Day 3553: Distance

Here and now, I’m trying to gain some distance from

• a scary medical event I experienced last week,
• fear in general ,
• the sad and unexpected loss of a co-worker,
• catastrophizing,
• confusion about best next steps to solve problems,
• self doubt,
• the news, and
• toxic people.

Today’s Daily Bitch has something to say about distance …

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… and so do many other notable people:

I take a little distance from things by blogging, accepting all my feelings, and sharing images like these:

I will try to gain some distance by letting stress and worry fade away for the day.

Also, I didn’t walk any distance at all yesterday because of bad weather and a VERY long work day. Today, I will walk my usual distance around home.

Here’s what I’ve been hearing in my head as I’ve been going the distance creating this “distance” post:

From a distance, I hope you can feel my gratitude for YOU.

Day 3539: Aha moments

I’ve had many aha moments in my life, including:

• life is short, so don’t waste any of it,
• nature sustains us and we better do our best to sustain it,
• most people are mostly good,
• all healing is mutual, so self care is never selfish,
• we can’t control anybody’s behavior except our own,
• we are all so caught up in our own experience that it takes hard work to understand and communicate effectively with others,
• people feel alone sometimes but no one is alone,
• repressed and disowned feelings will surface eventually,
• we all fear people who seem different from us until we open ourselves up to how connected we are,
• we unconsciously absorb biases from our cultures and our families so we need to be aware of them and challenge them constantly,
• it hurts to lose someone, even those I don’t know (like Queen Elizabeth),
• it’s not so much a matter of where you are but who you are with, and
• the best place to be is the here and now.

Aha! I just found this definition of “aha moments”:

Do you see any aha moments in my images for today?

Today is my late father’s birthday and I’m very grateful I shared so many aha moments with him before he died.

Several people on Twitter mentioned this song in response to my question about aha moments:

Thanks to all who help me blog daily about my aha moments, including YOU.

Day 3413: Significance/Insignificance

Today’s significant Daily Bitch Calendar is about insignificance.

This reminds me of a conversation about over-responsibility I had with Mia of MiAlisa salon on Saturday …

… in which I told her about a significant phrase I find useful: “We are neither as important nor as unimportant as we fear.”

Do you see significance or insignificance in my other images for today?

As usual, there is significance and insignificance in the National Days.

I’m not sure how significant it is that I’m close to 30,000 followers on Twitter, but I wrote a song about it anyway (using a significant tune written by Steve Winwood and Jim Capaldi).

Whatever your thoughts and feelings are about insignificance/significance, they are significant to me.

Thanks to all who help me create the insignificant and the significant entries in this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 3390: Fear

Yesterday, in my Coping and Healing therapy group, people talked about fear. The discussions included (1) the differences among feeling fearful, frightened, and afraid, (2) fear as one of the primal emotions, (3) the movie Inside Out (which I resolved to watch again before our next meeting), and inviting fear to come in and take a seat while we talked about it.

Do you see fear in any of my images for today?

I never fear sharing the Daily Bitch calendar here.

When I search YouTube for “fear” I find this …

… and this:

I have no fear about the comments you might leave about this “fear” post.

Thanks to all who help me overcome any fears I might have about sharing thoughts, feelings, images, and videos every day, including YOU.

Day 3348: What’s trending

What’s “trending” according to the dictionary?

Every morning, when I use Google to search for “National Days,” a list of what’s trending automatically pops up. I don’t particularly want to know what’s trending, but here’s what’s trending today:

What’s trending, not surprisingly, includes

• more fears than facts,
• click-bait,
• major omissions (including Joe Biden’s State of the Union Address), and
• pancakes.

Is anything trending in my other images for today?

I’m thinking that on National Old Stuff Day, a lot of old stuff — old patterns, old habits, old beliefs, old fears, old perspectives — is trending. At the group therapy conference I’m attending, people are trying to trend towards new, healthier, and more authentic ways of being.

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

What’s trending where you are?

Gratitude is always trending here, so thanks to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 3344: FEAR is Forgetting Everything’s All Right

In a Coping and Healing Group this week, one of the members shared a very helpful phrase that a cherished friend had given her years ago:

FEAR is Forgetting Everything’s All Right.

People in the group, including me, had very strong, positive reactions to this gift the group member paid forward to us.

Since then, I’ve shared that gift with several people and the reaction has been the same: a pause and then an expression of gratitude.

