In the midst of insanely upsetting local and global news, it might seem insane to be calm.
Nevertheless, that is my goal: to remain insanely calm.
Taking photos helps me stay insanely calm.
I wonder what the best solution for Person Anxiety is. In other words, what helps you be insanely calm?
Here are the rest of my insanely calm photos for today:
Tea helps me be insanely calm and so do sayings like “Experience will give you the power and confidence to be you” even when my photos are insanely unfocused.
I was drinking delicious and calming Yogi tea last night while Michael and I watched The Phantom Thread, which — now that I calmly think about it — featured people being insanely calm.
Are you mad about any of my many photos from yesterday, when my madly loved Michael and I visited the Adams National Historical Park and downtown Quincy, Massachusetts, USA?
If you were particularly mad about any of those smaller photos, please click to enlarge.
Did you notice any of the mad connections among those photos, like this one?
POLITICS noun, plural in form but singular or plural in construction
pol·i·tics | \ ˈpä-lə-ˌtiks \
Definition of politics
1a : the art or science of government
b : the art or science concerned with guiding or influencing governmental policy
c : the art or science concerned with winning and holding control over a government
2 : political actions, practices, or policies
3a : political affairs or business
especially : competition between competing interest groups or individuals for power and leadership (as in a government)
b : political life especially as a principal activity or profession
c : political activities characterized by artful and often dishonest practices
4 : the political opinions or sympathies of a person
5a : the total complex of relations between people living in society
b : relations or conduct in a particular area of experience especially as seen or dealt with from a political point of view
Yesterday, I surrendered to a therapy group member’s suggestion that people express their thoughts and feelings about “surrender.”
What does surrender mean to you? What’s your personal experience of surrender? What would happen if you surrendered? What would change in your life?
Ann shall now surrender to her wish to quote others about “surrender.”
It took me a while to learn the true meaning of patience and surrender, but I have finally accepted that healing doesn’t happen on our schedule. It doesn’t have a clock or a calendar.
Let the winds of evidence blow you about as though you are a leaf, with no direction of your own. Beware lest you fight a rearguard retreat against the evidence, grudgingly conceding each foot of ground only when forced, feeling cheated. Surrender to the truth as quickly as you can.
Always say ‘yes’ to the present moment… Surrender to what is. Say ‘yes’ to life – and see how life starts suddenly to work for you rather than against you.
There are also many quotes about the negative side of surrender, including this one:
Not voting is not a protest. It is a surrender.
— Keith Ellison
Please vote for your favorite photo in today’s post, including these:
Soon I’ll be surrendering my shoulder to my physical therapist, Matt, who was devilishly happy on Wednesday when I added a chorus, just for him, to my original song “Triggers.” Here are some of the lyrics I’ll be surrendering up to an audience tonight at an Open Mic performance of “Triggers” in Arlington, Massachusetts:
Today, I’m out of my comfort zone because of news I got yesterday about somebody I love. The news is very discomforting but not definitive, so I don’t feel comfortable writing more about that now.
To comfort both of us last night, I shared this poem:
“Hope” is the thing with feathers –
That perches in the soul –
And sings the tune without the words –
And never stops – at all –
And sweetest – in the Gale – is heard –
And sore must be the storm –
That could abash the little Bird
That kept so many warm –
I’ve heard it in the chillest land –
And on the strangest Sea –
Yet – never – in Extremity,
It asked a crumb – of me.
My only photo today comes out of yesterday’s post:
Comfort Zone is the product pictured in yesterday’s post — Day 2102: Less Stress. More Love — which I promised I would reveal today. I wish less stress, more love, and a calming environment to all.
I hope you feel comfortable expressing yourself in the comment zone, below.
Thanks and hope to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course — to you, who comfort me with your presence.
There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition, of unspeakable love.
The tree which moves some to tears of joy is in the eyes of others only a green thing that stands in the way. Some see nature all ridicule and deformity .. and some scarce see nature at all. But to the eyes of the [hu]man of imagination, nature is imagination itself.
Even though “should”s and male ideas about the differences between men and women can put me on the verge of tears, that quote is still a great introduction to today’s music.
Are you on the verge of commenting?
I am on the verge of ending today’s post, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s blog and — of course! — to YOU.
Comfort Zone is the product pictured in yesterday’s post — 
