Day 3586: Scared

I’m scared about

• the USA midterm elections,
• the future of this country, and
• the future of the world.

When I’m scared, it’s difficult to focus on the gifts of the present moment, even though there are many around me. I will take a breath and try to be less scared, here and now.

Are you scared by any of today’s images?

.

I’m scared of stupid people voting awful and greedy liars into power. If they do, I’m scared that we’re dead.

Here’s “Scared” by the Tragically Hip.

I’m not scared of any reactions you might have to this “scared” post.

Thanks for keeping me company when I’m scared — that helps!

Day 3429: Natural States

It is natural for me to state that I appreciate the inspiration for today’s blog.

.

Do you see natural states in my other images for today?

I don’t know if the natural state in my nation is to say something nice, but why not start today?

Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “natural states.”

As usual, I’m in my natural state of gratitude at the end of my daily blog post, so many thanks to Michael Singer and everyone else who helps me explore natural states, including YOU.

Day 3393: Wanna bet?

Over the years, I’ve won cookies and cash by saying “wanna bet?” at propitious times.

When my son Aaron was very young, I said “wanna bet?” to somebody who was very sure about who was playing a jazz tune featured on a local radio station. Aaron tried to warn this person by saying, “Don’t bet with Mama.” However, this guy was so certain that he ignored Aaron and bet me $20.

When he paid up, he delivered the $20 in a beautiful frame that included the legend “Don’t bet with Mama.”

I bet that framed $20 is in a box in the basement right now.

Last night, Aaron, my husband Michael, and I were watching The Great Pottery Throwdown and we were discussing who we thought might be going home. When I looked at what people were planning on making (I’ll bet you wouldn’t guess they had to make urinals, but they did), I got a very strong feeling that one of the best potters was miscalculating her strategy and I said I thought she’d be gone at the end of the episode. Perhaps because I know almost nothing about pottery, Michael strongly disagreed.

I said, “Wanna bet?”

Aaron was concerned I’d be breaking my long streak of successful bets, but I don’t want successes to get in the way of taking risks with potentially big payoffs.

Michael proposed $20 for our bet and we watched the show. It looked very bad for me when the potter in question WON the secondary challenge, but when her urinal leaked, I knew I had won again.

I bet that $20 is in my wallet, right now.

Wanna bet that there will be something about bets in my images for today?

Wanna bet what I’m going to be celebrating today?

This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “wanna bet?”

Wanna bet that there will be lots of gratitude at the end of this post for everyone who helps me blog every day, including you?

Day 3390: Fear

Yesterday, in my Coping and Healing therapy group, people talked about fear. The discussions included (1) the differences among feeling fearful, frightened, and afraid, (2) fear as one of the primal emotions, (3) the movie Inside Out (which I resolved to watch again before our next meeting), and inviting fear to come in and take a seat while we talked about it.

Do you see fear in any of my images for today?

I never fear sharing the Daily Bitch calendar here.

When I search YouTube for “fear” I find this …

… and this:

I have no fear about the comments you might leave about this “fear” post.

Thanks to all who help me overcome any fears I might have about sharing thoughts, feelings, images, and videos every day, including YOU.

Day 3298: Hyper-vigilance

Hyper-vigilance is well know to me, both as a therapist and as a person diagnosed with PTSD (because of my hospital experiences when I was a child and living with a very rare heart condition for 68 years).

Because of the pandemic, global warming, racism, economic disparities, and many other complex and constant abuses to our psyches and our bodies, there are very few of us who are not hyper-vigilant these days.

Here is a definition of hyper-vigilance from healthline.com:

Yesterday, when I was at a hospital waiting for a bone scan, I tweeted this as I was trying to take deep breaths and slow down some racing thoughts:

Some people on Twitter responded with gratitude for the thought, others pointed out how hyper-vigilance is not a choice. I work on hyper-vigilance every day, and I understand.

Do you see hyper-vigilance in my other images for today?

I think our phones add to our hyper-vigilance, do you?

I want to be vigilant (and not hyper) in wishing a happy birthday to my first husband (and father of our son, Aaron), who reads this blog. Happy birthday, Leon Dave, and many more!

Because of my vigilance in sharing music I love in this blog, here’s one of my favorite Thomas Dolby tunes:

Thanks to all who are vigilant enough to get to the bottom of this “Hyper-vigilance” blog post, including YOU!

Day 3284: Roads not taken

All of us have roads not taken. Some of us have regrets; some of us have reached a level of acceptance about the choices we’ve made.

