1. A vigorous imagination from Abigail Rose Clarke. “There are so many reasons a life-form as strange as us shouldn’t exist, and yet, here we are, for better or worse, in spectacular abundance. We are proof of the possibility of impossible things. And so when I am trying to practice the vigorous imagination required to believe that another world is possible, to practice the deep patience and presence required to hear her breathing, I remember that these are impossible times, but I am an impossible creature.”

2. Want to enjoy the holidays? Learn to Oversupport yourself. “For people who have experienced trauma and loss oversupporting yourself not only allows you to get through the holidays without fear of coming apart—with enough support holidays can actually be times of healing. You will have enough space inside you to both mourn the losses and take in the present—and by holding both you can feel more whole.”

3. You’re Dead, Now What? from Patti Digh. “Don’t leave behind a Chaotic Mystery Mess (CMM) for your family and friends.”

4. Y’all Are a Great Group of Folks! from Robert Jones Jr. “I’m not saying that I want to live in a bubble, bury my head in the sand, or pretend that the world is some kind of Pretty Pretty Princess™ fantasyland. I’m not saying that I never want to think or write about the enormously wicked things happening in the world. I’m saying that I don’t want to allow it to become a kind of addiction/obsession that clouds my thinking and my knowing such that pessimism doesn’t simply become an honest possibility; it becomes my only principle. I’m saying that for my own well-being, I require consistent antidotes to the ongoing malevolence of heartless, gutless, ruthless, truthless people who use their power and platforms in service to local, global, and inner ruin. And so joy, and the celebration of it, becomes revolutionary—especially for those of us whose misery is counted on.”

5. Activist Micro Action Dispatch: Grace from Omkari Williams. “So, this week what I ask of you is grace and curiosity. Grace for those who see things differently than we do. Curiosity about why and a willingness to consider that they may have something to offer that can strengthen our idea, our plan, our vision.”

6. Rachel DeWoskin Tells Us: About Wildness and Politeness, a series from Cheryl Strayed, “in which I invite an author to tell us five things—not only about their most recent book, but about their life too.”

7. As You Are – Debut Album + Book by Andréa Ranae on Kickstarter. “Exploring what it takes to wage love, get free, and create peace within our lives and our world.”

8. Being Boring Is the Bedrock from Jena Schwartz.

9. Meditation Is Making Friends with Yourself 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.”

10. Living into All the Honey: Embracing Grief & Joy. (video) “‘What do joy and grief have in common?’ asks poet Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. ‘…The ability to evoke feeling that pushes us and opens us and helps us to be compassionate and helps us fall in love.’ In this 10-minute video, she reads poems that span grief and joy from her new collection All the Honey. She speaks of what she knows now about grief she didn’t before her son died, of spaciousness and silliness, and how her new collection came to be.”

11. Good stuff from Seth Godin: After the meteorite, The network scam, Generosity and gratitude, and Long form AI.

12. How To Rest When You Don’t Have Any Time on Gentle Buddhism.

13. Words For The Weary from Frederick Joseph. “A few thoughts on progress and perseverance.”

14. 5 Slow Living Gifts To Enjoy (before the end of the year) from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

15. Let’s Go Community Shopping. “You know how I know people are desperate for a new way of organizing their lives? Apart from just selling a book about it? Well, the New York Times keeps reporting on it. Let’s take a look at what they’ve found (and I’ve gift linked all of these, so click away).”

16. Introverts, Is That Social Invite Worth the Energy? Here’s How to Decide.

17. Why I’m Thankful to Be a Sensitive Introvert (Even Though It’s Not Always Easy).

18. Journal-Keeping for Memoir Writers & Personal Essayists from Esmé Weijun Wang. “Practical techniques, effective methods, and opportunities for creativity.”

19. You’ve already done the hardest part. You got yourself here. from Andrea Scher.

20. Reader Question – Dealing with Diet Culture at the Holidays from Ragen Chastain.

21. How to Answer The Writing Question from Jami Attenberg.

22. Walking has plummeted across America. In related news, Eight ways to transform a walk in the forest into a wellbeing immersion and The nature cure: how time outdoors transforms our memory, imagination and logic.

23. Should America Keep Celebrating Thanksgiving? on The Nation. “Sean Sherman argues that we need to decolonize Thanksgiving, while Chase Iron Eyes calls for replacing Thanksgiving with a ‘Truthsgiving.'”

14. Moss, Pine Bark, and Roots Camouflage Tiny Refuges Among the Wild Swedish Forests and Farmland.

15. 99 Things Money Can’t Buy.

