1. How to Practice Paying Attention. “5 ways to steer it in support of your values.”

2. What’s That Feeling? Oh, It’s Fall Regression. “Is this the part of the pandemic when we’re happy? When we’re angry? When we’re hanging out or pulling back, when we’re hopeful or dismayed, when we’re making plans or canceling them? The calendar moves forward but we’re stuck. In old patterns, in old understandings of how work and our families and the world should be. That’s the feeling of regression, I think.”

3. Remarkable Trees Throughout The World. I agree, but they forgot this one: 1,400-Year-Old Chinese Ginkgo Tree Drops Leaves That Drown Buddhist Temple In A Yellow Ocean.

4. I am a compost heap from Austin Kleon.

5. Why Highly Sensitive People Can’t Watch the News That Often.

6. As Jane Goodall grieves climate change, she finds hope in young people’s advocacy.

7. Adam J. Kurtz | Art, Life & Backhanded Optimism on The Good Life Project Podcast.

8. I Forgive You, For Everything by Laurie Wagner.

9. Netflix’s CEO Is Wrong. Transphobic Media Causes Real Harm. In related news At Netflix, a star and employees pressure a top executive over Dave Chappelle’s special on The New York Times.

10. Plant-Based Food Companies Face Critics: Environmental Advocates on The New York Times. “Some analysts say they cannot determine if plant-based foods are more sustainable than meat because the companies are not transparent about their emissions.”

11. The dark side of wellness: the overlap between spiritual thinking and far-right conspiracies. “Extreme right-wing views and the wellness community are not an obvious pairing, but ‘conspirituality’ is increasingly pervasive. How did it all become so toxic?”

12. The ‘Black Sherpa’ summits every Colorado 14er in a push for more diversity in outdoor recreation.

13. Chinese Boy Accidentally Finds 66-Million-Year-Old Dinosaur Eggs. Whoa!

14. The Act of Vanishing Tom Howard/John H. Reid Fiction & Essay Contest 2021 First Prize, Nonfiction by Megan Falley.

15. Texas Superintendent Apologizes After Official’s Holocaust Remarks on The New York Times. “State lawmakers and the Anti-Defamation League condemned a school official’s advice to ‘make sure that if you have a book on the Holocaust, that you have one that has an opposing, that has other perspectives.'”

16. Loss and the Beauty of Hope with Jessica Patterson on the Inner Peace Yoga Therapy Podcast. “In this episode I interviewed Jessica Patterson. Jessica is a friend, fellow yoga teacher and the owner/director of Root Center for Yoga and Sacred Studies in CO Springs. She describes herself as a writer, teacher, and puller of threads. In this podcast, we pulled a few threads together. Specifically we spoke about the volume of loss we have experienced as a global society over the past 20 months and the quiet tolls these losses are taking on people. We also spoke about some specific losses she has experienced, and what has helped her navigate those times. Finally, we talked a bit about hope and where we go from here.”

17. Susan Orlean: “Is It Possible to Be Truly Wild?”

18. After 2 Years, a Tire Is Removed From an Elk’s Neck in Colorado on The New York Times.

19. The Dieter’s Diet. “Noom, the popular weight loss app, promises to teach you how to eat better, not less. (Except also, eat less.)”

20. “People vs. Fossil Fuels”: Over 530 Arrested in Historic Indigenous-Led Climate Protests in D.C. There are no words for how disappointing this is.

21. Words Mean Things: Understanding Colonialism.

22. How Getting a Dog Has Helped Me as an Introvert.

23. Guy Finds Lost Egg in Pet Store and Brings It to Life.

1. Better than nothing, but not by much. The President has proclaimed today Indigenous Peoples’ Day. “On Indigenous Peoples’ Day, we honor America’s first inhabitants and the Tribal Nations that continue to thrive today. I encourage everyone to celebrate and recognize the many Indigenous communities and cultures that make up our great country.” However, he also went ahead and proclaimed it Columbus Day as well. In related news, Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Explained on The New York Times, and Voices to Honor for Indigenous Peoples’ Day on Story Corps, and Poetry Foundation Collection of Native American Poetry and Culture, and Goodbye, Columbus? Here’s what Indigenous Peoples’ Day means to Native Americans.

