Day 2292: The Heart of the Matter

I don’t have much time to blog this morning, so allow me to immediately get to the heart of the matter.

Last week at a group therapy conference in the heart of Los Angeles, I heard a wonderfully skilled and compassionate group therapist suggest something that mattered a lot to me —   if somebody is telling a long story in group which is taking people out of the here-and-now,  the facilitator can interrupt to ask, “What is the heart of the matter?”

Yesterday, in my first therapy group after my return to Boston, I told the members what I had learned about inviting people to go to the heart of the matter. That touched people’s hearts, in the moment, and deepened the experience of the group.

Do you see the heart of the matter in my photos from yesterday?

Usually, it matters to me that I completely erase the white board  in preparation for other meetings in that room.  Yesterday, I left “The Heart of the Matter” on that white board for other hearts to experience.

Here‘s “The Heart of the Matter,” by Don Henley, live at Farm Aid:

 

The heart of the matter is that I am unbelievably grateful to all who help me create these posts and to you — of course! — for reading them.

 

Day 2229: For now

For now, there’s only one other post I’ve written with the same title as today’s post. (For now, I believe that 2017 post has some useful information in it. For now, you can click on that link to read it.)

For now, today’s post is the only one which also has a photo of “For now.”

For now, I’m not sure what a “retail incubator” is, but I can show you my other New Year’s Day photos of the Seaport District  of Boston (and, for now, this is the best article I’ve found online about “the hottest neighborhood in town“).

 

For now, I have more must-dos for today’s blog.   For now,

• somebody I’ve known for years is not speaking to me,
• I’m President of a local professional organization of group psychotherapists,
• with great power comes great responsibility (I saw the new Spider-Man movie at the Seaport District theater yesterday),
• I haven’t experienced the full glory of the new Spider-Man movie yet, because a fire alarm screwed up the theater’s computer system and the house lights stayed on for most of the film,
• I’m  writing a new original song every month,
• I haven’t made any high quality recordings of any of my songs,
• I’m still waiting to hear back from the Edinburgh Free Fringe about my show proposal, even though their last email to me three weeks ago said somebody would get back to me “in a few days” and I’ve written them again asking for a response,
• I’m feeing better about not hearing back now that I’ve read that Edinburgh Free Fringe link, above, and seen that  “our main programming decisions [will be] taking place from the end of January and through February and March”,
• my son is in Boston on Christmas vacation from University,
• I haven’t started packing for our Disney World trip this weekend,
• I feel tired when I walk up stairs, and
• I have more pictures to share from yesterday.

For now, there is still plenty left of the best tuna noodle casserole I’ve ever had in my life. For now, I can assume that Michael meets the two criteria I had established for a future boyfriend when I was 10 years old: That my boyfriend love cats and tuna noodle casserole. For now, I’m actually not sure that Michael loves tuna noodle casserole, but he certainly helps me to keep my tuna casserole love alive.

For now, this the best “For Now” song I can find, from the musical Avenue Q.

For now,

and see you tomorrow.  And for all those who helped me create today’s blog post and for all those who are reading this, thanks for now and beyond!

Day 2112: What aren’t you doing right now?

What aren’t you doing right now?

What I’m not doing includes the following:

• reading the news,
• driving a car,
• speaking,
• worrying about the future,
• regretting the past, and
• anything else besides creating this blog post.

Whenever we choose to do anything, there are an infinite number of things that we aren’t doing.  If we focus on what we aren’t doing, rather than on what we are doing, there are infinite reasons to believe that we’re not doing enough or that we’re not doing the right thing.

Here’s something else I’m not doing right now: taking photographs. However, I am sharing these:

 

 

 

 

I’m also not

• wearing Ouija Board socks,
• drinking tea,
• being bitten by  sea lions or cats,
• looking for our shy cat Harley,
• waving a magic wand,
• blushing,
• writing new lyrics or music, or
• playing the ukulele.

