Monthly Archives: October 2021

Gratitude Friday (on a Saturday)

1. It’s Eric and I’s 28th anniversary! That seems like a really really long time at the same time that it totally doesn’t. The day to day living of it seems like we’ve just started until I start to think of all the things we’ve experienced in those years…and it’s A LOT. There is no one that I’d rather do this hard, beautiful, amazing being human thing with than him. He’s my favorite.

2. A like minded nutritionist. There’s some things I want to work on in terms of my wellbeing that are related to food, but when you have a history of disordered eating, the world of health and nutrition is fraught with so much nonsense related to diet culture and fatphobia that it’s confusing, risky, even dangerous. Finding someone with a HAES, ED centered practice is such a relief.

3. Practice. I am particularly grateful for meditation, the way it allows me to be with what’s hard with wisdom and compassion.

4. Morning walks. I’d say that this week and next we are at peak autumn. Everything is lit up and glowing gold. Fall is my favorite time of year and this one isn’t disappointing.

5. My tiny family, my tiny house, my tiny life. At lunch today, I asked Eric if there was anything he’d do differently with the last 30 years of his life. The only thing he could come up with is to buy a more expensive house 20 years ago, because we could have and property values here have more than doubled in that time. Then I asked him if he thought we’d be happier with a bigger, more expensive house, and he said, “no.” That was all he could think of, and the only thing I had was to not bring up something that about seven years ago caused a fight between us that felt like it lasted for two years, although even that I told him “maybe needed to happen.” I feel super lucky and grateful that we have the life we have, that we’ve been able to live so much of it together, and that we still choose each other.

Bonus joy: Golden leaves falling like snow, raspberries, crunchy apples, podcasts, clean laundry, clean sheets, flowers in the bathroom, crunchy peanut butter, food Ringo can eat that he’s not allergic to, cooler weather, making art and hanging out with Calyx, texting with Mom and Chris, baby pictures from Chloe’, cooking, good TV, napping, getting in the pool, sitting in the sauna (but not the dude who told me “you have a beautiful smile” while we were in there alone), laughing with Eric, reading in bed while Ringo and Eric sleep.

Something Good

1. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar: 7 Life and Death Questions, The Five Remembrances, and The Creative Force: In Conversation with Novelist Ruth Ozeki.

2. In ‘Two Worlds,’ Split-View Photos Frame the Dual Environments Above and Below the Water’s Surface.

3. How to Share Space Again. “A gathering expert offers guidance on returning to a new kind of public life.”

4. How to support a friend or family member who’s struggling with their mental health.

5. Recipes I want to try (because someone gave me a bunch of apples): Apple Pie Filling (I think it would be yummy spooned on top of a bowl of oatmeal) and Apple Fritter Sweet Rolls.

6. Two Pockets from Jena Schwartz.

7. Good stuff from Austin Kleon: The Four Energies, Rewinding your attention, and An act of perpetual self-authorization.

8. In the TED spotlight, “Some thoughts on a little talk, and a big idea” in which Wendy Mac of DrawTogether talks about how she “stood on that famous red dot and got to share my thoughts about why drawing is essential: how it slows us down, helps us pay attention, look closely and connect with one another.” She also shares a link to her talk.

9. Cats are weird. (video)

10. This picture of all the different colors of chicken eggs.

11. Definitions of important mental health terms. Gaslighting, Love Bombing, The Guilt Trip, Negging, and Emotional Blackmail. Also a few slides about the mental impact of manipulation and how to deal with manipulative people.

12. Mail delays and price hikes are coming to USPS. Here’s why.

13. How I Knew I Needed to Quit Instagram on The New York Times.

14. Poet Tracy K. Smith on Finding Joy During an Unbearable Year.

15. Brandon Stosuy on “Cultivating an Art of Noticing” in the Age of Scrolling.

16. Meredith Woolnough creates embroidered artworks using a freehand embroidery technique on water-soluble fabrics. (video)

17. Uncoverage, “A podcast about growing up in a Tibetan Buddhist cult in America.” In related news (even though it is a two year old post), Ex-members: Shambhala, Boulder-born Buddhist organization, suppressed allegations of abuse.

18. Collage artist makes amazing art with old magazines. (video)

19. Colson Whitehead Finally Gets To Flex His Comedy Muscle.

20. Decluttering is bad for the planet. Here’s how to do it sustainably.

21. Understanding Wise Hope by Roshi Joan Halifax. “This is a sacred time we are in, yes, a scary time for many, a terrible time for many, a powerful time of learning for many, and I feel it is important to see that our work on behalf of others is sacred work. I believe that wise hope is a medicine that keeps us showing up for this sacred work of meeting reality, moment after moment with the heart of a bodhisattva.”