16. Easing Loneliness With Wonder, Awe, and Nature. “Even when alone, wondrous moments with wildlife restore our sense of belonging.”

17. “What to Say to Those Who Think You’re a Fool for Choosing Poetry” by Joseph Fasano.

18. 50 Boyfriends And Husbands Who Raised The Bar Too High For Other Men.

19. Colorful arrangements made of mushrooms by Jill Bliss.

20. Nature photographer of the year 2023 – the winning images.

21. You told us: how Positive News readers challenge rampant consumerism. In related news, 20 ways to shop more mindfully (and resist pressure to part with cash).

22. Finding Refuge During the Holidays Guide from Michelle C Johnson. “A [free] downloadable PDF guide to offer some journaling prompts and practices for how you can find refuge amid all that is swirling inside and around you right now.”

23. 50 “Pictures Of The End” That Raise More Questions Than They Answer.

24. I talked to 263 of the world’s longest-living people—their 9 ‘non-negotiables’ for a long, happy life. In related news, Doing these 8 things now could help you live a long, healthy life, say scientists who study centenarians.

25. What to know about treating Seasonal Affective Disorder.

26. In Frybread Face and Me, a Navajo Boy Finds His Queerness — and His Culture. “Billy Luther’s feature debut follows two Navajo cousins during a summer on the reservation.”

27. Impressive contemporary wood, metal, and stone sculptures by Jaehyo Lee.

28. Stunning hyper-realistic foliage paintings by Jelena and Aleksandar Paunkovic.

29. Realistic digital portraits by Alexis Franklin.

30. Surrealistic organic-inspired vessels by Carol Long.

31. This prayer from Laura Jean Truman.

32. You’re Not Crazy, You’re Just Dealing With a Narcissist | The Mel Robbins Podcast. This is so GOOD. As I unravel myself from this situation AGAIN, it was helpful to hear the reminder that not engaging is the right thing.

33. How I Added More Time to My Life.

34. 10 Things That Fill Introverts with Joy.

35. 10 Ways To Get Off Your Phone And Into Your Life from Tammy Strobel on Be More With Less.

36. On Being with Krista Tippett | Nick Cave: Loss, Yearning, Transcendence. “As a human and a songwriter, Nick Cave is an embodiment of a life examined and evolved. He sat with Krista in the On Being studio in Minneapolis, and the gorgeous conversation that followed is woven in this episode with his gorgeous music.”

1. Addiction Ravaged My Family and Tribe. I’m Fighting to Get Them Back. on The New York Times.

2. “Pets are family,” a Facebook thread from Josh Weed on the grief of losing a pet.

3. Good stuff from Seth Godin: Turtleneck confusion, A long time is not the same as never, Working with problems, and The Perfect conditions.

4. Fight, Flight, and Freeze Embodied, an emotion wheel from Lindsay Braman. “Learning about fight, flight, fawn, and freeze can be helpful, but learning how these responses manifest in our particular bodies is where the magic really starts.”

5. Helena Bonham Carter reads Small Kindnesses by Danusha Laméris, one of my favorite poems. (Facebook reel)

6. Read Anne Boyer’s extraordinary New York Times resignation letter. “The Israeli state’s U.S-backed war against the people of Gaza is not a war for anyone. There is no safety in it or from it…Its only profit is the deadly profit of oil interests and weapon manufacturers.”

7. Warren Doyle Knows More About the Appalachian Trail than Anyone. He Hates What It’s Become. “Doyle set a speed record on the AT 50 years ago, long before YouTubers and partying twentysomethings had flooded the iconic trail. Through his Appalachian Trail Institute, which he’s run since 1989, he’s still trying to convert a new generation of thru-hikers to his personal philosophy of what the trail should be.”

8. A new graphic novel version of ‘Watership Down’ aims to temper darkness with hope.

9. Lama Rod Owens: The Path of the New Saint. (podcast) “Give a listen to this inspiring conversation on how each one of us can become effective agents of social and spiritual liberation. Tami and Lama Rod discuss awakened care and bodhicitta; partnering with ancestral forces and the unseen world; brokenheartedness and our collective emotional labor; disrupting reactivity; the radical act of choosing joy; experiencing our true home; two traits of a prophet: embodying clarity and telling the truth; the New Saint as an ordinary human being; the practice of receiving love; spiritual warriorship and what it means to ‘fight within love’; prayers of protection; the commitment to get free from suffering; consenting to the work of being a New Saint; and more.”

