Sniff, Sniff

I'm currently sitting on my bed, at 4:30 am, listening to the dehumidifier and the constant drip, drip, drip from the apartment above, thinking about things and feeling sorry for myself. Yep, that's right. It's an overwhelming feeling of self-pity going on out here in my abode. Poor me, poor me, poor me!

Pretty silly, hunh?

This weekend, my Facebook updates were full of music therapists doing music therapy things in the company of other music therapists. It was conference weekend and lots of folks were out in various locations in their regions doing things. I had friends who were excited about giving their first presentations, friends who were enjoying time with other friends, and friends who were learning new things about music.

I am not there. Now, before I get too far down Depression Avenue, you need to know that I am not at the conference due to my own issues and situations. A trip to the emergency room this winter, increasing costs of living, things breaking around me, doctor's appointments, LOTS of medication, an upcoming wedding in California (my brother's, so I kinda need to be there), and other general stuff going on has kept me from even considering the expenses associated with traveling to San Antonio for the joint SWR/MWR conference this weekend. At first, I wasn't sure if I had enough paid time off to go, but then we had 6 snow days, so that was no longer an issue. It just came down to money.

Enough of that claptrap!

I have spent my weekend going to conference vicariously through the posts and updates of friends around the country. What did I ever do before social media?? Oh, yeah, that's right. I didn't know any difference, so I was pretty happy then as well. (Giggle.) 

Okay, self-pity time's over and it is now time to get back into a more positive mind frame. 

I believe that being positive is a practiced art, and I find that I really need to practice often. I may not be in San Antonio right now, playing with my friends, but I am here, taking care of a situation that could have caused me lots of damage if I was not here to alert folks about the situation. (Could you imagine coming home to a flooded apartment, a wet and ANGRY cat, and damage? I can! Thank goodness I was here!!) I have had some time to realize that I do love my community of music therapists, even when they are far away. I also realized that I enjoy the power of social media as a tool to keep me in that community. I was able to pay taxes, start paying off my hospital bill, and even start to make plans for the national conference in November. I also thought through a couple of new projects for my clients. I also took naps and had the oil changed in the car. It was a productive weekend for me.

The end result of all of this? There are positives in every negative. Sometimes it is difficult to find those positives, but they are there. Keep looking.


 

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