May | 2021 | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

1. The Other Side of Languishing Is Flourishing. Here’s How to Get There. On The New York Times. “Research shows that the pandemic took a toll on our overall well-being and left many of us drained. Here are seven simple steps to get you thriving again.” In related news, Wintering and dormancy.

2. Artist Uses Sand and Stones to Create Land Art Masterpieces at His Local Beach.

3. A selection of top stories from the final round of the 100-word Microfiction Challenge 2020.

4. How to help India during its COVID surge — 12 places you can donate. In related news, Help India Breathe on Lion’s Roar.

5. If Your Brain Feels Foggy And You’re Tired All The Time, You’re Not Alone. “Feelings of exhaustion, irritability and mental fogginess are our bodies’ normal response to an abnormal year of pandemic life.”

6. Doctor explains how uninsured people can lower their medical bills. “In a series of videos, Dr. Calderilla explains in detail how someone without insurance could negotiate their hefty medical bills down to a fraction of what they are initially asked to pay.”

7. Stacey Abrams Contains Multitudes. “Her obsessions with public policy and pop culture came together in the new Supreme Court thriller ‘While Justice Sleeps,’ the first time she has used her own name on one of her novels.”

8. Goodwill Doesn’t Want Your Broken Toaster.

9. Can You Stop Being an Introvert? Probably Not, According to Science.

10. Here’s Everything Researchers Know About High Sensitivity, As Of 2021.

11. Good Samaritan speaks out for 1st time after jumping 25 feet to save girl in bay. “After he was involved in a five-car collision with his daughter, Jonathan Bauer jumped from a bridge to save another girl who had fallen into the water.”

12. Can We Ever Know The True Version of Our Parents’ Life Stories? “In her memoir ‘Negative Space,’ Lilly Dancyger searches for an understanding of who her artist father really was.”

13. Let’s Just Replace Every Terrible Man in the Movies With Tig Notaro.

14. “Write as if you were dying.” Read Annie Dillard’s greatest writing advice.

15. Yes, Virginia, There Is Still A Goddamn Global Pandemic from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

16. Women Who Said No to Motherhood on The New York Times. “A photographer in Berlin is capturing the lives of the consciously child-free.”

17. Good stuff from Austin Kleon: Just make something, anything, really, and Nobody wants to read a book, and The Goldilocks Theory.

18. Ani DiFranco: Tiny Desk (Home) Concert.

1. Morning walks. Eric was gone for a few days for a race (25 miles!) so I did more of the walking this week, which also meant I took more pictures. Of note: an osprey high up in a tree next to the river looking for fish and a whole flock of turkey vultures. The river is running fast and full from the snowmelt in the mountains and things are turning so green.

2. Practice. Today was the first day of a new session of Wild Writing, my Friday morning sangha, and it was so good to see everyone again, to write and share with them.

3. Raintree Athletic Club. My locally owned gym, with a pool and a sauna and aqua aerobics class and Pilates equipment classes and yoga and small group training. People I haven’t seen for a bit are starting to trickle back in and it’s so good to see everyone, for us to all be there together.

4. Service providers. I’m not gonna lie, highly sensitive introverted me does not love adulting, but I also am so grateful for all the places and people who take care of me, my car, and my dog. I even made an appointment for a haircut today, my first one in TWO years!

5. My tiny house, my tiny family, my tiny life. All of it, always.

Bonus joy: dandelions, blooms, birds, sleepy Ringo, when Ringo rolls in the grass, the best veterinarian for Ringo (she has three Cattle dogs of her own, so she gets him, loves him), sunshine, the surprise of some of the things in our garden returning, good neighbors, puppies, babies, hot coffee with cocoa and marshmallows, hanging out and writing with Calyx, texting with Chloe’, texting with Mom and Chris, reading, watching TV, listening to podcasts, cooking, getting in the pool, sitting in the infrared sauna with Eric, seeing people I haven’t seen for a long time, being fully vaccinated, naps, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.