Day 7 - 31 -- Looking Up

The day began very early as the all day workshop starte at 8:30 AM.  The day was sunny and bright, so I was pleased to see the room we were to be ensconced in until 4:30 PM had a full bank of south facing windows. The workshop is for Mental Health First Aid training. The focus is on young adults, being offered through the health and counseling centre of campus, but the principles will cross adolescent, emerging adults, and adults of all ages. It was a long day, with some very difficult topics addressed this week. The second half will occur next week and will include a number of other topics -- all serious in nature, but somewhat less so than what we covered in great detail today.

I felt rather overwhelmed at the end of the workshop. Luckily, a friend had invited me out for pizza and wine with another friend. I was so tired I considered not going, but I headed out. We had great conversation about many topics. When getting ready to leave, I felt less stress from the workshop topics. I recalled walking down the sidewalk yesterday when I had to stand in a driveway as the sidewalk plow went by. The operator and I waved and smiled to each other. Getting back onto the sidewalk I encountered a woman walking a happy little beagle who had chosen to walk in the clean white snow beside the sidewalk instead of the newly cleared pavement. That gave me a big smile to see the dog enjoying the snow -- not something that I tend to do or feel <smile>. I was surprised when I noticed I was smiling and thought to myself, "Oh, there I am." This helped me to begin to find a way to look up instead of down more often. Finding the things that make me smile by looking around me instead of staring only inside myself might help reduce the less happy feelings that we carry around with us at times.

An upbeat song seemed to fit the end of day musings well. The artist is one featured here often. As a fellow keyboardist, I love his piano work as well as the songwriting and singing. Enjoy!

Looking Up -- Elton John

Day 7 - 30 -- Re-learning old Skills

I've been getting used to the new ergonomics of health the dominant arm. It will be several more weeks before the tendons and ligament tears heal. There is improvement each of the past three weeks, but so much more is needed. When moving snow, I've switched to a narrower shovel and use the non-dominant arm to push and lift -- both actions the dominant arm cannot do yet. Challenges exist when working with a new weighting of the shovel and dependence on only one arm to do the work creates need for different posture and balance of the body -- as well as balance of the shovel <smile>. It will take practice, though I'd just as soon not see any more new snow in the front yard this year <grin>.

Learning new skills can be difficult. I suspect my situation is similar to other alterations in ergonomics outside of an injury such as getting used to the weighting of a new kitchen knife or even a new guitar. All require balance and retraining the brain to understand how best to used the new item in a functional and comfortable manner. Practice and patience become necessary traits. Tedium or boredom can set in as patience with the practice wanes. For some items, one can simply return them and try a different new item. In an injury situation, one can't return the dominant arm, in this case, and move on to old routines. I'm attempting to see this as a challenge for the brain -- to stick with the process and learn to do something in a different way.

When heading out for dinner, I came upon a sub-group of the large contingent of crows that gather for their evening discussions of their daily escapades. As I stood on the road and watched them in the trees, as a single entity they rose up and flew off towards the larger group. The rush of wings was amazing to hear overhead. It made me smile and feel privileged to have been a witness to this group thinking process. That led me to a song that fit with the musings of learning to shovel differently -- odd but it worked. <smile>

Learning to Fly -- Tom Petty

Day 7 - 29 -- Mental Health Conversations

Today was the tenth Bell Let's Talk Day, which addresses issues of mental health. This year decreasing stigma and emphasizing the need for improved access to service were heard a lot. Far more youth and young adults are self-identifying with a mental health issue than seen a decade ago. More conversations about such issues occur, particularly with younger age groups. With the growth in recognizing the importance of dealing with issues, comes the concern that available services cannot meet the increased need. Locally we often have a minimum two week wait for seeing someone for initial assessment and treatment plan. Newer online chat based programs exist for students in the province, with a toll-free phone number to speak to someone right away. These are great beginnings, but more health professional positions are required, which may require more training of counselors. Both program expansion and training avenues require funding and time. Efforts are moving in the right direction. It can't be an instant fix.

Sadly, hearings began this week as part of an investigation into the accessibility of services for a person with post-war PTSD who killed his family and himself. This is not an isolated situation. For many, such hearings can be major triggers that add to existing mental health challenges. In a small community such as ours, having people available for talking could address the mental health needs of the town and county residents.

In a 1-hour special about Bell Let's Talk Day, one statement really stuck with me. To decrease stigma, Howie Manell noted that we have to begin with 'baby steps and the first are words." Talking about this is what can legitimize the existence of mental health issues and the need for adequate support services. Two songs came to mind today to address the issues surrounding mental health. The first is a young Canadian artist who wrote a song to describe his experience with anxiety. The second is older, but was written when the artist was a younger man. It describes his early struggle with depression and feelings of worthlessness. Enjoy!

