Monthly Archives: September 2019

Something Good

Kitchen counter love note from Eric

My apologies! I had this post ready to go yesterday, but wanted to make one last pass before publishing…and forgot!

1. Yoga is Dead, a new podcast I’m digging. Even if you don’t want to listen to the episodes or aren’t a yoga geek like me, check out their resources, which aren’t limited to the topic of yoga.

2. Steve McCurry’s images of harvest are gorgeous. Check out the rest of his work too, it’s brutally, beautifully human.

3. Your Liberation Is on the Line. “‘No one who has ever touched liberation could possibly want anything other than liberation for everyone,’ says Rev. angel Kyodo williams. She shares why we must each fully commit to our own path to liberation, for the benefit of all.”

4. An Anthony Bourdain Auction Will Include His Treasured Knife. “A year after the celebrity chef’s death, some of his things are going on sale to benefit his family and the Culinary Institute of America.” Someone want to buy me his writing desk?

5. The Art of Creating a Ritual for What Matters Most.

6. The New York Times 1619 project has a podcast!

7. Artists and freedom.

8. Yes, INFJs Can Be Entrepreneurs.

9. Spotted in Kenya: A Baby Zebra With Polka Dots.

10. Wishing the World Could Be More Soft on The New York Times. “She expected to give birth on Christmas Day. What happened instead was too hard to explain.”

11. DHS Just Finally Recognized White Nationalism as a Major Terror Threat. “Its the first time the department has placed major emphasis on countering the threat of white nationalism coming from inside the U.S.”

12. Fat People Must Become a Priority to the Left.

13. Dark crystals: the brutal reality behind a booming wellness craze. “Demand for ‘healing’ crystals is soaring – but many are mined in deadly conditions in one of the world’s poorest countries. And there is little evidence that this billion-dollar industry is cleaning up its act.”

14. Trump Launches Bullshit Islamophobic Attack on Ilhan Omar Claiming She Danced on 9/11.

15. Aimee Mann – Drive [The Cars cover] – Live in Pleasantville, NY.

16. 1 in 16 U.S. women say their first sexual intercourse was rape.

17. Episode 1 of Unbelievable is hard to watch… and it should be. (video) Yes, the subject matter of this limited series is hard to watch, more so for those of us with trauma histories, but it was so good, in particular the women, their power and their vulnerability.

18. Ed Buck, Democratic Donor, Is Charged With Operating Drug House on The New York Times. “A third man suffered a methamphetamine overdose at the Los Angeles home of the longtime activist last week.”

19. J.Cole-produced documentary ‘Out of Omaha’ is a harrowing look at surviving systemic racism. I really wish more white people would shift the energy they spend in denial, resistance, and willful ignorance, clinging to the idea that they are good and deserving people, to opening their eyes and hearts to what is really happening in the world to black and brown people. There is no way to “get over it” when it is still happening.

20. SNL fires new hire Shane Gillis after recent homophobic and racist slurs surface.

21. Woman’s Thread Notes The Never-Discussed Symptom Of Depression And Everyone Has To Read It.

Gratitude Friday (on a Saturday)

1. We did a thing. After a brief moment spent considering putting solar panels on our house, and with all the incentives and rebates available right now, it was too good to pass up: an all electric, 2019 Nissan Leaf. I am grateful that we can buy a whole new car without much hassle, that we have excellent credit and the necessary funds and privilege up the wazoo. I’m glad that so many things came together to make this an easy choice that just so happens to be good for the environment too.

2. Allowing myself the support I need. I had weaned myself off CBD, which I was taking for work stress, since I wasn’t working anymore. Turns out work was distracting me from a bunch of ongoing anxiety triggers and until I am more healed from my burnout and more settled into this new phase of my life, I actually need even more support than ever dealing with hsp, anxiety, and c-ptsd (which as a tag team trigger some pretty serious depression). Trying these new gummies cause even though Charlotte’s Web costs more, their products are such high quality they are my go-to when I try anything new.

3. Practice. I know for a lot of people the work, the journey, the path is primarily external – about getting somewhere, making a change that can be seen, going a way that can be tracked, offering something tangible. If you look at me and try to see some evidence of a shift, right now it would be hard to find because it’s mostly internal, happening in a landscape only I can see. I can’t offer you any proof of anything. You are just going to have to trust me. Thank goodness for practice, for the support I get from writing and meditation and yoga and dog(s).

4. Kitchen counter love notes. I can always count on Eric to be there for me. He’s my soft place to land, the one who can make me laugh no matter what is happening, the dude who gets up early to feed and walk the dogs so I can get another hour of sleep.

5. My tiny family. Along with Eric, Sam and Ringo are such a comfort and good company, provide so much joy and the occasional comedic relief.

Bonus joy: sometimes skipping the walk and yoga and the gym so I can stay home in the morning and putter around, good TV (they just added a bunch of new episodes of Call the Midwife on Netflix and the second season of I’m Sorry was just as funny as the first), good books (still working my way through all of Maya Angelou’s autobiographies and finishing up Tea and Cake with Demons: A Buddhist Guide to Feeling Worthy by Adreanna Limbach), having all the laundry done and put away, bran muffins with dried raspberries, fresh raspberries (I had forgotten how yummy they are!), sunny but cooler days, wearing a sweatshirt and socks, feeling stronger, reading, taking naps, cooking, libraries and librarians.