Viral Vicissitudes

Loosening, Firming Up, Your Resolve- Part 2 (and last post for 2021😔) Learning Incidentally, Instrumentally, a double dose: As taught to me (and several colleagues, classmates, now friends), by my/our main mentor who, himself was first our professor, then psychologist extraordinaire, and for me (TG😄!) an eventual lifelong friend, who first modeled and then commented casually (as in "Incidentally..."), eventually followed by more formal conversation (as in "You got a minute; I'd like to talk to you about something that occurred earlier..."), more instrumental learning...the first lesson, ingredient of which has served me not just professionally as a psychologist but in other domains of life as well..."You're breaking Rule #1..." as in: "Don't take Yourself too seriously!" The first time I recall this utterance in the office occurred when my mentor, just after I had extended, inconvenienced myself, gave up my lunch hour to see someone...

Loosen up, Firm up your resolve: A second double dose.   A Two-fold Guarantee: How about ending the year with an even simpler formula for resolving, as well as one which guarantees  your ability to keep the resolution, as well as one which guarantees  to add quality to your well-being (aka self-care, see 12/27) and that of "others" in your life (aka other-care, see 12/27), no matter the location, time of the year, no matter the season. A 'fool-proof' formula, a tamper-proof prescription. All this wrapped up into just two ingredients, two rules ("Ugh, you say, I knew there was going to be a catch, conditions, rules!") -- but just wait, don't click the mouse just yet...I myself never thought that rules to live by would be so simple to remember and comply with, with so many options for daily application, and two that will allow you to dispense with many other more complicated ones ("Now he's sounding like an Infomercial...next thing we know he'...

After all is Said and Done... What was This all about? Another remnant, leftover question, trailing into the coming days, weeks, and even months. After all the meet and greet, the convos that accompanied the big feast (2nd only to that from about a month ago, the 'real turkey'), the desert s , the combination of which found us loosening a few belt holes, in advance of a 'firmer resolve'...after all the plates have been cleaned up, the unused wrapping paper placed semi-neatly in the closet, the otherwise shredded paper, torn ribbons beyond recognition or that which might be 're-gifted' (Seinfeld) Christmas next...after all the weeks of prepping, fretting, frenzying, all for a few minutes, hours, or perhaps two days max of celebrating, posing as in  Currier and Ives Christmas photo (which, even in the best of circumstances these days, result in being photo bombed by some smart aleck in the family)...what meaning did you derive from all of this that might serve you...

Where do we go from here? Plotting a trail...from the Creche "My, Oh My... How things have changed!" A quote, exclamation that could be associated with any set of circumstances, time of year, history...a remarkable contrast...a type of recognition, even an Epiphany, which is another day of theological significance for those who have continued to embrace and be a witness to the true meaning of Christmas...one which follows Christmas Day, which roughly correlates with the Magi ("Wise Men") arriving on the Scene, the Creche, the Nativity, to bear witness (and come bearing gifts, of course)...twelve days after Christmas, January 6th, to be exact (some find themselves marking this day on days apart due to the use of different liturgical calendars, but the symbolism is essentially consistent)...twelve days that most of us associate with the ever popular Christmas song about a partridge, a pear tree, and many other gifts that would entertain as well as overfill an average ...

Just in case, a SASsy Rx of Resolve Henceforth: Just in case you are resolving to resolve -- that is, planning on making any resolutions to "do/not do" in the coming year, I am here just in time to save you  time and trouble (the trouble that comes with both agonizing whether to make them and then, of course, there's the business of compliance). Instead, I am offering you a cure for such ills that comes in a Short And Sweet formula, which will be one that should sustain your mental and physical health in the days and weeks ahead (maybe even longer than the 'Super Bowl Effect', the average length of time a person keeps their NY resolutions, and why gyms are less busy starting about mid-February), and one which will also almost guarantee the well-being of those in your proximity...one that can be dosed and taken orally or otherwise, one which is both dissolvable, digestible (with or without food, for those making NY resolutions about overeating😌), and comes in both...

Trails from the Creche: Arrivals, Departures, all a matter of time. Timing is... "Not always on my time table #@*%!" As I shared with you here, a sharing gift 😊 just ahead of 12/25, how holidays and other major milestone moments, for better or worse, arrive, are not always well-timed ("I'm not ready for this"). For many of us, no matter how much advance notice (see below) we are given, such moments still catch us underprepared...'flat-footed'😟, at least emotionally, if not practically. This Christmas is probably proving (still in process, at least "Twelve Days" more😔) to be no different than that of those of yesteryear, all the way back to the...Creche, the "Reason for the Season", prompts of which can be found in a mash-up of pageantry, beginning with the Santa parade on Thanksgiving (around here), proceeding to the familiar scene, the latter represented by still life in and outside as well as plays depicting the foretelling, the ...

