1. Free Palestine. Natalie Hinahara is a printmaker, muralist, and graphic designer born and raised in Wisconsin and currently based in Oregon. On her website, she offers four open source Free Palestine posters and shares the link to a folder of similar images that Artist Micah Bazant created for activists, organizers, and educators to download and use.

2. Statement from The Council of Bishops of the African Methodist Episcopal Church in which they call on the United States Government to immediately withdraw all funding and other support from Israel. “Since 1954, Israel has shown a willful disregard for the human dignity of Palestinians. Since October 7, 2023, in retaliation for the brutal murder of 1139 Israeli citizens by Hamas, Israel has murdered over 28,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. The United States is supporting this mass genocide. This must not be allowed to continue. There must be an immediate and permanent ceasefire between these two communities.”

3. Things worth considering on The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz: When Americans Love Guns More Than People (“How a Political Party Has Turned Us in a War Zone”) and Stop Saying Love Wins (“Love’s victory is not inevitable. We have to fight for it”) and When the Truth Becomes Obsolete (“Reaching people no longer tethered to objective reality”).

4. How to help humanitarian efforts in Israel and Gaza. I shared this already, but as there still is a need, it’s worth another look.

5. 7 Soft And Gentle Ways To Simplify Your Day from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less. Also from Courtney, 8 Powerful Ways To Live Simply (without decluttering).

6. Wisdom from Kate Forster: “I think it’s a deep consolation to know that spiders dream, that monkeys tease predators, that dolphins have accents, that lions can be scared silly by a lone mongoose, that otters hold hands, and ants bury their dead. That there isn’t their life and our life. Nor your life and my life. That it’s just one teetering and endless thread and all of us, all of us, are entangled with it as deep as entanglement goes.”

7. ‘Chill’: Waldport honors quirky, kindhearted man. (video) In related news, CHILL: A SHORT HISTORY OF WALDPORT VIDEO. (video) “Chuck Hill ran a unique, cash only video store full of hidden gems and rare titles for over 30 years in the small town of Waldport, Oregon. It wasn’t just a video store but a gathering place, the hub of a small coastal town. Chuck’s store and his influence has shaped many lives. This is an intimate visit with a small town legend & movie messenger for offbeat films.” We got to meet Chuck and rented videos from his store each summer when we’d visit. He was a weird, cool dude.

8. Opinion: Why I’m going to keep teaching the truth about racism in America.

9. Mini Brass Doe. Adding this to my list of things I don’t need but I want anyway.

10. ‘They lied’: plastics producers deceived public about recycling, report reveals. “Companies knew for decades recycling was not viable but promoted it regardless, Center for Climate Integrity study finds.”

11. Those evangelical Christian Super Bowl ads — and the backlash to them — explained.

12. The Blunt Instrument, a monthly advice column for writers.

13. For the introverts: My Need for Alone Time Is Not a Reflection on You and Why Do Introverts Love Being Alone? Here’s the Science and Why Being Quiet Can Be Your Greatest Asset.

14. Recipe want to try/eat: Laura Bush’s Cowboy Cookies. Oatmeal cookies are my favorite, the chewier, the better.

15. Found and Natural Materials Prevail in This Year’s Shortlist for the Loewe Craft Prize. “The prestigious Loewe Craft Prize announced 30 finalists for its 2024 competition, showcasing an impressive array of pieces spanning ceramics and glass to textiles and metals.”

16. Camp Amache is now officially part of the National Park system. In related news, New national park site showcasing “dark chapter of injustice” established in Colorado. Adding this destination to my dream road trip where Eric and I travel the U.S. checking out National Parks, museums, cultural and historical sites, botanical gardens, and eating all the food.

17. this is sort of about a sweater from Elyse Myers. (video) This was my favorite part:

18. After Shutting Down, These Golf Courses Went Wild on The New York Times (gift link).”Most defunct golf courses get paved over, but a number are getting transformed into ecological life rafts for wildlife, plants — and people.”

19. 6 Things You Will Always Regret Throwing Away.

20. I Wasn’t Sure How To Celebrate Turning 70. Then I Sent An Email That Changed My Entire Year. What a great idea.

21. The luxurious fantasy of suffering in Hanya Yanagihara’s novels. “The author of A Little Life and To Paradise writes long, voluptuous books all about human pain.” This article is a few years old, but I’m just now reading To Paradise, (because there were no copies of A Little Life currently available at my library) and loving it.

22. After three decades spent “On the Road,” beloved photographer Bob Caccamise retires. (video) They have such a sweet friendship.

