Day 3311: Random

Since there are so many random ways I could start this blog post, why not with a definition of “random”?

My random thoughts about that definition include: (1) “randoms” are also known as “randos” and (2) I’ve been spending a lot of time with some random guys (and gals) on Twitter.

Now it’s time for some random images!

Netflix recommendations can seem very random.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “random”:

Here’s a random comment on that video:

I’m looking forward to your random comments on this random post.

Random thanks to all who read my random blog, including YOU!

Day 3116: If you could ask any question of thousands of people, what question would you ask?

If you have trouble answering the question in today’s title, here are some examples of questions you might ask thousands of people:

Right and wrong answers are welcomed for any of the questions in today’s blog.

One more question: what is the Daily Bitch trying to tell us today?

Here’s my answer to the question about the best television theme song ever:

Thanks to all who ask and answer questions, including YOU.

Day 2867: Waiting for election results

Waiting for election results, I might as well share my most recent images.

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Waiting for election results, I just checked again and things look good, but inconclusive.

Waiting for election results, I know I am not alone.

Waiting for election results, I wonder how many sleepless nights I can stand.

Waiting for election results, I can’t ignore this:

Waiting for election results, I keep adding more people to my Twitter feed.

Waiting for election results, I realize I am holding my breath, so I try to breathe deeply.

Waiting for election results, I find the wonderful music somebody shared in my Coping and Healing group less than 12 hours ago..

Waiting for election results, I am going to express gratitude and publish this blog post.

Day 2249: Differences

As I am experiencing differences between Los Angeles and Boston and exploring similarities and differences at a group therapy conference, do you notice any differences in today’s post?

 

 

 

 

Here are some quotes about differences:

One can state, without exaggeration, that the observation of and the search for similarities and differences are the basis for all human knowledge. — Alfred Nobel

The purpose of anthropology is to make the world safe for differences. — Ruth Benedict

I refuse to let any man-made differences separate me from any other human beings. — Maya Angelou

Stories are the common ground that allow people to connect, despite all our defenses and all our differences. — Kate Forsyth

If you don’t acknowledge differences, it’s as bad as stereotyping or reducing someone. — Aasif Mandvi

It is not our differences that divide us. It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences. — Audre Lorde

We don’t need a melting pot in this country, folks. We need a salad bowl. In a salad bowl, you put in the different things. You want the vegetables — the lettuce,  the cucumbers, the onions, the green peppers — to maintain their identity.  You appreciate the differences. — Jane Elliot

Talent perceives differences; genius, unity.  — William Butler Yeats

All differences in this world are of degree, and not of kind, because oneness is the secret of everything. —  Swami Vivekenanda

We must not, in trying to think about how we can make a big difference, ignore the small daily differences we can make which, over time, add up to big differences that we often cannot foresee. — Marian Wright Edelman

Embrace your differences and the qualities about you that you think are weird. Eventually, they’re going to be the only things separating you from everyone else. — Sebastian Stan

Between friends differences in taste or opinion are irritating in direct proportion to their triviality. — W.H. Auden

One of the most striking differences between a cat and a lie is that a cat has only nine lives. — Mark Twain

What are your different thoughts and feelings about differences?

Here‘s a song about differences that I think about on many different days:

 

Thanks to all who make a difference, including YOU.

 

 

 

Day 2242: Stress balls

What are stress balls?  Are they squishy balls that you can squeeze when you’re stressed?

Are they creatures who are feeling lots of stress?

Harley does not look like a stress ball in that photo, but usually he stresses and runs away when I try to take a picture of him.

Even stress balls, like Harley, can relax at times.

I’m a stress ball today because I have to do many things (including giving a presentation about my therapy groups, singing songs in meetings,  running a board meeting, preparing for a trip to L.A., planning a dinner in L.A., and more) all while dealing with a bout of insomnia and some ambivalence about possible choices.

What helps when you’re a stress ball, besides squeezing a stress ball? My niece Julie, of The Joy Source, suggests changing the words “have to” (see previous paragraph) to “get to.” So, it’s not that I have to do many thing (including giving a presentation, etc.) , it’s that I get to do many things (including giving a presentation, etc.).  That shifts me from being a stress ball about too many obligations to being grateful about having the opportunity to do all those things, connecting me with confidence in my skills to get things done adequately enough.

I don’t have to share my other photos from yesterday, but I’m glad I get to share them with you.

Here‘s what YouTube gives me for “stress ball song”:

 

Somehow, I’m not a stress ball any more.

What helps you be less of a stress ball?

Thanks to all who helped me stress less by stressing all the things I stressed in this “stress balls” post and — of course! — YOU.

 

 

Day 2180: Breaking the silence

I’m having trouble sleeping, and I’m breaking the silence in the middle of the night by creating today’s blog post, early.  I’m also breaking my personal rule about not checking the news when I can’t sleep and noticing that news headlines often report on somebody breaking the silence (like this story,   here).

Breaking the silence is often a good thing, wouldn’t you agree?

Yesterday, my son was breaking the silence by Face-Timing me about his imminent holiday home-coming from the University of Edinburgh.  During our long discussion, I captured these images of us breaking silences.

I am now breaking my silence about how much my son looks like Vincent Van Gogh in those last two photos.

At other parts of the day, I was breaking the silence with these clicks of my iPhone camera:

I like the way pugs break the silence.

Here‘s Breaking Benjamin with “Breaking the Silence.”

 

I look forward to people breaking the silence with comments, below.

I’m now breaking the silence with my gratitude for all who helped me create this breaking-the-silence post and — of course! — for YOU.

 

 

Day 2159: What’s allowed

Because I often think about what’s allowed in this world, I just searched WordPress for any previous posts I might have written on this subject, because that’s allowed.