However, I am sharing this:

Whatever you’re not doing right now — like commenting — you can do soon, if you choose.

I am now doing this: expressing gratitude to all who helped me create this post and — of course! — YOU.

Day 1980: Now what?

Now, what happens when you accomplish something?  Do you ever ask yourself, “Now what?”

Now what should I do after performing my first original song at an Open Mic? Now what can I do to top that? Now what makes me think I have to top that?

Now what gets in the way of my being here, now, and enjoying all the now has to offer?

Now what photos do I have to show you?

Now what do you do during busy times? Now what do you think I was doing when I took that photo?

Now what wants to be chosen, heard, stuffed, stitched, fluffed, dressed, named, and taken home?

Now what are we fighting about if we are all human?

 

Now what helps you stay cool? Now what is a museum of ice cream?

Now what kind of person would wear that t-shirt? Now what kind of roll is that?

Now what music does that Meowsic make?

Now what video could I possibly include here?

Meow what video could top that?

Now what are you going to say in a comment?

Now what should I end with, except gratitude for the now, the meows, and YOU?

Day 1652: Here and now, there and then

Here and now, we’re getting ready to move, so I’m unearthing many memories from there and then.

There and then, I’ve created my own t-shirts.

The first t-shirt I ever created, there and then, had the Chinese name for Jackie Chan (“become the dragon”). There and then I loved that t-shirt, especially because I was born in the Year of the Dragon.

Here and now are more memories from there and then.

 

I hope it’s okay, here and now, that I include three musical numbers from there and then (here, here, here and now on YouTube).

In the words of Pat Metheny, “We Live Here.”  Together.

As always, I express thanks to those who helped me create this then-and-there, here-and-now post and to you — of course! — for being here, now.

Day 1624: Questions and Answers

Question: What did I do yesterday?

Answer: I attended a lecture and demonstration group by world-renowned Group Psychotherapy expert Dr. Molyn Leszcz.

Question:  What kind of questions does Dr. Leszcz  ask people in therapy groups?

Answer: “What are you thinking?” “How do you feel right now?” “What is your hunch about that?” “How do you think other people are experiencing you?”  “What do you want people to know about you?” “What are you going to do next?” “What did you see?” “How would you like to work on that in the group?”

Question: Does Dr. Leszcz think that working in the here and now is good?

Answer:

Question: What did I do last night?

Answer: I went to a Pat Metheny concert.

Question: Whom did I meet there?

Answer:  Gabe, who is a jazz guitar student at Berklee.

Question: What’s the first question Gabe asked me?

Answer:  “Are you a musician?”

Question: What question did I ask Gabe?

Answer: “Do you have any music on YouTube?”

Question: What did Gabe say?

Answer: “Yes.”

Question: What Pat Metheny tune did Gabe and I name as a particular favorite?

Answer:  Question and Answer.

Question:  Did Pat play that tune last night?

Answer: YES!

Question:  Did I take any other photos yesterday?

Answer: What do you think?

Question: What am I doing today?

Answer: I am going to the bank in preparation for selling my condo, getting an INR blood test at the hospital, and driving down the Cape to visit with fellow blogger Mark Bialczak and his dear wife Karen!

Question: Should you leave a comment about today’s blog?

Answer: Yes, please.

Question:  Who should I thank, here and now?

Answer: Everybody who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — YOU.

 

Day 1460: Circles

As I circle back here to create another daily blog post, I notice that I’ve circled through the concept of circles before (here and here).  If you’d like your thoughts to circle more positively, it’s worthwhile to circle through those previous circular posts.

As any new year approaches,  my mind circles through memories of the past and wonders about the future. Those circles make it difficult to circle in on the present moment. Nevertheless, I try to circle back to the present moment, over and over again.

What’s circling in your mind, here and now?

Yesterday, somebody in a therapy group circled around to asking if he could co-lead the group with me.  I circled my seat around to let him sit at the head of the table.  He helped the group circle through many important topics, including this one:

You can circle to more information about the wheel of intimacy here.

