Day 2636: Therapeutic

For the past week, I’ve been doing a version of my Coping and Healing groups for staff where I work.  My group supervisor shared this very helpful thought with me:  “For your co-workers, these groups are not therapy, but they still may be therapeutic.”

A Coping and Healing group, no matter who it is for,  includes a mindfulness exercise, a check-in where each person gets to say whatever they choose without interruption, a focus on the shared common experiences in the room, and the chance to get a good enough sense of closure at the end of the meeting.  Members of the groups say they find this  format therapeutic, and so do I.

Are any of my recent photos therapeutic?

That Chilean sea bass with ginger and garlic was SO therapeutic last night.

This week, it’s been very therapeutic for me to listen to  music by the late, great keyboardist Lyle Mays, including “September Fifteenth”— Lyle and Pat Metheny‘s wonderful tribute to the late, great Bill Evans.

It was also therapeutic for me to read  these comments about that YouTube video:

Tamara Munk
1 day ago
So sad he’s left us, but he’s left an indelible legacy, and made his mark on me. His music has lifted my soul. Thank you Lyle.

JSkalman
1 day ago
This. So fittingly honoring on this day to remember decades of enjoying one of the greatest collaborations in the history of music. The last note belongs to Lyle.

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Sherif Shaalan
1 day ago
It was 1978 when as a young music student, I first heard Lyle Mays play piano and keyboards with the Pat Metheny Group in concert on the campus of Wayne State University in Detroit. I was astonished! He immediately became my favorite pianist of all time, and has remained so to this day.

His composing, arranging and piano/keyboard playing combined melodic sensitivity, harmonic richness, rhythmic diversity, and a remarkably fluid technique, all firmly rooted in both classical and jazz musical traditions . . . are entirely innovative.

While I never met him, I read many of his interviews and watched hundreds of his videos and remain awestruck by the modesty and humility of someone with the genius to evoke such thought, emotion and tranquility through his own music . . . music so complete in its usage of nearly the entire spectrum of compositional and improvisational elements available to musicians.

I loved and admired both Lyle’s solo work and his best known collaborative work with the great jazz guitarist, Pat Metheny, beginning in 1974. Their final collaboration as the Pat Metheny Group was in 2005.

Since then, I, along with millions of other fans all over the world have longed for a PMG reunion, but unfortunately with today’s news, we have already enjoyed our final “Pat Metheny Group” recording, which makes me quite sad.

But what a profoundly beautiful and soulful musical legacy he left.

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Pamela G.
2 days ago
Goodbye Lyle! See you on the other side – I know you’re adding to heaven’s light with your beautiful music.

What is therapeutic for you, here and now?

I hope you know that gratitude is also therapeutic, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU.

Day 2634: Heartland

Today, my heart is heavy because one of my favorite musicians — Lyle Mays (appearing in posts here, here, here, here, here , here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here) — passed away yesterday.

Yesterday, not knowing that Lyle had passed, I took pictures of hearts.

Music is one of the universal languages of love, and here is Lyle (about the age when I first saw him play) and Pat Metheny performing one of their many compositions which will live forever in my heart: “(Cross The) Heartland.”

Whatever Lyle wrote and played, it landed directly in my heart.

Here‘s “Mirror of the Heart” from Lyle’s first solo album:

 

Pat Metheny wrote this on his website:

‘Lyle was one of the greatest musicians I have ever known. Across more than 30 years, every moment we shared in music was special. From the first notes we played together, we had an immediate bond. His broad intelligence and musical wisdom informed every aspect of who he was in every way. I will miss him with all my heart.”

My heart goes out to all who loved Lyle and his music.

Thanks for joining my heartland, today.

 

Day 2432: Choose to focus on good things

Yesterday, a good friend chose to send me this good thing to focus on:

 

It’s a good thing that soolooka created that, so that Vivian could send it to me exactly when I needed it.

Let’s choose to focus on good things in my photos from yesterday:

 

I chose to focus on that donkey last night during a good long walk with Michael and Aaron. I chose to focus on its expression and to share that the good donkey looked a little judgmental to me.  My good boyfriend and my good son chose to disagree.

I choose to focus on this: civil disagreement is a good thing.

I choose to focus on this great rendition of a good song:

Here‘s the original version of that good song:

Choose to focus on good things in a comment, below.

I always choose to focus on gratitude at the end of every post, so thanks to all who helped me focus on the good things here and — of course! —  to you, my good reader.

Day 2400: Leaving town

Sometimes, leaving town is a great way to

• get perspective,
• find unity with new people,
• unify the different parts of yourself,
• replenish & refresh,
• put down some baggage,
• practice saying “hello” and “goodbye,”
• leave worries behind,
• change your mood,
• explore your feelings,
• get smarter,
• notice what’s there, waiting for you,
• get recharged,
• put a new spin on things,
• become more social,
• find your voice,
• take the next step towards change, and
• get new ideas.

