Day 2755: Emotion recollected in tranquility

According to William Wordsworth (who wrote many worthy words), the origin of poetry is “emotion recollected in tranquility.”

I have emotions (including joy) about recollecting THAT,  sooooo many decades after learning it in college. I’m recollecting it today because of my recent personal experience  of having strong and upsetting emotions, letting time pass, recollecting those emotions in tranquility, and feeling resolute and happy about achievable next steps.

Therefore, I believe that emotion recollected in tranquility not only creates poetry but also creates paths to move forward through troubled times.  Instead of being so reactive to our emotions (especially anger and fear), let us recollect those feelings in tranquility to achieve wise mind (an overlap of emotional mind and logical mind).

Do you see emotion recollected in tranquility in my photos from yesterday?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In tranquility, today, I am recollecting the emotions I felt yesterday having my first restaurant meal since the pandemic began, with caution, with a new haircut, and with my long-time friend Deb.

Here‘s what comes up when I search for “emotion reflected in tranquility” on YouTube:

 

What are your emotions and thoughts about this emotion-reflected-in-tranquility post?

For me, emotion reflected in tranquility always results in gratitude, so thanks to all who help me create this daily blog, including YOU.

 

 

 

Day 2399: Wise Mind

Wise mind is the intersection, overlap, and integration of reasonable (or logical) mind and emotional (or feeling) mind.

When we’re in wise mind, we’re drawing on BOTH our logical thoughts and our emotions.

I try to be in wise mind as much as possible, including when I’m taking photos.

 

It’s easier for me to be in wise mind when I get enough sleep, let go of shame, spend time with people I love, and walk near the water.

Here, here, and here are some wise mind videos:

What do your wise minds tell you now, my dear readers?  I look forward to your wise comments, below.

For me, gratitude is always part of wise mind, so thanks to all who helped me create this wise-mind post and — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 1923: Accepting all feelings

653 days ago (but who’s counting?) I wrote a post titled “Accepting all feelings” wherein I described feelings I was having about open heart surgery.  Yesterday morning, I had many feelings when I kept screwing up my  INR blood test because I was rushing to get to Physical Therapy for my injured shoulder. After my INR home monitor had rejected my THIRD attempt to test a blood sample,  I had so many bad feelings that I lost it.

As I was F-bombing my way around our home, I woke up Michael, who heard this exchange.

Me: F — all of this!  I can’t stand it any more!

Oscar:  Meow!

Me: F— you, Oscar!

Michael thought I had finally lost it because of my feelings about Oscar. And I do have feelings when Oscar sleeps on my injured shoulder, walks and sits on my laptop when I’m trying to blog (like now), gives me love bites (like now), and almost trips me every day when I’m going down the stairs and trying to get out of the house on time. However, I accept that Oscar does these things because he wants to be close to me, which is usually a good feeling.

After I made it to Physical Therapy on time, got help from people at work in capturing an adequate blood sample, and discovered that my INR reading was okay,  it was easier to accept my feelings because they were better.

Soon after that, I facilitated a therapy group where people talked about lots of feelings. I suggested that people work on accepting all feelings by writing down their feelings and illustrating them.

I accept all feelings about my photos from yesterday.

Here’s what I found on YouTube about “accepting all feelings.”

Watching the ocean definitely helps me accept all feelings.

I hope you accept all my feelings of gratitude, here and now.

Day 1806: Sense AND Sensibility

Yesterday, I had the sense and sensibility to walk near the seashore with Michael, to visit the Harvard Book Store, AND to see an excellent production of Jane Austen‘s Sense and Sensibility  with my sensible friend, Deb.

When I was a senior in college, I had the sense and sensibility to write my undergraduate thesis on Jane Austen.  The title of that thesis was Judgment and [a word I don’t have the sensibility to remember, but my sense is that it’s something like “Perception”] in the Novels of Jane Austen. 

“Sense'” AND “sensibility” are defined in this quote from Wikipedia’s description of Jane Austen’s  novel Sense and Sensibility.

“Sense” means good judgment or prudence, and “sensibility” means sensitivity or emotionality.

Today, I would venture to say that combining one’s sense and sensibility results in wise mind — the overlap of logic and emotion.   I now have the sense and sensibility to quote Marsha Linehan, the creator of Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT):

Wise mind is that part of each person that can know and experience truth. It is where the person knows something to be true or valid. It is almost always quiet, It has a certain peace. It is where the person knows something in a centered way.

Do you see any sense and/or sensibility in my photos from yesterday?

I have the sense and sensibility to include this music from the 1995 film version of Sense and Sensibility:

As usual, I have the sense and sensibility to end a post with thanks to all who helped me create it and to you — of course! — for bringing your sense and sensibility to my blog.

Day 1762: Different parts

I talk to people, in therapy and elsewhere, about accepting all the different parts of themselves.  Sometimes, people use the healthiest, most loving parts of themselves to nurture and comfort the frightened and wounded parts of themselves.

Today, I’m meeting with many skilled and experienced group therapists during a day-long retreat at our new home. I’m sure we’ll be sharing different parts of ourselves. I hope all the different parts of  our home work well throughout the day.

What different parts do you see in today’s different photos?

 

 

Here is one of the different parts of jazz pianist Lyle Mays‘s Alaskan Suite.

All the different parts of Alaskan Suite are here, live, in Boston.

Feel free to express different parts of yourself in a comment, below.

Thanks to all who helped me create the different parts of this blog post and — of course! — to YOU.

 

Day 1153: More Votes

During this U.S. Presidential primary season, I have voted for a two-day getaway to New Hampshire with my long-time friend Barbara, to end my winter vacation. 

Would my readers vote to know how else I might  vote? 

Yesterday, I told Barbara I would also vote for:

1. Acceptance instead of shame. 
2. Peace of mind instead of worry. 
3. Sleep over insomnia. 
4. Fruits and vegetables over sugary snacks. 
5. Positivity over negativity. 
6. Traveling light over being weighed down by things I don’t need. 
7. Self-care instead of self-neglect.
8. Forgiveness over resentment. 
9. Moving on from mistakes rather than obsessing over them. 
10. Openness to change rather than rigidity.
11. Seeking the good in others instead of expecting the bad.
12. Enjoying the gifts around me instead of focusing on what’s missing. 
13. Gratitude over ingratitude. 
14. The present moment over everything else. 

I also cast a few photographic votes with my iPhone yesterday (most of which are from Barbara’s beautiful coloring book):

 
   
    
    
 
   

In response to my “Votes” post from yesterday, my readers voted for me to include music in this blog if I choose.  

Now I’m realizing I’ve never told you — after all the votes were in — which song I sang for 45 seconds at my audition for “The Voice” last weekend. 

In the moment of judgment, I voted for “Soothe” by Todd Rundgren. 

Why did I vote for “Soothe” over “Mad World”?

I voted for “Soothe” because it meant so much to me to sing that soothing song in a room filled with strangers. 

And, whenever possible, I vote with my head AND my heart. 

How do you vote?

As always, I choose gratitude for your voting to read this blog today. 

Day 1074: The Head and the Heart

Yesterday,  people in a therapy group decided to explore this topic:

What’s in your head and what’s in your heart?

I suggested that we draw our heads and our hearts and fill them with words, images, and whatever else we chose.

For the rest of the day, I noticed things in my head and/or my heart.

What do you hold, now, in your head?  What’s in your heart?

Thanks, from my head and from my heart, to all who helped me create this post and to you — of course! — for bringing your head and your heart here, today.