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Sparkling Isolation – Day 38

April 24, 2020 //  by Tommy Hensel//  Leave a Comment

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The dog that doesn’t bark.

While checking my email this morning, I ran across my daily email from the website Happify.com. If you don’t know that site, it’s well worth a visit. I have been a member of the site now for over five years and I credit the exercises, games, questions, and resources on that site as some of the major tools that have transformed my nasty negativity bias into something far more manageable.

This morning, while watching a video I saw a suggested video pop up on the sidebar. It looked intriguing so I decided to click on the link. It’s a brief video by Gretchen Rubin, author of several books including “The Happiness Project.”

Remember the dog that doesn’t bark.

That set me thinking about gratitude. I have kept a daily gratitude practice every day since January 1, 2012. Each morning I get centered and focused and then write out five things I am grateful for that day. I then post that to Facebook – both as a way to keep myself motivated and to hopefully inspire others to think about gratitude in their lives.

What occurred to me today, after watching Gretchen Rubin’s video, was that I rarely focus on the type of gratitude she discusses – the concept of noticing what did not happen rather than solely focusing on what did.

This isn’t a life-changing epiphany, but it does help me refocus a bit into those areas of my life that I may ignore because they aren’t the “squeaky wheel.” It’s simple to express gratitude for big, obvious things that are right there in your face screaming, “Notice me!” It is more difficult to search into the silence, into the void, into the spaces that rarely get noticed.

Although this is not precisely what she meant, I find myself taking her inspiration and thinking about the things that did not happen to me today for which I wish to express gratitude. For instance, I went to pick up food and did not have an accident. I did not get a speeding ticket. I did not have a negative experience with other drivers. I did not run out of gas. I did not have mechanical trouble with my car. I did not have any trouble finding parking.

These are all little things, even inconsequential in the larger scheme of life. But I think I so often overlook these small, simple, mundane things. I remember the accidents, the speeding tickets, the cruddy drivers, the pain of looking for parking, the fear of seeing the ‘check engine’ light come on. Those are all so persistent in the memory but they are all one-time things – things that may happen once in a blue moon. The other things – those positive things – happen nearly every time I drive. 90% of the time there are no issues. Yet it’s the 10% that I tend to remember.

So often I overlook all the little moments of ease which move through my life. I did not go hungry today. I did not get sick. I did not struggle with depression. I did not experience emotional pain. I did not suffer. So many things that are good in my life despite the bizarre world situation.

For today, I want to spend some time thinking about the dog that did not bark – and be grateful for that silence.

It’s only Quarantine if it comes from the Quarante province of France. Otherwise, it’s just Sparkling Isolation.

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Category: ThoughtsTag: Sparkling Isolation

About Tommy Hensel

Tommy Hensel is the Director of the Fine and Performing Arts Center at Moraine Valley Community College (www.morainevalley.edu/fpac), a position he has held since January 2008. A native of Columbia, South Carolina, he has worked for more than 35 years as a professional actor, singer, stage manager, director, and arts presenter. He holds a B.A. in music and a B.A. in communication from Florida State University and an M.A. in theater from the University of South Carolina. He currently serves as Chair of the Illinois Presenters Network and is a board member of NAPAMA. He served as co-chair of the 2018 Arts Midwest Conference and currently sits on the professional development committees of both NAPAMA and Arts Midwest.

Prior to his move to Chicago, Tommy was an 11-year resident of the Seacoast region of New Hampshire where he served as Executive Director of the Rochester Opera House and sat on several non-profit arts boards. He has served on grant review panels for the New England Foundation for the Arts, New Hampshire Arts Council, Vermont Arts Council, and Illinois Arts Council. During his years as an arts presenter, he has also served on the juried showcase panels for the Arts Midwest Conference and Performing Arts Exchange.

Among his many theater credits, Hensel was the founding artistic director of the Harrisburg Shakespeare Festival (now part of the Gamut Theatre Group in PA). He has over 50 professional directing credits to his name and an extensive resumé as a theatrical performer and cabaret singer. In Chicago, he has a side "gig" as a restaurant reviewer for The Local Tourist website (http://chicago.thelocaltourist.com) and blogs about travel and food at https://www.tableforoneplease.com.

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