December | 2020 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

1. Christmas season. We put our tree up. We had to put it in a different spot because of the new layout of our living room — Sam’s couch is in the spot where we used to put the tree. I got out ALL the things I have for Christmas and decorated. I got a poinsettia to have on my “desk” (i.e. the dining room table). I’ve been meditating in front of our lit up tree in the morning and putting tiny marshmallows in my coffee, and today it’s snowing! The slowed down, lit up mood of this season is typically lovely, and this year seems essential.

“Ringo bells, Ringo bells, Ringo all the way!”

2. Practice. Still keeping me here, saving me, allowing space for all the hard things while allowing room also for the joy.

3. Shopping and giving online. Yes there are all kinds of things about online commerce that are problematic, but this year it made my holiday gift giving so much less risky, allowing me to shop from home and ship directly (while others put themselves at risk so I could stay home). I’m also glad that I can safely and easily send money online to food banks, as well as other people and places who need extra support right now.

4. Good food. For me, this is the season of soup, good bread and biscuits, clementines, honey roasted peanuts, roasted sweet potatoes, and pie.

5. Morning walks. We’ve been leaving a bit later so we’d still see the sun rise. The sky in Colorado is especially beautiful in the winter.

6. My tiny family. Right now it feels okay to just have one dog, just Ringo (who isn’t “just” anything). The season is making me miss Sam — his 11th birthday was/would have been yesterday and he won’t be with us for Christmas — and that doesn’t really leave room for a “new to us” dog. I am really really looking forward to Eric getting some time off work for the holidays, to get to spend more time together, for him to get to rest, take it easy for a bit.

1. Building a Mindful New Year, a FREE online program, “6 Transcendent Themes / 6 Buddhist Teachers / 6 Meditations to Guide You into 2021, December 26 @ 3:00 pm – December 31 @ 3:45 pm EST.”

2. Write About Now Podcast, “A thoroughly human, often humorous, glimpse into the lives and stories of successful writers. How they got there, what they’ve learned, and what you need to succeed.”

3. Tony, thank you for delivering Wow on GapingVoid. “We always remark to ourselves that we are in an incredible position, where we are able to learn and experiment all while we deliver our services for our closest clients. This was especially true at Zappos, and so we thought it fitting to list ten insights we gained from our work with Tony.”

4. A Letter To All White Yoga Teachers.

5. Are you doing enough for the world? (video) from the amazing Andréa Ranae Johnson. Also from Andréa, How to Avoid Burnout While Trying to Make a Difference (And Recover From Burnout if You Do) (video).

6. COVID related news: @covid19quilt project (“a global craft project instigated by Melbourne based artists…to share Covid-19 experiences of isolation, community and care”), Vaccines against the coronavirus will have side effects – and that’s a good thing, and Oregon doctor’s license revoked over refusal to wear mask during pandemic, and A 19-Year-Old Found Out She Had COVID While Filming A TikTok Taste-Testing A Starbucks Drink, and Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line on The New York Times.

7. Reading lists: NPR’s Best of 2020 and The Best Books We Read in 2020 from The New Yorker.

8. Kaavan, the ‘World’s loneliest elephant’ just had his first contact with another elephant in 8 years.

9. David Chang risked it all to win $1 million for restaurant workers.

10. Precisely Arranged Stones Coil and Surge Across the Land in Jon Foreman’s Mesmeric Works.

11. A Practical Guide to Taking Back Your Power from Social Media (Without Deleting It).

12. In America, Is Power in the Hands of Too Many ‘Mediocre’ Men? on The New York Times.

13. Man Who’s Very Much Not an Artist Draws Hilariously Bad Pet Portraits to Raise Money for Charity.

14. Wild Cockatoo And His Girlfriend Visit Their Favorite Person Every Day.

15. Australian Family Surprised After Returning Home To Find Koala Hanging Out In Their Christmas Tree.

16. Sobering Realities: Women Write Their Way into the Addiction Canon.

17. Magical ice-skating video from northern Finland wows viewers. “Photographer Esko Liukas and figure skater Tiina Pakkanen created a video in which she appears to be gliding across the water of a lake in the Finnish far north.”

18. “How to Be Alone” by Pádraig Ó Tuama, A Poetry Film by Leo G Franchi, “part of our ‘Poetry Films’ series, which features animated interpretations of beloved poems from our archive.”

19. The difference between helping and Helping.

20. ‘Hunger Like They’ve Never Seen It Before’: US Food Banks Struggle as 1 in 6 Families With Children Don’t Have Enough to Eat. If this isn’t a sign of screwed up priorities, I don’t know what is… How can so many be so wealthy when there are so many who don’t even have enough to eat?!

21. Beware going ‘back to normal’ thoughts – normal gave us Trump.

22. There is no finish line from Austin Kleon.

23. Good Vibes Only in this Burning House, Please.

24. 4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find Meaningful Work.

25. On working with limitations. “Writer Esmé Weijun Wang on the social and artistic benefits of a writer’s group, building a strong reading foundation, and re-envisioning what it means to leave a legacy.”