Dances with Fat | Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

1. The do over from Seth Godin.

2. Living Tiny by Emily Harger on Narratively.

4. Stephen Colbert, Tim Cook, George W. Bush crack jokes for Class of 2015.

5. Body image hero Brittany Gibbons gives us her formula for self-love.

Dear Courageous Girl,

The hardest decisions in life are the decisions that start with two good answers. Choosing between two or more good things is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do.

This is what sacrifice is. This is where the richest rewards are, because we are not REALLY choosing between what is good and what is good. We are choosing between what is good and what is BEST for our lives.

Stay where the BEST things area, even if you have to walk away from some really good things once in a while. And never forget that the simple, small things in life are very often the best — better than the shiny, fancy, and ‘popular’ things; and that it’s completely okay to walk away from everything that the world tells you will bring you happiness, and towards small, simple, and good things that others usually just walk right past. That’s where the magic is, friends.

Choose the best for YOU.

You are beloved.

xoxo

7. Wisdom from Tara Brach,

Grieving loss consciously is at the center of the spiritual path. In small and great ways, each of our losses links us to what we love. It is natural that we will seek to manage the pain of separation in whatever way we can. Yet as we awaken, we can allow our sorrow to remain faithful to itself. We can willingly surrender into the grieving. By honoring what has passed away, we are free to love the life that is here.

8. Grief is Hard Work from Kira Elliott.

9. This Man Filmed His Dog Every Day. The Reason? You’ll Be Heartbroken. We don’t know how long any of them, any of us will live. We should love each other like this all the time.

10. Practice: Embodying Your Curvy + Beloved Body. The next session starts June 8th.

11. Nonconformity and the Creative Life from Shots of Awe.

12. Women Turn Tables on Online Harassers.

13. These 25 Examples of Male Privilege from a Trans Guy’s Perspective Really Prove the Point.

14. More good stuff from Justine, on her blog Allowing Myself (which you should be reading!): Just Give In and Nap, and Travel Journal, and Day In The Life, and Bathroom Cabinet Magic.

15. Amy Schumer Takes On The Bill Cosby Sex Scandal On ‘Inside Amy Schumer.’ Oh, snap!

16. Garlic Roasted Broccoli recipe. Roasted vegetables are my favorite.

17. Surviving an Alcoholic.

18. 30 Days Of My Baby Bunnies Growing Up on Bored Panda.

19. This not so perfect life from Aubrey’s Baby Weigel blog.

20. Compassion is true communication. One of the most beautiful videos, with such an important message.

21. A Prominent Yogi on Fat Yoga, Instagram, and Changing Stereotypes.

22. The Small, Happy Life.

23. It’s Always a Good Time for Child’s Pose on Wanderlust.

24. Hanging by a Thread by Elizabeth Aquino.

25. Let’s Celebrate the Art of Clutter.

26. 10 Composition Tips with Award Winning Photographer Steve McCurry.

27. 5 of the Hardest Things Yoga Taught Me.

28. my favorite buttermilk biscuits recipe.

29. My Mom Has a Question on Medium.

30. What Fat People Know Best on Dances with Fat.

31. Colleges To Students: Don’t Trash Those Dorm Castoffs! Donate!

32. The Place Where You Are on Zen Habits.

33. Good stuff from Be More With Less: 7 Places to Create Space for Ease and Clarity and Holding on for Dear Life.

34. So, I’m a Teacher Now — 10 Reflections From the First 10 Weeks on Medium.

35. This Journey called Life on Medium.

36. thrive portrait: asha on Chookooloonks. Karen’s Thrive Portrait Project is so great.

37. Truthbomb #810 from Danielle LaPorte, “Surrender isn’t about being passive. It’s about being open.”

38. Wisdom from Ernest Hemingway, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

39. Brian Dettmer’s book autopsies, shared by Austin Kleon.

40. Danny Gregory, an interview by Lisa Congdon, shared by Chookooloonks.

41. “You must give up the life you planned in order…” from Jennifer Louden.

42. Really great stuff from Alexandra Franzen: Trying is always worth it, and Keep writing the damn alphabet, and I’m not lying. It’s just that the truth has changed., and Tell me everything, and Whatever it takes.

