Monthly Archives: July 2015

Something Good

Image by Eric

Image by Eric

1. Dear Bare Heart: A New Advice Column with Isabel Abbott. This particular response is one I really needed to hear.

2. Dear “normal dog” owners… I could have written this.

3. 11 Things White People Need To Realize About Race.

4. Jesse Williams addresses Sandra Bland death over the course of 24 tweets. (thanks for sharing this, Shellie).

5. Jealous Boyfriend Texts Girlfriend’s Coworker And Instantly Regrets It.

6. Self-Care Sucks: Confessions of an Overachiever.

7. Black Women Matter and We Will #SayHerName, a heartbreaking video.

8. BatDad Vine Compilation 10.

9. The one thing every aspiring freelancer, college student or person with access to a time machine should know. Wisdom from Paul Jarvis, who says things like this,

I make a living on the Internet by being myself and sharing the things I’ve learned. But I’m also scared shitless to be myself and share the things I’ve learned.

10. Good stuff from Seth Godin: In search of your calling, and Opposition.

11. When Information Becomes Clutter and Noise and The Best Simplicity Articles (10 Most Popular Posts on Be More with Less) from Be More With Less.

12. Truthbombs from Danielle LaPorte, “Clarity creates simplicity,” and “Start with willingness.”

13. Creative Thursday – Season 1 Official Trailer.

14. Elizabeth Gilbert’s new podcast, Magic Lessons.

15. 10 Life-Changing Tips for Highly Sensitive People from Marc and Angel Hack Life.

16. The noun and the verb from Austin Kleon.

17. Wisdom from Francesca Reigler, Carlos Castaneda (thanks for the corrected attribution, Lori), “We either make ourselves miserable or we make ourselves strong. The amount of work is the same.” Oh, snap.

18. Why I really Do Yoga Every Day, shared on Susannah’s Something for the Weekend list.

19. Dear Guy Who Is Mad Because I Wrote A Gay Character In A Book from Terrible Minds.

20. Pema Chödrön and Jack Kornfield talk “The Wondrous Path of Difficulties.”

21. The process of transformation and how we screw it up from Life is Limitless.

22. When you get through the big pain, this is what happens: Near-blinding radiance. By Danielle LaPorte.

23. Good stuff from Alexandra Franzen: Productivity secrets that I learned from a sexy chef, and This might help you stick with your fitness goals, and Just the right words. Just the right time. Three stories to inspire you to say them., and How hard are you trying, really? And this, from her newsletter (which you should really sign up for if you aren’t already getting it), “Transformation of any kind — big or small — begins with a personal choice.”

24. J.K. Rowling’s Tweet May Have Saved This Fan’s Life.

25. Onward Voyage, a new blog from my friend Kathryn.

26. After her best friend died of cancer, this woman adopted her four daughters.

27. #18: Transform your relationship with food (and yourself) with Isabel Foxen Duke, on The Brave Exchange podcast.

28. 7 Reliable Steps to Change Your Life at Any Age from Marc and Angel Hack Life.

29. Screaming at Fat People for Fun and Profit from Dances with Fat. Because this,

It is possible that a few of these people have become so deluded and confused by a culture where fat hating is rampant and encouraged (including by the government) that they think this is a good idea, or their sense of self-importance is so over-exaggerated that they think that they are being brave and helping those who are beneath them, but at the end of the day they are still bullying and abusing people and their behavior is still deeply wrong.

30. Rachel Cole is accepting applications for the next round of Feast. Rachel says, “There are just 30 spaces and they will be filled on a first apply basis. Do not wait to apply if you think you want to be a part of Feast. The deadline to apply is August 19th. I expect Feast to fill long before then.” I took part in the first session and loved it. Feel free to email me if you have questions about it, lifewholehearted@gmail.com.

Day of Rest

squashblossom02

Invisible Work by Alison Luterman

Because no one could ever praise me enough,
because I don’t mean these poems only
but the unseen
unbelievable effort it takes to live

the life that goes on between them,
I think all the time about invisible work.
About the young mother on Welfare
I interviewed years ago,
who said, “It’s hard.
You bring him to the park,
run rings around yourself keeping him safe,
cut hot dogs into bite-sized pieces for dinner,
and there’s no one
to say what a good job you’re doing,
how you were patient and loving
for the thousandth time even though you had a headache.”
And I, who am used to feeling sorry for myself
because I am lonely,
when all the while,
as the Chippewa poem says, I am being carried
by great winds across the sky,
thought of the invisible work that stitches up the world day and night,
the slow, unglamorous work of healing,
the way worms in the garden
tunnel ceaselessly so the earth can breathe
and bees ransack this world into being,
while owls and poets stalk shadows,
our loneliest labors under the moon.

There are mothers
for everything, and the sea
is a mother too,
whispering and whispering to us
long after we have stopped listening.
I stopped and let myself lean
a moment, against the blue
shoulder of the air. The work
of my heart
is the work of the world’s heart.

There is no other art.