Monthly Archives: April 2025

Something Good

1. Poetry: I Become Rain by Alix Klingenberg, A Nod From God by Julia Fehrenbacher, Today and We Must Sing and Heliotropism and As Soon As by Julie Barton, Bouquet of 19 Haikulings from San Miguel de Allende, Denver and Tulum by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer, and Twenty Ways to Matter on The Marginalian.

In related news, Writing a Grove: A Conversation with Poet Laureate Ada Limón by Camille T. Dungy, (“The United States’ Poet Laureate Ada Limón discusses the poetry of trees and how her latest project ‘Shelter’ feels uniquely her own”), and Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: Love continues to grow even after loss, an interview and some poems, and Creative Practice as an Act of Faith on Emerging Form podcast, (“Danusha Laméris on creativity as dynamic engagement with the world”), and An utterly beautiful conversation with Maggie Smith on the nature of how we write and share, (“When you give yourself permission to create, everything changes”).

2. The Price of Eggs, “Or, death of a chicken” by Christopher Solomon.

3. Keep Moving by Mandy Brown. “Over the past few months, I’ve observed a number of patterns emerging in the moves and countermoves that workers are making in response to the direct, violent, and unconstitutional attacks on human rights, life-sustaining infrastructure, and work itself. Here, I offer them not as guidelines or directives, but as entryways, starting points, notions or suggestions. If you’re feeling stuck or uncertain, perhaps one or more of these notes will give you a stone to upturn or the energy to shift your feet a little, to move, even slowly and cautiously, towards the work that makes all our lives better.”

4. Keep looking by Jenny Lawson. “The scary things are loud and sometimes it’s hard to not let them drown out everything else, but finding joy and beauty and happiness in spite of it all is an act of revolution. Don’t forget to enjoy the lovely things whenever you can…the moon at midnight, your favorite comfort show, laughter, a soft furry lap baby, the existence of cheese. The more you look for lovely things, the more you find them. This is how you find fuel to fight and to love and to keep moving forward.”

5. Gathering Courage by Connie Sun.

6. What to Say When You Feel Like You Have Nothing to Talk AboutThese would also be good prompts for journaling.

7. Wisdom from Amanda Martinez Beck: “A lot of our body image turmoil can be quieted a bit when we consider the purpose of our body—and it’s not to be thin or pretty or perfect. The purpose of our body is relationship, with myself, with others, and with the Divine.”

8. Sadness is a super power by Susan Piver. “Open your heart to change the world.”

9. Work ethic vs discipline from Seth Godin.

10. Librarians are dangerous. A public service announcement from Brad Montague.

11. Cutting high school, stealing and enduring friendships. “Nancy London’s Coming of Age story about Ginger helps us write our own.”

12. Wisdom from Danny Gregory: “I’ve spent decades finding my way back to this truth, that art isn’t just what you think, but what you feel. Not just what you conceptualize, but what you experience. Not just clever ideas, but the raw, unfiltered truth of being human.”

13. Stick Nation, “a niche Earth Day special about paying attention, one stick at a time.” (podcast)

14. From skater girls to climate illusions: Meet the winners of the 2025 Sony World Photography Awards.

15. Justin Vernon — Being Bon Iver. “On the mysteries of God and numbers, the problem of fame, and the deep working of time in a life.” In related news, ‘Have the courage to walk away’: Bon Iver on romance, retirement and his rapturous new record. “Riven with anxiety from years of touring, Justin Vernon found he couldn’t leave the house. Then a new relationship changed his concept of love. His radiant new album shares the revelations.”

16. Millions Stood Up: April 5 Hands Off Day of Action by Rebecca Solnit.

17. Don’t Give Away Your Power by Jami Attenberg. “Just a little pep talk about distractions.”

18. Trump is creating a selfish, miserable world. Here’s what we can do by Michael Plant on The Guardian. “The president is both a symptom and a cause of unhappiness and mistrust. But we can respond by rebuilding our social fabric.”