43. Suffering Opens The Real Path by Norman Fischer.

What Spring looks like in Colorado: flooding Poudre River, a little snow, and a lot of green (image by Eric)

Those ropes are what kids use in the summer to swing themselves into the water, which is much lower (image by Eric)

1. A Note from the Universe,

Courageous is the soul, Jill, who adventures into time and space to learn of their divinity. For while they cannot lose, they can think they have, and the loss will seem intolerable. And while they cannot fail, they can think they have, and the pain will seem unbearable. And while they cannot ever be less than they truly are – powerful, eternal, and loved – they can think they are, and all hope will seem lost. And therein lies their test. A test of perceptions: of what to focus on, of what to believe in, in spite of appearances.

2. Good stuff from Alexandra Franzen, How to cleanse your calendar & life: part one [the easy part] and How to cleanse your calendar & life: part two [the hard part], which she introduced in her newsletter this way,

Socrates had it right. Being “busy” may provide a temporary hit of fulfillment, but when your life is choked up with commitments that don’t feel meaningful or energizing, that’s a pretty barren existence. It is difficult, if not impossible, to evolve into the person you want to be when you are so busy and burdened that you can barely breathe.

3. Meditating on Love – a Daily Dharma Gathering event, which happened live yesterday, but the video is available to watch for the next seven days — Susan Piver, Lodro Rinzler, Sokuzan and angel Kyodo williams in a special 4 hour retreat.

4. Beyond Mindfulness, a free online event. “Beyond Mindfulness will feature top thought leaders, social visionaries, and wisdom holders in dialogue with one another, presenting practical teachings for living a more mindful, compassionate life, and leading guided meditations. Presenters and hosts include Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, Joseph Goldstein, Kelly McGonigal, Ken Wilber, Rich Fernandez, Rick Hanson, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, Shastri Holly Gayley, Richard Reoch, Acharya Fleet Maull, Susan Piver, Acharya Judith Simmer-Brown, Lodro Rinzler, Rev. Angel Kyodo Williams and more!”

5. How to Overcome Victim Thinking: 3 Powerful Steps for a Happier Life.

6. Vanity’s Other Name from Rachel Cole.

7. ‘Alone time’ is really good for you. Duh.

8. May You Be Present and Clear from Be More with Less.

9. Bad Responses to Bad Fat Shaming – Starring Keath Hausher and Tony Posnanski on Dances with Fat. And in related news, I Was The So-Called Unhealthy Fat Woman At The Cardinals Game.

10. Good stuff from Susannah Conway’s Something for the Weekend list: Tired of having to wear a thick skin? Try this instead and Shades of Sensitivity.

11. Diet fads are destroying us: Paleo, gluten-free and the lies we tell ourselves.

12. Why diets don’t actually work, according to a researcher who has studied them for decades.

13. 23 Amazingly Ridiculous Things You Can Buy At Anthropologie.

14. Why We Need to Stop Hating Ourselves, Once and For All.

15. An Open Letter To All Of My Friends Who Take Selfies, (shared by Kirsten).

16. Wisdom from Valerie Estelle Frankel, (shared by Jen Louden),

While the hero journeys for external fame, fortune, and power, the heroine tries to regain her lost creative spirit… Once she hears the cries of this lost part of herself needing rescue, her journey truly begins.

17. What’s the Truth About Sugar Addiction? from Eat to Love.

18. Wisdom from Dita Von Teese,

You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.

19. A Photo Essay: A Creativity Reboot on Rowdy Kittens.

20. My Terrifying Tornado Story from Elizabeth Gilbert.

21. 6 Words That Are Guaranteed to End Picky Eating.

22. Why I quit dieting.

23. Cute bunnies working in an office.

24. Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Truth in Nonfiction But Were Afraid to Ask: A Bad Advice Cartoon Essay.

25. Mourning the Death and Celebrating the Life of Dave Goldberg.

26. A Woman Uses Art To Come To Terms With Her Father’s Death.

27. “Mind creates the gap and then the heart crosses it.” Wisdom from Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (by way of Susan Piver),