1. Good news: 66 Good News Stories You Didn’t Hear About in 2023 and The Year in Cheer: 177 ways the world got better in 2023.

2. Your favorite stories of 2023 from Rocky Mountain PBS.

3. A Love Letter to Introverts on World Introvert Day. In related news, An Introvert’s Wish List for the New Year.

4. From Ozempic pens to Taylor Swift’s favorite accessories: 12 objects that defined 2023. In related news, What can we learn from the top TikTok trends of 2023? and Who’s Counting?

5. Forget about time management. ‘Energy management’ is the best way to protect yourself from burnout.

6. 9 Mental-Health Resolutions for 2024, According to Therapists.

7. Author Anne Lamott offers words of wisdom to start a new year.

8. 20 Scientifically Proven Ways to Relieve Stress Quickly.

9. zazen travel, YouTube channel. “‘Where to go, where to sit.’ In this channel, zazen (Japanese ZEN meditation) is recorded in binaural sound. We want to give our viewers an ASMR experience as if they were actually sitting there, and to give them a break.”

10. Starting Art After 40: How Drawing Helps Your Brain and Health, a video from Danny Gregory. “Curious about the unexpected ways art can enrich your life, especially as you grow older? Let’s dive into the often-overlooked benefits of art, backed by intriguing medical research. How creating art can boost your cognitive abilities, enhance your physical well-being, and even strengthen social connections.”

11. Visitations, “cooking with ghosts” on Short Reads.

12. Is There a Plane on the Plane? from Jena Schwartz. “Writing practice takes many forms.”

13. Falling All the Way In, a poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

14. Things I want to watch: The Woman in the Wall Official Trailer | SHOWTIME and Self Reliance | Official Trailer | Hulu.

15. Mychal Threets Wants Everyone to Experience ‘Library Joy’ on The New York Times (gift link). “The 33-year-old librarian from California has become popular on TikTok and Instagram with his upbeat take on libraries.”

16. Extraordinary tattoos of realistic still-life figures by Makkala Rose.

17. Anderson Cooper on freeing yourself from the burden of grief.

18. You have one life. Do you really want to spend it looking at your phone?

19. Mental Health Professionals Are Sharing The Most Common Thing Their Clients Are Ashamed To Tell Them But Are Actually Very Normal.

20. Nutrition Experts Are Absolutely Begging People In Their 40s And 50s To Start Eating These Foods. In related news, 5 things a dietitian would never do and 1 of them shocked Savannah Guthrie.

21. Ada Limón | Faces of Change. (video) “Poet laureate Ada Limón uses words to preserve some of our national parks. She tells us how #art and #conservation go hand in hand in this edition of #FacesofChange.”

22. 50 Times People Encountered Perfectly Organized Things And Just Had To Document Them.

23. Young Man Shares Heartwarming Snippets From His Daily Life As 96 Y.O. Grandma’s Full-Time Caretaker.

24. The Best Book I Read This Year: 10 Editors Share.

25. 40 Meaningful Questions that Will Quiet Your Mind (and Improve Your Focus).

26. 8 Fitness Myths That Drive Experts Crazy on The New York Times. “Running is bad for your knees. The heavier the weight the better. Ice baths. And more.”

27. The experts: artists on 20 easy, mind-expanding ways to be much more creative.

28. Volunteer drives hundreds of miles to rehome bully XLs in Scotland.

29. Vintage photos offer rare glimpse of Mumbai’s 1970s red-light district.

30. ‘I am so tired’: YouTuber Tom Scott ends Things You Might Not Know. “British influencer posted a weekly video for 10 years, about everything from pegasus crossings to the National Grid.”

31. Pictures of gorgeous paintings and frescoes in abandoned places in Italy by Roman Robroek.

32. Litter Bugs: incredible insect sculptures made of found object by Mark Oliver.

33. Cattle in The Earliest European Cities Weren’t Bred as Food.

34. The Guardian view on switching off: in an always-on culture, we need time to think. “Midwinter is for hibernation and the chance to make different kinds of connections.”

35. I’m Andrew Tate’s audience and I know why he appeals to young men. “A year of investigating the TikTok ‘megabrand’ personality has shown me that – in the midst of a debate on masculinity – many fans like his focus on success more than his views on women.”

36. Nastasya Shulyak’s Miniature Felted Friends Sprout and Smile with Joy.

37. Cambridge StreetVet a ‘lifeline’ to rough sleepers and their pets.

38. This Is What Happens to Your Body When You Hate Your Job.

39. The Burnt Toast Guide to Surviving January. “Thoughts on Resisting New Year, New You Diet Culture Bullshit.”

40. Determinants of Health Visualized. “89% of health occurs outside of the clinical space through our genetics, behavior, environment and social circumstances. These factors are known as the social determinants of health. Despite their importance, attempts to integrate the determinants into a single visualization have been limited…Relying on their experience of mapping complex systems within healthcare, GoInvo created a comprehensive open source visualization of the social determinants of health.”

41. The Sacredness of Beginnings from Gretchen Schmelzer. “Growth requires these moments of stillness and anticipation. Of simply not-knowing. Growth requires that you can be lost between these two states of yourself—the old and new, your inner hound and the young deer, and just be still for a moment. This state of in-between is so necessary, and so unsupported by our culture. Even for the healthiest, happiest among us, this is not an easy place to find or to stay. Our culture wants to fill that place with things, with achievement, with judgments and busy-ness. If you take the time to do nothing in order to sort out what your next move or idea is, you will likely find yourself feeling badly for ‘not getting anything done.’ Our dayplanners and calendars have slots for every hour which imply that every hour must be equally productive. But it just doesn’t work that way. Especially with beginnings.”

42. screw it, i’m eating tater tots – episode 58 on A Grace Full Life. Kari’s dad got test results this week that no one wants, but she’s facing it with an open heart. If you have some to spare, could you send her & her family some love, kind and gentle reader? ❤