10. It’s hygge season: How to embrace the Danish lifestyle of rest and coziness.

11. 9 Nonfiction Books To Make You Rethink the World Around You.

12. Why All of My Book Clubs Have Imploded.

13. Fall in love with Willow the muskox calf. (video) “Watch as our adorable and spunky muskox calf joyfully dives headfirst into her very first pile of maple leaves and turns her leafy playground into a zoomie extravaganza.”

14. Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations. This image is my favorite.

15. The Racist Origins of Marijuana Prohibition. (video) “The legal status of cannabis has been in question in the U.S. since people starting regularly smoking it in the early 1900s. The debate continues today, with Attorney General Jeff Sessions taking a firm stance against legalization and insisting that federal prohibition laws be enforced, even where states have made it legal. But how did it become illegal in the first place? As it turns out, it has some roots in racist rhetoric pushed by politicians and the media in the 1930s, when it first became illegal.”

16. Three Things That Should Be Required For Weight Loss Research from Ragen Chastain.

17. ‘We’re not doomed yet’: five reasons for climate hope, by a climatologist.

18. 5 Signs You’re Overthinking It.

19. 3 Buddhist Strategies for When the News is Overwhelming | Kaira Jewel Lingo on Ten Percent Happier podcast. “A former nun explains how to deal with doom-scrolling, despair, and rage in the face of world events.”

20. Things That Count as Writing on McSweeney’s.

21. Everyday Creativity: Small Actions with Big Impact from Esmé Weijun Wang.

22. What do Artists do all day? a video series from the BBC shared on the Art Documentaries YouTube page.

23. Is my work in the world over? from Patti Digh. “Coming back from that edge is in process.”

24. How to Get Through the Holidays When You’re Grieving.

25. 30 Ways to Be Kind: Simple Ways to Spread a Little Love.

26. Can little actions bring big joy? Researchers find ‘micro-acts’ can boost well-being.

27. A gratitude zine from Austin Kleon.

28. Unpacking the Psychology of Gift-Giving on The New York Times. “When it comes to gift-giving, context is everything. While marketers, influencers and innumerable holiday gift guides might suggest otherwise, whether a present is a home run or an epic fail depends less on cost, design, style, presentation or practicality and more on the giver’s ability to listen, observe and empathize — and perhaps do a little sleuthing.”

29. NPR Books We Love 2023.

30. Holiday Anxiety? 5 Ways To Stress Less And Enjoy More from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

31. Taking Clouds and Putting Them In A Jar: A Conversation with Esmé Weijun Wang. “On the importance of comfort, the wisdom of dogs, and how to live with an unreliable body and mind.”

32. At 33, I knew everything. At 69, I know something much more important. from Anne Lamott.

33. When Your Significant Other Has Four Legs and Fur on The New York Times. “For singles who have grown weary of dating, pet ownership helps fill the relationship void.”

34. Nice vs. Kind: The Difference Is Significant.

35. Liz Phair on Revisiting Classic ‘Exile in Guyville’ Album for Anniversary Tour, 30 Years After Thinking, ‘Oh No, What Have I Done… Holy S—!’

36. What to Know About Assisted Living on The New York Times. “The facilities can look like luxury apartments or modest group homes, and can vary in pricing structures. Here’s a guide.”

37. Pretty Scruffy: enchanting animal textile sculptures by Bryony Rose Jennings. “Hampshire, UK-based artist Bryony Rose Jennings creates fascinating animal textile sculptures using different kinds of patterned fabrics from old clothes scruffily and delicately sewn.”

38. I know sitting is bad for me. But how can I cut back when it’s so much fun? “I eat my greens and I look after my gums. There’s not much I won’t do for the sake of my health. But this? Get lost.”

39. 6 Ideas for Introverts to Slow Down and Enjoy Life More.

40. Work has conquered every day of the week. How do we remain human in a world that worships toil? “Left unchecked, work will rule your life. If we can’t entirely exorcise the work demon, we should, frankly, make it harder for it to do its thing.”

41. 35 Thoughtful Questions To Ask At Thanksgiving Dinner. “Thanksgiving gets a bad rap for its association with tense family conversations that sometimes escalate to full-fledged shouting matches. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Gathering immediate and extended family together for a special meal offers a great opportunity for meaningful conversation and the chance to learn more about your own history. With that in mind, we’ve put together a list of 35 questions to promote thoughtful discussions and help you learn more about your family on Thanksgiving.”