Spread Mucho Mucho Joy

Tough Times For Tender Hearts

These are tough times for tender hearts. I've got one, for sure. It's sort of a burden because people like me have a hard time not letting negativity stick like tar to our souls. Folks are besides themselves with anger in my home country, the USA. I won't mention any details here because no doubt you're already aware of it all.

Sometimes I paint iconic images from the series in Total Immersive style

How To Deal

Instead, let me talk about one of the ways in which I cope, because maybe doing so will help you too. Right now I'm in total re-immersion in the Apple+ series "Ted Lasso". Yeah the show I highlighted in my last post. Guess I'm a little obsessed. But it's just me clamping my hands over my ears and singing "La La La La....!" at the top of my lungs metaphorically as history is in the making ex=president-wise up north. I need to block most of that out. So I'm deep diving this feel-better series this week. Next week too.

I stream an episode and then listen to podcasts discussing it. Sometimes the podcasts double, triple and even quadruple the running time of the actual show itself. Perfect. One 30 minute episode can take over half a day in the studio to analyze. The pod that does the deepest is definitely "Ted Lasso Deep Dive on all the platforms. Coach, Coach and Boss discuss every last detail of the show, connect through lines and callbacks and explain the pop culture references Boomers like me miss. (To be fair, Gen Xers and Millennials miss some too, lol)

I listen and paint

Positive Messages From The Series

The time for sparkle dresses is now!

Here are my personal take-aways from this show:

• All my life I have lived in a naturally occurring artistic gezellig lifestyle Gezelligheid is a Dutch word which, depending on context, can be translated as 'conviviality', 'coziness', 'fun'. It is often used to describe a social and relaxed situation.

• Hanna Waddingham has reminded us all the female form is absolutely gorgeous. Hers is remarkable but we all need - and should - to rock our curves!

• Being kind is almost always the right choice

• Do the work. Train. Practice. Lift. Run. Consider.

• Your quirks are the solid gold that set you apart. Embrace that shit.

• Ask questions. Listen to the answers.

• When you need it, ask for help.

• Make the repairs with golden optimism.

• It isn’t the hope that kills you, it’s the hope that makes life worthwhile.

I watch the shows then stream super long pods and paint, and paint and paint.

Normalizing Stuff That Needs To Be Normalized

Here are some other topics the show normalizes:

• Having therapy is a form of strength, oh and super helpful!

• So is kindness

• Belittling others is a weird behavior that probably indicates a need for therapy

• Normalizing the various colors of sexual identity

• Real men can wear flowers, pink, purple, etc

• Real men can also wear facial hear, all black and dated visors from the Ditka-era Chicago Bears

• Endorsing brands is a great way to extend reach but giving away joy for free is a solid choice to enhance your non-monetary income stream

• Apologizing is a super power

• So is forgiveness

• Soulmates are people who nudge us in new directions and we don't have to be linked with them romantically to receive the benefits of having them in our lives

There are dark forces threading their way throughout the fabric of our culture, and left unchecked will rip us irreparably apart. But we don't have to let them run unchecked. We can choose to not participate in the hate, the meanness, the unkind acts, the intolerance. We don't have to let it infect us, as we recognize the distortion it brings to discourse.

Me? I'm going to work on sending out as much positivity into the world as I am allowed through these means available to me. I am dedicated to spreading "mucho mucho joy".

Mucho Mucho Joy