photo by Edmund Garman
I am walking the dogs at Lee Martinez Park when the bells of St. Joseph’s start to ring. They mark the hour of this day, ringing now, here, but in my mind, in my memory and my heart, they are also sounding and counting all the hours of my childhood spent in the St. Boniface parish.
1. Sas Petherick’s “Down To Basics” Pinterest board. I want this, all of it.
2. Do You Conspire Against Yourself? A hard truth from Jennifer Boykin on Life After Tampons,”YOU are at the heart of everything that happens in your life.”
3. A heartbreaking and beautiful post, written by Neil Gaiman about his beloved Shepherd, The Power of the Dog. Cabal (2003-2013).
4. This quote: “There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by my self.” ~Brian Andreas
5. From Pema Chödrön:
Here, Now, Always: This is a work in progress, a process of uncovering our natural openness, uncovering our natural intelligence and warmth. I have discovered, just as my teachers always told me, that we already have what we need. The wisdom, the strength, the confidence, the awakened heart and mind are always accessible, here, now, always. We are just uncovering them. We are rediscovering them. We’re not inventing them or importing them from somewhere else. They’re here. That’s why when we feel caught in darkness, suddenly the clouds can part. Out of nowhere we cheer up or relax or experience the vastness of our minds. No one else gives this to you. People will support you and help you with teachings and practices, as they have supported and helped me, but you yourself experience your unlimited potential.
6. This quote:
The experience of joy is not
necessarily religious in any conventional way.
But a distinguishing characteristic of joy
is the feeling people have that they have touched
the hem of something far beyond themselves.
~Ardis Whitman
7. A note to me from the Universe: “It was perhaps one of your greatest acts of love, Jill. Choosing to be alive at a time when so many live so deeply in the dark. And already things are looking brighter.”
And this one, “Sometimes the people who know, Jill, don’t know they know. And sometimes the people who don’t know, think they do know. But you can always tell who is who, because, of course, with knowing comes tolerance, and patience, and love.”
And this one, “Believe it or not, Jill, if it weren’t for your so-called issues, problems, and challenges, there’d be no other way you could become even happier, cooler, and more enlightened than you have ever been before.”
8. This one makes me laugh, “For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.” ~Larry Eisenberg
9. The Challenge in Beginning, on Kind Over Matter by Jo Anna Rothman.
10. On Turning 45 by Lisa Congdon. I think I want to trade 45s with Lisa.
11. This quote from Mark Nepo:
We waste so much energy trying to cover up who we are when beneath every attitude is the want to be loved, and beneath every anger is a wound to be healed and beneath every sadness is the fear that there will not be enough time. Our challenge each day is not to get dressed to face the world but to unglove ourselves so that the doorknob feels cold and the car handle feels wet and the kiss goodbye feels like the lips of another being, soft and unrepeatable.
12. This is making me so happy right now, music from the band Washed Out. It’s categorized as “Dream Pop” on Rhapsody, one of my favorite genres. You might recognize this from Portlandia.
13. Inspiration Procrastination — are you a self-help junkie? on Simply Woz. Why yes, yes I am.
14. This video is so sweet: Lazaro Arbos, American Idol Auditions Chicago ~ American Idol.
15. The Surprise That Left Steve Harvey [and me] In Tears.
16. This quote from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche:
By connecting with basic goodness in this moment, we can live in an open, free, and unconditioned way. Without comparison, there is no jealousy or pride. There is simply a feeling of delight and brilliance. When we cower from this possibility, comparisons immediately arise and we are thrown into a whirlwind of insecurity and doubt.
17. 25 free romantic fonts from A Subtle Revelry.
18. By way of Susannah Conway’s Something for the Weekend list, Eight Healthy Comfort Foods (I am going to make some Amazeballs), and this video, which makes me so happy, (by way of Swiss Miss–check out the rest of their site, there’s some really cool stuff there–amazeballs!):
19. From From Positively Present Picks list: On Dog Hair from Bobulate, and from Huffington Post, Tina Fey: ’30 Rock’ Star’s Success Secret: ‘Say Yes’.
20. Moving Art channel on You Tube. Some really beautiful videos.
21. Some of my favorite women in conversation, connecting: Story Whispers, Sas Petherick with Hannah Marcotti, and The Illuminated Purposepreneur: Hannah Marcotti on Create as Folk with Laura Simms.
22. Scattered by Sas Petherick. (I’m apparently crushing hard on Sas, because she’s on my list three times this week).
23. From Brain Pickings: How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word and Can Money Buy Happiness? The Science of Materialism, Animated.
24. This quote: “Our way to practice is one step at a time, one breath at a time.” ~Shunryu Suzuki
25. This quote from Rumi:
Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.
26. Daily Rocks from Patti Digh, Say “Wow” and Be Open to Change.
27. Living Things on SF Girl by Bay.
28. From Patti Digh’s Thinking Thursday list, this quote: “Yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being yourself.” -Bhagavad Gita (so true…)
29. Judgement vs. Empathy by Alexis Yael on Kind Over Matter.
30. Some Days, a blessing from Erica Staab (and John O’Donohue).
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 