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

1. Learning To Love Being Wrong, “And why being right is boring” from Andrea Gibson. “When we lose our vice grip on being right, we are more open to having our minds and hearts changed. Open minds and hearts lead to a more peaceful, compassionate world.”

2. Reine #28: Love Is A Community Experience. “Ren Strapp is a butch lesbian illustrator and designer, who makes comics about her life.”

3. The seven types of rest: I spent a week trying them all. Could they help end my exhaustion? “When we feel fatigued most of us focus on sleep problems. But proper relaxation takes many forms. I spent a week exploring what really works.”

4. Why It’s Worth Rewilding on a Domestic Scale. “It doesn’t take much to add some wildness to your garden at home.”

5. How to Let Go of a Book You’ve Been Writing for Twenty Years. “Aaron Gilbreath on Growing Up with His New Book.”

6. For wellness community, social media often a conduit for misinformation. “NPR’s David Folkenflik talks with Derek Beres, co-host of the podcast Conspirituality, about vaccine misinformation in the health and wellness community.”

7. Musician Joanne Shenandoah, a powerful voice for Native culture, dies at 64.

8. Wisdom from Dza Kilung Rinpoche: “Sometimes it may seem that meditation means trying to do something different—to be something different. But it’s not that way really. What we’re really trying to do is to be what we already are. We discover the true nature of mind, instead of trying to be something else. But often we look at our thoughts and emotions, and we struggle with these, thinking that our mind’s nature is somewhere in there. But according to the Buddhist teachings, the true nature of mind is beyond disturbances; it is vast, spacious, and pure. And when we are connected to our true nature, to openness, there is a great potential for us to recognize that ‘This feels very familiar, this state of undisturbed mind.’ Intuitively we know we are home.”

9. 100 Notable Books of 2021 on The New York Times. In related news, NPR Books We Love: Best Books 2021 and What to Read When: A Holiday Book-Gifting Guide., and Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2021, organized by genre.

10. Wisdom from Marcus Garvey: “A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots.”

11. Not My America: Patriotism, Thanksgiving, and White Erasure. In related news, Day of Mourning, 2021 Resources (Google doc), and Groups and Indigenous Organizers to Support (Twitter thread), and Thanksgiving offers a way forward, and Complicated thanks, and Thanksgiving Promotes Whitewashed History, So I Organized Truthsgiving Instead, and Unpacking Origins of Thanksgiving Leads to Hard Truths.

12. The Standing Rock resistance and our fight for Indigenous rights, (TED Talk). “Still invisible and often an afterthought, Indigenous peoples are uniting to protect the world’s water, lands and history — while trying to heal from genocide and ongoing inequality. Tribal attorney and Couchiching First Nation citizen Tara Houska chronicles the history of attempts by government and industry to eradicate the legitimacy of Indigenous peoples’ land and culture, including the months-long standoff at Standing Rock which rallied thousands around the world. ‘It’s incredible what you can do when you stand together,’ Houska says. ‘Stand with us — empathize, learn, grow, change the conversation.'”

13. The modern family. “Amid distance and estrangement and strain, some are happily replacing the clans they’re born into with chosen families.”

14. Depression can make tasks as easy as showering feel impossible — here’s how I dealt.

15. Adele Breaks Down In Tears After Reuniting With Favorite Teacher During Concert Surprise.

16. Nicholas Ashe on Queen Sugar, Queer Art, and Coming Out in an Instagram Post.

17. CSU professor and ‘father of veterinary medical ethics’ Bernie Rollin dead at 78. Not gonna lie, I sort of thought he was going to live forever.

18. It’s now possible to visit the Smithsonian’s African American history museum virtually.

19. This webcomic made it okay to be sad online. Then its artist vanished. “The author of ‘Pictures for Sad Children’ went AWOL after a 2014 Kickstarter drama. In an exclusive interview, she explains why she had to unplug from the internet.”

20. 25 Weird Websites That’ll Make You Laugh And Confused.

21. Gary Shteyngart: Three Simple Tricks for Writing Your Novel FAST!!! **Spoiler Alert!!!**: “Walk! Nap! Write!”

22. Push Off from Here: Quitting Social Media (Again).

1. Lingering birthday love. Some because a few wishes and gifts came in the days after, and some because of the gorgeous flowers that remind me every day when I sit down at my “desk” that somebody loves me.

2. Practice. It remains constant, even as everything else is constantly shifting and changing.

3. Good food, leftovers. The winter holidays are just our tiny family in our tiny home, but that means that everything we cook for those special meals on those days are our favorite things — exhibit A is the picture above: Eric’s apple pie.

4. Vaccines. Eric and I scheduled our boosters for next week, as the news reports yet another variant. I’m glad we have access. I’m glad there are people who worked really hard to make that happen. I’m glad for all the other people who got vaccinated, wash their hands and wear their masks. I’m glad for all the people working in health care to support and try to heal all of us, even those who made a different choice.

5. Morning walks. This week, we got to go together one morning, and next week we’ll be back to our regular schedule for another couple of weeks. Because Eric was with me, he could stand behind me and get Ringo to look at him while I got some good pictures of the boy.

6. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. Eric was on fall break this week and it was really nice to have him here. It also made it really clear how much more bonded Ringo is to me now that I’m the one who’s home with him most often. I kept teasing Eric that he’s my dog now, and one night when he wouldn’t stop bugging me, I told Eric, “you can have your dog back now.”

Bonus joy: roasted veggies, my new best friend: the hydromassage chair at the gym, texting with Mom and Chris, hanging out with Calyx and Chloe’, other people’s dogs, that corner of the couch, good TV, listening to podcasts, cooking, getting in the pool, sitting in the sauna with Eric, training with Shelby, my new therapist, my nutritionist, apple pie oatmeal, writing, reading about writing, rubber bands, twist ties, bread, getting a massage, health insurance, calendars, online shopping, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.