Why I write songs is related to why I blog every day: to connect with others through words and imagery.
Maybe I write songs because I’m a curmudgeon, a freethinker, somebody who appreciates the little things (like bubble wrap), and a person who sometimes pushes on a door that says pull.
Here’s what I find when I search for “why I write songs.”
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Thanks to all who help me ask and answer questions like “Why do I write songs?” including YOU.
Here’s what I find when I search for “taking things for granted again.”
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Taking-things-for-granted-again thanks to Joy Oladokun, cats, the Daily Bitch, Tous Les Jours Café, Stop & Shop, people who engage authentically on Twitter, and those I trust, including YOU.
“Should I stay or should I go?” is a question I hear on social media and in real life. Since Elon Musk took over Twitter, I’ve been hearing it there.
“Should I stay or should I go?” can be a difficult question to answer because there are pros and cons to doing either. One might say that Hamlet’s soliloquy — “To Be or Not to Be” — is asking the question “Should I stay or should I go?”
Personally, I’ve asked the question “Should I stay or should I go?” about
relationships,
work,
homes,
organizations,
the USA,
Twitter,
and — for a dark moment many years ago — life.
At this point, I’m staying for as long as I can, everywhere.
Here’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go?” by the Clash…
Personally, when I (1) receive anxiety-provoking emails, (2) encounter salespeople, or (3) need some sort of repair service, I can easily ask myself “Is this a scam?” It’s not a scam for me to tell you that I think about scams often and with increasing frequency.
On the other hand, some people seem to wonder if I am a scam. I notice that especially on social media.
Well, with all the confusion, distrust, and lack of control we are experiencing these days, if you wonder “Is this a scam?” you are definitely not alone.
Is this a scam for me to share these images with you today?
People might wonder “Is this a scam?” about those National Days. For example, is somebody trying to sell me date nut bread today?
If you search YouTube for “Is this a scam?” you’ll find many videos, including this one:
It’s not a scam for me to ask for comments, below, or for me to express gratitude to you!
We all need safe spaces to heal, but what spaces feel safe these days?
I’m thinking about safe spaces, here and now, because today is National GOE Day in the USA.
Do you see any safe spaces in my other images for today?
Locally, we’ll be making our home into a safe space when we repair the extensive structural damage under the upstairs shower. I’m just glad that my used-to-be-boyfriend-now-husband Michael observed water leaking outside the house before somebody fell through the floor!
Here’s what I find on YouTube when I search for “safe spaces.”
How do you create your own safe spaces?
I hope the comments section, below, is a safe enough space where you can express your thoughts, feelings, and experiences about safe spaces.
Thanks to all who help me create a safe space here, including YOU.
1: the seat of life or intelligence : SOUL “give up the ghost” 2: a disembodied soul especially : the soul of a dead person believed to be an inhabitant of the unseen world or to appear to the living in bodily likeness 3: SPIRIT, DEMON 4a: a faint shadowy trace a ghost of a smile b: the least bit “not a ghost of a chance” 5: a false image in a photographic negative or on a television screen caused especially by reflection 6: one who ghostwrites 7: a red blood cell that has lost its hemoglobin
These days, it’s looking like the current U.S. President does not have a ghost of a chance to get a second term. Those of us who almost gave up the ghost four years ago when he WAS elected — despite polls saying he had not a ghost of a chance back then — are barely showing ghosts of smiles about the possible outcome.
I know that some of his supporters might call me a snowflake, but I have felt haunted since November, 2016, inhabiting this world like a ghost of my former self. When I look at the posts I’ve written since then, I see faint shadowy traces of the spirit I had before. However, it’s never been so bad that I’ve considered getting a ghostwriter for this blog.
Also, many of us feel haunted by ghosts that others just do not see.
What ghosts do you see in my photos from yesterday?
Among others, I see the ghosts of Oscar the cat, the people who have been killed by gun violence, trust in our leaders, and the normalcy of our lives before the pandemic.
Also, that last photo shows the ghost of a blog post I considered writing for today — “Day 2881: Grains of salt.” There are many ghosts of posts never written in my draft folder and in my mind, but those don’t haunt me, perhaps because so many posts have seen the light of day.
Please don’t disparage me about this, but I didn’t know that non-disparagement agreements were a thing, much less legally enforceable.
In five years of writing this daily blog — even without the benefit of having a non-disparagement agreement with my readers — I can’t remember receiving any disparaging comments. Maybe non-disparagement agreements don’t have to be in writing. Maybe we can all just agree not to disparage each other, even when we don’t agree.
However, I’m thinking that written non-disparagement agreements might be useful for reducing self-disparagement. Here’s a first draft of that kind of non-disparagement agreement:
I agree not to disparage myself, silently or out loud.
Signed,
(your name here)
I agree not to disparage myself about my other photos from yesterday.
I don’t want to disparage the people in the news these days, but I wish they’d act more like adults. If they did, perhaps people in my therapy groups wouldn’t be focusing so much on self-protection.
