1. Sunrise. I haven’t been going on morning walks (with Eric on break, they’ve been running in the morning and I’ve been sleeping a bit later), and yet I still get to see the sun rise, which is especially beautiful this time of year.
2. Eating “normal” food. My CT scan results found that my abscess is “resolved” so I can start to eat more fiber again, which means a much more expansive and joyful eating experience. I’ve been eating oatmeal from breakfast the past few days with a modified version of this apple compote recipe. I modify it by using Penzeys pie spice blend instead of all the individual spices the recipe calls for.
3. Christmas. It was also a bit modified this year (especially our dinner menu), but every bit as lovely. With all the travel horror stories, the brutal weather and canceled flights and people getting sick, I was happy to be safe at home with my tiny family.
Super soft socks from my brotherRingo got presents tooThere were three toys in the box, but once Ringo found the first, he ran off to play with it
4. Rest. I’ve been getting so much and it is greatly appreciated.
5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. There’s no where I’d rather be, no one I’d rather be with.
There’s a vent under our kitchen sink that Ringo likes to press up against in the winter
Bonus joy: a whole new year (and yes, I realize time and calendars are “made up”), writing in the morning with a hot cup of tea, my weighted blanket, the lights on our tree, the rosemary bush our old neighbor’s gave us when they moved, texting with Mom and Chris, marionberry jam, down blankets and pillows, clean sheets, naps, snow, good TV (finished It’s a Sin on HBO and started the second season of Sort Of on the same), clean laundry, pay day, watching The Great British Baking Show with Eric, the sweet text he sent me when I was spinning out about my possible upcoming surgery, pictures of Hendrix sledding, Pickle the cat, that our new neighbors had to block the part of the fence we cut out to allow the ash tree on our property line to stay when we put in our new fence because their little dog could sneak through into our yard, that the chicken and rice and veggie teriyaki bowls I like so much are Eric’s favorite too, gingerbread, yoga with Sarada, yoga with Abrona and Jamie too, the hydromassage chair and pool and sauna, how well Ringo has been doing with his arthritis even with all the snow and cold, new calendars, meditating to mantra tracks on Insight Timer, listening to podcasts, a warm shower, new books, oranges, grilled cheese sandwiches, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.
Special request: My friend Brenna’s husband Joseph will undergo a bone marrow transplant next month as part of his fight against Acute Myelomonocytic Leukemia. Giving even the smallest amount would be so helpful as they navigate this process and pay for his treatments. If you can’t offer financial assistance, could you keep them in your thoughts and send love & healing their way?
14. Herbie Hancock’s Antidote to Burnout. “The core of what we are is a human being. And when we define ourselves as a human being, it changes everything. So music now, I look at it from the standpoint of being a human being and use that as the foundation. And then I use what I do to translate what initiates from my humanity into musical terms.”
15. The Books We Needed in 2022. “The best nonfiction, novels, and cookbooks published this year—and some older reads that resonated anew.”
16. Dharma for a Traumatized Worldon Lion’s Roar. “The cause of our global suffering is forgetting that we belong to one another and to the earth. Tara Brach recommends four practices to nourish a sense of collective belonging.” I pretty certain I have already shared this, but it’s worth a reread, over and over again until you have it memorized.
17. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön: “Our wisdom is all mixed up with what we call our neurosis. Our brilliance, our juiciness, our spiciness, is all mixed up with our craziness and our confusion, and therefore it doesn’t do any good to try to get rid of our so-called negative aspects, because in that process we also get rid of our basic wonderfulness. We can lead our life so as to become more awake to who we are and what we’re doing rather than trying to improve or change or get rid of who we are or what we’re doing. The key is to wake up, to become more alert, more inquisitive and curious about ourselves.”
20. Joyfrom Robert Jones, Jr. “I want to be more intentional about joy. And by ‘joy,’ I don’t mean an addiction to feeling good that numbs me to the reality of life; nor do I mean an obsessive pursuit of bliss that overrules all sense (no disrespect to Gladys Knight and the Pips). I’m not talking about joy as escape or façade. I’m talking about a deliberate appreciation for any and every wonderful person or thing that I might encounter or experience. When I say ‘wonderful,’ I really do mean full of wonder; and to be full of wonder, it has to be someone or something that doesn’t commit, revel in, or intentionally perpetuate harm.”
21. Practices for Making Life a Masterpiece of Joy. “I’ve spent the years since exploring, developing, intending, discovering a path towards living from joy. I haven’t yet found the nirvana of every breath being filled with exuberance and delight (I do love the contrast of seesawing between expansion and contraction), but I have come upon some reliable practices that bridge me back to the heart-filled wonder of joy. In the interest of preserving carolers’ shins (and motivation to keep them singing in the cold), I humbly offer them to you.”
22. On Openness and Equality in the Workplace | Deborah Owenson The GoodLife Project Podcast. “Deborah believes in the power of sharing experiences (good and bad), strategies, and lessons learned to accelerate career growth and success, and I’m excited to dive deeper into her story with you all today. She takes me back to where it all started, growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. We explore her family’s legacy of social justice before diving into the unique—yet, familiar—experiences and challenges she faced as a young Black woman finding her voice in corporate America and the lessons she’s learned since on reclaiming her power, and how you can contribute to the conversation and solution.”
27. Studio of Archives: Monuments and Memory in Ghana I Africa Direct Documentary. (video) “From textiles and domestic objects to aircraft and a living museum installation, internationally acclaimed artist Ibrahim Mahama is known for his monumental installations in Ghana and beyond. His collections explore the significance of historical memory through everyday objects and his Red Clay Studio is a treasure trove of relics and artefacts. It’s a place where visitors explore their history, start new conversations about the past and imagine their futures – a studio of archives.”
34. If Twitter Fails, They’ll Be Freeon The New York Times. “For some of Twitter’s most prolific users, the platform was often a ‘hellsite.’ Now they contemplate a life without it.”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 