May the nourishment of the earth be yours,
May the clarity of light be yours,
May the fluency of the ocean be yours,
May the protection of the ancestors be yours.

~From New Year Blessing by John O’Donohue

1. The Best New Year’s Resolution I Ever Made Was To Exercise Less.

2. Betty White: First Lady of Television “A warm look at the life and career of the beloved television and film legend,” streaming on PBS.

3. A wild card foretelling hope for America’s future on CBS Sunday Morning. “Correspondent Steve Hartman asked a clairvoyant, Winslow Eliot, for a look ahead in 2022 and how America might fare during this uneasy time. The tarot cards – and assorted acts of kindness Americans have shared with one another – offer a sign of hope.”

4. Take a Good Look at What Dr. Oz Is Selling Us Now on The New York Times. Because this: “As we collectively face yet another surge of coronavirus infections, leaders who extol individualism aren’t simply ineffective — they’re dangerous. If there’s anything we should be taking away from the past two years, it’s that autonomy and self-reliance are inadequate for 21st-century problems such as climate change, structural racism and the pandemic.”

5. Unlearning Weight Stigma: The Latest Science on Trauma and Weight.

6. Why Doctor Visits Really Are Different for Highly Sensitive People.

7. Notes From the End of a Very Long Life on The New York Times. “With the death of Ruth Willig at 98, a Times series on a set of the oldest New Yorkers — chronicled over seven years in 21 articles — offers their lessons on living with loss.”

8. Why I Answered My Dad’s Gay Sex Ad. “In the Christian parenting books my dad wrote, we were always the most perfect devout family. When I found out he was secretly trolling for gay sex online, I became obsessed with unmasking the truth.”

9. Becorns on Instagram. “Ex-LEGO designer, traded in plastic bricks for acorns and sticks.” These are so sweet, a mix of magic and nature.

10. Diet culture is everywhere. Here’s how to fight it. In related news, Diet messaging is everywhere right now. Here’s how to tune it out.

11. When facing loss, embrace change and don’t force closure, a therapist urges. “In her latest book, published in December, The Myth of Closure: Ambiguous Loss in a Time of Pandemic and Change, Boss offers ways to heal from the everyday and catastrophic losses of the last two years — without trying to erase them.”

12. What are the symptoms of Omicron? I got tested last week because of this list, but turns out the common winter crud symptoms are exactly the same. Ugh. Are we there yet?

13. Enchanting Photos of Madeira’s Ancient Fanal Forest Filled With 500-Year-Old Trees.

14. Making Peace With My Writing Career One Walk at a Time. “With every step, I realized I didn’t have to be juggling All The Things to be a worthwhile member of society. I just needed to exist.”

15. Ethereal Oil Paintings by Ekaterina Popova Glimpse the Warm, Intimate Interiors of Home.

16. Good stuff from Anne Helen Petersen: “I had been hating my body like it was a job for years and I wasn’t happier, healthier, or thinner. I was just…tired,” an interview with Ragen Chastain, and How to Build a Rugged, Resilient Society.

17. The Great Surrender: How We Gave Up And Let COVID Win from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

18. How Would You Describe Yourself in Five Words?

19. Seventy-one reflections on 2021. “I asked people to write down what they were feeling in the moment. The responses are presented unedited.”

20. The True Meaning of Ikigai: Definitions, Diagrams & Myths about the Japanese Life Purpose.