1. On Witness and Respair: A Personal Tragedy Followed by Pandemic. “The acclaimed novelist lost her beloved husband—the father of her children—as COVID-19 swept across the country. She writes through their story, and her grief.” This is so good that I could stop the list right here, only have one thing on it and be done.
2. Liz’s free 10 step writing school. This came up in my Facebook memories the other day, and it’s definitely worth a reshare.
3. A Reminder to Enfold Yourself in Small Comforts on The New York Times. “‘I iron our mask’” and other tales of magical thinking and pandemic-era coping.” I’m not gonna lie, at first as I was reading this, I thought it was going to be a bit corny, sweet, but when I hit the final paragraphs, oh my tender little heart…
It felt like nothing less than a blessing, in this hurt and hurtful time, to remember how creative human beings can be, how tender and how kind.
We may be in the middle of a story we don’t know how will end, or even whether it will end, but we are not helpless characters created and directed by an unseen novelist. We have the power, even in this Age of Anxiety, to enfold ourselves in small comforts, in the joy of tiny pleasures. We can walk out into the dark and look up at the sky. We can remind ourselves that the universe is so much bigger than this fretful, feverish world, and it is still expanding. And still filled with stars.
4. Why walking is the ideal pandemic activity. You know I love a good walk.
5. A new book from Allie Brosh! “For the first time in seven years, Allie Brosh—beloved author and artist of the extraordinary #1 New York Times bestseller Hyperbole and a Half—returns with a collection of 100% new comedic, autobiographical, and illustrated essays.” I seriously LOVE her work. If you’ve never seen any of it, might I suggest Dogs Don’t Understand Basic Concepts Like Moving or The God of Cake or This Is Why I’ll Never Be An Adult. She’s written some really powerful things about depression as well.
6. The Tyranny of “Impact” from Omkari Williams, which I found by way of Jena Schwartz’s newsletter. It is definitely something I needed to hear, was ready to hear, because this:
Impact is wonderful and I, as much as the next person, want to make an impact on the world through my work and my life. But I remind myself that rarely do we get to see the true impact of our actions, and honestly that’s putting our focus in the wrong place. We have to be willing to take satisfaction in the doing of the work for its own sake. For our own sake.
So, whatever your thing is, do it. If you haven’t found it yet, find something. If it’s not quite right trust that, by doing something, you’ll find your way to your thing – and you’ll make a difference along the way, no matter the scale.
7. Holding Your Seat When The Going Gets Rough from Pema Chödrön on Lion’s Roar. “The most straightforward advice on how to discover your true nature is this, says Pema Chödrön: practice not causing harm to anyone—neither yourself nor others—and every day, do what you can to help.”
8. COVID-19 Mutual Aid, a list of mutual aid (mutual aid is a voluntary reciprocal exchange of resources and services for mutual benefit) groups and projects.
9. Trump orders federal anti-racism training to be ended, calling it “a sickness.” Because white supremacy is an “American value”: “These teachings ‘engender division and resentment’ within the federal workforce and contradict the ‘fundamental beliefs’ of the nation, Vought claimed, adding that is why Trump has asked him to stop ‘these divisive, un-American propaganda training sessions.'”
10. A race track for one. “When Dave Palazzolo’s security camera captured someone repeatedly trespassing on his property – a four-year-old on a bicycle making loops on his driveway – the Salt Lake City homeowner knew just what to do: create a chalk-lined race track for the young rider. Steve Hartman reports.” I shared a video about this last week, but this one tells a bit more about it.
11. Rebuilding After Domestic Violence, a fundraiser.
12. 11 Non-Partisan Fact-Checking Websites.
13. This Week, Octavia Butler Made the New York Times Best Sellers’ List, 50 years later. I finally read this series a few years ago, and it was eerie how current and relevant it seemed.
14. Heartwarming horse therapist. (video)
15. Nikkolas Smith has turned his art into ‘Artivism.’ (video) “From George Floyd to Breonna Taylor, Smith captures the spirit of the Black Lives Matter movement by highlighting the value of Black life in his art.”
16. Collective Trauma Summit: The Power of Collective Healing, “A 10-day Online Event to Explore Methods for Working with Unresolved and Hidden Trauma in Individuals, Communities, and Society, Sept 22 – Oct 1, 2020.” It’s a really great line up, and I would also suggest doing a bit of research on spiritual bypassing and toxic positivity before watching, as there are a few people in the group that are guilty of both.
17. 27 Diagrams That Make Going Vegan Way More Approachable. I’m not a vegan or planning to be, not even a full vegetarian, but I appreciate the helpful swaps, recipes, and information this provides.
18. A study of more than 10,000 protests this year found 95% were peaceful.
19. I Illustrate The Life And Secret Thoughts Of Dogs (18 Comics).
20. Thank You, Mama. (video)
21. 12 Queer Webcomics You Can Read For Free.
22. 19 Stories That Prove the World Is Full of Good People.
23. Steroids Can Be Lifesaving for Covid-19 Patients, Scientists Report on The New York Times.
24. The Voices in My Brother’s Head. “After schizophrenia upended a young man’s life, the notes he left behind offer clues to the horrors that haunted his mind.”
When I first posted this picture of Sam, I had no idea that only two weeks later, he’d be gone. I thought of it for this post because seven years ago today, I’d posted on Facebook: “On our walk this morning, I smiled at a little boy on his way to the bus stop, which made him smile. Then he said, ‘I like your dog.’ I said, ‘thank you,’ and then he said ‘I have a tall one too.'” It made me smile, made me miss Sam. Another memory came up from 11 years ago, a picture of Obi, our first dog, on a walk we’d taken in the final few months of his life. We knew we were losing him, as he’d been diagnosed with lymphoma seven months earlier, a treatable but incurable cancer in dogs. 
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 