Because I’m a psychotherapist, I focus on what people are feeling. These days, people are feeling a lot of different feelings.
Some people are feeling better.
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Some people are feeling overwhelmed.
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Some people are feeling theoretical.
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Some people are feeling joyful.
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Some people are feeling scared.
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Some people are feeling the Bern.
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Some people are feeling minor losses.
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Many people are feeling major losses.
Some people are feeling nostalgic for the past.
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Some people are feeling inquisitive and playful.
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Some people are feeling bananas.
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Some people are feeling hungry.
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Some people are feeling happy.
I live with heart and my heart tells me that all people’s feelings are okay, even the ones we judge and sometimes disown, like anger, fear, and sadness.
This is what I find on YouTube when I search for “How People are Feeling.”
As I often ask in my therapy groups, “What are people feeling?”
As usual, I am feeling gratitude, so thanks to all the people with feelings who helped me create today’s post, including YOU!
Because I’m mad about so many things right now, I’m going to perform “I’m Mad About You” — which I wrote when I was mad about the last U.S. Supreme Court Confirmation Hearings — at a remote Open Mic this Friday, October 16, 7 PM – 9 PM, EDT.
Because I’m mad about/in love with sharing my performances, here’s the link to sign up to attend that Open Mic:
I’m aware that I’ve already written posts about the difference between worry and planning, but I’m not worried about that. I’m also aware that despite my belief that worry never helps (an awareness I often share, here and elsewhere), I still worry. For example, I’m aware that I’m worrying about the upcoming USA Presidential election and I’m aware that the worry affects me, every day.
I’m aware that my writing might be difficult to read, above, and I’m worried that I might not be able to translate that into a nice table here.
AWARENESSWORRY
Present in the moment Future oriented
Calmness Tenseness
Certainty Uncertainty
Nothing needs to happen Something needs to be resolved
Helps Doesn’t help
My awareness tells me that table is not perfect, but I’m deciding not to worry about that. Awareness of my own worry allows me to let go of it, every moment.
Do you see awareness and/or worry in these other recent photos?
What’s your first guess about why today’s post is titled “First guess, best guess”? Let’s find out if it’s the best guess.
Since the first day I met my best friend/husband Michael, he’s been saying, “First guess, best guess.”
One of my other best friends wrote to me the other day, when I felt insecure about how I had run a board meeting: “I’m not sure 2nd guessing is helpful.”
Is it your first guess, best guess that both those pieces of advice — “First guess, best guess” and “I’m not sure 2nd guessing is helpful” — mean the same thing?
I love guessing and I don’t stop with my first guess. If I DID stop with my first guess, our ailing and adorable cat Oscar would not be alive today. Also, Michael’s first guess was that the Social Security office had his correct birthday on file and they did NOT. My next guess about filing our taxes is that we’ll have to do that by mail, which is not exactly a catastrophe (although my first guess — when the IRS rejected our e-filing this weekend because Michael’s birthday on the form did not match Social Security’s record — was that it WAS a catastrophe).
Catastrophizing is a common cognitive distortion (which we talk about in my Coping and Healing groups) where our first guess is that a catastrophe is imminent, even though it isn’t.
Since catastrophizing is a first guess, not best guess, I’m now guessing that “first guess, best guess” is not always best.
However, my first guess about Michael, when I first met him on okCupid, was that he was a wonderful person I wanted in my life. I’ve had similar first guess, best guesses about other people, including the other best friend I quoted above.
My best guess about guesses, here and now, is that it’s best to trust our intuition AND also be open to new evidence that comes along.
What’s your first guess, best guess about what’s next in this blog post?
If you guessed photos, your first guess was the best!
In today’s Daily Bitch Calendar, auto-correct’s first guess was not the best guess.
This is the first song I heard by The Guess Who, which I think is their best:
My first guess was that the title of that song was “She’s Come Undone” but my best guess is that it is “Undun.”
My first guess, best guess is that there will be great comments about today’s post.
First guess, best guess, constant guess is to express gratitude every day.
Three hundred and ninety-two days ago (don’t worry, I’m counting), I wrote a post titled “A Year of No Worry.” Recently, I reminded Michael about our shared pledge to not worry for a year, starting on April 10, 2019. We laughed and noted how we had gone from worrying about nothing to worrying about everything.
Last night, Michael noticed that I was worrying about everything even harder than usual. So he told me he was making my favorite childhood comfort food, tuna noodle casserole, to help get me through the next few difficult days. (In case you’re worrying about tuna noodle casserole, I shall remind you that Michael is an accomplished chef.) Michael didn’t seem worried when I responded to his news by crying — he knows that kindness can make me cry (as well as cruelty).
Yes, I’m worrying about everything, including these recent photos.
I can NOT go from worrying about everything to not caring about anything in a matter of seconds, but I’m actually not worrying about that.
Hmmmm. I guess I am not worrying about EVERYTHING.
Four years ago and six months ago (but who’s counting, especially these days?), I wrote two other blog posts with the title “Masks.” I shall not mask my wish that you check out those two posts by clicking on the links in that previous sentence.
I can’t mask my need to write blog posts, poems, songs, whatever, because THAT is what keeps me going in masked times like these. If you can write a different final line to my new poem “Masks,” please unmask that in a comment, below.
