Day 2066: What I’m not saying

What I’m not saying, here and now, includes many things, because I still have laryngitis.

However, I’m returning to work today, where I will do my best to encourage people to share in therapy what they’re not saying elsewhere in their lives.

Here’s a partial list of what I’m not saying:

• Some people scare me.
• I sometimes fear other people’s anger as well as my own anger.
• I miss my son (who is attending University in Edinburgh) and my late friend Michelle.
• I’m glad to be home.
• When I’m away from work for vacation, I fear  I’ve forgotten what I need to know to be a good therapist.
• When I name my fears, they seem more manageable.
• If I’m confused, I can take a breath and some time to choose the next right thing to do.
• I used to have recurring dreams of not being able to speak.
• Communicating effectively is very important to me.
• I will do my best to say things non-verbally today.

Whenever I put what I’m not saying into words, I feel better. See how it works?

Let’s see what I’m saying and not saying in my photos from yesterday.

 

 

What I’m not saying about that last picture includes this:

1. I’ve had that little book since I attended Berklee in the summer when I was in high school.
2. Those notations include the melody line and some chords for my fourth original song, “Shameless Appeals for Applause.”
3. When I was on a boat in Iceland recently, the man standing next to me was saying that he was proud of his son, who had recently graduated from Berklee.

What I’m not saying includes the fact that in the 1990s, I helped create Berklee College of Music’s recruitment video.  What I’m not saying is that I haven’t figured out a way to share that video here.

I’m not saying which of these “I’m Not Sayin'” performances I like best.

I’m not saying that those are three different songs but I am saying that I found all three on YouTube here, here, and here.

I’m not saying who wrote that song but you can find that out here.

What I’m not saying, until now, includes saying thanks to Gordon Lightfoot, The Replacements, Nico, Oscar, Harley, Berklee, Iceland, all those who are healing the best they can, and — of course! — YOU.

Day 1216: Uh oh

maybe some people reading this don’t know what “Uh oh” means.

I’ve found several definitions of “Uh oh” on the internet.

uh-oh
ˈə ˌō/
exclamation
used to express alarm, dismay, or realization of a difficulty.
““Uh-oh! Take cover!””
synonyms: yikes, oh dear, cripes, mercy, holy moly, alas, dear me, ‘oh me, oh my’, whoops
“uh-oh, the cat got out!”

uh–oh
interjection \ˈə-ˌō, usually with strong glottal stops before the vowels\
Popularity: Bottom 10% of words
Simple Definition of uh–oh
—used when you realize that you are in a bad situation, that you have made a mistake, etc.
Full Definition of uh–oh
—used to indicate dismay or concern

First Known Use of uh–oh
1971

Rhymes with uh–oh
aglow, ago, airflow, airglow, air show, alow, although, archfoe, argot, a throw, backflow, backhoe, bandeau, Baotou, barlow, bateau, below, bestow, big toe, bon mot, bravo, by-blow, cachepot, callow, caló, Carlow, cash flow, chapeau, Chi-Rho, cockcrow, Cocteau, cornrow, corn snow, crossbow, Cousteau, Darrow, Day-Glo, dayglow, death row, Defoe, de trop, deathblow, deco, down-bow, dumb show, elbow, escrow, fencerow, flambeau, floor show, flyblow, fogbow, forego, foreknow, forgo, freak show, free throw, Freneau, Fuzhou, galop, game show, genro, gigot, Glencoe, go-slow, Gounod, Guangzhou, gung ho, guyot, Hadow, Hangzhou, Hankow, Harrow, heave-ho, hedgerow, heigh-ho, hello, hollo, horse show, ice floe, ice show, inflow, in tow, Io, jabot, jambeau, Jane Doe, jim crow, Jinzhou, Joe Blow, Jiaozhou, John Doe, Juneau, Hounslow, kayo, KO, Lanzhou, lie low, light show, longbow, low blow, Luchow, macho, mahoe, maillot, mallow, manteau, Marlowe, Marot, marrow, matelot, merlot, Meursault, minnow, Miró, misknow, Moho, mojo, morceau, morrow, Moscow, mucro, mudflow, Murrow, nightglow, no-no, no-show, nouveau, oboe, outflow, outgo, outgrow, oxbow, peep show, Pernod, picot, plateau, pronto, Quanzhou, quiz show, rainbow, Rameau, red snow, reflow, regrow, repo, reseau, road show, rondeau, rondo, roscoe, Roseau, rouleau, sabot, Saint-Lô, salchow, scarecrow, self-sow, serow, shadblow, Shantou, sideshow, skid row, ski tow, Soho, so-so, sound bow, sourdough, stone’s throw, sunbow, Suzhou, tableau, Taizhou, talk show, tiptoe, Thoreau, tone row, tonneau, trade show, trousseau, Trudeau, unsew, up-bow, upthrow, van Gogh, wallow, Wenzhou, Wicklow, widow, willow, windrow, windthrow, winnow, Winslow, Wuzhou, Xuzhou, Yalow, yarrow, Zhangzhou, Zhengzhou, Zibo

I didn’t give credit for where I found those two definitions.