As a habitual catastrophizer, who typically fears the worst case scenario no matter what the situation, I am finding this idea incredibly healing. And it’s helping me deal with

• my own fears,
• other people’s fears or other reactions,
• my work as a clinical social worker,
• relationships,
• our cat’s health issues,
• my health issues,
• home issues,
• money issues,
• preparing my taxes,
• uncertainties about the future,
• an over abundance of empathy, and
• the news.

If I have any fear about the images I’m about to share, then I’m Forgetting Everything’s All Right.

I have no fear about setting a good example, pistachios, or telling fairy tales, which are all right.

When I search YouTube for “fear is forgetting everything’s all right, I find this, which includes other acronyms for FEAR — False Evidence Appearing Real and Face Everything And Recover.

I have no fear about comments you might leave.

I’m not forgetting everything’s all right, nor my gratitude to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

Day 3343: Moments of inner peace

Yesterday, for the mindfulness exercise in both of my Coping and Healing groups, I invited people to access moments of inner peace. Then, last night, I asked this question on Twitter:

Somebody in group last night brought some moments of inner peace by sharing this: FEAR is Forgetting Everything is All Right.

It’s challenging to find moments of inner peace during times of conflict, stress, pandemics, injustice, and war. However, people somehow find those moments of inner peace through nature, meditation, music, animals, friends, family, self care, and love.

Can you find some moments of inner peace in my images for today?

Despite having an appointment to bring Harley to the vet today during a snowstorm, I’m still finding moments of inner peace.

This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “moments of inner peace.”

I also find this:

I look forward to moments of inner peace reading your comments.

I’m grateful for all my moments of inner peace and for YOU.

Day 3312: People’s responses

In the past, I’ve sometimes been hesitant to say or do something for fear of people’s responses. The responses I’ve feared have included:

• anger,
• disinterest,
• new upsetting information,
• misunderstandings,
• hurt feelings,
• needless worry,
• judgment,
• more work for me,
• disconnection, and
• no response at all.

I continually work on the courage to say and do what’s important without fear of people’s responses.

I wonder what people’s responses will be to today’s images:

I wonder what people’s responses will be to today’s National Days? And I assume that people’s responses to Michael’s first attempt at banana bread would be similar to mine: “OMG! This is so delicious!”

This is the first thing that pops up on YouTube when I search for “people’s responses”:

It helps me to know about other people’s responses to non-responsiveness.

No matter what people’s responses are, I’m grateful for you, every day!

Day 3306: Chillax

Because I can’t seem to break my habit of worrying about (1) possible catastrophes, (2) not responding quickly enough to everyone, and (3) inexplicably high numbers for my weight and my INR, I am telling myself (and anyone else who needs to hear it) to chillax.

If you don’t know what “chillax” means, chillax. Here’s a definition.

These days, I can dance to my favorite tune or chillax, but I can’t have friends over because of Omicron.

Yesterday, in a remote Coping and Healing therapy group, we helped each other chillax by consciously letting go of fears and accepting our own worth.

I recently committed to doing another remote Open Mic on Friday and doing a presentation about my groups in February, so I need to chillax about both of those. I have a tendency to get nervous about performances, even though I’ve done so many before, so (say it along with me, please) …

Chillax.

After I get up every precious morning, I chillax by creating this blog. Do any of my images for today help you chillax?

I don’t know what “World Quark Day” is, but I’m going to chillax about that. Also, I’ve been eating way too much popcorn lately, which might explain the weight gain, so instead of eating popcorn on National Popcorn Day, I’m going to chillax.

Joan chillaxes by fetching her favorite toy.

What helps you chillax?

Ending each daily blog post with gratitude helps me chillax, so thanks to everyone who is visiting here now, including YOU.

Day 3302: A moment’s peace

During these times, it’s even more challenging to get a moment’s peace. That’s why I took a moment to ask this question on Twitter last night:

I’m working on getting a moment’s peace, here and now, while it’s very cold and windy outside.

Personally, I find it more difficult to get a moment’s peace when I’m scared and those temperatures feel scary!

Can you find a moment’s peace in any of my other images for today?

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If I have to go out today, wearing a hat might give me a moment’s peace.

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “a moment’s peace.”

How do you get a moment’s peace?

I’m grateful for everything and everybody that helps me get a moment’s peace, including YOU.