jillsalahub

Broken heart spray painted in yellow on a sidewalk

Someone painted a broken heart on my sidewalk

1. Truth: We get confused about qualities of practice and thus make them small. For example, we think that compassion means “being nice” or “kindness” and in our confusion, we limit ourselves to that expression. As in the Andrew Boyd quote I shared the other day, “Compassion hurts. When you feel connected to everything, you also feel responsible for everything. And you cannot turn away. Your destiny is bound with the destinies of others.” Or, we think that confidence means being certain of the truth, feeling unshakably sure of ourselves, but as Susan Piver defines it, “Confidence is the willingness to be as ridiculous, luminous, intelligent, and kind as you really are, without embarrassment.”

2. Truth: Strength is a quality we limit. For example, in yoga, we often link strength to purely physical expressions, and in that manifestation we think it to mean simply being able to hold a particular pose for a long time or to being able to do an especially difficult or advanced pose. And yet, strength can be practicing with illness or injury, living with chronic pain or trauma, or experiencing strong emotions like grief or anger. To practice in that context, to have compassion for ourselves and others and not give up — that’s strength.

3. Truth: Flexibility is another quality we restrict. Again, in yoga asana practice, we think flexibility means being able to go deeper into a pose, to reach and stretch further and with more ease. However, flexibility is much more than that. We can practice flexibility when something about a pose doesn’t feel right for our body, and instead of giving up, we modify our approach, doing another variation of the pose or using props, or asking for help or even doing another pose altogether, and, this is key, we don’t beat ourselves up about it. We keep moving. We can practice being flexible when we come to the mat expecting or wanting a particular experience that just doesn’t work out. We can be fluid and not get stuck, keeping going and not give up.

One wish: On and off the mat, may we maintain an awareness of the ways we are strong and flexible. May we continue to practice staying open and awake. May we meet any resistance or confusion with curiosity and compassion.

1. Me And White Supremacy – The Workbook from Layla Saad. I was lucky enough to do this as a challenge on Instagram led by Layla the first time she offered it, and highly recommend it. “Part education, part activation, the Me And White Supremacy Workbook is a first-of-its-kind personal anti-racism tool for people holding white privilege to begin to examine and dismantle their complicity in the oppressive system of white supremacy.”

2. CONSOLATIONS: A Year-Long Exploration of Everyday Words from Jena Schwartz. This looks SO GOOD! “Spend 2019 exploring the meaning of everyday words, based on David Whyte’s work…one work per week.”

3. Yes, We Can Have Hope on Lion’s Roar. “In this commentary from the Fall 2018 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, Roshi Joan Halifax reflects on the idea of ‘wise hope’ and why we should open ourselves to it.”

4. How to Simplify the Holidays from Zen Habits. Who doesn’t want a simpler holiday season?

5. The 100 Best Pens, As Tested by Strategist Editors. “Gels, ballpoints, rollerballs, felt-tips, and fountain pens — we tried them all.” My favorite Pentel Clarius was discontinued and I only have a few ink refills left because they also discontinued those, so I’m reading this with great interest.

6. Small bookstores are booming after nearly being wiped out.

7. Brandon Farris on YouTube. He makes videos that make me laugh, and until recently, he’d been living in his car (for TWO years!).

8. 40 Tweets That Sum Up Life With 4-Year-Olds.

9. The Master Quilters of Gee’s Bend, Ala. on The New York Times.

10. Health Science is Bullshit, a video I shared last year that’s just as funny-true now as it was then.

11. No Bed Of Roses, No Pleasure Cruise: ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’

12. ‘Green Book’ Is ‘Full of Lies’: Dr. Don Shirley’s Family Speaks Out. In related news, ‘Green Book’ Is A Poorly Titled White Savior Film.

13. The Bun Also Rises: Why We Love ‘The Great British Baking Show.’ In related news, Meet the Guy Who Draws Every Great British Baking Show Recipe Illustration.

