Author Archives: jillsalahub

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About jillsalahub

Writer & Contemplative Practice Guide holding space for people cultivating a foundation of a stable mind, embodied compassion and wisdom. CYT 500

Something Good


1. Building a Mindful New Year, a FREE online program, “6 Transcendent Themes / 6 Buddhist Teachers / 6 Meditations to Guide You into 2021, December 26 @ 3:00 pm – December 31 @ 3:45 pm EST.”

2. Write About Now Podcast, “A thoroughly human, often humorous, glimpse into the lives and stories of successful writers. How they got there, what they’ve learned, and what you need to succeed.”

3. Tony, thank you for delivering Wow on GapingVoid. “We always remark to ourselves that we are in an incredible position, where we are able to learn and experiment all while we deliver our services for our closest clients. This was especially true at Zappos, and so we thought it fitting to list ten insights we gained from our work with Tony.”

4. A Letter To All White Yoga Teachers.

5. Are you doing enough for the world? (video) from the amazing Andréa Ranae Johnson. Also from Andréa, How to Avoid Burnout While Trying to Make a Difference (And Recover From Burnout if You Do) (video).

6. COVID related news: @covid19quilt project (“a global craft project instigated by Melbourne based artists…to share Covid-19 experiences of isolation, community and care”), Vaccines against the coronavirus will have side effects – and that’s a good thing, and Oregon doctor’s license revoked over refusal to wear mask during pandemic, and A 19-Year-Old Found Out She Had COVID While Filming A TikTok Taste-Testing A Starbucks Drink, and Find Your Place in the Vaccine Line on The New York Times.

7. Reading lists: NPR’s Best of 2020 and The Best Books We Read in 2020 from The New Yorker.

8. Kaavan, the ‘World’s loneliest elephant’ just had his first contact with another elephant in 8 years.

9. David Chang risked it all to win $1 million for restaurant workers.

10. Precisely Arranged Stones Coil and Surge Across the Land in Jon Foreman’s Mesmeric Works.

11. A Practical Guide to Taking Back Your Power from Social Media (Without Deleting It).

12. In America, Is Power in the Hands of Too Many ‘Mediocre’ Men? on The New York Times.

13. Man Who’s Very Much Not an Artist Draws Hilariously Bad Pet Portraits to Raise Money for Charity.

14. Wild Cockatoo And His Girlfriend Visit Their Favorite Person Every Day.

15. Australian Family Surprised After Returning Home To Find Koala Hanging Out In Their Christmas Tree.

16. Sobering Realities: Women Write Their Way into the Addiction Canon.

17. Magical ice-skating video from northern Finland wows viewers. “Photographer Esko Liukas and figure skater Tiina Pakkanen created a video in which she appears to be gliding across the water of a lake in the Finnish far north.”

18. “How to Be Alone” by Pádraig Ó Tuama, A Poetry Film by Leo G Franchi, “part of our ‘Poetry Films’ series, which features animated interpretations of beloved poems from our archive.”

19. The difference between helping and Helping.

20. ‘Hunger Like They’ve Never Seen It Before’: US Food Banks Struggle as 1 in 6 Families With Children Don’t Have Enough to Eat. If this isn’t a sign of screwed up priorities, I don’t know what is… How can so many be so wealthy when there are so many who don’t even have enough to eat?!

21. Beware going ‘back to normal’ thoughts – normal gave us Trump.

22. There is no finish line from Austin Kleon.

23. Good Vibes Only in this Burning House, Please.

24. 4 Questions to Ask Yourself to Find Meaningful Work.

25. On working with limitations. “Writer Esmé Weijun Wang on the social and artistic benefits of a writer’s group, building a strong reading foundation, and re-envisioning what it means to leave a legacy.”

Gratitude Friday

 1. Morning walks. It’s getting darker and colder, but we still get to see the sunrise. This morning we heard two owls but didn’t see them. We also got to see the trail Christmas trees, which are always decorated right after Thanksgiving.

2. Wild Writing. I practice with Mikalina every Tuesday and write with a group of women led by my dear friend and beloved teacher Laurie on Fridays. The practice is such a gift, to my writing and my heart.

3. Meditation. I’ve been practicing for close to 13 years now, teaching for three, and I love the way I come to it every time and it’s both the same and different. The repetition, coming back to practice again and again, teaches me so much about myself, the spaces where I’m resisting, the places where I’m at ease. I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to sit with my discomfort and open to what is, that I have the courage to keep coming back, to be honest, to not abandon myself, to not give up.

4. Yoga. I can’t wait until I get to teach again, be in a the same place with other humans, hold space and support them as they practice. In the meantime, I’m happy to have my practice all to myself.

5. Bird bath and feeder. This week, we had to move the feeder up higher (as we suspected we would) because there was a fat squirrel getting at it — but when it did, two of our crow friends showed up and shooed him off! There was also a pair of woodpeckers who showed up one morning for a drink but the water was frozen, so they pecked away at it like the trunk of a tree and gobbled up the ice cubes they made. The chickadees are the cutest, so timid that they fly over and take just one seed or nut, and then fly over into the lilac bushes to eat it.

6. My tiny family. Seriously, Ringo is so cute sometimes I can hardly stand it. Eric has been working SO much this week. I’ll be glad when he gets to take a break. I miss him, even though he’s just in the other room.

Bonus joy: my new favorite coffee mug from Chloe’, books, podcasts, the box of candy Carrie gave me that I forgot I had until I JUST this minute when I noticed sitting next to my computer, hanging out with Mikalina, all the Christmas lights people in our neighborhood have put up, decorating for Christmas, being able to find good presents I can order and ship to my family (so I don’t have to go into stores to shop or stand in line at the post office), the greenest freshest spinach I’ve had in a while, a warm shower when I’m cold, a big glass of clean cold water, napping, watching Guy’s Grocery Games with Eric, masks, reading in bed at night while Eric and Ringo sleep.