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

From our walk yesterday morning along the Cache la Poudre River. Fall is here.

1. This wisdom from Andrew Boyd, from his book Daily Afflictions: The Agony of Being Connected to Everything in the The Universe,

Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others. You must either learn to carry the Universe or be crushed by it. You must grow strong enough to love the world, yet empty enough to sit down at the same table with its worst horrors.

4. People in Texas impacted by the flooding still need help. Here are some ideas: Charity Navigator, How to Donate Money and Other Aid to Communities of Color in Houston, Where to Donate to Harvey Victims (and How to Avoid Scams), #SupportBlackWomenHOU and #SupportBlackWomenHOU Hair Care List. Also, there are some local animal rescue organizations doing good work. They have Amazon wishlists filled with affordable supplies they desperately need, or you can just make a donation to their orgs: Austin Pets Alive!, SPCA of Texas, and Dallas DogRRR. In related news, People are urging donations for Harvey relief efforts — just not to the Red Cross and Making Sure Your Houston Relief Money Is Going to the Black Folks Who Need It Most Isn’t Easy. Also, The death toll in Sierra Leone continues to rise after mudslides and torrential flooding. (Video) Charity Navigator has also provided a list of where to give for Sierra Leone. This also happened: Texas ‘Dreamer’ from Mexico killed volunteering during Harvey floods.

3. What to Do About Charlottesville, another great list of ways to help.

3. Recipes I want to try: Crispy Barbecue Potato Wedges, and corn, cheddar and scallion strata, and Summer Jams 4 Ways, and 8 wow-worthy pie hacks, and Pistachio Raspberry Energy Bars, and 6 Late-Night Snack Recipes, and Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Crunch Balls.

4. Truthbomb from Danielle LaPorte: “Your fulfillment depends on your clarity.”

5. How You Can Responsibly Take Accountability When You Cause Harm To Another Person on Everyday Feminist.

6. For White People Who Compare Black Lives Matter to White Supremacy. In related news, L’Oréal firing Munroe Bergdorf isn’t championing diversity, it’s centring white fragility and Conversations on Racism With White People Getting Stuck or Looping? Thirteen Questions To Get It Moving Again.

7. A Letter to INFJs About Dealing With the Pain of Disappointment. In related news, 25 Illustrations That Perfectly Capture the Joy of Living Alone as an Introvert.

8. Nappy, “Beautiful, high-res photos of black and brown people. For free.” In related news,

TONL seeks to transform the idea of stock photography by displaying images of diverse people and their stories around the world. Our voices and visibility matter. Photography and storytelling can help humanize and hopefully diminish the stereotypes and prejudice against black and brown people, especially. We wanted to challenge the stale, homogenous look of traditional stock photography by showcasing the many ethnic backgrounds of every day people.

9. A Janitor Preserves the Seized Belongings of Migrants.

10. “Nothing matters more than results” from Seth Godin.

11. This urban farm has sprouted up in crowded NYC. (video)

12. Meet Ludwick Marishane, the South African innovator who created the waterless bath gel. (video)

13. My sister’s cancer might have been diagnosed sooner — if doctors could have seen beyond her weight. Every woman I know has a story about a doctor not taking her seriously, simply because she’s a woman, or because she’s a woman and fat, or because she’s a woman and old, or because she’s a woman and young, etc.

14. A Much-Needed Primer on Cultural Appropriation. It’s a confusing issue, but that doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try to understand.

15. “If the shoe fits” – A game for everyone bored while shopping. This made me giggle.

16. Stores Full Of Furniture, ‘Mattress Mack’ Opens His Doors To Flood Victims. In related news, Watch This Spontaneous Gospel Performance Lift Spirits At A Texas Shelter. (video)

17. A sweet baby chimp daydreaming about some sweet bananas. (video)

18. Karl Ove Knausgaard: what makes life worth living? “Apples, plastic bags, teeth – the bestselling Norwegian author brings his forensic attention to everyday objects to explain the world in a letter to his unborn baby.”

19. Over 600,000 Trees Are Planted in Response to President Trump’s Climate Change Views.

20. Free Hugs Project helping in Houston. (video) I’m not crying, you’re crying… “The Free Hugs Project is an initiative that spreads love, inspires change and raises awareness of social issues.”

Photo by Joanna Kosinska on Unsplash

Think of a plum tree. In each plum on the tree there is a pit. That pit contains the plum tree and all previous generations of plum tree. The plum pit contains an infinite number of plum trees. Inside the pit is an intelligence, a wisdom that knows how to become a plum tree, how to produce branches, leaves, flowers, and plums. It cannot do this on its own. It can do this only because it has received the experience and adaptations of so many generations of ancestors. You are the same. ~Thich Nhat Hanh*

I would add three things. One, the trauma and suffering of the trees and fruit that came before are also contained in that pit, so each plum works with that as well.

Also, it not only has the benefit of its lineage, but is helped along by the soil, the rain, the sun, the air, the bees, and the occasional kind and gentle gardener. Similarly, it can be harmed by shifts in the environment, the weather, etc.

And finally, no plum tree ever questions what it has to offer. It doesn’t say, “am I doing this right?” or “should I make apples instead?” but rather trusts that the best it has to offer is exactly what it has to give. It trusts the season and when the fruit is ripe, it lets it go, unconcerned with what happens next.

*Thanks to @thedailytourist for sharing the Thich Nhat Hanh quote.