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

I tried to find the origin of this image, and my best guess is it was made by this artist, Susann April

1. Truth: This year was a fallow period. Fallow is a farming term that means “plowed and harrowed but left unsown for a period in order to restore its fertility.” After “the election” last year, I spent time in shock, disbelief. When I came out of that, I was too distraught to concentrate, there was just so much wrong. After the dust settled a bit, I dove into educating myself, reading and taking classes, paying attention. With a fresh perspective, I suddenly was afraid to say the wrong thing, embarrassed that I’d been so ignorant, and didn’t know exactly how to make the shift from writing about my personal stuff to what’s happening in the world, or about how they might be connected. I got confused about my work, about what I had to offer. My weekly Something Good posts were easy to modify, and I could still find things to be grateful about, but everything else felt…weird, awkward.

2. Truth: I’m ready to be more present, more vocal. I’m going to make mistakes. I’m going to put my foot in it. I’m going to fuck up. Some people won’t like me anymore. And yet, I’m no longer going to let any of that silence me. My path is one of discovery and devotion, and after a time of contemplation and confusion, that previous truth still stands.

3. Truth: I’ve changed, and I’m more myself than ever. My world view has shifted two clicks to the left, and yet after much deliberation and effort, I find myself exactly where I was. The things that mattered to me still matter, the things I teach are still what I teach, and my mission is still exactly the same: to ease suffering, in myself and in the world.

One wish: May we remember that our worth isn’t always about our doing. May our practice and effort be about being more present and authentic, which also means being more vulnerable. May we cultivate a strong foundation of sanity and compassion in the ways that feel right to us, thus encouraging wisdom and love in others.

Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

1. The best gift you can ever receive, wisdom and meditation instruction from Susan Piver, (video). Each week, she sends out a video — watch this one before next Monday, when it goes into the vault and you can only access it as a member of the Open Heart Project Sangha. In this one, she gives some of my favorite instruction, says that meditation isn’t about becoming good at meditation but rather becoming good at being yourself in the world, and we practice “to be good at meeting our experience with a full and open heart, to be good at extending that heart to others and to ourselves, and to be warriors in the world in the name of non-aggression and peace.” I’m down for that.

2. Kindness scales from Seth Godin.

3. “I just want to feel good in my body”, wisdom from Rachel Cole. The wish at the end made me cry, “May 2018 be the year that an army of women decides what this world needs more than their obedience or their beauty is their freedom, their joy, their unequivocal no, their fierce empathy, their unleashed power, their laser focus, their loud voices, and their embodied presence.”

4. Disrupting Systemic Whiteness in the Mindfulness Movement. “A Q&A with Dr. Angela Rose Black on the omission of the voices and wisdom of people of color in mindfulness research, teaching, and practice.”

5. 9 Essential Reads For Your Racial Justice Conversations. “These authors will help you talk about White supremacy by using reasoning and research rather than anger and frustration.” In related news, 14 Debut Books By Women Coming Out In 2018 That You Need In Your TBR Pile.

6. Why humans are cruel. “A psychologist explains why humans are so terrible to each other.”

7. 8 New Year’s Resolutions For Radical Resistance. “A progressive’s guide to fucking shit up in 2018.”

8. Easing into the new year, another month of prompts from Susannah Conway, “The idea is to simply take a photograph every day in January (and share it if you wish) to give yourself a moment to pause and be present.”

9. A Holiday Manifesto for Introverts.

10. I will disagree with food and body-shamers this year, wisdom from Isabel Foxen Duke. In related news, The Worst Holiday Diet Tips from Dances with Fat.

11. 31 Days of Devotion with Adreanna Limbach. “20 minute meditation videos, 8 contributing teachers, free for all, delivered fresh to your inbox every single day in January.”

12. Maxine Waters Is Reclaiming Her Time: BUST Interview.

13. P.T. Barnum Isn’t the Hero the “Greatest Showman” Wants You To Think. “His path to fame and notoriety began by exploiting an enslaved woman, in life and in death, as entertainment for the masses.”

14. Body Positive Rebellion, “a free, 7-day, self-paced course (December 31 – January 6) where we’ll explore making peace with our bodies, subverting the patriarchy, and living out loud.”

15. How to wrap your Cat for Christmas 101. (video)

16. “The First Noel” Leslie Odom Jr. ft. PS22 Chorus. (video)

17. Transgender Children Talk About Being Raised By Their Families. (video)

18. AG Celebrity Spotlight: Amy Grant by Kirsten Akens. Amy Grant was the first concert I ever attended.

19. Ridiculous video emerges of wealthy Koch heir — and the internet is dying of laughter. I don’t know whether to laugh or cry.

20. This man’s bond with his dog helped him off the streets. (video) “‘He loves me unconditionally, I count my blessings every day.’ The loving bond this man has with his dog helped take him off the streets – and even saved his life.”

21. The Tarmac Dancer, (video). I wish I felt this way about my job. Or my life even.

22. How dogs move. (video)

23. Christmas Time Is Here – Daniela Andrade ft. Cutest Dog in the Galaxy. (video) I’ve shared this before, and probably will again, because it’s just that good.

Merry everything, happy always, kind and gentle reader. And as you celebrate (or opt out), take a moment to think of those who have broken hearts or no place to go this season (including yourself, if it applies) and make a wish that next year, things will be better.