1. Morning walks. With Eric on summer break and how much earlier he gets up than me (4:30 am compared to somewhere between 5 and 6 or even the occasional almost 7 am) and the need to get out and back before the heat, I only went once this week. It’s still one of my favorite things, and it’s probably better for you all, considering how many pictures I posted last week. 🙂
Sidewalk chalk fireworks
2. The gym. It’s one of the only places I’ve gone consistently since COVID-19 (or even before) and one of the places that does the most for my overall health and wellbeing. I’m grateful for how much Raintree has to offer and in particular for the humans that work and play there.
4. Reading. I am on a streak of REALLY good books, both nonfiction and fiction. Next up are these two.
5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. I told Eric the other night while we were making dinner that even though the world is awful and difficult and confusing, our life together is actually so good and I’m so happy. He agrees.
Also, I recently purchased this hand massager (see picture below), as the arthritis in my hands has been particularly painful. Eric joked it looks like a waffle iron, one morning even moved it from the spot I keep it on the counter and replaced it with our actual waffle iron, (one of my favorite things about being married is all the inside jokes). We also keep cracking each other up because one of the three cautions about using it is “don’t use while driving.”
Waffle iron 🙂
Bonus joy: a/c (supposed to be almost 100 degrees here tomorrow), having a dog who sleeps through the fireworks, trees, the hydromassage chair, the pool, the sauna, good TV, listening to podcasts, clean laundry, clean sheets, a warm or cold shower (depending on what’s going to feel best), privacy fences, flowers of all kinds, bees, hummingbird nests, swallowtail butterflies, The Sun Magazine, music, spiders, vaccines and masks, texting, a crisp gala apple, making each other laugh, yard time, peaches, fresh bread, therapy, naps, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.
3. What to Do When the World Is Ending. I think I shared this when it was first published a few months ago, but it really is worth multiple reads.
4. A Radical Vision for the Future. “‘A Message From the Future II: The Years of Repair'” is an animated short film that illustrates a radical vision of a future created when 2020 forced us to abandon oppressive systems. It launched us into a new paradigm to center the well-being of all people and the planet. With beautiful illustrations and poignant storytelling, the video reminds us that a better world is possible, and we can all be agents of change in its creation.”
6. Triptych for Hard Timesfrom Jena Schwartz. “You are still here. You are breathing. You are alive. You have the strength, and you have the capacity. So tell me: Do you have the will? What will you do? Who will you be?”
8. How to Write Personal Essays Through Who You Are. “This exercise is meant to let you use a part of your identity as a perspective, rather than just a subject that you’re putting under pressure and scrutiny.”
9. Memoir Monday, “The best first-person writing from across the web, all in one place.”
13. Advocacy on Instagram: Alok Vaid-Menon on the dangerous rise in legislation around gender and sex and Belle Kurve on the importance of voting.
14. Wisdom from Mindy Tsonas Choi’s recent newsletter: “What I know about our world today, and my place in it, is that we need so much more slowness, softness, and spaces for collective regeneration, trust and capacity building, imagination, and connection (not bypass) – and I really want to be a part of helping to holding this energy.” Check out her beautiful new website: Collective Belonging Ecologies.
15. The Cost of Call-Out Culturefrom Andrea Gibson. In related news, That time I accidentally cancelled someone (kind of) from Caroline Dooner. Side note: you do all realize that I don’t always 100% agree with the things I post, right? Some I do, some I don’t, and some I’m not sure — and, I’m constantly considering new information and perspectives, and changing my mind. On this particular subject, the jury is still out for me.
18. A Big Shitty Party: Six Parables of Writing about Other People. “I’ve narrowed my own stories down to the six episodes that have most shaped my own ethical code for implicating others in my work. If I could write worthwhile books in such a way that it wouldn’t upset anyone, I would. Unfortunately, that kind of writing has mostly proved not worthwhile. I often write about the things I can’t speak of, and one of the most common reasons that I can’t speak of them is because it would upset people. So, for better and worse, I have faced the consequences, sometimes with more grace than other times. If I could, I would change some of my choices, but not many.”
19. earth.fm, whose tagline is: “like Spotify, but for natural soundscapes.” Earth FM is “a non-profit, free repository of pure, immersive natural soundscapes as a fundraising platform for local, grassroots charities that support the restoration of our natural world.”
25. Remarkable friendships from the animal worldon CBS Sunday Morning. “In the leafy Pine Barrens of southern New Jersey lies a very different kind of farm: the astonishing Funny Farm, a not-for-profit animal sanctuary open to the public two days a week, created by New Jersey’s own Doctor Doolittle, Laurie Zaleski. Every animal here is a rescue – abused, abandoned, disabled – and Zaleski has healed and protected more than 600 animals over the last 20 years, from retired racehorses to raucous roosters.”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 