Here and now, I’m trying to overcome some self-consciousness about moving forward with the creative process regarding my original songs.
Before the pandemic, I unexpectedly and joyfully experienced months where my creative process produced many original songs, which I performed at Open Mics and featured in this daily blog.
My manager — a fabulous human being whom I helped create 24 years ago — thinks I should create recordings of my best songs with excellent sound quality and feature them prominently on my YouTube channel.
For some reason, which I can’t quite process, I’ve been avoiding following my son Aaron’s wise advice, focusing instead on the creative process in my therapy groups and on social media.
Part of the creative process, for me, is naming and (sometimes) sharing the obstacles, so I’m hoping that creating this blog post will help me move forward with my original songs. Today, I plan to record a great version of “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready.”
Do you see the creative process in my images for today?
I did NOT create National Pigs in a Blanket Day nor National Pet Parents Day, but I am a proud pet parent to Joan …
… and Harley.
Here’s a video I created at the Sheep Shearing Festival yesterday, which my son Aaron is going to send to his girlfriend overseas:
I hope to create a video of “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready” with better sound quality than that, today.
What are your thoughts and feelings about the creative process?
Gratitude for what I have is part of my creative process, so thanks to all who help me create this blog every day, including YOU.
While I was waiting for my driver yesterday morning to take me to Boston’s Logan Airport, I got these notifications about best strangers from Lyft:
The concept of “best strangers” is no stranger than anything else that is happening during these stranger times. Also, it felt stranger to me to be traveling to Nashville on my own, but so far I have met many best strangers here.
That’s my Lyft driver in Nashville, John, who was a best stranger in so many ways. He thought my song “Everybody’s Somebody’s Asshole,” was great, and he didn’t seem to think that it was stranger of me to sing it for him before my Open Mic last night. He also predicted that I wouldn’t want to leave Nashville on Thursday and, believe me, I’ve heard stranger predictions.
Here are two best strangers at the Graduate Hotel in Nashville — Alyssa and Luke.
Best stranger Luke showed me a photo of best dog Skippy.
At the Open Mic at the Tennessee Brew Works last night, I met best strangers Tio and Laura.
Tio and Laura also performed at the Open Mic and they were the best! Note that they both worked on creating Tio’s best jacket.
Tio and I were best strangers for each other when we recorded each other’s performances. Here’s mine, with lots of background noise from many best strangers.
Gracie, who was the best M.C. of the best Open Mic I’ve ever seen, told me she spent four years in Boston as a student at Berklee, which I didn’t find strange at all.
Do you see other best strangers in my other best photos from yesterday?
It’s crazy how many best strangers there are out here.
Don’t be a stranger; please leave best and/or stranger comments, below.
Gratitude makes any best stranger into a good friend, so thanks to all who read my best AND stranger blog posts, including YOU.
In all the time zones of the USA, today is Mother’s Day, and I am comforted by good memories of my late mother. My mother tried her best to give comfort to others and created many comfort zones during her long life.
Here’s my mother creating a comfort zone for my late father when they were young…
and for my father and their two best friends many years later:
Memories of my mother are comfort zones for me. And as you can see, we both experienced zones near the ocean as comfort zones.
Trying to make Twitter more of a comfort zone, I posted this tweet a few minutes ago:
Today, I’m getting ready to travel for the first time since the pandemic created so many discomfort zones. I’m expecting some discomfort flying tomorrow to an unfamiliar place in a different time zone — Nashville.
Last night, I had discomforting dreams about singing my original songs in Nashville. One of them — “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready” — is about comfort and discomfort zones. Strangely, I woke up comforted after that dream, thinking, “Well, I doubt things will go THAT badly.”
Tweeting used to be out of my comfort zone, but no longer.
Do you see comfort zones in my photos from yesterday?
Here’s where my thoughts are going — to my debut performance of “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready” when I FORGOT my own words, which always throws me out of my comfort zone:
Sharing vulnerabilities can create comfort zones for yourself and others.
I just increased my comfort zone by booking my 6:30 AM Lyft to the airport for tomorrow.
Also, the person who created Mother’s Day for me just contacted me from Scotland, which really expanded my comfort zone.
Please make this blog more of a comfort zone by expressing your thoughts and feelings in the comments zone below.
Gratitude always increases my comfort zones, so thanks to all who help me get into the blogging zone every day, including YOU!
Holding a grudge is not one of my biggest strengths. Neither is cooking. Luckily, I’m married to somebody whose biggest strengths include making great meals, like chili and cornbread.
My biggest strengths include
group therapy,
blogging, and
writing and performing original songs, like this one:
There will be no lectures, here and now — just a sharing of information and images, like this one:
Please, no lectures about that button I made for a woman who has to deal with a man who lectures her. Instead, let’s look at this definition of lecture:
to criticize (someone) severely or angrily especially for personal failings
“the frustrated manager lectured the waitstaff about its poor level of service”
Synonyms for lecture
baste, bawl out, berate, call down, castigate, chastise, chew out, dress down, flay, hammer, jaw, keelhaul, lambaste (or lambast), rag, rail (at or against), rant (at), rate, ream (out), rebuke, reprimand, reproach, scold, score, tongue-lash, upbraid
Words Related to lecture
Please, no lectures about my sharing the definition, synonyms, and antonyms for the verb form of the word “lecture” there.
Instead of lectures, I prefer
action,
help,
thoughtfulness,
kindness,
empathy,
awareness,
understanding,
listening,
approval,
endorsement,
praise,
openness,
flexibility, and
acceptance.
Who lectures you, these days? Authority figures? Family members? Acquaintances? YOURSELF?
How do those lectures affect you? How do you deal with them?
If you wear a button like this about lectures …
… at least you’re being direct and polite.
No lectures about signing up for my socially distanced performance of “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready” tomorrow night between 7 – 9 PM, USA Eastern Time, but you do need to do that TODAY by using this link:
What to think about this morning includes the virtual Jam’n Java Open Mic this Friday, May 1, 7PM- 9PM USA Eastern Time, which will feature me, my ukulele, and my song “I Left the House Before I Felt Ready.” If you think you might want to attend, sign up using this link by Thursday, April 30.
What to think about these images I captured yesterday?
I look forward to your incredibly profound comments about this blog post. Even if you don’t think your thoughts and feelings are incredibly profound, I do.
Incredibly profound thanks to all who help me create these daily blog posts, including YOU.
Yesterday, after a day of owning my power at the Northeastern Society for Group Psychotherapy annual conference (Diving In: From the Shallows to the Deep) and on my way to a wonderful party at the home of one of the NSGP members, I saw this sign:
What would you like the power to do? I would like the power to
I would like the power to share my one video from yesterday, but I will have to power up my phone to do that after I share this post via my laptop.
Here, here,here, and here are the original songs I played at the party last night that one powerful person had the power to call “Brilliant.”
The brilliant person at the party had the power to convince me to try to do a workshop at next year’s conference based on my original songs.
Would you like the power to comment?
I have the power to do gratitude at this daily blog, so thanks to all who gave me the power to create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.
I have the power to share this video of my singing my conference committee gratitude song at the NSGP business meeting yesterday. I also have the power to sing it today at the end of the conference, when it may be more powerful.
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 