Life on the Rocks with a Twist of Gratitude

  "Where words fail...Music speaks." Hans Christian Anderson I went to see Ringo Starr the other night in the city,   A fun fact is that it is the first concert or event I have been out for since Covid;  it was really a fun night.   There is something about the songs he sang that brought back so many feelings, thoughts, memories,  It took me to another place.  Let me rephrase that. It takes me to a another place.     I  have always used quotes from songs to help explain where I am coming from.   I used to drive an old mentor crazy doing that.... Getting back to music.  I am sure it will come up in the blogs often . I use it to help others and myself with anxiety or depression. Even grief.     Might I suggest for healing the following song. wanting Memories by Ysaye Barnwell https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4JRbRHz9t8 Words in songs are so powerful. even song titles. One of the first songs. Ringo sang the other night was "I...

  I had  an interesting experience today, and I wanted to mention it here.  I have been writing about the  clinic closing and the effects it has had on me and the sadness and anger that I am feeling.  My old treatment  team leader came to the building and walk around one last time to say goodbye.   This man was perhaps the best  supervisor that I have ever had,  Respectful.  Mentoring.  Kind. Very much the opposite of what I see in most supervisors.   He retired for a lot of the reasons that I want to. Tired of red tape. Tired of  the micromanagers who don't have a decent word to say about your work or understand your grief.  This man always came from a perspective of a teacher. He gently nurtured you along. He was;  and is the one of the kindest people I have ever met. He is also an incredibly smart person and one of those people who describe life in movie scene terms.  When he retired and said goodbye dur...

It hasn't been the easiest of weeks. the office is closing. problems abound  and. the higher ups can be demanding and nasty,  It is very depressing. It is hard to naviagte when you have to navigate a barrage of insults which can be considered at the very best just stupid ; and  at the most ; creating  or in this case perhaps enhancing a toxic environment.  Sometimes. I have to  literally have a mental shower; before I go on.  Its exhausting having to deal with someone who is just bottom line mean.  Then I have to go and then deal with something difficult or a difficult case.    I have to change my mood almost immediately.  Hence,  the mental shower.   Humor and sarcasm is what I use.  There is a cycle. Anger,  then sarcasm,  then humor. Wash and repeat.   Wash, rinse and repeat. Maybe the twist of gratitude is that I  see a cycle. Maybe the twist  of gratitude is for the hug of a friend afterw...

  Been tired lately. its was supposed to be less than a month from  my retirement date but I pulled back the papers for a lot of reasons.  So I am still juggling the on line work, trying to blog and a full time work load.  The clinic is closing. Shut down. We are going to another clinic despite what they say about maintaining an identity. All propaganda.  Theres a lot of anger about this. with me and some other staff. I don't know I might have even written this before.  Its not an easy move it s one filled with feelings of being discounted shoved aside or in our case swept aside or squeezed into where there was extra space without a word of acknowledgement of the 20 plus years the clinic served the community they are abandoning to look good to the powers that be.     I'm staying on in the short term. Maybe to honor those memories of the good work,  honor the work that was the clinic. Honor the staff  that seriously cared about ...

  J ust found a very interesting article of the psychological benefits of springtime.  Very  interesting.  I am always interested on finding new articles to share with clients espeially if they tend toward the holistic or the quirky.  I think the premise of the article  is that change is good and inviting.   Making things new,  Sometimes that is hard. Think about when you are redoing a house or a room in the house.  You have to clear things out sometimes tear them apart. Then rebuild. Repaint, make new.  Thats happens in our lives often.  Sometimes its hard.   Changing jobs,  Friends coming and going.  Falling in and out of love.   Theres an ancient Chinese Art. I guess you would call it.  Feng Shui.  The art  of placing things around and creating a positive energy flow.   Theres a saying or book,  "Clear the clutter. you clear  your mind.   Which  bring me back to ...

  My clinic will be shutting its doors and closing in two weeks now.  We are being absorbed. combined into another clinic.  New York State is saying they are saving money.  Lots of feeling about it.  Its like a free for all at our  clinic. We are being squeezed into a smaller building  in much smaller offices and there are a lot of problems and I suspect it will be a side show for a while once the annexation takes place.   I use humor a lot. to get myself through some tough situations.  Ive been known to throw myself under my desk and tell the senior nurse I am not coming out.  When I am not being angry and hostile about the move I have been just sending  streams...I am sure that is the right word;  streams  of sarcastic comments to the office manager, who is about as unhappy if not more so about the move than I am.  As I was vacillating through intense hostile and angry comments  and some rather humoro...

 

  Pockets of Staying in the Moment I really enjoy waking up in  the morning after a heat wave breaks in the middle of the night.  I got up early to do the Better Help thing and went into my room to change (Having stayed in the AC last night.)  I just put a fan in the bedroom window.  The temperature cooled down considerably. It just felt really nice to  feel the breeze with the fan.  I took a moment to breath and just enjoy.  Pockets.  We have to keep looking for pockets like these to keep us going.  That is mindfulness.  Staying in the moment and appreciating it.  The coolness.  I only had a few minutes. Sometimes that has to be enough.   I love this time in the morning.  The sky; a gray color before  the breaking dawn.   Its all quiet;  the cat sleeping on her blanket, a breeze on your face.  A twist of gratitude for the morning,  I am sure you have some of your own.