“The proper conceptual view is attained only through introspection.”
― Akshay Vijayan

“Stubborness and staunch, they are both same things
from different point of view”
― Toba Beta, My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut

“The forest stretched on seemingly forever with the most monotonous predictability, each tree just like the next – trunk, branches, leaves; trunk, branches, leaves. Of course a tree would have taken a different view of the matter. We all tend to see the way others are alike and how we differ, and it’s probably just as well we do, since that prevents a great deal of confusion. But perhaps we should remind ourselves from time to time that ours is a very partial view, and that the world is full of a great deal more variety than we ever manage to take in.”
― Thomas M. Disch, The Brave Little Toaster

“My father says that there is only one perfect view — the view of the sky straight over our heads, and that all these views on earth are but bungled copies of it.”
― E.M. Forster, A Room with a View

Distance gives a clearer view. You can’t see the facade of a building while staying inside.”
― Michael Bassey Johnson, Master of Maxims

“Unfortunately in this world of ours, each person views things through a certain medium, which prevents his seeing them in the same light as others…”
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

“We can view life as a meaningless journey ending in death or as an evolving spiral of life.”
― Joseph Rain

“Our eyes captures thousands of beautiful pictures everyday.”
― Pradeepa Pandiyan

After viewing that last quote, you might view the possibility of my now sharing thousands of pictures.  Not to worry; here are all the views I captured yesterday:

I wonder how many views this post will get?  Maybe I can increase the views by including some great music.

 

Feel free to express your views in a comment below.

Finally, I view all those who helped me create today’s post with gratitude and love. And, of course, I view all my readers the same way!

Day 643: Unseeing

Right before I started writing this post, my boyfriend Michael and I had a conversation that went all over the place, including

• different reactions to my 16-year-old son getting his wisdom teeth out yesterday,
• feelings and thoughts about recent “trivial” changes in our lives (like the paint trim on our building and a new format for a magazine I’ve subscribed to for decades),
• possible reasons why our cat Harley, who lived with other people before us, is so oddly skittish in certain situations,
• how I don’t do puzzles or read novels as I used to — before I changed careers and became a psychotherapist — possibly because my work now includes “solving” puzzles and hearing stories all the time, and
• things we wish we could “unsee” (e.g., a disturbing medical x-ray, violence, death, etc).

Are there things that you’ve seen, that you wish you could unsee?  Or, for that matter, are there things you’ve heard that you wish you could unhear?

Hmmm. I’m surprised to see the turn this post is taking.

Why? Because I seem to be unseeing and unhearing acceptance, right now.

Can you see (or hear) what I mean by that?

Acceptance means acknowledging what’s been seen, heard, and otherwise experienced in the past. It doesn’t necessarily mean liking those things — it’s just acknowledging the reality of where we’ve been and where we are … allowing ourselves to be more fully in the moment and to open ourselves up to the possibilities ahead.

So …. am I unseeing the concept of acceptance here, by focusing on what we might wish we could unsee or unhear?

What do you think?

Just now, I was unseeing Oscar, who is always with me when I write these posts:

I was glad to un-un-see him, in the moment.

Sometimes, we can re-see things. Is that similar to unseeing?

For example, I used this photo in my post yesterday:

When I saw that sign at work on Friday, I saw that as “hope” and immediately took a picture of it.

After I published the post yesterday, I re-saw that sign, like so:

Where I work, people use signs on the door to signal whether it’s okay to enter. That’s an awfully short “h” in that word. Could that sign have actually said  … “nope”? Is the other side of that sign …. “yep”?

If I can remember where I saw that sign at work, I’ll see if I can see the unseen side of it when I return.

Here are some more images I’ve recently seen, unseen by you (until now):

  

Now that you’ve seen all this, can you unsee any of it? Would you want to?

Here’s something you can choose to hear or not hear — a song by Johnny Nash I’ve used here before (but in a different version):

(See here for the YouTube video of Johnny Nash singing “I Can See Clearly Now” on a 1970’s Midnight Special)

Thanks to all — including you! — for seeing and hearing what was here, today.

Day 70: Questions and Answers (and The Liebster Blog Award)

First question of this post:  What is the Liebster  Blog Award?

First answer of this post: It is, apparently, a kind of tag-team award that WordPress bloggers give each other.  Last week, frankiedman, a blogger whom I respect and follow here,  tagged me for this award.

Here are the “rules of engagement” for the Liebster Blog Award:

1. Each person must post 11 things about themselves.
2. Answer the questions that the tagger has set for you plus create 11 questions for the people you’ve tagged to answer.
3. Choose 11 people and link them in your post.
4. Go to their page and tell them.
5. No tag backs!

It took me about a week to respond back to frankiedman’s tag, but today’s the day!

I’m glad to participate in this (despite my I’ve-never-done-this-before anxiety).  The format appeals to my natural affinity for questions and answers.

