Day 3096: The people who are grabbing your attention now

Who are the people who are grabbing your attention now, besides me?

I often grab people’s attention by pointing out that the people who are grabbing our attention are often the difficult ones. They grab our attention because we experience them as a problem, even a danger, and our mind wants to find a “solution” to make our environment safer.

Last night, when I thought I might lose sleep because of people who were grabbing my attention, I tweeted this:

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This response to that tweet grabbed my attention:

Thank goodness, one person who was grabbing my attention yesterday was my old student, Chris Delyani, writer extraordinaire, who wishes me well and who has previously appeared in this blog (here, here, and here). I hope the word “old” doesn’t grab Chris’s attention in a negative way, because he looks great!

Chris and I grabbed each other’s attention yesterday by reminiscing about when he was a student in my writing section at Boston University in the 1980s. Now he is grabbing people’s attention with his wonderful books.

Chris and I grabbed my husband Michael’s attention when we told the story of how Chris and my other students had graded the printed directions I had given them to find my place for a celebratory party at the end of the semester. Mimicking the way I had graded and commented on their papers, they wrote (among other things):

“These directions were okay — they got us there, but we couldn’t tell how you FELT about it.”

“You show unspeakable talent… C+“

Chris and my other students also grabbed my attention back then by correcting my one spelling mistake on the directions — I wrote “wonderous” instead of “wondrous.” That grabbed my attention so much that I’ve never misspelled that word since.

What grabs your attention in my other images from yesterday and why?

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Is “Cool” from West Side Story grabbing your attention now?

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It’s grabbing my attention now that this …

… was my attempt to photograph Michael’s attention-grabbing, very cool flounder-with-mango dish last night. Oh well.

Feel free to grab my attention with any comment you leave, below.

Images of gratitude always grab my attention, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post, including YOU!

Day 3067: A brief, precious moment in time

I am going to take a brief, precious moment in time to brief my precious readers that life is brief and made up of precious moments.

I find that knowledge very precious because it helps me appreciate each brief, precious moment in time and also recognize that painful moments will, in time, give way to other brief, precious moments.

What’s your favorite brief, precious moment in time from today’s blog?

Before I became a parent late in life, for a brief, precious moment in time I was able to hit all the notes in this amazing song from Leonard Bernstein’s Candide:

And I hope you enjoy brief, precious moments in time from this live Weird Al concert from 1999:

Consider leaving a brief, precious comment below and I will respond in time.

I am grateful for all my brief precious moments in time and — of course! — for you.

Day 2345: M.I.A.

Last night, at a Sunday working meeting to prepare for next weekend’s group therapy conference, somebody told me they thought I’d been M.I.A. for the last few days. I had many thoughts about that, including:

• “Missing In Action”?  I’ve been right here all along!
• Does that mean I’ve been Missing Important Action?
• Has my responsiveness and accessibility changed since my son came home for the summer?
• People notice when I’m missing!
• I’m missing my very close friend from the organization, who passed away this time last year.
• I don’t like to miss anything.

Last night, I dreamed about being lost with my sister and my son, leaving them to find help, and then missing my phone and ways to get back to them.  I was searching desperately for everything that was missing, over and over again, and then told somebody in my dream, “I can never get a break!”

I woke up deciding to write about M.I.A. Then I noticed that, as usual,  the action in some of my latest photos fit the action of my daily topic. I don’t want you to be missing any of those pictures, so here they are:

 

Here‘s “Borders” by M.I.A.

I don’t want to be missing the action in your comments, so please leave one below.

Gratitude is never M.I.A. here, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Day 1636: Like to shine

I like to shine. Do you?  

Like to shine a light on these lyrics, shining through my head:

Like to shine like the sun for one more summer day.

Like to shine like a lighthouse for one last summer night.

Like to shine a guess about what song that is?

Before I shine a light on the answer, like to shine like a camera for some more summer sights.

 

 

“Be the lighthouse” spreads the light on my lyrical question.

I’ll likely see Fenway Park’s lights shine on James Taylor and Bonnie Raitt one summer night.

Like to shine in a comment?  Be the lighthouse and spread your light below.

Like to shine my thanks on  James Taylor, Yogi Tea, Tony’s Clam Shop, artists everywhere,  the sun, the sea, and you — of course! —  for being the lighthouse, here and now.