Trails from the Creche: Now that we've arrived... It's time to pause, celebrate, embrace. Which I intend to, allow you, too -- come back tomorrow for the full message. In the meantime, Merry Christmas!  

Tails of the Creche, Part 2: Coming to Our Senses, Con-Census In Our Midst, of It All: "I'm really not ready for this". Whether we're trying to approximate a Hallmark Holiday moment, an idyllic Christmas morn for our children, doing our best to re-create, conjure up fond memories from Christmases past, establishing some new traditions in order to break a chain of negativity in your own family tree, or otherwise marking another milestone moment in the life of your family -- those that range from birth on to deaths -- the timing is often not of our choosing, one which finds us ill-prepared, even if we had a bit of advance notice. I have shared here many times now on a professional as well as personal level that, despite outward appearances in my office, patience is not one of my strongest virtues (a reimagined photo from my youth depicting my dinner demeanor, with one leg under the table and the other pointed to the back door in anxious anticipation of returning to play...

Polar(ized) Express: Behold!(ings) in Our Midst Behold! expect the... unexpected: A reminder (of what I shared with you here December 14th), mental setting, a pep talk while you are prepping, whether for the gathering you are hosting or obligated to attend, or answering the door, going beyond the obvious, or otherwise being surprised by who/what you might find...which is actually what the season is all about, eh? At least upon reflection, worth some reflection...The word itself ("behold") with or without the mark of exclamation, is one that is highly aligned with the theology of Christmas itself, with prepping the unsuspecting Mary (then Joseph, of course) and then the shepherds who were just going about the business of being 'good shepherds' in the proximity of Bethlehem (more on this later, probably tomorrow). We, ourselves, when we are not on the receiving end of such a message, tend to use this word sparingly, to bring another's attention to something worth pa...

Tales from the Creche - The Inns, Outs of Christmas, 2021: Part 1 What's In, Out: Despite forecasts of the hottest, otherwise referred to as "coolest!" items being bought up, many retailers will be caught by surprise. That is, despite all the algorithms, cookies, and focus groups that started assembling December 26th, 2020 and zoomed to a creche-endo Friday, November 26th, 2021, and on into cyber space the Monday next (while the latest Space X venture went "On into Infinity and Beyond!"), the predictions were all about the objects of greatest affection, which become the objects of greatest projection for retailers. It's this way every year now, with all the advanced analytics trying to outpace us (well, at least our little tikes, the real  consumers of the moment), to anticipate our every desire, our every move towards a purchase, the anticipation of our click of the mouse (not heard throughout the house, but sensed by them)...all to get a jump on the compet...

Short, Sweet, this Winter Tweet! What's the Rush?! Not the one you probably first thought of, but one prompted by waking up to some sure signs of winter which, in my office, was symbolized in part by the discovery of a pink flamingo in my waiting room tree (apparently zoomed in😕), a tree in which up to that moment was only reserved for Frosty's Family, as in "Frosty's Family Tree". Which became a sense of urgency for me, to get out this "First Day of Winter" message, which arrives in your locale sometime during this 24 hour cycle... And away we go! As in "it's here, ready or not..." Or, as in the following 'breezy' winter day entree, to warm you up: An unsuspecting homeowner, going out to inspect his carefully assembled nativity scene following heavy winds, was met with who else in the manger crib but the friendly face of Frosty, who was in turn met with a chilly reception...Welcome to winter.

First Shelved, now Stalled...how Rud! A Supporting Cast, Casting a Glow: Yes indeed, all the Yuletide fan favorites come out once again to greet us. Now, just under a week to go before the extravaganza that has been the focus of retailers, shoppers, ever since they put away the Halloween scene (well, a few turkeys in between were seen around here, on front lawns, even a few on roof tops following high winds of November), the tension, excitement has been building within and without, here and all about (all about the globe, that is, with an increasing number of nations and cultures jumping on the bandwagon, follow the band in the Santa Claus parade), celebrations around the world of this thing we around here call Christmas (which one author of the "What you thought you knew about..." reminds most of us of how naive and uninformed we are, the ones who have celebrating Christmas all along)...The supporting cast has also been assembling, with the elf being the first to show around...