23. ‘Black AF History’ examines American history from the perspective of Black people. In this episode of NPR’s Book of the Day, “political commentator and author Michael Harriot speaks with Here & Now’s Celeste Headlee about how revisiting American history in the context of the Black perspective shows the country’s story as one of triumph and survival.”

24. The Art of Love: Writing the Perfect Love Poem, Even If You’re Not a Writer from Andrea Gibson. In related news, Four poems for the day of love from HannahRoWrites. “For the friends that love us, the one we spend our days with, the babies we dedicate our lives to and ourselves.” Also, How to spread the love this Valentine’s Day [and every other day], according to Positive News readers.

25. When Everywhere Is the Right Place to Start, a poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

26. Icebreakers, an exhaustive list collected by Rob Walker. These make awesome writing prompts, as well as conversation starters.

27. Watch: 100 people share unpopular opinions.

28. Heart Advice from Pema Chödrön: “We can try to control the uncontrollable by looking for security and predictability, always hoping to be comfortable and safe. But the truth is that we can never avoid uncertainty. This not-knowing is part of the adventure. It’s also what makes us afraid.”

29. Why You Shouldn’t Read This (Maybe), “What to do when your plate is full” from Satya Robyn on Going Gently.

30. What Makes an Artist an Artist? from Jena Schwartz.

31. Making Friends with Ourselves on Lion’s Roar. “Being our own best friend is a challenging feat. Kate Johnson explains how meditation can help us get to know our inner critics and prevent them from hindering our path to liberation.”

32. Nick Cave on the Two Pillars of a Meaningful Life. In related news Issue #274 of The Red Hand Files from Nick Cave.

33. Are you catastrophizing? Here’s how to stop assuming the worst. “Nine experts weigh in on curbing and diffusing your overly negative thoughts.”

34. 28 Days of Black History archives. 

35. Louisiana Channel on YouTube. “Weekly videos on art, literature, architecture and design are produced by Louisiana Museum of Modern Art, Denmark. Louisiana Channel contributes to the permanent development of the museum as a cultural platform and wants to enhance the sense of the importance of art and culture.”

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Kind and gentle reader: It’s going to be a bit quiet here for the next few weeks. I’m heading to Oregon to spend time with my mom, and to give my brother a bit of a break from being her fulltime caretaker (his birthday present from me). In the meantime, here’s the archive of 600+ Something Good lists. Take such good care of yourselves and I’ll be back soon. ❤

1. Heart advice from Pema Chödrön: “Although it is embarrassing and painful, it is very healing to stop hiding from yourself. It is healing to know all the ways that you’re sneaky, all the ways that you hide out, all the ways that you shut down, deny, close off, criticize people, all your weird little ways. You can know all that with some sense of humor and kindness. By knowing yourself, you’re coming to know humanness altogether. We are all up against these things. We are all in this together.”

2. Lingering in the Sweet Spot on Going Gently from Satya Robyn. “Taking a break from ‘working on ourselves’.” I’ve been following Satya’s work for a long time, and have enjoyed and appreciated every version of it. She wrote another post recently clarifying what Going Gently is about: “Helping you be kinder to yourself. This is what stitches my work at Going Gently together.” What’s not to like?

3. Hind Rajab: A poem for the generations stolen in front of our eyes, a heartbreaking poem about another heartbreaking loss in Palestine. Look at this sweet face and understand that there are now 28,000+ who are no more, with 10,000+ of those being children, and FOR WHAT?!

4. Good stuff from Seth Godin: What’s the right size? and Jump in the lake and Transitions are difficult.

5. Can the Inner Development Goals help us create a more sustainable future? “The UN sustainable development goals are badly needed. But progress is slow. Do we lack an inner capacity to make the necessary changes? Shifts on a personal level could be the missing part of the puzzle to unlock huge progress, believe the team behind the Inner Development Goals.”

6. The hiking movement to reclaim green spaces. “Racism and unequal access to green spaces are just some of the reasons people of colour and ethnic minorities tend to spend less time in nature. Meet the groups working to bring the benefits of the great outdoors to all.”

7. What Really Makes Us Happy on Lion’s Roar. “As a Buddhist teacher, psychiatrist, and leading researcher, Dr. Robert Waldinger studies life from three very different perspectives. But he says they all come to the same basic conclusion about what really makes our lives happy and meaningful, and what doesn’t.”

8. Good stuff from The Beautiful Mess by John Pavlovitz: Five Unhelpful Phrases for Grieving People (“Some well-intentioned words those in mourning can do without”) and Of Course a Left Third Party Vote is a Vote for Trump (“The simple reality of November and what’s at stake”).