I enjoy games that involve questions and answers.  As a matter of fact, I will take any opportunity to turn a regular conversation into a game of 20 Questions, by asking  the following question at any point:

“Wanna guess?”

As in, “Hey, something really unusual happened to me today.  Wanna guess?”

When I’m at my best at my job (as a psychotherapist), I’m in touch with my natural curiosity about people.

The last place I worked (before my current job)  was a day program where we did groups all day.  In the last group of the day — which was called “Wrap Up” —  we would end that group with a Wrap Up Question, which everybody — staff and clients — answered.

Here are some of the Wrap Up questions I heard and answered during my 12 years there:

1. What’s your favorite ice cream flavor?
2. If you were to write the story of your life, what might be the title?
3. What’s a nickname you’ve had or one that you would give yourself?
4. What was your favorite book, when you were a kid?
5. If they made a movie of your life, what actor would you choose to play you?
6. What’s your fantasy job?
7. Who is your favorite musician?
8. Who is somebody you admire?
9. What’s your favorite movie?
10. What’s a song you’d choose for your “theme song”?
11. If you could be any animal for a day, what would you be (and why)? 

When I first interviewed for a job at that day program, I liked a lot of what I saw.  Attending the Wrap Up meeting sealed the deal for me — I knew I wanted to work there. Why? Because I loved the curiosity and playfulness in that ritual of questions at the end of the day.  I appreciated that everybody answered the questions. I liked that anybody could pose the question.  I loved the questions. I loved the answers.

So thank you, Frankiedman, for nominating me for this award, and inviting me to participate in a Festival of questions and answers.

For the 11 things to reveal about myself, I’m going to answer those Wrap Up questions I posted above.

1. My favorite ice cream flavor is Cinnamon Chocolate Chip.
2. The title for a book about my life?  Perhaps “I’m Making This Up As I Go,”  (a line from “Raiders of the Lost Ark”).
3. I never had a nick-name.  People have called me “Annie,” every once in a while, but that doesn’t fit for me.  I like the idea of the nick-name “Ace.”
4. My favorite book when I was a kid was “Charlotte’s Web.”
5. I would choose the actress Debra Winger to play me.
6. My fantasy job is back-up singer for a musician I love (although my current job is getting close to a fantasy job).
7. My favorite musician is Pat Metheny, the jazz guitarist.
8. Somebody I admire is my son.
9. My favorite movie is the Gene Kelly musical “Singin’ in the Rain.”
10. The theme song I’d choose today is “I Can See Clearly Now.”
11. If I could be any animal for a day, I would choose to be a duck, because a duck can fly in the air, walk on land, and swim in the water (and it can quack).

I will now answer the 11 questions that Frankiedman asked when he nominated people:

1. What’s your favorite food?

Pasta!

1. Why did you start blogging?

Because I was working on a book that was a combination of a Memoir and Therapy Ideas, and a friend suggested that I try blogging.  And it’s a great fit for the way I like to communicate, with freedom, flexibility, and interactivity.

1. Name one thing you would like to do before leaving this earth.

One long-standing one was to go to a Red Sox World Series game, which I did in 2007.   I want to travel to several places including Italy, Greece, and Peru (I’m fascinated by ancient ruins).

1. Where do you live?

Massachusetts, USA.

1. What time is it?

7:54 AM as I’m writing this line. It’s the Monday after a Daylight Savings time change.  I usually feel very cranky and “off” the Monday after a time change, but so far, so good.

1. Whats the weirdest thing you have ever eaten?

A recipe I made once with beets and cheese. Never again.

1. Whats your favorite childhood movie?

“West Side Story.”  (I don’t remember any kids movies I saw, and I remember loving that movie so much when I was a kid.)

1. Why did the chicken cross the road?

Because that was exactly where it was supposed to be.

1. Are you having fun yet?

Absolutely

1. Do you have pets?

I have a cat named Oscar.

1. Whats your favorite animal?

Felines.

Here are 11 bloggers I enjoy reading here,  and whom I’m “tagging” to participate in this Liebster Award chain.  I’m asking them to answer the same 11 Wrap Up Questions I answered.

http://teetotalfortwo.wordpress.com/

http://thegirlinthehat.wordpress.com/

http://5kidswdisabilities.com/

http://morristownmemos.wordpress.com/  (she already has received this award, so she requested that I pass it on to a 12th blogger)

http://aopinionatedman.com/

http://urbanwallart.wordpress.com/

http://binabrakken.wordpress.com/

http://corngoblin.wordpress.com/

http://gongjumonica.wordpress.com/

http://parentingandstuff.wordpress.com/

http://meganhasocd.com/

http://cristianmihai.net/about/

Thanks  to the bloggers above. And thanks for reading, everybody!  And feel free to answer any of these questions (or pose your own).