music, therapy, and me

Last year, just about this time, I was working hard on a presentation about recognizing compassion fatigue, secondary trauma, and burnout and using creative projects to decide where we wanted to go in life. I had never presented on this topic before and wanted things to make sense for those who attended. I was really stressed about the presentation because I had been in that place and found that the topic was intensely personal and difficult for me to share with others. I was horribly nervous about what I was going to say and how it would be perceived. Then, my copy of Moana arrived in the mail. Are you wondering what Moana has to do with self-care and my presentation? When it arrived, I didn't know that it would have something to do with this topic, but I was pleasantly surprised. I am a Disney nut. I have many of the movies, especially the obscure ones that most people have never experienced before. I enjoy movies, but I love Disney moves. I purchase almost all of them....

I noticed some things about my blog that happened this week - first, the number of views has surpassed 31,000 (UPDATE: the actual number is over 33,000)! Second, this is the 901st post on this blog as well! I am always surprised when I think about people out there who look at this blog. I've always intended it to be my online journal-type thing...a place for me to muse about music therapy and about being a music therapist, so it amuses me to think that others actually read what I write. Thank you for reading, viewing, and commenting on some of the things that I write about. Anyway... Music therapy things happened this week. Oregon now has state recognition of the MT-BC. The bill was signed by the governor yesterday and now it is law! State recognition is happening for music therapists slowly but surely. The AMTA Board of Directors met last weekend and made decisions about the future of our profession. Every day, music therapists all over the world go out into that world and m...

This is not one of my usual themes for writing.  It has some spiritual and religious themes.  You do not have to keep reading, if you want to. Yesterday was a strange day.  It started with, FINALLY, a decision. We'll see if the decision actually sticks, but it has been sent via email to all the parties involved, so I am progressing forward according to the plan. Then, another decision was made that doesn't make much sense to me, but this decision has not been made public, so I'm not really hopping to pack up my stuff and move yet again quite yet. Then, the music therapy moments started. Kids were absurd yesterday! The number of students who spent most of their music therapy sessions in outright belly laughs was enormous! They took therapeutic music experiences (TMEs) and adapted them on the spot to make them different and more original to them. Kids who hadn't shown any response except for tantrums to school work engaged in music therapy (much to the surpr...

Yesterday, I had one of my insomnia nights. These often happen around full moon time and tend to be a pretty obsessive time for me. Last night was no exception. I started off the evening trying to sleep, but just could not find any type of drowsiness in me at all. Now, I am an "early to bed, early to rise" type of human. I enjoy my seven hours of sleep daily and like to take naps as well. So, a night of insomnia is not something that I look forward to. Last night's episode was particularly difficult to start with. I kept obsessing over the recent arrival of another music therapist in town. While I have met this therapist and consider him an acquaintance, for some reason I just kept thinking of his name - over and over again. Often when I get into these loops, I am ill, but not last night. After three hours of trying to sleep, I finally gave up and started to work on a long-term project. I spent three more hours writing an internship text and finished two chapters. I...

You know how things just seem to be going along on one specific path, doing your job, and just minding your business? All of a sudden, there is something little that happens that changes your outlook, your plans, and your mind. Serendipity is a funny thing. You can just move around your world minding your own business when something happens. The something is not always a big thing - it may be just a little thing, but it is just enough to jog you from one path to another path. Part of looking for happiness means looking for those small things that can bring joy into your life. Today, I am planning to clean my bedroom carpet - the whole thing, clearing, vacuuming, and steam cleaning - and when I got ready, I happened upon new episodes of a television show that I really enjoy - 13 more episodes! Oh joy, oh rapture!! So, at this point, I have several options. I can give up on my plan to clean my house, setting myself back on my vacation plans. I can pretend that there are no new epis...