March | 2017 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

Early morning owl, Poudre River

1. “At The Gamesman barbershop in Brooklyn, Dez Marshall is serving up some of the best cuts in the borough. Even better? She provides a safe space for the LGBTQ community to get fresh without judgment.”

2. 15+ Pictures That Reveal The Truth Behind Photography.

3. Thousands of Native Americans take their opposition to the Dakota Access Pipeline to the White House. In related news, Native Nations Rise. Also, The Women of Standing Rock. Also, Viceland: Rise, “We travel to Indigenous communities across the Americas to meet people protecting their homelands and rising up against colonization.”

4. Rep. Joe Kennedy II: “There is no mercy” in #Trumpcare.

5. Tracey Ullman – Mugged. “Guys, is dressing provocatively in expensive suits whilst having too much much to drink causing you to get mugged?”

6. ‘It’s Because You’re Fat’ — And Other Lies My Doctors Told Me.

The medical profession needs to step up. It needs to accept that diets aren’t the universal treatment option for fat people. It needs to accept that fatness isn’t the universal cause of ill health in fat people. It needs to engage with the very real damage caused by its attitudes toward fat people, and with the sub-standard care delivered to many people as a result of their size.

7. Overtaken By Events: Kids Burst Onto Scene Of Live BBC TV Interview. In related news, That Asian mom is not the nanny. Why do so many people assume she is? and BBC interview hijacked by children prompts social media debate.

8. What If Privileged People Were Othered? This Cartoon Resets the Defaults.

9. The Cost of Balancing Academia and Racism. “Researchers say that discrimination at colleges and universities may have negative impacts on black students’ mental health.”

10. How the AMERICAN WOMAN Project Aims to Make Black Women the Face of America. I am a Patron of this project, because it is so amazing and important and inspiring.

11. Recipe I want to try: Spinach Pesto Pasta (seems like this would be yummy with salmon too).

12. New Ferguson Video Adds Wrinkle to Michael Brown Case.

13. Man spends 4 years building a church using only living trees.

14. Support Injured Medic Sarah.

15. The Funniest Tweets From Parents This Week. Kids aren’t required in order to giggle at these.

16. The Lonely Towns of Fukushima.

17. Internet warriors: inside the dark world of online ‘trolls.’

18. John Oliver’s interview with the Dalai Lama is an unexpected delight.

19. The Real Reason Republicans Want To Pull The Plug On Obamacare. What’s so upsetting to me about this whole debate (other than all the people who will probably end up losing their health insurance, all the suffering that will be caused) is the assumption by many in our culture that healthcare, health insurance, is a luxury, when it should be a basic fundamental human right. In related news, Laziness isn’t why people are poor. And iPhones aren’t why they lack health care.

20. In the Early 1900s, Albino African-American Brothers Were Stolen From Their Virginia Home to Be Circus Performers. This Is Their Story.

21. Learning to swim in Zanzibar. “Even though it is an island, many in Zanzibar cannot swim. A charity is helping children learn.”

22. Your Calls For Unity Are Divisive As F*ck.

23. Finally, an actual bathroom user speaks up about trans bathroom laws. *tee-hee*

24. Love Letters for My Children – The Maggie Doyne Documentary, a Kickstarter Project.

25. Diverse Stock Photos. “The world’s first inclusive, body positive and weight neutral commercial-use stock photo site.”

26. Official Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights Shirt. Every shirt sold benefits Planned Parenthood & True Colors Fund.

27. Reading lists: 5 New Books That Will Make You a Better Feminist, and Your International Women’s Day Reading List, (“Nine female nature writers who will inspire you to explore, enjoy, and protect the planet”), and 24 Empowering Books Every Feminist Needs to Read.

28. New (to me) music: Andra Day. She reminds me of Amy Winehouse.

29. List: Woman Facts from McSweeney’s.

30. YouTube sensation Shane Koyczan transmits hard-to-hear messages by my friend, the amazing writer, blogger, yoga teacher Kirsten Akens.

31. Amy Krouse Rosenthal on The Interview Show with Mark Bazer, possibly one of her last public interviews. In related news, Creative Superhero Podcast #6: A tribute to Amy Krouse Rosenthal: Make the most of your time here. Also, Amy Krouse Rosenthal – TEDxSMU 2012 and her short film The Beckoning of Lovely.

32. What Happens When Bookstore Employees Get Bored.

33. An Insider’s View of Alaskan Inuit.

34. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön, “When we practice generating compassion, we can expect to experience our fear of pain. Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us. The trick to doing this is to stay with emotional distress without tightening into aversion, to let fear soften us rather than harden into resistance.”

35. A Reddit AMA with Margaret Atwood, “author of The Handmaid’s Tale, and executive producer of the Hulu original series based on the novel premiering April 26.”

36. Statue of Girl Confronts Bull, Captivating Manhattanites and Social Media.

37. The Racist History of Dr. Seuss & What it Means in Today’s Social, Political & Educational Context.

38. Should A Writer Get An English Degree, Yes Or No? from Chuck Wendig.

39. White Privilege for DUMMIES.

40. Just a tiny porcupine called Wilbur eating a slice of banana.

I am craving spring. And it is fast approaching, with the windy days, occasional rain, the tips of iris stalks and new grass poking their way out of the ground, along with crocus and mini iris blooms. Even the “spring forward” of Daylight Savings time is a sign. Soon it will be time to clean up the garden, making space for the return of what is already there and getting the ground ready for the new things we’ll plant.

This particular spring is a mix of hope and anxiety. Yesterday I attended a livestream of the ACLU’s “People Power” Resistance Training, (you can watch it online here — it’s a great watch, inspiring and informative, even if you have no plan to be active in this particular movement). There were 100 other people there with me. I took nine pages of notes, clapped from time to time, and even cried a little. I went in part because it makes me feel better to be doing something, anything, and to be surrounded by people who want the same.

The ACLU describes themselves this way, “For almost 100 years, the ACLU has worked to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution and laws of the United States.” The fact that there are people who disagree with what they do, actively resist and criticize it, and still insist they are active and concerned citizens of the United States baffles me. And yet, in another way, it doesn’t surprise me at all. If we are honest, our Constitution’s preamble begins with the phrase “We the people of the United States of America,” and was written in a time when “we” very clearly meant “white men.” The Constitution as originally written wasn’t intended to apply equally to all people. Women and people of color were not considered “equal,” then or now. In that light, I shouldn’t be surprised that so many are intent on maintaining white supremacy and the patriarchy, and can be so violent and vile in their defense of such ideals.

Faiz Shakir, National Political Director for the ACLU, spoke twice during the event. He is the son of immigrants and a Muslim. Early on the first time he was on stage, he said, “This is not the America we want to live in. An attack on one of us is an attack on all of us. We cannot be bullied out of our humanity.” One thing he said later that really stuck with to me was, “As Donald Trump is going about his hate agenda, we need to live our love. We need to live our values… Whatever he’s doing, let’s have an equal and opposite reaction.”

On this day of rest, with spring on its way, I find myself doing just this — living my love, not allowing myself to be bullied out of my humanity, making space and getting the ground ready for what’s to come.