14. 9 tricks advertisers use to make food look delicious! (video)

15. Elizabeth Gilbert on the Unexpected Friend Who Helped Her Survive Loss.

16. ‘Thank You, America’: A Crowdsourced Holiday Poem That’s A Blessing To Read. In related news, The Thanksgiving Tale We Tell Is a Harmful Lie. As a Native American, I’ve Found a Better Way to Celebrate the Holiday, and How Do Native Americans Celebrate Thanksgiving? U.S. Holiday A Day of Mourning for Indigenous Peoples.

17. 100 Ways to Support—Not Appropriate From—Native People.

18. White Supremacy, Colonialism and Fatphobia are Inherently Tied to Each Other.

19. Eating Disorders and Body Love in Marginalized Communities Panel.

20. Doctor and runner reunite after he saved her while she had a heart attack during marathon. (video)

21. With Her New Foundation, Taraji P. Henson Wants To Change The Stigma Of Black Mental Health.

22. Keep trying, (video). So cute.

23. Liberals use “unity” to systematically silence women of color. It’s time to be divisive.

24. Couple Becomes First-Time Dog Parents To A Baby Pittie. (video) I had the same anxieties with our first dog, a Rottweiler mix named Obi.

25. Watch this sad, little polka-dot bulldog transform into the happiest adventure dog ever. (video)

26. How My Brother Survived The Camp Fire. “My brother lives in Paradise, California. For five hours on November 8, while wildfire devoured the town, I had no idea if he was alive or dead.”

27. Don’t Be Naive: Avoiding Calling Trump Supporters Racist Won’t Convince Them to Vote for Democrats.

28. Michelle Obama and Tracee Ellis Ross on the Power of Women’s Stories on The New York Times. “The former first lady and a star of ABC’s ‘black-ish’ talk about Mrs. Obama’s memoir, feeling ‘good enough’ and what it really means to ‘go high.'”

29. 100 Notable Books of 2018 on The New York Times.

30. Snoop Dogg Looks Back; Talks Tupac, Mentor Dr. Dre, Speaking Up for the ‘Voiceless.’ The last few minutes of his speech are epic, pure Snoop Dogg. “I want to thank me for believing in me, I want to thank me for doing all this hard work… Snoop Dogg you a bad motherf—er”

31. This Creative Woman Excels at Baking Art Pies with Avant-Garde Crust Designs.

32. Seriously do yourself a favor and watch for a good laugh! (video)

33. Someone Says “Depression Is A Choice”, And Andy Richter’s Response Is Brilliant.

34. These Are The 19 Most Stressful Experiences An Introvert Can Have.

35. Manifesting 2019 with Andrea Scher. A mini-manifesting online workshop for only $20! This seems like a great gift idea.

36. ‘Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat’ Changes the Rules for Who Gets to Eat on TV.

37. This week’s edition of People Behaving Badly: A Not-Guilty Verdict Absolves Border Patrol Of Cross-Border Killing, and Alabama Cops Kill 21-Year-Old After They Say He Opened Fire in a Mall. Now They Say He Didn’t, and Girl, 13, Who Wrote Essay on Gun Violence Is Killed by Stray Bullet, and White Man Allegedly Pulls Gun on Black Muslim Teens in Minnesota McDonald’s, Manager Handles It Terribly, and Isolated Tribe Kills American With Bow and Arrow on Remote Indian Island (just to be clear, it’s the Christian invader who was behaving badly in this situation), and New video shows two white school officers brutally assaulting a black middle-schooler in an unprovoked attack (video), and Administration Admits Border Deployment Was a $200 Million Election Stunt, and This veteran was working in a yogurt shop when employees got ‘scared’ and called the cops, and How a Liberal Couple Became Two of N.Y.’s Biggest Trump Supporters on The New York Times, and US agents fire tear gas as some migrants try to breach fence.