Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

1. Morning walks. Things are really blooming and starting to turn green. The snow must be melting in the mountains because there’s water moving in the river again. Next will be all the animal babies.

2. Mom’s birthday party was a success. She really seemed to enjoy herself, the gifts and the treats (the berry pie my aunt brought was her favorite) and the company, and as soon as they put her back in her bed, she passed out for a long nap. As always, and as is clear from the pictures, baby Hallie is still her favorite human, (seriously, as soon as you had her that baby, everyone else disappears — I like to pretend she thinks it’s me).

3. My brain is “unremarkable.” Apparently, this is the result you want from a brain MRI. The only thing they found during my scan was evidence that I am, in fact, a person who has migraines. Knock on wood and fingers crossed that my migraines have calmed down for a bit and having a cluster of them like that is not the new norm.

4. Practice. Doing yoga at Red Sage and writing with my Friday morning group.

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. I love it here, with them, in this place.

Bonus joy: chicken breast made in the air fryer by Eric, the yellow green new leaves on my neighbor’s Honey Locust tree, good mail, stickers, a new blank notebook, ink refills for my pen, a warm shower, a big glass of cold clean water, getting in the pool and sauna, my new aqua shoes, Haflinger wool slippers, texting with my brother, sitting in the backyard with Eric and Ringo, down blankets and pillows, compression socks, listening to podcasts, naps, reading in bed while Eric and Ringo sleep.

1. Poetry: Anniversary by Edward Salem and Sonnet Overheard at Phone Booth by Elane Kim and Smalltown Lift by Brian Blanchfield and The plum you’re going to eat next summer by Gayle Brandeis and Community by Emily Bright on The Slowdown with Maggie Smith, Messages Back Home by Ananya Venkateswaran and Monarchs by Caryn Lazzuri and What Work Is by Matthew Buckley Smith and Milk by Frank Dullaghan on Rattle, Sparrow Child by Julie Barton (because this, those first two lines: “I’ve worn sorrow like wet feathers, unable to find lift”), Dear Peace by James Crews, Origin Story by Esther Lin shared by Patti Digh, They Say the Heart Wants by Danusha Laméris on Heart Poems, and that place in myself by Maya Stein (do yourself a favor and click on the link included to hear Maya read it).

2. Good stuff from Patti Digh: I am carrying my red metal lantern again (“After a long darkness, a small and steady light illuminates my way”) and “Oh my god. Dude.” (“Four words that said everything”).

3. The Simplest of Gestures, “On making friends with your work” by Jami Attenberg on Craft Talk.

4. Calm in the storm on The Imperfectionist. “Keeping your centre of gravity immediate and local means treating the world of national and international events as a place that you visit – to campaign or persuade, donate or volunteer, to do whatever you feel is demanded of you – and that you then return from, in order to gain perspective, and to spend time doing some of the other things a meaningful life is about.”

5. Good stuff from Elissa Altman on Poor Man’s Feast: The Most Dangerous Man on Earth is a Malignant NPD Who Is Out of Options (“On the Normalization of Evil”) and we are not in pieces (“The good things that are holding me together”).

6. Harrison Hill Tells Us About Nothing Ever Being the Same Again, “another installment of my occasional Tells Us series, in which I ask an author to tell us about five things” from Cheryl Strayed.

7. 16 Lessons From 16 Years of Self-Employment from Alexandra Franzen.

8. Dusking: The Dutch twilight ritual helping people slow down.

9. Why Pain Is Different From Suffering. “We’re basically trying to avoid pain and discomfort because we think that by doing so, we will be able to avoid suffering. What this showed is that there’s actually a hidden variable that most of us are completely unaware of. Suffering does not equal pain. Suffering equals pain times resistance. So if you can dial resistance down to zero, you are not doing away with the pain, but you are completely eliminating the suffering.”

10. The Stolen Minutes by Danny Gregory. “Finding time in a busy life.”

11. A rock in your shoe, “A small thing you kept walking with” from Jasmine on The Tiny Joy Project.

12. The Cliff’s Notes, “Stringing together the days” by Jena Schwartz.

13. Naming our Sacred Gifts, “I know you’re tired but come, this is the way” from Alix on Earth & Verse.

14. Not to Complain, But…“Actually, yes—to complain. In great detail” on “The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad.”

15. “something larger than money, larger than death” my 6 favorite quotes from Britchida.

16. Artemis II Lunar Flyby Image Gallery. “The first flyby images of the Moon captured by NASA’s Artemis II astronauts during their historic test flight reveal regions of the Moon’s far side, as well as an in-space solar eclipse. Released April 7, 2026, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen captured the images during the mission’s seven-hour flyby on April 6, 2026, showing humanity’s return to the Moon’s vicinity.”

17. If Only I Sent This, “A modern archive for unsent memories, anonymous confessions, and heartfelt messages you were never ready to send.”

18. Americans still opt for print books over digital or audio versions; few are in book clubs, and other interesting results from Pew Research Center.

19. Over 70 Powerful Winners From the 2026 World Press Photo Contest.

20. ‘I got everything I dreamed of – when I had no ability to handle it’: Lena Dunham on toxic fame, broken friendships and her ‘lost decade’ on The Guardian. “Stardom came fast and hard for the wunderkind who created the hit HBO series Girls aged just 23. Now she’s written a tell-all memoir about why she was forced to retreat from the spotlight.”

21. Josh Thomas on his nemesis, men’s shorts and fighting Harry Styles: 10 Chaotic Questions on The Guardian. (video) “Who is Josh Thomas’s preferred celebrity body swap? What’s the weirdest thing he has done for love? Michael Sun sits down with the comedian to talk the ideal length of men’s shorts, fighting famous people and his most controversial pop culture opinion.”

22. How to change your life when you are in a rut, wisdom from Ted on the Mary Tyler Moore Show. (Facebook reel)

23. Hillary Waters Fayle Creates ‘Portraits of Place’ from Seeds, Foliage, and Petals.