I don’t know where the first definition came from, but you can find the second definition here.

I’m feeling insecure about

• how repetitive my posts are,
• including links in these posts, and
• several other things, this morning.

 

I wold have hoped as a psychotherapist and a life-long learner, I would never feel insecure again at this point in my long life.

I guess that was an unrealistic hope and expectation.

I assume you’ve had enough, already, with that same photo, so here are all the other photos I took yesterday, as I returned to work after a one-week vacation:

I think some of those photos are two small to see and need explanation.

I’m only going to enlarge and explain this photo:

which was in another person’s office, not mine.

I don’t know what music to include in today’s post, if any.

 

I forgot to invite you to leave a comment.  As I sometimes tell people in my therapy groups, feel free to share any thoughts or feelings, to write a poem, or to do an interpretative dance. There’s really no right or wrong way to express yourself here.

it’s time for me to get ready for work!

Thanks to all who helped me create this post and to you — of course! — for reading it.

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I noticed at least two (uh oh, THREE) mistakes in this post after I published it. Can you spot them?

Day 1155: Winnings

While I didn’t win a chance to advance in the tryouts for “The Voice” last weekend, I did win lots of other things during my winter vacation, including:

• Precious time spent with my long-time and true-blue  friends Jeanette, Hillel, and Barbara.
• An amazing necklace.

• Lots of new images captured on my iPhone, including these from yesterday:

That last winning photo shows my winning cat Oscar watching people winning  Oscars, last night.

What else did I win, during my winter vacation?  At the American Group Psychotherapy Association yearly conference,  I heard a new and winning definition of forgiveness. And while my winning memory can’t remember that new definition of forgiveness right now, I’m going to write the winning person who quoted it, so I can pass that winning definition on to you in a future winning post.

In the meantime, my online winnings today included these other winning definitions of forgiveness:

“Life becomes easier when you learn to accept an apology you never got.”  — Robert Brault

“Forgiveness does not change the past, but it does enlarge the future.” — Paul Boese

“It’s one of the greatest gifts you can give yourself, to forgive.  Forgive everybody.” — Maya Angelou

“Forgiveness doesn’t excuse their behavior.  Forgiveness prevents their behavior from destroying your heart.” —  Hemant Smarty

“Forgive others not because they deserve forgiveness but because you deserve peace.”  — Jonathan Lockwood Huie

“Relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished, but because the wounded are merciful.”  — Max Lucado

“There is no love without forgiveness and there is no forgiveness without love.”  — Bryant M. McGill

“Life is an adventure in forgiveness.” — Norman Cousins

What other winnings are mine, today?

1. Returning to a job I love and
2. your presence, here and now.

Winning thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and special thanks to you  — of course! — for visiting.

Day 230: Random thoughts (on a non-random Sunday)

Fact.  I am returning to work tomorrow, after taking a two-week vacation which included a trip to London and Edinburgh with my son.

Past-focused thinking.  When I’ve returned to work after time off, I’ve previously experienced:

1. A helpful sense of perspective.
2. Feeling overwhelmed as I’ve tried to catch up with things I’ve missed.
3. All sorts of assumptions about people’s reactions to my being gone and my being back.

Future-focused thinking. I hope that #1, above, will be with me when I return to work tomorrow, and that it will linger, a welcomed guest.*  I fear that #2 and #3 might be with me, in unhelpful ways.**

Wishful thinking. I’m looking forward to returning to work for many reasons, including seeing this in my office.

Yes, that’s a magic wand, for making wishes (when wishes might be helpful).

Here are my three wishes, for today:

1.  I wish that I can be in the moment, as best I can.
2. I wish that I can accept where I am.
3. I wish that everything that people have ever said about how if one shares a wish it won’t come true is …. rubbish.***

Okay!  Time for a wishing sound (and feel free to join in with your own wishes for today):

Thanks to Jojikiba (for the YouTube sound effect), to The Princess Spinning Light Up Wand, to wishers everywhere, and to you, for reading today.

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*  See the Rumi poem “Guest House”, which is at the end of this post.

** Come to think of it, look at that Rumi poem again.

*** I thought of many possible words for what I wanted to express here, and settled on one I enjoyed hearing during our recent time in the UK.