19. I Won’t Fight Death to the Death on Lion’s Roar. “Most of us spend our lives doing everything we can to deny death, to turn a blind eye to it. Cindy Littlefair on acceptance.”

20. Dying US man uses his last months for community service in all 50 states. “Doug Ruch embarked on ‘dying to serve tour’ after learning he had fewer than 18 months left amid cancer battle.”

21. 44 Eye-Opening Colorized Photos That Show The True Extent Of The Damage Done By The Dust Bowl.

22. 6 Little Things Therapists Do to Stay Calm When Everything Feels Uncertain. “Yes, even mental health pros have to actively cope with all the chaos that’s going on in the world.”

23. How To Create A Digital Minimalism Practice And Protect Your Mental Peace.

24. Recipe I want to try: Chocolate Donut Cake.

25. The truth about stress: from the benefits of the ‘good kind’ to the exercise that only makes it worse.

26. 11 things after a day trip from Jena Schwartz.

27. Today I ate a sardine… “& the value of the examined life” on The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad.

28. American Crying. “In a recent YouGov survey, Americans were asked, given a circumstance, how likely they would cry on a scale from very likely to not at all likely.” In related news, Crushes, cliques, and classes: What most Americans remember about high school.

29. A Sign of Trust by Sara Saltee. “An invitation to dare to believe what your soul already knows.”

30. The Pacific Northwest’s Long-Distance Trail Through Scenic Landscapes Ends On The Incredible Oregon Coast.

31. 8 behaviors of people who grew up in a home that was rarely at peace.

32. And finally, a few random things I saved to my phone last week.

Gratitude

1. Morning walks. Things are really turning green right now, getting rowdy in all kinds of ways — like the line from this poem, “April comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.” We missed one walk because we got snow and cold yesterday, but on the others we saw a heron and some deer and of course stopped by Your Best Day Ever to visit Theresa, get some love and treats for Ringo.

2. Mom. There was a hiccup with Mom’s catheter this week that caused a false alarm, a phone call to advise us she may be in kidney failure which led to me consulting Dr. Google, even though I already knew what they would say because kidney failure is exactly what prompted us to place Dad in hospice care, and wondering how soon I might be on my way to Oregon again. Turns out, as my brother had already suspected, that they just needed to switch out her catheter, which had simply gotten “disconnected.” It’s so hard, knowing Mom wishes I was there and knowing at some point things will take a turn and this will all be over, feeling so stuck in this liminal space, this in-between. And yet, I’m still so grateful she is where she is, has such good care and because of that, my brother gets some relief, and that I’m home in my favorite place.

3. Practice. Yoga at Red Sage, writing with my Friday morning sangha, sitting in my practice room early in the morning.

4. Therapy, again. I’m getting closer to finding a therapist. I’ve been in and out of therapy for 35+ years. Lately, with everything going on in my own life and the world, I’ve been feeling the need to go back, but that meant finding someone new, which is always such a complicated and even discouraging process. I already have a primary care doctor, masseuse, acupuncturist, and nutritionist, along with a Pilates and Yoga instructor on my “care team,” but it’s been feeling like I’m going in regularly to get my teeth cleaned when this whole time I’ve been walking around with a broken leg (heart?).

5. My tiny family, small house, little life. The more I lose, the more that goes wrong, the more certain I am how good I have it here, with them.

Bonus joy: getting to spend time with Stacey and Heather, seeing Chloe’ irl, videos and pictures of Hendrix, other people’s kids and dogs, good food, making each other laugh while practicing yoga, aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna, the hydromassage chair, lounging in the backyard with Ringo, sitting on the couch with Eric, hugs in the kitchen, listening to podcasts, watching TV, going to Mt Everest Cafe with Eric, making a new recipe and it turning out to be really good, sunshine, forsythia, a warm shower, a nap, down blankets and pillows, my Shakti mat, poetry and poets, libraries and librarians, comedy, true crime, documentaries, the chance to start over again, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.