1. Democrats retain control of the Senate after holding Nevada seat. In related news, A Guide to Election-Related Self-Compassion. “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation, and that is an act of political warfare.”

2. The Case for ‘Hibernating’ During Winter on The New York Times. “Our urge to decelerate around late autumn and throughout winter ought to be heeded. The instinct to rest more in that quiet space of time between when the last leaves fall and the first fireflies arrive resonates with ancient human and biological rhythms. We should listen to it.”

3. 20 best cosy UK cottages for a winter break.

4. Mysterious Creatures Emerge from Recycled Materials in Sculptures by Spencer Hansen.

5. The Acrobatic Immigrant Who Invented Pilates in a Prisoner of War Camp. “Interned during WWI, circus entertainer Joseph Pilates used found materials and his fellow prisoners as his test lab, and imagined an exercise system that would captivate millions.”

6. The big idea: why we shouldn’t try to be happy. “Happiness might seem like a noble goal – but striving for it can be counterproductive.”

7. Recipes I want to try: Roasted Garlic Parmesan Brussels Sprouts, and Caramelized Onion Dip, and Salvadoran Pupusas As Made By Curly And His Abuelita.

8. Noah Johnson’s upcycled wearable art. (video) “Noah Johnson is a 21 year old Tasmanian-born fashion designer who has taken TikTok by storm with his upcycled, wearable art.”

9. Tegan and Sara Serve Up A Sweet, Queer Coming Of Age Story In Freevee’s “High School.”

10. Rob Delaney Wants You to Know How He’s Feeling (It May Ruin Your Day) on The New York Times. “In his memoir ‘A Heart That Works,’ the comedian and actor grapples with the pain of losing a child, and how to keep living.”

11. The Mountain Dogs. “A short film following two beloved golden retrievers, Sampson and Baylor, as they climb to the summit of the Pinnacle Trail in Stowe, Vermont each day without their owners.”

12. A Shortcut for Caring for Others (and Being Cared For Yourself).

13. Confessions of an Introvert Who Struggles to Relax.

14. The leaf blower parable from Seth Godin.

15. How Are We Meeting This Moment? on Lion’s Roar. “Stephanie Kaza invites Buddhist communities, and specifically Buddhist leaders, to take a serious look at how they are—or aren’t—responding to the climate crisis.”

16. 7 Things You Definitely Won’t Need This Year (or ever again) on Be More With Less.

17. A gratitude zine from Austin Kleon.

18. Love Everyone: A Guide for Spiritual Activists on Lion’s Roar. “Real political change must be spiritual. Real spiritual practice has to be political. Buddhist teachers Sharon Salzberg and Rev. angel Kyodo williams on how we can bring the two worlds together to build a more just and compassionate society.”

19. A Few Rules For Predicting The Future by Octavia E. Butler. “When a student asks Butler what the answer is to ending the suffering in the world, she replies, ‘…there’s no single answer that will solve all of our future problems. There’s no magic bullet. Instead there are thousands of answers–at least. You can be one of them if you choose to be.'”

20. How to Handle Confrontation When You’re an Introvert Who’d Rather Avoid It.

21. How to donate food to a food bank this Thanksgiving on the Feeding America blog, which includes links to a search tool that will help you find your local food bank. HOW is this a place where someone can pay $44 billion for something as dumb as Twitter AND people are still HUNGRY, don’t have enough to eat, don’t have regular access to such a simple and essential resource?! Seriously, it enrages me…

22. Why I Don’t Celebrate Thanksgiving. “Indigenous chef Elena Terry shares what Thanksgiving means to her.”

23. 100 year old adopts a senior dog. (video) #lifegoals

24. Accessing Joy and Finding Connection in the Midst of Struggle. An episode of Brené Brown’s Unlocking Us podcast with Karon Walrond. “If you’re struggling with how to be fully connected in your life and feel joy and acknowledge beauty and also fight for the things that we need to fight for right now, this will be a great podcast for you.”

25. This Is One of the Most Beautiful Tiny Houses You’ll Ever See. (video) The Living Big In A Tiny House YouTube channel is a fun way to spend some time.

26. These lines from poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: 

“Let my gift to the world be
my constancy, a devotion to openness,
my willingness to be with what is.
Let my gift to myself be patience
as I tend what is dense and dark.”