Category Archives: Body

Something Good

1. 31 Unmistakable Signs That You’re An Introvert on BuzzFeed.

2. Working with the Obstacles in Your Path and 6 Steps To Being More Creative on Zen Habits.

3. less stuff, less stress: 6 steps to declutter + destress on Positively Present.

4. Why Finnish babies sleep in cardboard boxes on BBC News Magazine. If I were planning on having kids, I might start looking into moving to Finland.

5. Sad Dog Diary from ZeFrank.

6. Found at Auction: The Unseen Photographs of a Legend that Never Was on Messy Nessy. I feel like I’ve shared this before, but it’s worth another look. It’s a fascinating story, and as a relatively unknown artist myself, for me it is a terrifying story, (to die and have no one know about your work?!).

7. dipping my toes in the ladypreneurial pond, useful and good real advice from Sas Petherick.

8. “My brain hums with scraps of poetry and madness.” ~Virginia Woolf. Yes, yes it does.

9. your daily rock : be gentle with your self, from Patti Digh.

10. Eye Candy: The Pantone Project on Pugly Pixel. This project is so cool, and I have since started following the photographer, Paul Octavious, on Instagram and his other work is worth a look as well.

11. Kaleidoscape: A Study in Double Symmetry, a really cool “museum exhibition and social furniture project,” (led in part by Andrea Scher‘s super talented husband, Matthew Passmore).

12. The 5000th post from Seth Godin. “For me, the privilege is sharing what I notice, without the pressure of having to nail it every time… I treasure the ability to say, ‘this might not work.’ ” I’ve written 710 posts, can’t even imagine 5000, and yet I absolutely understand what he’s saying here. As a writing practice, there’s really nothing like it.

13. Becoming Well-Fed with Soulsister, Rachel Cole on the Soul Sisters Gathering website.

14. This wisdom from Pema Chödrön,

Compassion practice is daring. It involves learning to relax and allow ourselves to move gently toward what scares us. The trick to doing this is to stay with emotional distress without tightening into aversion, to let fear soften us rather than harden into resistance.

15. 20 More Baby Animals That’ll Make You Say “Aww” from Bored Panda.

16. Good advice from Franz Kafka, “Don’t bend; don’t water it down; don’t try to make it logical; don’t edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.”

17. Tumblr Gets Deep (25 Pics) on Pleated Jeans. There is a whole series of these posts, super funny and addictive. I don’t recommend going too deep into them if you don’t have a lot of time. I myself could get lost there, forever happy in funny land.

18. H&M’s NBD Approach To Plus-Size Model Shocks, Astounds World, on xojane, which says, “How to be beautiful naked: stand in front of a mirror, naked, and say to yourself, ‘My body is as unique as I am. It does not, and will not ever, look like any other body on earth, and that’s why it’s my favorite.’ ” I love that, couldn’t agree more, and yet am still bothered by the fact that “Jennie Runk is a size 10, which equals plus size for the purpose of the modeling industry.” Ugh.

19. Joy, a post Lisa Congdon wrote about her wedding, in which she says, “I have never felt so totally whole as I did that afternoon & evening.” I want this, for everyone.

20. This wisdom from Geneen Roth,

I was remembering yesterday what one of my beloved teachers once told me: that I was protecting myself from losses that already happened. I was remembering this because I was noticing how my mind tilts toward catastrophe, how even when things are fine, I look for how they are not. And remembering that the big losses, the ones that I was helpless and small and utterly unprepared for had already happened, allowed me to come back to the present. Which was good.

It’s not that losses don’t happen in the present. It’s not that there isn’t sadness or grief here. They do and there is. But as adults, it’s different. It’s different when you keep imagining how horrible it is or will be than when you are right in the middle of sadness or grief. As children, we might not have been able to get comfort. There might not have been anyone to whom we could truly speak or be ourselves. As adults, we have love in our lives. Our hearts break, and then they break open. And more comes in. Notice how you protect yourself from losses that have already happened. Notice how that closes your heart. Notice if, today, you can be with the raw beauty, and sometimes, broken-heartedness of the moment.

21. The Hidden Cost of Doing the Wrong Work on Create as Folk. This post cuts right through the crap and gets to the heart of the issue.

22. fed by everything, a poem by Tara Sophia Mohr, which ends like this,

In the end
maybe enlightenment
is a matter of being fed
by everything

23. Books to Inspire your Be Your Own Beloved Journey! from Vivienne McMaster. I already have some of these, but there are a few that are new to me, ones I clearly need to read.

24. 41 Camping Hacks That Are Borderline Genius on BuzzFeed.

25. Recipe I want to try: Grilled Polenta Cakes from Campfire Vegan.

26. Allison Mae Photography does it again. These two dogs remind me so much of my Sam and Dexter.

27. Trade Up for Your Best Life on Be More with Less.

28. Shared by Patti Digh on her Thinking Thursday list:

29. 30 Places You’d Rather Be Sitting Right Now on BuzzFeed. I don’t know about “rather be sitting” but they are pretty awesome.

