Something Good

From our morning walk, #nofilter, it really was that blue

From our morning walk, #nofilter, it really was that blue

So glad to be partnering with Yoganonymous to share this list with a larger audience.

1. Registration for the next round of Wild Writing with Laurie Wagner just opened. This time it’s a shorter session, only four weeks, and after this classes won’t start up again until the fall, so if you’ve wanted to try it this is a great opportunity. It truly is a magic, transformative practice, and Laurie is an amazing teacher.

2. A new video from attn, “In reality, only 5% of women naturally possess the body type portrayed in American media.”

3. Can Puppies Fix Boredom?, a new video from Soul Pancake. “SoulPancake and Purina Dog Chow teamed up to share the #PowerofPuppies at a preschool, retirement home, and gym to transform an otherwise ordinary day.” I wish this happened every day.

4. An incredibly rare Ili Pika rabbit has been photographed for the first time in 20 years. And he’s seriously cute.

5. April Love with Susannah Conway. “Join us in April for a month of self-care and kindness with my (completely free) April Love 2016 challenge … 30 prompts inviting you to write — or photograph or draw or collage — a love letter every day in April … To practice love, kindness, honesty and probably a smidge of vulnerability, too. To find gratitude for what we have, where we’ve been and where we’re going.” Susannah’s challenges are always my favorite.

6. 8 People Were Given $100. Here’s How Differently They Spent It. This is fascinating, and made me super curious about my own grocery shopping habits, and how they’ve changed over the years.

7. Marie Kondo and the Privilege of Clutter. “The Japanese author’s guide to ‘tidying up’ promises joy in a minimalist life. For many, though, particularly the children of refugees and other immigrants, it may not be so simple.” A really interesting perspective.

8. Alternative Meditation Positions for Your Best Seat, “Five expert-recommended postures to get the most out of your meditation practice.”

9. Working From Home Vs. Working In An Office from The Onion. And in related news, Why working at home is both awesome and horrible from The Oatmeal.

10. How To Hide Desk Cords, a clever hack for hiding the clutter under your desk.

11. Batman V Superman – Sad Affleck. Ben Affleck reacts to negative reviews for Batman v Superman. Poor Ben.

12. Roasted Asparagus and Scallion Quiche recipe. Sounds delicious.

13. Ebola, Ruthless to Families, Leaves Liberian Man Alive and Alone. Such a sad story, and not the only one related to this issue.

14. Study demonstrates possibility of simultaneous improvement in all mental, physical functions. This is really interesting, and seems to be true in my own experience — when I think about the changes I’ve undergone in the past decade, I can’t identify a single thing that enabled the shift, rather it’s a collection of things working together. And yet, what worries me about the study is that when you look at the “how,” it’s hard to imagine most of us being able to commit so much time and effort. Don’t get me wrong, it sounds wonderful — I’m just not sure how workable it would be for most people.

In the study, 31 college students were recruited for an intensive lifestyle change program; 15 participated in the intervention and 16 were in the waitlist control group. Those in the intervention put in five hours a day each weekday for six weeks. They did 2.5 hours of physical exercise (including yoga and Pilates), one hour of mindfulness practice and 1.5 hours of lecture or discussion on topics such as sleep, nutrition, exercise, mindfulness, compassion, relationships or well being. The were advised to limit alcohol consumption to one drink a day, eat a diet of mostly whole foods and sleep 8-10 hours a day.

15. Guy Poses As A Woman On A Dating Site And Learns Just How Gross Dudes Are. “Comedian Sy Thomas wasn’t content to just see second-hand harassment – he wanted to experience it first hand from people who thought he was a woman.” The video at the end is great. And in related news, 27 Of The Funniest Tweets About Tinder Our Interns Could Find.

16. Fascinating Photos from the Secret Trash Collection in a New York Sanitation Garage. “Garbage can be beautiful, if sorted correctly.” In related news, What’s in my 4-year-old’s bag?

17. stripped-back storytelling… from Pia Jane Bijkerk. “Looking back at how I started blogging, what I loved the most about the experience was the rawness, openness and connectivity that developed and I want to find that again.” Yes, this. In related news, 3 reasons why you should show your work from Austin Kleon. And what Rita is doing over on her Notebook also seems related, such as Wednesday words 3.23.16: Home.

18. Good stuff from Tiny Buddha: 5 Ways to Cope with Family Bullies, and Stop Trying to Fix Yourself and Start Enjoying Your Life, and 3 Simple Tests for Finding Your Authentic Self.

19. The Starvation Study That Changed The World. I think I’ve shared this before, but I was reminded of it this week and it’s so important, I wanted to share again.

20. James Tate’s Last Poem. I love this poem as a prompt from some wild writing, a list of things you accomplished and experienced — except that you didn’t really.

21. This is how you write. Some solid advice on the subject.

22. The Top 3 Traits of People Who Do Meaningful Work, wisdom from Laura Simms.

23. Shannon’s Method: Overcome Habit Procrastination on Zen Habits.

24. Wisdom from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, in response to recent events,

When we see terror perpetuated at this massive scale, it is easy to shut down and turn to blame and anger as methods for dealing with our pain. Instead, I invite you to join me in remaining open-hearted, and practicing for all of the victims, their families, and everyone who is affected by this tragedy which, given our interdependence, is simply everyone. We are all in this society together. Let us rouse our strong hearts and learn to overcome terror with kindness and bravery.

25. In related news, and in response to the same, wisdom from Lodro Rinzler, “My heart is broken, yes. But being broken-hearted is not a bad thing. It means we care. Our hearts are resilient and can accommodate pain, loss, and even terror. Let’s remain open-hearted and practice together.”

26. Reduce Decision Fatigue. Renew Your Willpower. Wisdom from Meg Worden. “The world we live in is actually designed to make us want. And a culture that cultivates such longing, isolation, and fear is legitimately exhausting.”

27. This Company Develops Edible Eating Utensils. Can’t imagine what they’d actually taste like, but this seems like a great idea. Compostable plastic-like packaging is the next thing someone needs to work on.

28. 7 Things to Do When You Just Don’t Know What to Do, wisdom from Jamie Ridler.

29. Writing the Stepping Stone: Why You Haven’t Written Your Book Yet.

30. The War On “Obesity” is Seriously Harming Kids, an important read from Dances with Fat.

31. People told Jim Cochran that no one cared about healthy food and healthy workers, he decided to prove them wrong. More of this, please.

32. Solitude: A Reprieve from the Noise of Doing. Just reading this felt like a tiny vacation.

33. How Walking Fosters Creativity: Stanford Researchers Confirm What Philosophers and Writers Have Always Known. “Going for a walk, contemporary research confirms—a mundane activity far too easily taken for granted—may be one of the most salutary means of achieving states of enlightenment, literary, philosophical, or otherwise, whether we roam through ancient forests, over the Alps, or to the corner store.”

I'd love to hear what you think, kind and gentle reader.

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