The Great Divider, Uniter: Nature-al Force(s) Post-to-post, your unseen host: As I was a-musing myself about my most recent post, about both the serious and lighter sides of what can divide, conquer, or unite US (see 12/18), I realized I had this other partially completed post, one I needed to return to after taking a break...a break prompted by nagging hands...nagging hands that were in turn an acute reminder of how the forces of nature have throughout history both divided and united US as neighbors, communities, and on a larger scale...nature-al forces that can eventuate in minor inconveniences (such as when we had to call a plumber on Christmas morning!), interruptions of various resources we take for granted, to major calamities resulting in loss of thousands of precious lives...forces of nature that can either force US 'Inside Out' or 'Outside In', depending on the nature of nature... Earth, Wind, and Fire: Not only one of my favorite musical groups (who defy a gen...

Shake, Rattle, and Roll: What Really  Divides, Unites Us The Great Shake-up: You'll note, if you follow here with any (ir)regularity (spoiler alert/ foreshadowing), my propensity to mix up this series, the serious business of the pandemic which has dragged on into the holiday season once again, for the second time around, with lighter topics, topics about light, some fun and frolic, an attempt to lighten up what can otherwise be a Debbie Downer blog,  similar to a strategy employed by the major news networks to ensure viewership the following night, keep us coming back for more "BREAKING NEWS!" In this particular post you'll find a mixture of both...one which starts with a few solemn statements, the importance of staying united, strong as families, communities, and a larger scale...and then ends at a place which, well, really kind of 'bottoms out'. "United WE Stand": A well-known slogan, the opposite of which "Divided WE Fall" could have ju...

Re-ReLeasing, as in the Holiday Spirit: 'tis the Reason(s), Part 2 Breadth and Depth..."So informed and  d eep":  Two measures of knowledge, two ways in which we psychologists find out how smart and/or intelligent you are, as well as two ways to appreciate what/why we are celebrating these days and those to come for the next few weeks around here. The first being sort of the "Jeopardy" type of knowledge, a HUGE bank or facts readily recalled, with which you attempt to impress the person standing next to you at the holiday party, being able to recite the number of holidays and their respective dates, when it was celebrated five years ago and when the holiday they name for you will be celebrated 25 years into the future (assuming it's not cancelled by this 'culture' of ours)... "impressed" they certainly will be, if you define impress as rolling of the eyes, deftly donning earbuds the longer you talk, drone on...The latter, the why/how things...

Releasing, (Re)leasing the Holiday Spirit: 'tis the Reason for the Season, a pause in the (Re)action. Part 1: A walk back in time, in the moment, paying forward: All this, to appreciate the full backdrop for various holidays, including those we ostensibly cherish the most, but end up distressed, burned out (no wonder when even when tuning into a "smooth jazz" station this morning, one of the first commercials encouraged us to "Celebrate early and often!" rather than..."Pause, enjoy each moment, reflect, breathe easy..." And this, to learn how to pace ourselves even as we celebrate a BIG holiday which may eventuate in depleted energy, funds, other resources as we prep for others throughout the coming year...This, all prompted unexpectedly by reviewing and then (re)"signing on the dotted line" (solid actually), to re-lease my office space for the coming year, frequently a prompt as to how long I have been in this space, how fortunate I am to ha...

All FROSTed over: Seasonal, Trans form ative. 'tis the Season (conditions allowing): I'm sure you don't think of me when your vision, attempt to look out your window is obscured by me, or when you are anguishing while scraping forms of me off your car windows, otherwise sitting in your frigid auto while waiting for your de- frost  (ouch!) to fully engage...and it's not lost on me that you take me for granted, are insensitive to my needs when you casually put me into a hot oven, not considering the atmospheric conditions it takes for me to survive, if not thrive, even more casually throwing me aside if my form doesn't measure up, while it was your cookie cutter gone awry, as well as when you shake me in those seasonal globes, when you alter my natural attributes with flavors and dyes in the form of snow cones...and you certainly don't even pause for a moment and appreciate what I do for you throughout the year, when your thoughts and view of me are not so crystal...