In my Blood -- Shawn Mendes

I'm a Loser -- John Lennon & Paul McCartney (Lennon's experience)

Day 7 - 28 -- Changes in Song Development

The day was grey with just a skiff of snow. A research writing meeting occurred. We are nearing completion of this first phase of the project. After supper, I headed to my night class. Tonight we covered the period from the making and release of the film Help! to the release of Rubber Soul a few months later in December 1965. Between the two albums (Help! soundtrack and Rubber Soul), changes in how music was developed occurred. Rather than polishing songs on stage, Rubber Soul saw the beginnings of songs developed in studio -- from concept to arrangement to recording. Something new had begun. The songs moved from being fairly formulaic to to  a broader variety of song types. They all did not sound the same. This was the starting point of albums with wider range.

I chose to share two songs today -- one from Help! and the other from Rubber Soul. The first is one that may not be known by everyone, but is a great song. The second has been noted to be one of Lennon's finest. Enjoy!

I've just seen a face -- The Beatles (Help!)

In My Life -- Beatles (Rubber Soul)

Day 7 - 27 -- Foiled Plans

Checked in with the dentist today. Repair work will begin next week. There is a certain level of anxiety that comes with that plan. I fear things will look and feel different than they have for my life thus far. Learning to chew differently will not be welcomed. The day ended with a great visit with a friend over wine and cheese. Such fun to do that in mid-week -- something that working didn't always allow.

Several plans were foiled today. I went to the hospital auxiliary gift shop for an item I'd seen last week The place was closed -- the shop, not the hospital <smile>. I've never seen it closed during the day before. Another woman had items to drop off and was unaware of this closure. She also works as a volunteer at the shop. No signs or even notices on social media could be found. So, I'll have to try again next week when I'm up for a meeting. One other store didn't have the products I'd hoped to find, even though their social media sites noted these items were available. Go figure! Instead of shopping, I stopped for a cup of tea and a bowl of soup and attempted to relax and regroup with new plans for needed purchases.


Bad Day -- Daniel Powter

Day 7 - 26 -- Conversations from an Empath Perspective

Laundry done in mid-week instead of weekend feels odd. I spent some of the day catching up on the blogging. So far behind, I'm not sure when I'll get all the drafts turned into real posted blogs <smile>. It will happen, just need to persevere. I had two great chats with dear friends today. From these I received reassurance, support and laughter -- all things I was in need of even if I hadn't quite realized it yet.

Good friends are amazing when they know you and what you need even when you haven't figured it out yourself. How cool is that? While I speak a lot in such conversations, I am the empath with great listening skills. An empath often hears things from people that no one else knows. I've likened it to a confessional situation in some cases -- not all. This means empaths need to find some solid self care and learn to let go of some of the ugly stuff that people need to bring into the light. When in conversation with oral processors -- often extroverts -- who need to talk through their many thoughts to begin to put them order of priority, an empath -- often an introvert -- makes a good pairing. We listen as others process verbally. When I speak, I've generally given a lot of thought to all the options and what comes out is the upshot of much time and effort. It is just a different way of processing ideas and new information. It is a good thing that different processors exist or the world would be very noisy or very quiet <smile>. The mixture is a lovely balance.

One song came to mind when thinking through things today. The title fits the topic well.  (NOTE: At this point, 70 seems it should be a larger number <smile>) Enjoy!

Thinking out Loud -- Ed Sheeran

Day 7 - 32 -- Exciting Outing

Cloud cover reappeared today as a major storm passes along the Atlantic coast. There will be snow and likely other types of precipitation overnight ending tomorrow. It seemed by mid-day that the snowfall amounts had been downgraded locally. We'll see what arrived when I get up tomorrow. I wa doing household chores when the phone rang and friend offered to take me grocery shopping. Still having difficulty driving with the injured arm. I was so excited, looking forward to a trip to the store and to be out in the community. We had a great chat while driving back and forth and as we met throughout the store while filling each of our lists.

I worried a bit that I might need to think about a new perspective -- that 'get a life' concept -- when I was excited to get groceries. There were items that were needed now and not next week, some of which were heavier than I could carry in from the car with any degree of comfort -- such as cat litter. While I often stay in the house all weekend, this showed me that there are days that I do need to head out to clear my mind of the detritus that can cause moodiness. <smile>  Whatever the reason, I maintain that my trip out today improved the 'happy' neurotransmitter levels in the brain. I smiled a bit more than I had earlier in the day. <smile>

The selection today came to mind as I was pondering the trip to the grocery store. It is from the early punk movement in the UK. Enjoy!

Lost in the Supermarket -- The Clash