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

1. Morning walks. Still getting a mix of dark and light. Because we got snow this week, the sky was extra special. We met an eight month old Malamute/Husky mix on one of our walks. She had so much energy and was so soft. We didn’t see many animals, except the ducks and geese and a heron flying overhead, but apparently there’s a flock of wild turkeys roaming the park.

2. Winter. The energy is a good match for this particular moment in time, for me — the pull to hunker down, get comfortable, stay home, hibernate, eat good food, cuddle, sleep, read.

3. Practice. Steady, stable, constant, routine, comforting.

4. Warmth. In particular the heat generated by the oven and dryer, a warm shower, a hot cup of coffee, down blankets, infrared heating pad, saunas, how warm my doctor’s hands were (so warm, I asked if her stethoscope was heated), cuddling with Ringo, hugging Eric, “I love you.”

5. My tiny family. When a doctor friend said we might have to stay careful as we have until March, which would mean a full year of living like this, I wasn’t completely disappointed because it means getting even more time where it’s just the three of us, and that just so happens to be my favorite thing.

Bonus joy: good TV (The Queen’s Gambit streaming on Netflix and the last two episodes with America Ferrera on Superstore), good podcasts (in particular Do You Need a Ride, My Favorite Murder, and Working it Out), good books (I love Chuck Wendig’s writing on his blog, Terrible Minds, but I’ve never read any of his books, I’m reading his Wanderers because all I’m reading right now is dystopian fiction, and it’s really good, and Ocean Vaughn’s On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous was beautiful and heartbreaking), broccoli slaw, texting with people I love, Zoom so I can see their faces, an email from one of my yoga students telling me the reasons why practice with other teachers just isn’t the same, my primary care physician who is caring and funny and smart, the people at the lab who stayed patient even though people were being jerks, roasted vegetables, grilled cheese sandwiches, gummy vitamins, vaccines, all the people making an effort to make things better even when it puts them at risk.

May our sigh of relief
build on itself
until it is a tornado
tearing through
every structure of hate
in this country.

~Andrea Gibson

1. 8 Natural Ways to Ease Anxiety. In related news, Advice For Dealing With Uncertainty — From People Who’ve Been There, and There’s a word for your overwhelming anxiety, and it’s “zozobra”, and 16 Ways to Calm the Heck Down When You’re a Highly Sensitive Overthinker, and 10% Happier Podcast: Dealing with Uncertainty, Anxiety, and Anger | Special Post-Election Edition | Lama Rod Owens, and Body Kindness Podcast 2020 Burnout: Saving Our Mental Health for the Greater Good, and Need Peace? 10 Ways to Cultivate Quiet in the Chaos, and 51 Ways to Destress, Calm Down, and Feel Less Lonely Right Now.

2. I Am Shattered but Ready to Fight on The New York Times by Roxane Gay. “The support for President Trump is a disgrace, but the future is not hopeless.”

3. Thoughts On An Election on Terrible Minds by Chuck Wendig. An earlier post from Chuck, I Don’t Know What’s Going On And You Don’t Know Either.

4. The Trump legal team’s failed Four Seasons press conference, explained. “The bizarre venue overshadowed Rudy Giuliani’s conspiracy-theory-laden election rant, providing a poetic stage for the end of Trump’s presidency.”

5. Social Change Ecosystem Map from Solidarity Is. “In our lives and as part of movements and organizations, many of us play different roles in pursuit of equity, shared liberation, inclusion, and justice. And yet, we often get lost and confused, or we are newcomers to ongoing social change efforts and don’t know where to start, or we are catalyzed into action in the midst of a crisis in our community. This is a framework that can help individuals, networks, and organizations align and get in right relationship with social change values, individual roles, and the broader ecosystem.”

6. Tanka Fund “is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation located in Kyle, South Dakota. Tanka Fund’s goal is to convert one million acres of virgin prairie to regenerative agriculture built around a buffalo-based economy. Join us in restoring health and prosperity to Native communities by donating today to reach this goal!”

7. Good stuff on Rita’s Notebook: Heartsick and Oh happy day.

8. Good stuff on Lion’s Roar: How Not to Freak Out, and Resilience: Self-Care for Tough Times, and How to Have the World — and the Life — We Want, and Citizenship as Spiritual Practice.

9. The spaces in-between from Seth Godin.

10. The 2020 election has terrorized America. But here’s our silver lining.

11. The sum of small things.