30. Sarah DeAnna: Breaking the Cycle on The Conversation.

31. Shared on Susannah Conway’s Something for the Weekend list:

32. Pat the Cat. Reminds me of my Sam.

33. Wisdom from Marianne Williamson, “The ways of spirit are not the ways of sacrifice, but rather a way of opening yourself fully to the infinite glories of the universe. The glories are there. They merely await your acceptance.”

34. Patti Digh’s story about Tess on 3x3x365 is so sweet, so heartbreaking. Tess has Asperger’s Syndrome and Patti is generous enough to share her story. Watching that little girl walk through the world, navigate the bumps and the joy, is a beautiful thing.

35. “After I’ve lost 20 pounds, I’ll be happy with who I am.” on Elephant Journal.

36. 27 Stunning Works Of Art You Won’t Believe Aren’t Photographs on BuzzFeed.

37. Two more from Brain Pickings: Do It: 20 Years of Famous Artists’ Irreverent Instructions for Art Anyone Can Make and How We Spend Our Days Is How We Spend Our Lives: Annie Dillard on Presence Over Productivity.

38. The 32 Greatest Unscripted Movie Scenes.

39. 24 Grooms Blown Away By Their Beautiful Brides on BuzzFeed. *sob*

40. The Life’s Too Short Diet on Drop It and Eat, in which Lori F. Lieberman says “Don’t be fooled into believing that you’ll be happier if only you weighed a few pounds less, because it’s simply a moving target.”

41. This wisdom from Sakyong Mipham, “If humanity is to survive – and not only that, to flourish – we must be brave enough to find our wisdom and let it shine.”

42. A Mood from Jeff Oaks, in which he says “Breathe until the feeling of being buried brings the need to break open.” As I said in a comment I left on this post, “The way that you are able to almost hide something so profound in the relating of the details of your daily life is a particular kind of magic.”

43. 50 Things to Love about Life That Are Free on Tiny Buddha.

44. What’s Wrong with Me? from Curvy Yoga.

Mary Anne Radmacher’s Body Gratitude Practice

This practice is a generous gift from Mary Anne Radmacher, who is featured on today’s Self-Compassion Saturday. For the practice, get comfortable, somewhere quiet and alone, and focus on each part of your body, saying thanks, sharing your gratitude.

mary anne radmacher portrait

Gratitude Bones

Toes: Thank you for lifting me up and helping me peer over fences, tall cupboards and possibilities.

Arches: Thank you for being so high and letting me know what kind of shoes you need to navigate the soil with grace and ease.

Heels: Thank you for being my balancing point and keeping me from going backwards when those unexpected Things are launched at me.

Calves: Oh, for the reach and the stretch. Thank you for working so well to connect and make the whole system run smoothly.

Knees: Great Director of Flexibility and Balance, Thank you. You are my change agent and Recovery Department. Thank you for getting me back up when I fall.

Thighs: Thank you for all the ways you accommodate, for all the shifts and sizes I pace you through and thank you for always standing up for me.

Hips: Thank you for saying yes when I wanted to learn how to throw a hula hoop. Thank you for hauling me around so consistently and for sitting down so gracefully.

Pelvis: Thank you for transitioning me into a different phase of my life. I am grateful for all the things I am learning from you about how to be a woman at this age of my life.

Waist: Thank you for giving me curve. Thank you for helping me bend and stretch. Thank you for centering my belly and joining my digestive system on this learning journey of what is right and what works for me.

Ribs: Thank you for protecting me. For being there for my fragile breathing mechanisms. Thank you for being my shielf.

Breasts: Thank you for being healthy. Thank you for adding line and dimension to my form. Thank you for your proportion to the rest of my being.

Back: Thank you for the strength, durability and resilience you demonstrate after all I ask of you. Thank you for complying with the posture I ask of you and for all the hours of stillness I require of you as a writer.

Shoulder: Thank you for what you bear. Thanks for your willingness to bend and not break. Thank you for allowing me to carry what I have chosen to carry throughout my life. Thank you for helping me bring words to the world.

Elbows: Ah, thank you for helping me work diligently. Thank you for your capacity to clean tough stains out of pans, clothes and my heart.

Arms: Thank you for helping me serve and love others. Thank you for your role in my writing life.

Hands: Thank you for being so small and doing such big things.

Fingers: Thank you for sticking with me even though I’ve placed you in harm’s way time after time. Thank you for the way you dance when I am unable to.

Neck: Thank you for turning. Thank you for letting me rotate to see blessings I might have missed and harm that I’ve been able to miss.

Skull: Thank you for bearing the scars of your abuse with such grace and forgiveness.

Face: Thank you for your smile, your hydrated skin, your eyes that weep willingly for the pain of others and those lips that will deliver a smile to anyone, anywhere, any time.

Voice: Thank you for allowing me to raise up my voice on behalf of my own interests and the interests of others.

Toes to Head: Thank you for managing the pain and difficulty of allergy and joint issues and labels which I will not name but conditions that cause you pain. Thank you for receiving my gratitude and continuing to work with me to do good work in the work. Dear Sweet Body – You are the only one I’ve got and I am spending a lifetime learning how to love and care for you better every day. I love you and I thank you for the good and enduring service you provide me every second of every day.

love, mary anne radmacher – the animating force that breathes within your bones, cells, blood, DNA.