Category Archives: Something Good

Something Good

1. 10 ways to be prepared and grounded now that Trump has won. “The key to taking effective action in a Trump world is to avoid perpetuating the autocrat’s goals of fear, isolation, exhaustion and disorientation.”

2. Your to-do list for the next two months to put you in the best possible position to survive what’s coming.

3. We Were Wrong About America on The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz. Also from John, What The Hell Just Happened, America?

4. Election Grief Is Real. Here’s How to Cope. “Understanding the psychology of ambiguous loss can help people struggling with grief and depression in the wake of the 2024 election results.”

5. Wisdom from Rev. angel Kyodo williams: “Confusion is a gift. It is the gift that indicates that there is something that is stable, steady, that is true, that is right, and something is running into conflict with it.”

6. A pledge from Embodiment Matters: “We embrace with wholehearted love this burning world. We are committed to love and liberation and to a future where all life thrives on this beautiful Earth. We are committed to the practices, principles, gatherings, heart values, and rituals that support each of us in bringing forth our unique soul-medicine for the healing that these times calls for. The Great Turning is that essential shift from the dominating military industrial growth society to a truly life sustaining human culture. As Abigail Bengson sang in a recent song, ‘Who makes the future? We do. We do.’ May we not forget.”

7. Sunshine, Love, Salvation, “& a prompt for warding off despair” on The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad.

8. Health at Every Size® (HAES) 101. “People in all bodies can work towards health — without trying to lose weight.”

9. Poetry from Julie Barton: Purpose, Sick Day, Pandiculation, and At Least There’s Dogs.

10. Micro Activism: How You Can Make a Difference in the World (Without A Bullhorn) by Omkari Williams.

11. Good stuff on Craft Talk from Jamie Attenberg: End Goals and An Interview with Rebecca Clarke, “By the Book” Illustrator.

12. How to Let Things Go: 8 Things You’re Better Off Without from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

13. This Morning Ritual Will Set You Up for a More Peaceful Day Ahead. “Five minutes is all you need.”

14. Why We All Need to Pause More Often and How to Do It.

15. Ways to Cope With the ‘Sunlight Blues’ When DST Steals All the Daylight.

16. 100 interesting facts to entertain adults and kidsI love the idea of using these as writing prompts too.

17. Typewriter interview with Lynda Barry from Austin Kleon. “On the magic of music, recreational sleeping, and the smell of dogs.”

18. A Time for Bodhisattvas on Lion’s Roar. “It is now time to ask ourselves, ‘What would a bodhisattva do?,’ and let that be our guide and inspiration. Lion’s Roar offers us the wisdom of leading Buddhist teachers, leaders, and activists as we contemplate how to meet a dark time with the compassion, courage, and skill of bodhisattvas dedicated to the welfare of all beings.”

19. What If Trump Wins? Resources, interviews, articles, and training materials.

20. Protect Democracy “is a cross-ideological nonprofit group dedicated to defeating the authoritarian threat, building more resilient democratic institutions, and protecting our freedom and liberal democracy. Our experts and advocates use litigation, legislative and communications strategies, technology, research, and analysis to stand up for free and fair elections, the rule of law, fact-based debate, and a better democracy for future generations.”

21. There’s No Denying It Anymore: Trump Is Not a Fluke—He’s America. “The United States chose Donald Trump in all his ugliness and cruelty, and the country will get what it deserves.”

22. Some Actually Good News From Election Night

23. On Getting Along by Howard Zinn. “You ask how I manage to stay involved and remain seemingly happy and adjusted to this awful world where the efforts of caring people pale in comparison to those who have power?”

24. Good stuff from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds: This Is A Doom Post and A Slow, Crooked Path Forward.

25. How Trump Won And What Must Change from Frederick Joseph. “Unpacking the how’s and why’s of the 2024 presidential election.”

26. Joy is an act of resistance from Patti Digh. “So is love. On radical imagination and principled struggle.”

27. something deeper than the mind, “a somatic practice for grief and chaos” from Abigail Rose Clarke.

28. Poet Naomi Shihab Nye reads her poem “Gate A-4.” (video)

29. Inviting Spaciousness by Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

30. 木漏れ日 (Komorebi) [kō-mō-leh-bē] – Sunlight leaking through the leaves of trees on Orion Magazine.

31. I am tired from Rita Ott Ramstad. “We all have finite resources, and knowing what we won’t use them on is as important as knowing what we will.”

32. This is How Much America Still Hates Women. “They hate us, and they think we will learn to hate ourselves, too. But they also underestimate us.”