Last night, I took the road of asking this question on Twitter:

My roads not taken include (1) finishing my thesis on the modern movie musical to get my Masters degree in Film Studies, (2) traveling more, (3) getting a dog, and (4) show biz. The first one I’m good with; the others still seem like possibilities to me.

Do you see roads not taken in my other images for today?

The roads I’ve taken include this: I’m revealing my Film Studies road-not-taken on National Short Film Day! Also, the rocky road to chocolate candy might not be taken by me today, even though there’s plenty of it around.

Here’s Robert Frost reciting his poem “The Road Not Taken.”

I’m going down the familiar road of including a Stephen Sondheim song in my blog posts.

The road not taken for me, up to this moment, includes sharing my attempt to do justice to a Stephen Sondheim song with my voice and my new ukulele.

Another road not taken for me includes doing a version of that I’m happy with, which might be further up the road.

As we move on to the end of this blog post road, I’ll take the opportunity to thank all who ease my way along the road of life, including YOU.

Day 3256: How do you make decisions?

As someone who can struggle making decisions, I am very curious about how others make decisions.

One of the reasons I struggle with decisions is that I’m a high Perceiver according to the Myers-Briggs test, which means I feel more comfortable collecting additional data rather than making a decision.

So I’d like to collect some data, here and now. How do you make decisions when

• you are definitely out of your depth?
• you get conflicting data from experts?
• there can be considerable costs (monetary or otherwise) if you make a wrong decision?
• you secretly wish the problem would just go away magically?
• you tend to catastrophize worst case scenarios?
• you’re afraid of getting trapped on a path you can’t escape?
• you distrust your ability to figure out who and what to trust?
• you wonder about people’s motives?
• there is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding among humans, that it’s difficult to get to the “truth”?
• you don’t want to hurt anybody’s feelings or otherwise cause them trouble?
• you have trouble asking for help?
• different people give you very different advice?
• you would much rather be focusing on situations within your comfort zone?
• you’re not psychic and can’t predict the future?
• you feel like you don’t belong in the role of decision maker?

Right now, I’m having trouble making decisions about what to discuss in this blog post! Should I write about my struggles with decisions regarding getting the repair work done on our home? Should I share my problems deciding about next steps related to Joan the cat’s recurring ear infections? Should I discuss the kashmillion decisions I make every day, with varying levels of comfort?

Well, I’m making the decision to share these images.

How do you make decisions about which of those National Days to consider today?

How do you make decisions about which of these videos (which I found by searching YouTube for “how do you make decisions?”) to watch?

How do you make decisions about what thoughts and feelings to express, here and elsewhere?

I have no trouble making decisions about expressing gratitude, so thanks to all who made the decision to visit this blog today, including YOU!

Day 3235: Be mindful

“Be mindful” is good advice and is something I saw on a sign yesterday near work.

Because I try to be mindful of people I love, I want to wish my friend and co-worker Jan a happy birthday!

Let’s be mindful of all the riches around us.

Let’s be mindful about self care, shall we?

What else is there to be mindful about? What helps you to be mindful?

When I search YouTube for “be mindful,” I find this …

… and this:

Be mindful of the comments section, below.

Finally, be mindful of how grateful I am that you show up here, exactly the way you do.

Day 3194: Limericks

We’re all dealing with challenging times,

Disheartening, arduous climbs,

With problems so deep,

Disrupting our sleep,

Take a break and please check out my rhymes:

A pretty young kitty named Joan,

Helps this writer feel safe, less alone.

She’s got talents galore

Which she’s getting known for,

Caught a mouse despite wearing this cone!

A therapist/blogger named Ann,

Shares what’s helpful as best as she can.

Photos, thoughts, songs, some tips,

Acceptance for slips,

And delish dishes cooked up by her man.

A calendar — The Daily Bitch,

Occupies an interesting niche.

With thoughts bold and sassy,

Funny, not classy,

For me, she makes every day rich.

Each day I think there’s a lot

To celebrate, cheerful or not.

On this precious day,

What’s coming my way

Is a Pfizer COVID booster shot!

Because the negative sticks,

Staying positive’s a challenging mix,

With a hug and a kiss

Here and now I’ll share this,

Michael Palin reading his limericks!

This blogger, whatever her mood,

Whether she’s cheered or she’s booed,

When it comes to the end

On her you can depend,

To express her sincere gratitude.