Accentuate The Positive #5 Sing

Chicagoist journalist and blogger Smussyolay tagged me with a meme of 5 things I do to stay positive. While writing it I discovered I needed to write it in more than one post.
Here's the fifth thing:

Sing

Like the Bloodhound Gang's Jimmy Pop, I sing like an amputee: can't hold a note, can't carry a tune. Yet...

I love to sing along with the car stereo when driving alone. At work I can break into a Richard Cheese-esque bad lounge version of a popular song or do my very poor Bob Dylan impression singing rap songs. It's like karaoke night without alcohol.

I learned from Terri not to care about singing the wrong words.

I still sing “She’s like a one winged dove, sings a song sounds like she’s screamin’ ooh-ooh-ooh,” (because if I was a dove, and I lost a wing, I’d be screaming too).

I don’t know what the hell those Manfred Mann characters were smoking but evidently they were “wrapped up like a douche in the aroma of the night,” as far as I’m concerned.

Kelli and I do goofy duets. Just for us. Just for fun. Just because it's positive expression.

Accentuate The Positive #4 Write

Chicagoist journalist and blogger Smussyolay tagged me with a meme of 5 things I do to stay positive. While writing it I discovered I needed to write it in more than one post.
Here's the fourth thing:

Write

Usually I don’t know how I feel about something until I write it out. Being forced to chose my words carefully forces me to chose the words which best convey my thoughts. Parsing and editing focuses my meaning. Sometimes it opens up a whole new series of questions.

Working it out gives me perspective and perspective leads to positive things.

Accentuate The Positive #3 Remember

Chicagoist journalist and blogger Smussyolay tagged me with a meme of 5 things I do to stay positive. While writing it I discovered I needed to write it in more than one post. Here's the third thing:

Remember
12 hrs a day (16hrs one day last week) I hear from / about people in crisis. Heck, I have coworkers and friends and family in crisis every so often too.

Yet I live in relative affluence, in a free country
(okay, it's getting a little dicey right now but we'll pull out of it).

I'm very happily married. I have a great job. I have a great family and wonderful friends (some might suggest better than I deserve).

Comparatively I have no problems. I'd be a whiny little shit to have all of what I have and still complain.

Accentuate The Positive #2 Clay

Chicagoist journalist and blogger Smussyolay tagged me with a meme of 5 things I do to stay positive. While writing it I discovered I needed to write it in more than one post. Here's the second thing:

Clay

I’m not all that good at it (yet) but it’s something I have to use my full attention to do. It frees my mind from thinking – thinking – thinking. Plus when something works out well there’s a feeling of accomplishment.



And I have given almost everything decent away to someone, so there’s the joy of giving. Which reminds me. I have a cross to put in the mail.

Oh, the indecent things - Auto-erotic Asphyxia Gumby, for example. I keep for myself.

Accentuate the Positive #1 Pause

Chicagoist journalist and blogger Smussyolay tagged me with a meme of 5 things I do to stay positive. While writing it I discovered I needed to write it in more than one post. So here's the first thing:

Pause

After my initial anxiety / panic / agoraphobia thing I met with a therapist twice.

I have no interest in Freudian / Jungian talk therapy so I was reluctant to go. There's also a stigma about therapy (at least in law enforcement). I was surprised and happy that instead of asking me about my relationship with my parents (which is just fine) he filled me in on tricks to manage panic attacks and stress in general. Tune up. Come back if you need me but otherwise have a nice life. Good deal.

The best piece of advice he gave me was this:

If you rushing along in traffic and the light turns red, it's easy to get all angry and frustrated about being delayed. Instead, take it as a forced opportunity to pause and look around.

I can certainly get all worked up about things like getting stuck in traffic or being late or whatever but to what purpose? It makes no difference. The light is going to be red for as long as the light is going to be red.

Add to this the fact that every juggling trick I know involves a pause. Right throw, left throw, right throw, left throw, High Right Throw (creating a pause in the flow), do something flashy, left throw, right throw. Lather, rinse, repeat. It works every time.

Being pause-itive makes my outlook so much more positive.

Photos: pause = me
Red Light