2. The YOU ARE LOVED Mural Project. “Since 2014, muralist Alex Cook has created 70 murals in 13 states with three simple, yet very impactful words – YOU ARE LOVED. Alex has taken his mural message to schools, businesses, shelters, prisons, and organizations of all types because now more than ever people need to feel seen and supported. Creating a mural is a collaborative event where people from diverse communities and all ages and abilities come together to have fun and to engage in conversations about worth, value, and well-being.” I want one!

3. New to me music, Around by JONES featuring Nardeydey. (video)

4. Pets love to be dramatic just like us. (video)

5. Live Event Painting by Maggie Smith Kuhn. I didn’t even know this was a thing! So cool.

6. Here are the finalists nominated for a 2021 National Book Award. In related news, The Vigorous Vulnerability of Robert Jones, Jr.’s Debut Novel The Prophets.

7. David Sedaris Shows Us How His Mind Works, a review of his new book on The New York Times.

8. Brandi Carlile, Larger Than Life and Achingly Human on The New York Times. “The singer and songwriter’s seventh album, ‘In These Silent Days,’ realizes and polishes her ambitions.”

9. A U.S. judge blocks enforcement of Texas’ controversial new abortion law.

10. Over 120,000 American Children Have Lost a Parent or Caregiver to Covid-19, Study Says on The New York Times. “New findings showed wide racial disparities among those whose caregivers had died during the pandemic.” In related news, also on The New York Times, How to Help Kids Process the Trauma of Covid.

11. Finding Your Wild Voice, with Laurie Wagner. (podcast) “‘I think of it as a writing practice, but it’s a healing practice.’ That’s what the author, teacher, and artist Laurie Wagner says about wild writing — a process in which you write as fast as possible for 15 minutes, pushing past your inner critic, your ego, and your desire to look good so you you can connect with your real self and let your wild, authentic voice come forward. In this episode of Your Permission Prescription, Laurie and I talk about the therapeutic benefits of wild writing, the power of poetry, and why everyone has the right to write.”

12. a year ago today we buried my dog. this is what i wrote after. If you know, you know.

13. The 40-hour workweek isn’t working.

14. 25 Creative Ways to Help Animal Shelters. This list is a few years old, but still relevant.

15. How to Meditate on Lion’s Roar. “Mindfulness, relaxation, and clarity are just some of the benefits that accompany a basic meditation practice. It can also reduce pain and stress while improving your mental health. Beginner meditation techniques are simple; if you can breathe, you can meditate. In this step-by-step guide on how to meditate, we answer your questions.”

16. This Experiential Learning Farm Helps Youth Build a Better World. “At Freetown Farm, members of the community can learn the names of medicinal herbs and harvest vegetables, all while developing a deeper relationship to the land and local community.”

17. Meet Democrat Marcus Flowers, the Army Vet Who’s Looking to Unseat Qrazy Marjorie Taylor Greene. “Flowers has already raised more than $1.3 million from July to September, because folks are tired of this gun-wielding wack job.” Some of that money was from me.

18. One Month Later, Five Escaped Zebras Are Still Roaming the Suburbs of Maryland.

19. A Black family got their beach back — and inspired others to fight against land theft.

20. Hard Conversations Resource List. “What are you willing to do to stop racism and heal our world?”

21. Ask the Teachers: How can the dharma help us work through grief? on Lion’s Roar. “Breeshia Wade, Tenku Ruff, Damchö Diana Finnegan share how the dharma can help us work through grief.”

22. Good stuff from Austin Kleon: You can’t create under surveillance and A blessed unrest.

23. Behind the scenes: the process that goes into creating stop motion animation. (video)

24. 20 Moth Species More Beautiful [As Beautiful?] Than Butterflies.