Needs

I loved reading your journals from yesterday. I saw many words describing your emotions, which made me think of people's needs. You see, each one of us has needs. There is actually a model that organizes these needs, it's called Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. The interesting thing is that your emotions are directly related to your needs. To oversimplify, I could say that "negative" emotions tend to point towards needs not being met, while "positive" emotions point to needs being met. Today I'd like you to read pages 61-67 in our Health Textbook. The topic there is "Mental and Emotional Health". There are 2 areas I'd like you to pay close attention to, and that is the Maslow's section, and the Defense Mechanisms section.

Your journal prompts today are:
1. Think about your daily interactions with the people in your life. Do you notice yourself using any defense mechanisms? If so, which ones do you notice?

2. What are some of the needs you have that are being met right now? What are some of the needs you have that are unmet right now?

On a more personal note, here is my journal from yesterday. As one student mentioned, it would be weird if every thought was put online. I agree, so I'll try to censor myself. Side note: You are not required to read any of my personal journal for a grade in this class. YOU CAN STOP READING NOW.

When I get a thought, I tend to have dialogues in my head, like a movie. It guess it's how I weigh the pros and cons of a situation.
Waves washing over us. What if we can't see them coming? Blindsided. Look! What if you can't? I received a request from a former student of mine to download an app called Be My Eyes. My former student, GJ, is blind, and he uses the app to get help with doing everyday tasks. Anyway, I downloaded it and am awaiting the first call. I am a little nervous about it, but I'll see how it goes.

I have a lot of paperwork to do for my job. During this school closure, it's overwhelming and my stress level is very high. The constant bombardment of texts, calls, notifications, and interruptions makes it very difficult to think clearly on solving the problems I am trying to solve. I am working on my routines for tackling every problem, which for me means spending 20 minutes or so on a task, then moving to the next one and determining the next action to take, then cycling back around to address that task again after I've worked on the others. I don't know if it's super effective, but at least I am addressing everything.

Ok, to get back to the prompt.
1. So, news. When I watch the news, I get tense, annoyed, and fearful, and then I think that there's got to be a better way of staying informed. That usually prompts me to stop watching, and go back to what the authorities are recommending. I have a small part in this whole thing, and that is to stay home and keep safe. I am doing that, and that's all I can do at this time. I find comfort in that fact.

2. Over Spring Break, I am looking forward to organizing my garage, which is where I am working from. I took over a shelf and set up my computer on it. I had to move a bunch of things to the middle of the garage in order to do that, so it's a complete mess. During Spring Break, I'll have time to get all of that organized. When I look at the pile of stuff, I get hopeful, because I am excited about cleaning up.

3. I am learning to use GarageBand on my iPhone. I borrowed a device from my brother in law Nate that allows me to plug my electric guitar into the phone and record, using different effects. I have learned how to record drum beats, rhythm guitar, then lead guitar, each as a separate track, mixed together to make a song. I spend about 30 minutes a day, when I am done working, usually around 10:00 at night, recording the music. Then I clean the kitchen and listen to the music, then send it to my brother Brady so he can further edit the track. Brady and I have talked about making music together for years, and now we are trying to make it more of a priority. Making music with others has always made me feel very connected, inspired, hopeful, and proud. I am concentrating my lead playing on the Mixolydian scale at this time, trying to break out of the Pentatonic rut I have been in for years.