All in Good Cheer...once per year (?) 'tis the Season: Circa, a few months on. Cheer after jeer, comes once per year...where ya' been lately?  As in the conversation I had with a custodian of a school, a few weeks before Christmas, a few years ago, wherein he asked "Do you think it's rude that I return the gift cards that some of the staff gave me, who hardly acknowledge me, make me feel invisible most of the year, indicating "Thank you but instead if you'll just say hello and occasionally thank me for my service", that would suffice...?" Classy I think, what about you? So much pretense we put on for a few weeks, many of us a few hours, after which we return to...? A reminder of the earlier post(s) here regarding how, early in the pandemic, we came out in droves in support of all the frontliners, especially the health care workers who, while being 'called' into their respective services, found their recent experiences in the ER's, ICU...

"Unleashing Your Inner Child", a Christmas app. Pure joy! 'tis the Season: "On the third Day...𝅘𝅥𝅯" Return of Ode, New Joy: "Ode to Joy", one of the most powerful musical scores by Beethoven, the, text of which was based on what German poet Schiller wrote in 1785, a celebratory poem about the unity of mankind. Always timely, maybe more so after I wrote about diplomatic ties, those that help bind, being cut by mutually aggrieved parties...timely, as in how all the major news networks, after bumming us out with whatever calamities of the day throughout the globe they can dig up (crummy weather somewhere, at least), try to lull us into an emotional state just short of joy, in order to sustain viewership the following day (psychologists sometimes refer to this as a "recency effect"; can you imagine if they instead ended each newscast with "...now we're going to recap all the crappy stuff that occurred today...have a good evening"). I...

Diplo-matics: call-backs/recalls, Olympic Proportions; no laughing matter. So much for good cheer. "History in the making", "All the world's a stage": Two highly familiar quotes which in turn reflect areas of curriculum we have valued enough to keep them in the schools -- what we can learn from history, patterns of behavior (psychology, of course), and the arts...that we might supplement after hearing/viewing this morning's "world news" with..."history unfolding right before our eyes" and "theatre in the round", "theatre of the ____" (you fill in the blank..."absurd"?) Seems like just yesterday that I wrote here a reflection on an Infamous Day in our history, that we here in the U.S. have been marking for 80 years since 12-7-41. We reflect in both honor and hopes that we have learned, gleaning something(s), that we might use to not only prevent the actual calamity from recurring (the closest approximation sin...

A Few Good Men, Women...getting on in years.                                                            Predawn, 12-7-21. Dwindling Numbers, Otherwise: The few left to recount "...the harrowing attack 80 years ago, something I'll never forget..." find themselves dwindling in energy, many in their mental faculties, resulting in difficulty recounting the events of yesterday. Perhaps they resemble our local hero, Russell (aka "Buster"), who we said our final good-byes to on October 15th, just shy of his 99th birthday and about eight decades after he obtained special permission to join the Navy early, who found himself relying on some time-tested idioms of his own when his memory started fading, who nevertheless recounted with great acuity he never saw the events which unfolded the morning of 12-7-41 in Pearl Harbor coming. This, while he just...

BRAKING NEWS: Elf Shortage, Christmas on hold, temporarily SHELVED! Day Zero, Year ???? Surprise! Which is what we all want, wish for, plan for (as parents, ours elves ), a part we welcome, embrace on special occasions, those we not only exchange hugs (on their way back, finally) and good cheer, but also presents. An unwelcome part of recent history related to the celebration of Christmas in particular, is the perennial shortage of toys, gadgets, dolls, and, more recently, whatever tech du jour...primarily due to a run on, overdemand for that one 'thing', that "...outpaces Santa and his elves' ability to keep up...maybe later by the time your birthday comes around..." as the parent tries to ease their child's anticipated disappointment, deflect to points North... BUT , what if, instead, there's an actual shortage of Santas  and, as recent experience around here (especially since "Elf on the Shelf: A Christmas Tradition" was brought to us, found ...

(So Much to, a lot of) Give-and-Take, More-or Less: 'tis the Season (?) First Day, Second Year Early and Often: As in "So Much", which I often include in a title, signaling a multi-part series within this "Viral" series, the umbrella blog of another title. As in 'tis the Season, which I captioned several posts last December... last   December ?! Is it already "That time of the year" again?! have I been posting that long that I find myself writing about these holidays twice already during this perplexing protracted pandemic? YES and YES! Well, I may as well start earlier (as in shopping) and often (as in the week after Thanksgiving as I missed the oppo to do so the day after, when everyone else seemed to be out, in line, or even the Monday after, while everyone else was on  line)...as in a series within the series to really  get you "in the spirit"! One for Everyone, Under the Tree (pole): A holiday to celebrate within this season, spanni...