Day 3043: Whatever doesn’t kill me

Who said “whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger”?

It didn’t kill me to discover that it was Friedrich Nietzsche.

It didn’t kill me to finally spell “Friedrich Nietzsche” right in that previous paragraph.

Here are others things that didn’t kill me:

• being born with a rare heart condition,
• spending lots of time in the hospital when I was kid,
• ridiculous hospital rules which prevented my parents from staying with me,
• a few awful nurses and doctors,
• medicine that made me sick,
• many surgeries,
• relying on cardiac pacemakers since age 10,
• the assassinations during the 60’s,
• bullies at school,
• mean or incompetent teachers,
• bad leaders,
• bad weather,
• bad food,
• choking on a piece of hard candy I accidentally swallowed while laughing,
• car accidents,
• scary plane trips,
• scary movies,
• scary people, including a rapist,
• jobs that didn’t fit my skills or interests,
• walking across a frozen river,
• my mistakes,
• other people’s mistakes,
• traveling by myself,
• not being able to swim,
• three bouts of endocarditis because of a leaky heart valve,
• valve replacement surgery,
• public speaking,
• public singing,
• mountains,
• valleys,
• depression,
• anxiety,
• PTSD,
• suicidal thoughts,
• rejection,
• disrespect,
• sexism,
• anti-Semitism,
• ageism,
• COVID-19, and
• everything and everybody else I’ve encountered in my long life, including what you see in today’s images.

The Daily Bitch Calendar kills me (in a good way).

Here’s Finger Eleven with “Whatever Doesn’t Kill Me”:

It doesn’t kill me to express gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily posts, including YOU!

Day 3008: Safe enough spaces

Yesterday, I mentioned safe enough spaces at the end of my post. I deliberately did not write “safe spaces” because no spaces are completely safe. In every space, we take risks if we expose our vulnerability and humanity. The more we do that, the more we make the space safe enough for others.

I try to make my Coping and Healing groups safe enough spaces, and yesterday people felt safe enough to share conflicting opinions about getting the COVID vaccines. We all survived our differences and people felt safe enough to stay connected with each other.

Later in the day, I felt safe enough to finally make it to the safe enough sand bar I can see from my home (and which I felt safe enough to write about earlier this week in this post).

Many times, I have tried to get to that safe enough sand bar by unsuccessfully trying to locate its starting point across the safe-enough bay. Yesterday, I had the brilliant and long-overdue idea to walk through some water during low tide and access the sand bar from its end point near me.

Instead of telling myself, “WHY DIDN’T YOU THINK OF THIS BEFORE?”, I made my mind a safe enough space by enjoying the experience, moment by moment.

I hope you feel safe enough to accompany me on this adventure through safe enough spaces.

I discovered that I had been SO CLOSE to discovering the beginning point of the sand bar on a previous exploration, but had turned back when I saw that “no trespassing sign, which made the space not safe enough.

If I had felt safe enough to keep exploring past that scary sign (which referred to something else), I would have discovered the beginning of the sand bar months ago. I feel safe enough to share, here and now, that I trust my process and am happy it happened exactly the way it did.

Do you see safe enough spaces in the rest of my images today?

I assume that this is a safe enough space to share that I am Jewish and that I will start celebrating Passover in an unconventional way starting at sundown tonight.

The Israel Philharmonic was in a safe enough space to create this Passover greeting for 2021:

Contrast this with last year’s greeting from separate safe-enough spaces:

I invite you to leave a comment in the safe enough space, below.

I always feel safe enough to express gratitude to those who help me create these safe enough posts, including YOU!

Day 2972: What we have in common

What we have in common, I believe, includes a wish to know what day it is and, perhaps, an appreciation of the Daily Bitch.

Actually, I’m not sure if I have much in common with people who think they have nothing in common with others. I believe that all of us have these in common:

• old wounds,
• pain,
• sadness,
• hope,
• joy,
• disappointment,
• regret,
• anger,
• fear,
• anxiety,
• worry,
• vulnerability,
• mistakes,
• resilience,
• laughter,
• tears, and
• exhaustion with the pandemic.

I assume that we also have this in common: a favorite comfort food.

I believe we have in common the need for comfort, wherever we can find it.

When I search YouTube for “all we have in common” I find this ad for a Denmark TV station:

… and “Little Things We Have in Common” by George Carlin:

What do you think we have in common?

Something else we have in common is gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create these daily blog posts, including YOU!

Day 2728: A lot going on

Yesterday, in what I’ve been calling the home version of my Coping and Healing groups (because everybody there, including me, is participating from their homes), there was a lot going on.

There IS a lot going on, isn’t there?  What’s going on where you are?

Is there a lot going on in my other photos from yesterday?

 

 

 

When there’s a lot going on, sometimes we get lost. I hope we all, including Chelsea the cat, find our way.

Here‘s a 1972 performance of “What’s Going On” by Marvin Gaye.

There’s been a lot going on since then, but there’s a lot more to do if we’re to get to where we need to be going.

There’s lot of gratitude going on here for everyone, including YOU.

 

 

Day 2693: Whatever it takes.

