As I look at a difficult week ahead, I am practicing acceptance, which is easier said than done.
What acceptance can we find in today’s images?
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When I search for acceptance on YouTube I find this …
… and this:
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What are your thoughts and feelings about acceptance?
Please accept my heartfelt thanks to you.
During times when my brain is on high alert for possible dangers ahead, it helps to focus on good memories.
Do you see good memories in today’s blog post?
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Every new day can be good memories in the making.
Here’s what I find when I search for “good memories” on YouTube:
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Thanks to all who help me make good memories, including YOU!
Tara Brach, the author of Radical Acceptance and Radical Compassion, talks about the healing power of RAIN — an acronym with components I have trouble remembering.
I’ve been sharing RAIN with my therapy groups lately and I’m pretty sure, here and now, that R stands for Recognize (rather than Realize) , A stands for Allow (not Accept or Awareness), I stands for Investigate (not Interrogate), and N stands for Nurture (not Nourish).
Today, I’m going to Recognize that I am aging into my 70s, Allow for all that brings, Investigate how that affects me, and Nurture myself with self care and love.
I am also going to Recognize that many people support Donald Trump, Allow myself to have feelings about that, Investigate how that manifests in my mind and body, and Nourish myself with self care and love.
I don’t know if I’m using RAIN exactly correctly, but I am going to Recognize that I get scared when I think I’m doing something wrong, Allow all my feelings and reactions to that, Investigate how that affects my life, and Nurture myself with self care and love.
Do you see RAIN in my images for today?
Is the Daily Bitch practicing RAIN?
Here’s what I find when I search for RAIN on YouTube:
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Thanks to Tara Brach and all who help me practice RAIN, including YOU!
I’ve seen a lot of great concerts in my long life, including Miles Davis, Steely Dan, Pat Metheny, Johnny Hartman, Bonnie Raitt, Chick Corea, Paul Simon, Ahmad Jamal, Los Lobos, Sting, Todd Rundgren, Wayne Shorter, Weird Al Yankovic, and many others.
As I prepare for a concert of my own original songs (!), I went to a concert last night of two wonderful singers and human beings: Ruben Studdard and Clay Aiken.
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Ruben and Clay, who obviously love each other, showed a lot of love for the audience by inviting us to sing along, dance, and even take pictures and videos. Here’s a little snippet of last night’s concert:
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Ruben and Clay are not only superb singers but also warm, funny, and very engaging performers.
Sitting next to me at the concert were Ashleigh (who has loved Clay for 20 years) and her husband Adam, who prefers punk rock concerts.
As you can see, Adam is all in on Ruben and Clay. Ashleigh and I reminisced about the Clay concerts we’ve been to, and the very cold weather last night reminded me of driving in a dangerous snow storm many years ago to hear Clay sing Christmas songs. Ashleigh told me she was supposed to go to that concert but she was too young to drive, and her mother refused to take her, saying, “I am not going to risk killing us just so you can see Clay Aiken.” Ashleigh said she cried herself to sleep and I told her, “If I had known, I would have come by to get you.” I also showed Ashleigh and Adam this photo of me on a Broadway stage with Clay when he was in Spamalot …
… and they were very impressed.
Late last night I asked this question about concerts on Twitter:
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Here are my other images for today’s “Concerts” post:
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Apparently, I’m not too goddamn old for concerts.
I love concerts with great singers, so here is Clay with the amazing Hannah Waddingham:
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Thanks to all who are showing up, here and now, for this “Concerts” blog post, including YOU!
During the cold days of winter, I’m looking for warmth.
I don’t find any warmth in the news or in forecasts about the future. However, I do find warmth in watching episodes of The Yorkshire Vet and in caring connections with others.
Do you see warmth in any of my images for today?
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I’m looking forward to warmth from my EMDR therapist at 3 PM and a concert with Clay Aiken and Ruben Studdard at 7:30, despite the forecasted frigid temperatures.
Here’s what I find when I search for “warmth” on YouTube.
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After that finished playing, YouTube chose to share the warmth of Tara Brach with me in this video:
Warm thanks to all who help me create warmth in this daily blog, including YOU!
Brace yourself for
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I’m going to brace myself for yet another INR test this morning plus a colonoscopy next week, which I hope can be performed without a scalpel.
Here’s what I find when I search for “brace yourself” on YouTube.
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Brace yourself for more gratitude from me!
Dear News Media et al,
I am sick and tired of quotes from Donald Trump and you can quote me on that.
Here are quotes I need today:
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Those are quotes I need on this special day and here are some images:
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Here are some more quotes for Martin Luther King Jr. Day:
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Undying thanks to Martin Luther King Jr. and all who helped me create this “quotes” post, including you.
Happy World Logic Day!
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This is how the National Days website recommends celebrating World Logic Day:
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Using logic, I would say that I have already satisfied one third of the above criteria. Or is it two thirds?
Here and now, I’m trying to use logic regarding a scheduled medical procedure, my use of anticoagulants, and different conversations with medical professionals. Yesterday, logic seemed to recommend postponing the procedure; today, logic seems to suggest going ahead in a different way.
Logic tells me to leave out any more details about that at this point.
Do you see logic in my other images for today?
When I search for logic on YouTube, I find this,
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this,
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and this:
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Thanks to all who help me use logic every day, including YOU!
Lately, I’ve been talking a lot to my amygdala (the ancient part of the brain that is always looking for danger), so I appreciated seeing “Don’t Panic!” yesterday on my walk.
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“Don’t Panic!“ I tell myself, as
I hope my other images convincingly say “Don’t Panic!”
Here’s what I find when I search for “Don’t Panic!” on YouTube.
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I don’t panic when I realize I’m not alone, so thanks for being here, now.
I don’t like to bother people so I won’t bother you with a long, boring story about how I have to bother somebody at work today and how much I don’t like doing that.
Because I don’t like to bother people, I often work harder on my own, which seems appropriate on Work Harder Day.
I don’t like to bother people so I won’t bother you with too many images or too much info today.
I don’t like to bother people so I’m not going to bother my red-headed son about it being Kiss a Ginger Day.
Here’s what I find when I search YouTube for “I Don’t Like to Bother People.”
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I don’t like to bother people, so I won’t ask ask for comments today, but I will express my gratitude for you!
