Yesterday, I saw this card about a circle of caring:
I believe that a circle of caring surrounds me here and elsewhere, as I circle around my life. And as a group therapist, I strongly believe in the healing power of circles of caring.
Because today is a Monday holiday in my home state of Massachusetts, I get to experience another circle of self care before I work again tomorrow.
Do you see circles of caring in my other images for today?
The National Day Calendar doesn’t list Patriots’ Day, probably because there’s such a small circle of U.S. states caring about that.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “a circle of caring.”
I look forward to a circle of caring in the comments section, below.
A circle of caring and gratitude to all who are in my circle of caring, including YOU!
I hope it’s not awkward that I’m letting you know that yesterday was National Awkward Moments Day.
We’ve all had awkward moments and I believe we feel less awkward when we realize we’re not alone. Therefore, I asked this awkward question on Twitter last night:
While I truly appreciate reading everyone’s responses to that, nobody has asked about my memorable awkward moment. Awkward!
The one that comes to my mind is when I was talking to one of my parents’ friends about movies and I thought I asked him if he had seen “Wait Until Dark,” a thriller with Audrey Hepburn and Alan Arkin which had scared the bejeesus out of me and my parents’ friend said, “Yes, I did and that was soooo funny that I couldn’t stop laughing,” and I awkwardly didn’t know what to say or do so I said, very awkwardly, “Well, I guess it was a little improbable” and then much later it occurred to me that I had said “A Shot in the Dark” by mistake, which was a hilarious Pink Panther movie with Peter Sellars.
Awkward!
And I feel awkward admitting that I spent so many moments, since then, feeling awkward about this trivial incident. I’m realizing, though, that I’ve felt considerably less awkward since I shared this story in a blog post here several years ago.
I guess any awkwardness shared can become less awkward.
Do you see any awkward moments in my images for today?
One of the awkward moments shared on my awkward-moment Twitter thread was a person saying something negative about somebody not realizing their microphone was on during a ZOOM call. Awkward!
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “awkward moments.”
Feel free to share any awkward moments in the comments section, below. (Whenever I use the phrase “feel free,” I remember somebody telling me about an awkward moment when a friend of hers, who was a waitress, misspoke those words to a customer and said “free feel!” instead, and the customer said, “Thanks, but no.”)
Thanks to all who have awkward moments, including YOU.
As a group therapist and as a human being, I believe that the more we share stories, the more we connect with each other.
Yesterday morning, I watched President Zelenskyy share powerful, heartbreaking, unforgettable stories about the Russian invasion of Ukraine with the U.S. Congress. I witnessed, for the first time in a long time, American lawmakers unite in response to the shared stories.
Do you see shared stories in my images for today?
In this blog, I have shared stories about my absolutely incredible kid, and I hope to share many more stories with you in the future.
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “shared stories.”
I look forward to reading any shared stories in the comments section, below.
Thanks to all who help me create shared stories here, including YOU.
Yesterday’s blog post was about strong encouragement, and today I am strongly encouraging you to watch the charming gardening show “Big Dreams, Small Spaces.”
After Michael completes our big dream of refinishing our decks, we are going to start having big dreams about replanting our small garden spaces. “Big Dreams, Small Spaces” is already giving us some big ideas. The episode we watched last night featured a couple who live near the sea, and we saw the wonderful Monty Don— Britain’s top gardener — recommend plantings that would thrive in the winds and salt of that environment.
Do you see big dreams and/or small spaces in my images for today?
That last image shows Monty Don of “Big Dreams, Small Spaces” and here he is with some tips and tricks on gardening and planting:
Feel free to express some big dreams in the small spaces of the comments section, below.
Big thanks from me to all who help me share my dreams in this small blogging space, including YOU!
Yesterday, inside the Music Museum at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe (where people from all over the world are performing together), I saw this:
In these days of divisiveness, performing together seems more vital than I can ever remember before.
Can you see the theme of performing together in my other photos from yesterday?
People in Edinburgh are so into performing together that when we asked our adorable server to take our picture last night at the Cellar Door Restaurant, she had to get into the act.
I look forward to seeing how my readers will be performing together in the comment section, below.
As always, I appreciate all those performing together in this blog, including YOU!
Vivian is a social work intern who makes me smile, especially when she shows me photos like this:
Yesterday, Vivian and I made each other cry because it was her last day at work. Soon, as a new graduate, she’ll be off on her own road trip to Chicago.
Vivian, who is a very gifted student, shared many gifts yesterday.
In honor of the many things Vivian and I shared this year, here‘s Jackie Chan singing “Believe in Yourself.”
I hope Vivian believes in herself, as many of us in her community believe in her.
Vivian let me know she appreciates my gratitude. I am very grateful for Vivian, Jackie Chan, Nikita Gill, A. A. Milne, Rupi Kaur, healing groups and communities, and — of course! — YOU.
About six months ago (but who’s counting?), I published a blog post with the same title as this one. At the risk of somehow spreading the chaos in today’s news, I want to quote how chaos came up in my group therapy presentation yesterday. This happened in the question and answer period after I described how my open-access groups work in a primary care practice in a renowned teaching hospital in Boston.
Audience member: Ann, I am assuming you are comfortable with chaos. How do you deal with it in your groups, which people can attend as they choose?
Me: When you give people access to the behavioral health care they need, there is less chaos than you might expect.
I actually do not experience chaos in my therapy groups, but I do experience more of it, these days, in the world outside my groups. As I said in my presentation yesterday, I believe people need the support of therapy groups even more in today’s chaotic world.