Do you see circles in the other recent photos circling on my iPhone?

Before I circle back to cardiac rehab and all the circling machines there this morning, I have time to circle around to music  by The Cyrkle …

 

… and to gratitude.

Day 1347: Please Take Notice

Please take notice of this notice I noticed yesterday:

Please, take a moment to notice that notice.  What do you notice about it?

Please take notice  that I was near Boston’s much noticed  Fenway Park  when I noticed that.

Please take notice of what I notice, here and now:

1. I notice the sounds of our cat Harley  eating our other cat Oscar’s special prescription diet.
2. When my boyfriend Michael and I are away in Minnesota for my open heart surgery later this month, both cats (who will be staying home) will be eating Oscar’s special prescription diet, so we don’t need to worry about Oscar eating Harley’s regular food.
3. My son’s student visa still has not arrived and I can’t help but notice he is scheduled to leave for the University of Edinburgh in two days.
4. I am going to follow the advice of my sister Ellen and my downstairs neighbor Karen and call the office of  Senator Elizabeth Warren today hoping they’ll take notice of the visa issue.
5. I ate a lot of foods yesterday — including kale, spinach, and ginger — that I notice will interact with Warfarin, which I’ll need to take after I get my new mechanical heart valve.
6. My surgery is less than two weeks away.
7. My sister Ellen and her spouse Linda gave me noticeably wonderful gifts yesterday, which you might notice in my other photos from yesterday:

My co-workers are taking notice as I get ready for my “game day” of  September 21.  Some of them took notice yesterday that listening to music during recovery from surgery helps with healing. I’ve noticed that too. Please take notice that I’ll be listening to music you may have noticed I love, like this:

Please take notice of this: I’m noticing that “Tell Her You Saw Me” seems like a noticeably apt title and song for today’s post.

Please take notice that I would love to know whatever you notice about this post.

Please take notice of my gratitude to  all  who helped me create today’s post and to you — of course! — for taking notice of my blog today.

Day 1179: Mind blowing

Why am I writing a post titled “Mind blowing” today?

Is it because I saw this mind-blowing image yesterday?

Is it because my mind is easily blown by what I encounter in the here and now, every day of this precious life?

Is it because some readers seemed to find  yesterday’s heart-centered post mind blowing? Sometimes, my mind is blown by other people’s positive and caring reactions.

What are your associations with the words “mind blowing”?

While thoughts are blowing through your mind about all these questions, here are some other mind-blowing sights from yesterday:

 

Aren’t all the amazing connections we encounter every day mind blowing?

Mind-blown thanks to all who helped me create this post and to you — of course! — for blowing my mind by visiting this blog, here & now.

Day 1165: Gifts of the here and now

Yesterday, several of my therapy patients talked about the gifts of the here and now. Here and now, I’ll tell you some things they said:

• Being in the here and now — letting go of worry about the future and regrets about the past — increases confidence and inner peace.
• Focusing on the here and now should be called “anti-therapy,” because conventional therapy focuses on the past.
• Staying in the here and now is difficult, because human minds naturally drift to the there and then.

Are you with me, here and now?

Here and now are forty-one photographic gifts from yesterday, when I was there and then during a gorgeous, unseasonably warm March 9 around Boston, Massachusetts, USA:

 

Through the gifts of blogging, I can tell you that this house in Lexington, Massachusetts …

… is where my ex-husband and I got married in 1988, which resulted in the here-and-now gift of my eighteen year-old son.

Here and now,  can you see how this photo

… offers the gift of a musical choice, honoring the Beatles and George Martin (who passed away two days ago)?

Here and now, I would appreciate the gifts of any comment from you.

Here-and-now thanks to those who heal in therapy, to Lexington Massachusetts, to the Beatles, to George Martin, and to you — of course! — for being here, now.