1. Morning walks. We’ve been walking later, with me lingering over my morning practices, still on a schedule that was set for a 7:30 am sunrise. Now that the light is changing, I’m recommitting to getting up and out earlier in the following weeks so we can be on the trail when the sun rises. This week, there was lots of sun, a heron and an osprey and another kind of hawk hunting for breakfast, many sticks to carry, and a woman who saw Ringo and said, “hello, precious.”
2. Practicing in community. Making art with Calyx and Janice, Wild Writing with Laurie and the Friday morning group, using my Insight Timer app and seeing friends who are meditating “with” me, and the upcoming retreat Calyx and I are planning for ourselves.
3. Therapy. I typically find a new therapist when I’m in crisis and once that passes, I quit. This means that the deeper work doesn’t get done and the next crisis is inevitable. This time around I’m trying something new, staying soft and showing up when I’m not so shook up, when I’m stable enough to have the capacity to go deeper, face the things that are more complicated and more confusing, the beliefs and habits that are sticky and old. Trust me, acting as if “everything’s fine now” is a lot easier, but I’m shooting for a more sustainable and lasting ease. AND absolutely I’m aware of what a privilege this choice is, to have the necessary help available and affordable.
4. Yard time. Sitting out in the backyard in the sun while Ringo lies on the green grass, both of us not really doing anything at all. It’s even better if Eric is there too.
5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. These are the days I always dreamed of, the life I always wanted.
Bonus joy: old style potato chips, purple cabbage, lime, good neighbors (and the “bad” ones moving out), other people’s dogs, one hybrid and one electric car and only one car payment, purple, paint, green soft new grass, a full moon, other people’s babies, books, house plants, that corner of the couch, good TV, listening to podcasts, tortillas, lemon flavored yogurt dipped almonds, caramel, texting with Mom and Chris and Chloe’, the hydromassage chair, my gym community, a warm shower and soft towel, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.
1. Wisdom from Desmond Tutu: “There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they are falling in.”
3. Michelle Yeoh has a new leading role and a new motto: No more turning the other cheek. An interview with one of my favorite actresses about her new movie, which ends with this wisdom, “I think you have to be present. This life is yours. But if you’re not present, it’s wasted. Time waits for no one. When we’re born, we age and then we die, and God forbid, we die before we have lived our lives. So we have to be present in whatever universe, in whatever life, because if you give up on being present, then you give up on your life.”
6. People Say Turning 50 Is Fabulous. Here’s What They Didn’t Tell Me. “The truth is, I’m scared. I’m scared that I’m 50 and I haven’t done enough. I’m scared that I’m 50 and I don’t know what to do now. And I’m scared that before I can unravel these fears and grab onto a tangible thread of direction, time is going to run out.” Yup. Same.
9. How Serena Williams Saved Her Own Life. “Black women are nearly three times more likely to die after childbirth than white women. Serena Williams was almost one of them. Here, in her own words, she tells her story.”
13. Teachers Are Done. No, Really. “Teachers are either burned out, have lost faith in the system, are disillusioned with their leadership, are sick of the constant pandering to parents and politicians, or all of it combined. Teachers are no longer willing to heal a system beyond repair at their own expense. They are done, and it’s universal.”
22. The Rise of Bitcoin and Other Stupid Meme Currencies. (video) “Bitcoin: Is it something nerds made up on the internet or is it the future of currency? Throwback to when Ronny Chieng headed to Wall Street to investigate the surge of the cryptocurrency.” While he’s at it, maybe he can explain what the heck is an NFT.
27. Wisdom from Omkari Williams: “Lately, it feels like we’re drinking, or trying to drink, from a fire hose. Not a week has gone by without at least one catastrophe. An ice shelf the size of Rome collapsing in Antarctica, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine and the atrocities being committed by Russian soldiers, mass shootings here in the U.S., and more and it all feels…exhausting. It’s in times like these that I remember why it’s so very important to limit the focus of what we attempt to do. Small consistent actions beat swinging for the fence and burning out. Staying in motion matters. Inertia and overwhelm are the enemies of progress.”
32. Back to Blogging: Why Writing for Yourself Still Matters. “With an abundance of social media apps to help you log and share your every move, it would seem that traditional blogging would be on its way out. But should it be? Here are 3 reasons it still matters.”
36. Movements, Missing Stairs and Lindo Bacon from Lindley Ashline. Of particular interest are the follow-ups and further reading links at the bottom of the post. Oftentimes in the midst of a necessary change so much harm is done by those who want things to stay the same, who don’t want to change, who don’t want to admit they may have been wrong.
37. A Handbook for Abolitionists. “Patrisse Cullors’ new book offers guidance for personal, as well as systemic, change. Breaking the cycle of harm starts with us.”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 