Whatever it takes, I will

• post a daily blog,
• create spaces for healing,
• continue my therapy groups,
• support better leadership,
• look for the good in people,
• try to have fun,
• enjoy literature, art, film, and music,
• spend time in nature,
• show up,
• be gentle,
• tell the truth,
• remember the past,
• embrace the present moment,
• hold hope for the future,
• improve the quality of life for those I love,
• maintain my ideals,
• welcome all thoughts and feelings,
• look for the helpers,
• seek answers to important questions,
• find my voice,
• be creative,
• keep growing, and
• take photos of whatever catches my eye.

Whatever it takes, we’re going to spend quality time with our cat Oscar, even when I’m sharing an original song on a Zoom-based Open Mic.

Whatever it takes to share your thoughts and feelings, consider leaving a comment below.

What would it take to show my gratitude to all, including YOU?

Day 2651: Today is …

Today is …

• the two thousandth, six hundredth, and fifty-first day I’ve been blogging,
• a day when we are dreading the upcoming surge of COVID-19 cases,
• a day unlike any other,
• a day that feels like this:

• a day when I’m noticing the many prescient images I posted in this blog during the days of February and March 2020:

• a day when I remember that ID stands for Infectious Disease, and
• a day when I share all of the photos I took yesterday.

Today is a day I share all these songs about today (found here, here, here, here, here, and here today on YouTube):

Today is a day I am curious about your thoughts and feelings about today.

Today is a day, like every other day, that I express gratitude for all that I have, including YOU.

Day 2645: Following the hearts

Yesterday, when I was outside in the fresh air, walking around with my heart of hearts, Michael, I noticed hearts on the doors and windows of our neighborhood.

Michael and I exchanged some heart-felt speculations about what those hearts meant. We both believed, in our hearts, that this display of hearts was related to the coronavirus.

When I saw somebody outside this house with hearts …

… I asked her (from a distance) what the hearts meant.  She said, “We have health care workers in the neighborhood, so we are showing solidarity, love, and appreciation for the work they are doing for us during these times.”  She also pointed out that people were sharing their hearts with the children in the neighborhood by participating in a social-distanced bear-spotting scavenger hunt.  I looked around, and my heart rejoiced to see this:

.

I followed my heart  to capture  other images, which I now send from my heart to yours:

As we enjoyed that heart-healthy meal last night, Michael and I followed our hearts to watch the wonderful movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon.   Here  is heart-felt music from the film, composed by Tan Dun and featuring Yo-Yo Ma on cello.

Please follow your heart to the comments section, below.

Every day, I follow my heart here to express my gratitude to YOU.

Day 2391: I’m curious about …

I’m curious about …

• everything that’s happened to you since the last time I saw you,
• how you’re doing in this moment (including thoughts, feelings, and body experience),
• everything that you’re aware of that might be contributing to how you’re doing in this moment,
•  how other people have been affecting you,
•  how you’ve been affecting other people,
• how the weather’s been affecting you,
• how the news has been affecting you,
• how you would introduce yourself to somebody who is meeting you for the first time, and
• what you’re curious about.

If you’re curious about my Coping and Healing groups, I introduce the check-in portion of the group by saying what I’m curious about.  What I’m curious about often includes the curious list above.  Because I don’t want my curiosity to be too important, I always conclude my list of curiosity with this:

Feel free to ignore everything I just said, because it’s YOUR check-in.

I’m curious about this:  even people who have been coming to the group for years often smile at that line.

I’m curious about how these photos affect you:

 

 

I’m curious about whether you’ve heard the song “Curious” by Midnight Star.

 

I am curious about what you would say in a comment below, but feel free to ignore everything I’ve just said, because it’s your comment.

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

 

 

Day 2244: Are we having fun yet?

“Are we having fun yet?” was something I expressed several times yesterday, as I

• started packing for my trip to L.A.,
• grappled with money issues,
• added a new verse to a song,
• dealt with hurt feelings,
• talked to people about hope and hopelessness,
• had the self control to have the soup instead of the very fun-looking and highly caloric  pasta dish in the hospital cafeteria,
• couldn’t find my folder filled with group therapy worksheets and exercises,
• glanced at the news, and
• facilitated two groups, one of which focused on fun.

Are we having fun yet in today’s blog post?

Are we having fun yet as we try to read my handwriting in today’s photos?

Are we having fun yet as I share this story about when I decided to have fun earlier this week?

Wednesday morning, after my second night in a row of insomnia, I looked at the weather app on my iPhone to decide how to dress for the day.  I saw that the day was going to start out cold but become considerably warmer, so I decided to wear a very light coat.  When I was driving to work, I looked at the app again and noticed that I had been looking at the weather for Cupertino, California, instead of the weather for Boston, Massachusetts, which was going to start cold and stay that way.  I decided to have fun with it, so I laughed instead of complaining whenever I felt the cold.

Are we having fun yet trying to guess what music I’m going to share in today’s post?

YouTube suggests that I share this one:

 

Are you having fun yet?  If not, how might you have more fun today?  Would it help to leave a fun comment?

Have I expressed my gratitude yet for all those who helped me create this are-we-having-fun-yet post and — of course — for YOU?