33. How to Manage Election Season Emotions. “Excellent advice from Dr. Pooja Lakshmin.”

34. One Grain of Sand from Summer Brennan. “It’s just an image from a kid’s movie. Life is not a fairy tale. I don’t know how to oppose the real forces of darkness. This is just a few paragraphs, some words on a screen. I don’t have anything useful or clever to say. All I have is this seed of something, or not even a seed. A grain of sand. Just one. But maybe we can wish on it together.”

35. Hummingbird Heart on Short Reads. “A small good thing.”

36. My Friend Called. We Criedfrom Jena Schwartz.

37. Lucky Blue from Julia Fehrenbacher. 

38. How do you sit quietly in the middle of a storm? from Search Engine Podcast. “What if there was an event in the future, the outcome of which you couldn’t personally control, but it was still causing you anguish? This week, we talk to an ordained Zen priest and teacher to get some answers. Rev. angel Kyodo williams helps us learn how you could begin to quiet all the fears in your head that kidnap you from your actual life.”

39. Making a mess from Hugh L. Hollowell Jr.

40. How to survive the apocalypse (again). “Wherever there is a history of homophobia and transphobia, we also find a history of our people celebrating community, mutual care and joy.”

41. Recipe I want to try: Pistachio Lemon Breakfast Bread.

42. I got nothing for you but this shitty little prayer.

43. Power Up: Resources for the Road Ahead. “Focusing on what I can do, and endeavoring to live my values is my greatest comfort right now.”

44. The Pledge I Make on Writings from Wild Soul.

45. Write With Yourself: Expressive Writing Journal Prompts For Self Care by
Christine Scott-Hudson. “‘Write With Yourself’ is about exactly that, getting ‘right with yourself’ through the slow medicine of expressive writing. Returning to yourself, regularly tuning inward, noticing what is there, and then expressing what you truly mean and what you truly feel is a creative wellness practice. Again, and again, returning to your own well, the place inside of you that is your real home, your real center.'” says Scott-Hudson. “This is how you remember who you really are underneath all of the fawning, the hustling, and the people pleasing.” says the author. “Write With Yourself” contains 800 prompts.

46. Pippa Dyrlaga on Instagram. “Artist, papercutter, tea lover based in Yorkshire.”

47. And finally, this random collection of things I saved on my phone this week.

Something Good

1. Acknowledge Sadness, But Don’t Let It Cancel Your Joy from The Gurdeep Magazine. This in particular was the reminder I needed, going in to this election week:

“It’s important to recognize that these troubles and problems have been an intrinsic part of the human experience throughout history and will likely persist into the foreseeable future. While we possess the capacity to address and potentially resolve some issues, others lie beyond our sphere of influence, originating from external sources such as governmental decisions, health crises, natural disasters, and various other factors beyond individual control.

However, this acknowledgment of life’s inherent difficulties should not lead us down a path of perpetual sadness and pessimism. Such a mindset can be detrimental to our overall well-being and quality of life.

Instead, it’s imperative to actively and intentionally seek out joy in our daily lives. This pursuit of joy is not a frivolous endeavor, but a necessary component in maintaining emotional equilibrium. Joy serves as a crucial counterweight to life’s challenges, helping to prevent us from slipping into the depths of depression or prolonged despair.”

2. Saying Yes on The Isolation Journals with Suleika Jaouad.

3. Breathea poem from Lynn Ungar, another good reminder for this election week. Another good one for this week is Holding Vigil by Alison Luterman.

4. Buddhist Advice for Election Anxiety on Lion’s Roar. “Are you experiencing strong, difficult emotions due to the upcoming election? Four Buddhists offer advice for dealing with despair, anger, grief, and anxiety.”

5. Election Anxiety from Patti Digh.

6. Why you are an artist from Danny Gregory.

7. The Evolution Of Día De Los Muertos.

8. 10 Gentle Reminders and Ideas to Calm Anxiety from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

9. If He Wins from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

10. You’re not burnt out, you’re being burned out.

11. Whether Underwater or Up a Tree, Close-Up Photographer of the Year Delights in the Details.

12. Magic and Whimsy Abound from Shannon Taylor’s Fantastic Watercolor Dioramas.

13. Luther Vandross and the Sound That Could Fill Hearts, or Break Them on The New York Times. (gift link) “He was hounded by a fat-phobic press, but as Dawn Porter’s new documentary shows, he was a transformational presence from the start.”

14. Mirrors on Easels Create the Illusion of Desert Landscape Paintings in California’s Joshua Tree National Park.

15. And finally, this random collection of things I saved on my phone this week.