9. Don’t Look Down Either. “There’s no secret way to be successful at this. Everyone’s using a different set of measures. The best thing I can tell you is ignore it all. Write whatever the fuck you want about whatever the fuck you want however the fuck you want to write it.”

10. Being a Full-Time Writer is the Worst Job. “Buckle Up for Some Tough Love.”

11. The “1000 Hours Outside” Movement, Explained.

12. 5 Little Ways to Be a Better Friend When You’re So, So Tired.

13. 20 Things We All Need to Stop Wasting Our Time On.

14. Stinge Watching Is the Opposite of Binge Watching. I absolutely am a Stinge Watcher. There are easily at least 10 shows right now that are over and I can’t bring myself to watch the final season.

15. What Does Enough Mean? from Jami Attenberg. “Enough to me lately feels like I tried hard, accomplished the right amount of work, put in all the effort I could. Whatever I get out of it in return is up in the air. I just want to walk away feeling like I did enough.”

16. For the introverts: I Embraced My Introversion and Quit Doing Things That Left Me Stressed and A Therapist Explains How Introverts Can Increase and Protect Their Energy and 6 Things My Therapist Taught Me to Stop Bottling Up My Emotions.

17. 10 Daily Habits That Will Help You Simplify Your Life from Tammy Strobel on Be More With Less.

18. I love this drawing from Jenny Lawson’s art Substack.

19. Dream Lover on Short Reads.

20. Things I do not understand, a list from Patti Digh.

21. Love Is the Container, “Not everything has to make sense” from Jena Schwartz.

22. The Pre-crastinator stumbles from Danny Gregory. You need to sign up for his newsletter.

23. What I Saw When I Came Back to the Internet, 3 Years Later.

24. jacobsimonsays on Instagram, “Good stories [about the environment] for a breath of fresh air.”

25. Bigger, stronger, faster: how my exercise addiction nearly killed me.

26. ‘Is he a good guy or a bad guy?’: an online hunt to solve a shocking death. “New Max documentary covers 2018 death of a hiker known as Mostly Harmless – and the flurry of internet sleuths trying to find out who he was and why he died.” Currently watching.

27. Poetry on Facebook: Look up, Love by Julia Fehrenbacher and Self-Portrait by David Whyte.

28. Shuck what the world put on you, wisdom from Andrea Gibson. (Facebook reel)

29. Speaking Tree, a poem by Joy Harjo.

30. Millennials unloaded on Elmo, and Larry David couldn’t handle them stepping on his brand: complaining.

31. Humans of Animal Advocacy: Patrick McDonnell. “MUTTS cartoonist makes good on his pledge to free Guard Dog and discusses his creative process.”

32. Recipe I want to try: Devil’s Food Snack Cake. Any chocolate cake that includes coffee in the recipe is my friend.

33. balance theory from Karen Walrond, “some thoughts on technology, and fighting for the very soul of the world.”

34. Artvee. “Discover the best in Classical & Modern Art. Browse and download high-resolution, public domain paintings, posters and illustrations.”

35. Self-Compassion from Hugh Hollowell. “These days, I’m wanting to be who younger versions of me needed, and what that younger version of me needed the most was someone who looked out for him, who told him it was OK to put his needs first, that advocated for him when he was afraid, or unable, to do so. These days, I’m working on embodying the truth that if my compassion for the world does not include me, then it is incomplete.”

36. Wisdom from Lao Tzu: “If you want to awaken all of humanity, then awaken all of yourself. If you want to eliminate the suffering in the world, then eliminate all that is dark and negative in yourself. Truly, the greatest gift you have to give is that of your own self-transformation.”

37. A letter of love to trauma survivors from Gretchen Schmelzer. “Survival mode makes it hard to experience and understand love. Where survival is an experience of tension or tightness, love is an experience of openness and expansiveness. Where survival is an experience of longing, grasping, clinging, or vigilance—love is an experience of patience, of being able to breathe and look around. There is a brittleness and stiffness with survival. There is an elasticity to love.”

38. 27 ‘Strange’ Things You Do Because You’re a Highly Sensitive Person. In related news, 10 Biggest Mental Health Game-Changers for Highly Sensitive People.

39. Meet Mark Lewis Wagner | Traditional & Digital Artist, Author, Educator, World Record Chalk Drawings.

40. It’s Complicated: Love Poems, a collection curated by the editors at Poetry Foundation.

41. Snoopy is real, her name is Bayley. “Bayley is a 1-year-old mini sheepadoodle, which is a cross between a miniature poodle and an Old English Sheepdog. Her sweet face is something you have to see to believe and even then you may question if she’s real.“