Yesterday, as I was in the process of leaving my home town of Boston and traveling to the great town of Chicago, I took these photos:

Ah ha!  There I am in Chicago.

Here and here are today’s songs about leaving town:

Last night, I was feeling kind of shy  in Chi-town when I was having dinner with some people I didn’t know,, but when the group organizer asked me to sing, I stood up, found my voice, and  sang my latest song  — “Everybody’s Somebody’s Asshole.”

People seemed to like my new song but even if they didn’t, I’ll be leaving town tomorrow.

No matter what town I’m in, I see gratitude everywhere.  Thanks to all who helped me create this out-of-town post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2370: Based on a true story

All my blog posts are based on a true story, so it’s true that I love starting today’s blog post with a true image from my true friend Barbara’s truly lovely home.

Yesterday, Barbara

• went with me to see guitarist Pat Metheny for Barbara’s first time,
• had the best fish dish of her entire life,
• took selfies of herself and her friend of sixty-three years (me),
• swapped amazing stories with her friend,
• admired the gorgeous concert venue in Rockport Massachusetts,
• experienced the wonder of synchronicity,
• was, as usual, a wonderful friend,
• enjoyed many adventures, and

these are all true stories!

We have proof that these stories are true, because of all these true photographs:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Barbara and I both agreed that we truly enjoyed Pat last night especially when he involved more instruments than just one solo guitar. I told her the true story of his development of his own incredible Orchestrion, of which he had a small sample on stage with him last night.  I also told her the true story of how I saw Pat play at the Orpheum theater in Boston a decade ago when his Orchestrion album came out, and how truly amazing that was.  She wished she could have seen more of that, so this is truly for you, Barbara:

 

I’m looking forward to all your true stories, below.

My gratitude is always based on true stories, so thanks to Barbara,  to true friendship, to Pat Metheny, to all who helped me create today’s true post and — truly! — to YOU.

 

 

Day 2369: Celebrating

On the two thousandth, three hundredth, and sixty-ninth consecutive day of this blog, I am celebrating the first use of the word “Celebrating” in a post title.

I am also celebrating

• the rich availability of relevant imagery all around me,
• seeing my guitar hero, Pat Metheny, with one of my friendship heroes later today,
• my son’s imminent arrival from Scotland on a newly-instituted direct flight from Edinburgh to Boston,
• the popularity of my Coping and Healing therapy groups at work,
• the resilience of the people I meet every day,
• my own resilience,
• the relative absence of carpenter ants in our home-by-the sea, Squanticello,
• visitors to my blog,
• Boston accents (deemed the second sexiest in the United States),
• different ideas,
• puns (and more “elevated” forms of humor),
• brains,
• hearts,
• guts,
• gifts,
• smiles,
• keepers,
• art,
• wishes,
• self-expression,
• baseball season,
• flowering trees and flowers,
• sunshine,
• freedom,
• deliberately and consciously leaving behind guilt, shame, and fear with every step, and
• whatever else I can find to celebrate, every precious moment.

I am celebrating all those things, and more, by sharing my images from yesterday.

I am also celebrating a new sidewalk, above,  which will prevent the kind of trips that landed me on the ground with a torn rotator cuff fifteen months ago.

I’m celebrating trees and Pat Metheny with this tune that was playing yesterday while I was walking that new, safer sidewalk to work.

What might you be celebrating, here and now?

As always, this blog celebrates the power of gratitude, every day.

 

Day 2317: Signs of spring

I’m often looking for signs, including signs of the advent of spring (my favorite season).

The “sign” post I  just linked to in that signature opening paragraph — Day 1319: Subtle signs — has subtle signs that I wrote that blog post shortly before two major life signposts: my open heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic and the election of Donald Trump as President of the United States.

Since the 2016 election, I’ve noticed signs that I — and the United States — have somehow changed.  I see signs of that in every blog post I’ve written since then.  Of course, everything changes and everything changes us, although this saying

The more things change, the more they stay the same

is a sign that perhaps I should change my mind about that, also.

Here are some other signs on my mind:

• The tears in my eyes, as I write this, are signs of some unresolved grief about past events.
• Older people often look for the signs of dementia in themselves and others.
• When I procrastinate doing something — like writing a Letter from the President for a newsletter — that’s a sign that I need more information or need to resolve some fear about the outcome.
• We tend to look for signs, in the present, that replicate our experiences as children, sometimes ignoring richer, more diverse signs of a wider range of possibilities.
• I am making a concerted effort to be open to signs that conflict with my expectations.
• I’ve dealt with signs that I’m catastrophizing more than most people by writing a song about that (included in yesterday’s blog post, here).
• I went looking for actual signs of spring, yesterday.