I can now allow, aloud, that I was surprised that the only post WordPress allowed in that “What’s allowed” search was Day 717: Interrupting.  Four years ago, I allowed myself to write that looooong post (which features, doctors, cows, and lots of interrupting) when I was dealing with some very confusing medical issues.  Writing about those medical issues daily and receiving helpful and supportive feedback from my readers allowed me to navigate through them.  Thank goodness all that was allowed.

So, what allowed WordPress to find a connection between “What’s Allowed” and “Interrupting” today?   I am allowing myself to speculate that interrupting, according to WordPress, is something that’s allowed. Therefore, I’m allowing myself to interrupt this post to share my photos from yesterday.

According to those photos, it’s allowed to

• get irritated with technology (and other things),
• dress animals in outfits,
• be welcoming,
• gobble until you wobble,
• use cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia,
• make it all work,
• spend four days in Fenway, and
• appreciate Prince …

… but it’s NOT allowed to go into stores with animals and bare feet (although maybe bare other things are allowed).

Sharing music is allowed, so here’s Prince with I Would Die 4 U.

While I wouldn’t exactly die 4 u to comment, I hope u know that all your thoughts and feelings about what’s allowed are allowed in the comments section, below.

Gratitude is always allowed here, so thanks to all who allowed me to create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 1995: What wakes you up in the middle of the night?

What wakes you up in the middle of the night?

For me, it could be

• concern about children,
• worry about the state of the world,
• something I ate,  and/or
• something that’s eating me.

What do you do when you wake up in the middle of the night?

Sometimes, I blog.

Here are some photos from yesterday:

Here are “8 Reasons You Are Waking Up at Night”:

Here’s “What to Do When You Wake Up in the Middle of the Night”:

Finally, here’s “How to fall back asleep in the middle of the night.”

I’m going to follow the advice of that last video and do some deep breathing.

Thanks to all who helped me create this blog post and — of course! — thanks to YOU.

Day 380: S-words (Secundo)

Several days ago, I wrote a post, called “S-words.”  I am surmising, this second, that it might be helpful to write a sequel to that.  Shall we start?

1.  Secundo.

That word spontaneously showed up in my mind, when I was shaping the title of this post. I speculated that “Secundo” might be spot-on, even though I wasn’t sure it was really a word. I searched Google and ….

secundo
Web definitions
The secondary part of a duet
http://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/secundo

Sweet.

2. Sleep.

Like scores of people I see, I struggle with sleep, sometimes, and I’ve spoken about that before. WordPress shows the word “sleep” in seven of my post titles, so far. (Should you wish to survey that series: first, second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh.)

Here’s some stuff I  want to say about sleep:

• On the night before I see somebody I’m excited to see, I  usually have trouble sleeping. Specifically, I’m seeing two  people, tomorrow, whom I haven’t seen for a s***-load of years.  One person I know from school; the second person is somebody I met from the first psychotherapy group I ever attended. So, the fact that I’m seeing these two old friends, both on the same day … is that synchronicity? Or simply coincidence? Whatever we call it, it’s screwing up my sleep.
• I’m going to stop this list, so I can return to slumber-land.

Before I slide black into slumber, however, there are some loose strings I’d like to sew up, from some previous posts. In yesterday’s post, I spoke about losing gloves, and how I was going to search for one of these at work.

Success!

Secondly,  readers may have noticed my series of  attempts to simplify my system for doing footnotes here at WordPress, including my search for a surprisingly elusive solution: superscripts.

I’ve struggled to find The Superscript Solution, for several weeks. Actually, simply ‘splaining what a superscript is has been a struggle, since I haven’t been able to show you one, so far.

Yesterday, WordPress Support sent me an email, with a solution.

Should I attempt it?¹

She shoots, she scores!

Thanks to sleepers, insomniacs, and, especially, WordPress Support. And, a special shout out to you, for reading tonight, today, or whenever.

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1.  Some people say that when you can’t sleep, you should spend some time doing something soothing before attempting to go back to sleep. Some people might say that doing something new, like using a superscript for the first time² in a blog post, might interfere with going back to sleep. What’s been your experience?
2. The second time was easier. I also want to let people know that I will share my new wisdom, soon. ³
3. Here’s the secret formula:  ³   which needs to be inserted on the “text” format page.

Day 200: Signs

Sometimes —  especially when I’m experiencing “flow,” synchronicity, or other forms of connection and openness to living — I see signs.

By “signs,” I mean helpful indications of things to pay attention to.

Four examples of signs, according to Google Images:

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Two examples of signs, according to me:

Sign:  It’s too friggin’ hot around here.

Possible meanings, reasons, things to pay attention to:

1.   Global warming.

Depending upon where you live, global warming is either (1) controversial or (2) completely non-controversial.

That about covers it, doesn’t it?

2. Maybe I really should consider moving.

Where I live, it’s Painful-Cold for many months of winter and Painful-Hot for many days of summer. This leads to helpful people giving this advice:  “Think about how cold it gets here during winter and get in touch with gratitude for the heat now.” (These are the same helpful people who say the reverse, during winter .)

How about getting in touch with this?

I’M LIVING IN A PLACE WHERE I’M IN PAIN, ABOUT HALF THE TIME.

Who deserves that?  Not I, said the little red hen.    

Second Sign: I’m having trouble sleeping.

Possible reasons and things to pay attention to:

1.  I have a lot of things to do.

2.  There are some people I’m going to see, this weekend, whom I haven’t seen in a while, and I’m excited about that.

3.  As my mother used to say (about me and then, my son), “You don’t want to miss anything.”

4. I can be afraid of things that don’t actually exist. Or, if they do exist, they’re not as dangerous as they seem.

5.  It’s too friggin’ hot around here.

Thanks for going around with me today. It’s a good sign (according to me).