A Thousand Shades of Gray

1. Morning walks. Eric was gone for a few days for a race (25 miles!) so I did more of the walking this week, which also meant I took more pictures. Of note: an osprey high up in a tree next to the river looking for fish and a whole flock of turkey vultures. The river is running fast and full from the snowmelt in the mountains and things are turning so green.

2. Practice. Today was the first day of a new session of Wild Writing, my Friday morning sangha, and it was so good to see everyone again, to write and share with them.

3. Raintree Athletic Club. My locally owned gym, with a pool and a sauna and aqua aerobics class and Pilates equipment classes and yoga and small group training. People I haven’t seen for a bit are starting to trickle back in and it’s so good to see everyone, for us to all be there together.

4. Service providers. I’m not gonna lie, highly sensitive introverted me does not love adulting, but I also am so grateful for all the places and people who take care of me, my car, and my dog. I even made an appointment for a haircut today, my first one in TWO years!

5. My tiny house, my tiny family, my tiny life. All of it, always.

Bonus joy: dandelions, blooms, birds, sleepy Ringo, when Ringo rolls in the grass, the best veterinarian for Ringo (she has three Cattle dogs of her own, so she gets him, loves him), sunshine, the surprise of some of the things in our garden returning, good neighbors, puppies, babies, hot coffee with cocoa and marshmallows, hanging out and writing with Calyx, texting with Chloe’, texting with Mom and Chris, reading, watching TV, listening to podcasts, cooking, getting in the pool, sitting in the infrared sauna with Eric, seeing people I haven’t seen for a long time, being fully vaccinated, naps, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.

1. How to Help India Amid the Covid Crisis from The New York Times. In related news, Support Swasth & ACT Grants to procure Oxygen concentrators for India, and Give India Covid Missions, and Why the World Should Worry About India, and ‘Every Time I’m Calling, Someone Has Died’: The Anguish of India’s Diaspora (The New York Times), and Manisha Jadhav, Key Administrator at Mumbai Hospital, Dies at 51 (The New York Times).

2. The theologian behind the groundbreaking, justice-seeking Nap Ministry believes the more we sleep, the more we can wake up.

3. 6 Reasons Why I Love Being an Introvert.

4. Photographer Dana Gallagher Feeds Both Body and Soul in Her Tiny Brooklyn Backyard. The sweetest little garden.

5. Unpacking Diet Culture to Simplify Your Life by Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

6. How to Recycle Like a Responsible Human. “Read on for all you need to know about six of the most common types of household waste and how to recycle (or throw them out) responsibly.”

7. Good stuff from Austin Kleon: I am no longer weakened by the weekend, and Not waving but drowning, and Star Wars is over (if you want it), and I’m not languishing, I’m dormant.

8. Wisdom from Valarie Kaur: “Shallow solidarity is based on the logic of exchange—You show up for me, and I will show up for you. But deep solidarity is rooted in recognition—I show up for you, because I see you as part of me. Your liberation is bound up in my own.”

9. 4 Struggles INFJs Will Relate To — And How to Overcome Them.

10. 8 Ways to Make Your Business More Body Positive.

11. W. Kamau Bell Is A ‘Wall-Tearer-Downer’ In ‘United Shades Of America’.

12. How Losing a Pet Can Make You Stronger, (The New York Times). “The process of acceptance and letting go builds the resilience necessary to navigate an array of life’s obstacles.”

13. Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the U.S., Experts Now Believe, (The New York Times). “Widely circulating coronavirus variants and persistent hesitancy about vaccines will keep the goal out of reach. The virus is here to stay, but vaccinating the most vulnerable may be enough to restore normalcy.”

14. Of course you’re anxious about returning to normal life. In related news, 10 Self-Help Essays to Read Before Re-entering Society, (The New York Times).

15. For author Jenny Lawson, life is brutal — and hilarious.

16. Alison Bechdel Discusses A Lifelong Affair With Exercise In New Memoir.

17. ‘Nomadland’ author Jessica Bruder’s best piece of writing advice didn’t come from a writer.

18. Actress and Comedian Patti Harrison on Her New Movie Together Together, Conquering Onscreen Anxiety, and Her Daily Bagel.

19. He Asked Strangers About Things They Regret Not Saying. The Replies Were Cathartic.

20. National Poetry Month Day 29: Ross Gay.

21. Things to Try That Might Knock Out the Virus, a poem by Richard Prins.