Signs of spring remind me that I’ll be seeing Pat Metheny in concert this spring. Here‘s “Spring Ain’t Here” by the Pat Metheny Group.

 

I’ll be looking for signs of your reactions to this post in the comments section, below.

No matter what the season, you’ll always find signs of my gratitude — for those who help me write this daily blog and for readers like YOU — at the end of every post.

Day 2276: Take time to reflect

In the midst of all the action in yesterday’s petty post, there was this invitation to take time to reflect:

You may not have noticed that good advice from this good book:

because I was guilty of reflecting it on its side, like this:

I didn’t take time to reflect those two page  in their correct orientation yesterday, because there was so much petty information I wanted to share.

Like Wilma, I believe it is important to take time to reflect, even in the midst of emergencies and adventures.   Today, I have a day off from work because of Presidents Day, so I can take time to reflect.  My boyfriend Michael, who definitely takes time to reflect, asked me to reflect on who were my most favorite and least favorite U.S. Presidents.

If you take time to reflect, how would you answer Michael’s question?

I’m  going to take time to share something else Michael reflected: “These days everything seems sinister to me.”  I took time to reflect Michael’s feelings and then to ask him if I seemed sinister to him.  When he said no, I took time to reflect  that I AM sinister, because “sinister” means “left-handed” in Latin.

I take time to reflect my gratitude that there is less bias against left-handed people than there used to be.

Please take time to reflect on these recent, previously unreflected photos:

 

 

 

 

I take time to reflect when I drive and when I ride, especially when there’s snow on the ground.

I take time to reflect that a week from now I will be in Los Angeles, taking time to reflect with many other group therapists about the work we do.

Last night, I took time to reflect to Michael  how much I love this performance of “In France They Kiss on Main Street” with my favorites Joni Mitchell, Pat Metheny,  Lyle Mays, and Jaco Pastorius.

I’m taking time to reflect that Pat and Lyle looked like that when I first saw them at the Paradise in Boston, decades ago.

Please take time to reflect your thoughts and feelings in a comment, below.

As usual, I take time at the end of each post to reflect gratitude towards all who help me create this reflective blog and — of course! — YOU.

Day 2129: An aura of light and love

Yesterday, I saw how to create an aura of light and love.

“Live righteously and love everyone; you will build up around you an aura of light and love.”

I don’t know if I always live righteously and love everyone, but I am capable of seeing an aura of light and love, even when it’s raining.

 

 

Great baseball players, dogs dressed up in Halloween costumes, and giving sorrow words can all build up an aura of light and love, as can “Tears of Rain” by Pat Metheny and the late Charlie Haden.

Gratitude also creates an aura of light and love, so many thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 2090: Circular Reasoning

1,560 days ago (but who’s counting?) I wrote another “Circular Reasoning” post.

Because many of my recent photos include circles, I’ve circled back to that title.

As I look around that previous post, there’s no definition of circular reasoning.

Circular Reasoning
circulus in demonstrando

(also known as: paradoxical thinking, circular argument, circular cause and consequence, reasoning in a circle)

Description: A type of reasoning in which the proposition is supported by the premises, which is supported by the proposition, creating a circle in reasoning where no useful information is being shared. This fallacy is often quite humorous.

Logical Form:

X is true because of Y.

Y is true because of X.

Example #1:

Pvt. Joe Bowers: What are these electrolytes? Do you even know?

Secretary of State: They’re… what they use to make Brawndo!

Pvt. Joe Bowers: But why do they use them to make Brawndo?

Secretary of Defense: [raises hand after a pause] Because Brawndo’s got electrolytes.

Explanation: This example is from a favorite movie of mine, Idiocracy, where Pvt. Joe Bowers (played by Luke Wilson) is dealing with a bunch of not-very-smart guys from the future. Joe is not getting any useful information about electrolytes, no matter how hard he tries.

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Exception: Some philosophies state that we can never escape circular reasoning because the arguments always come back to axioms or first principles, but in those cases, the circles are very large and do manage to share useful information in determining the truth of the proposition.

Tip: Do your best to avoid circular arguments, as it will help you reason better because better reasoning is often a result of avoiding circular arguments.

If you circle over to logicallyfallacious,com, you’ll find that explanation of “Circular Reasoning.”

Have you noticed any circular reasoning from not-very-smart-guys in our present?

Do your best to see circles in my photos because seeing circles in my photos will help you do your best.

 

OOOO!  I get to share one of my favorite circle tunes: Pat Metheny’s “First Circle.”

I’ll circle back later and see if there are any circular comments.

Circular thanks to all who helped me create today’s “Circular Reasoning” post and — of course! — toooooo  yoooooooou!