1. Rebellious, hilarious and oblivious to the power of her presence… my old friend Sinéad O’Connor. “Sean O’Hagan first met the young Dublin singer before fame struck. Then they started hanging out together off-duty. He recalls her as a fierce outsider and a beguiling free spirit.” In related news, on The New York Times, Sinead O’Connor, Evocative and Outspoken Singer, Is Dead at 56 and Nothing Compares and Once decried as sacrilegious, Sinéad O’Connor’s music and life were deeply infused with spiritual seeking.
2. Centuries-old companies in Japan on the secrets of business longevity. (video) From CBS Sunday Morning, “There are old hotels, and then there’s Hōshi, in central Japan, which first opened its doors more than 1,300 years ago. Japan boasts tens of thousands of companies at least one century old, including sake-maker Sudo Honke, which has been turning out rice wine since 1141, and is currently run by a 55th generation descendant of the founder. Correspondent Lucy Craft reports on how, in a country that venerates its elders, old companies are on the rise.”
4. From Pencil Tips to Masterpieces: The Captivating World Of Daya Micro Art.
5. 21 of the Best Low-Light Houseplants.
6. What Does It Mean To Be A Good Person?: When Our Best Is Terrible from Andrea Gibson.
7. 50 Times Creative People Customized Thrifted Artworks In The Best Way.
8. The colorful paper quilling art of Yulia Brodskaya.
9. Why this poet sees grief as its own kind of spiritual practice.
10. These 8 habits could add up to 24 years to your life, study finds. In related news, A fitness trainer shares the No. 1 exercise for a ‘longer life’: It has ‘major aging benefits.’
11. Why Are Dave Matthews Band Fans So Loyal? on The New York Times. “Some have spent thousands of dollars and traveled hundreds of miles to see them since their summer tours started in the early ’90s.”
12. How to Heal from Childhood Emotional Neglect as an HSP. In related news, Beyond Small Talk: How to Nurture Deep Connections as an Introvert, and 10 Unspoken Advantages Introverts Have Over Extroverts, and Why Highly Sensitive People Keep Falling for Toxic Relationships — And How to Stop, and How to Navigate Depression as an Introvert, and A Therapist Explains How Highly Sensitive People Can Tame Perfectionism.
14. Art by Titsay. I am going to spend so much money…
15. Why Farmers in Zimbabwe Are Shifting to Bees. “Without the need for dedicated land or water, honeybees offer a more stable climate future.”
16. Stop Looking Behind You. Such a good reminder.
17. Picturing Our Future. “Climate and energy choices this decade will influence how high sea levels rise for hundreds of years. Which future will we choose?” Maps showing predicted sea level rise visuals for 190 locations.
18. Amanda Cobbett Embroiders Realistic Likenesses of Fungi and Flora in Stunning Detail.
19. Good stuff from Seth Godin: But what if we’re wrong?, and Product and process, and It’s simple (it’s complicated), and Should we assume rational goodwill?
20. Wendy Chin-Tanner Tells Us About Being Brave Enough to Try. An occasional series from Cheryl Strayed where she invites “an author to tell us five things—not only about their most recent book, but about their life too.”
21. At Home, “amidst the bees wandering the garden” from David Whyte. Also from David Whyte, Gratitude. (video)
22. love, and from Abigail Rose Clarke. “We are living in hard times. We need to love each other fiercely.”
23. Tiredness is Not a Virtue, “And resting is not sinful—a reminder I needed this summer.”
24. How to Say Goodbye: An Illustrated Field Guide to Accompanying a Loved One at the End of Life. I want this book.
25. A Safe and Necessary Distance for Healing. “It seems that in order to heal and hold what is hard, scary, or difficult that there is a requirement for a necessary safe distance.”
26. Return to Sender from Jena Schwartz.
27. Poems from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: With Surprise, I Realize and When She Is Being Herself.
28. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar: 5 Buddhist Practices to Help Tackle Climate Change (“Climate change can feel so immense that it hurts just to think about. Willa Blythe Baker offers five meditations to help bring the truth of climate change into your awareness and lay the ground for a skillful response”) and Other Ways to Practice Meditation (“You can bring the mind of meditation to any experience. Konda Mason explains how”).
29. Did The Buddha Want Us To Go Gently?
30. Trained FOR surprise, not AGAINST surprise from Patti Digh.
31. Dense Embroideries Map Celestial Expanses and Abstract Landscapes by Lindzeanne.
32. 7 Ways To Pack Like A Minimalist from Tammy Strobel on Be More With Less.
33. 99 Ways to Find IRL Community.
34. Why humans are surprisingly bad at being happy. (video) “Your brain isn’t wired for happiness — but you can change that, explains Yale scientist Laurie Santos.”
35. Please Let Go Of These 5 Things For A Simpler Life from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less. Also from Courtney, 8 Tiny Notes To Help You Create Time For What You Love.
36. What to do (and avoid) in extreme heat. “Tips for keeping kids, adults, and the elderly cool and safe — even without air conditioning.”
37. What I’ve Learned in 10 Years of Therapy.
38. The 100 Best Movies of the Past 10 Decades. “TIME’s Stephanie Zacharek on the top films from the 1920s through the 2010s.”
39. Wisdom from Isabel Foxen Duke: “dieting and restriction disconnects us from this critical biological feedback (like hunger, fullness, etc.), leaving us in a constant state of either trying to control, or rebelling violently against deprivation.”
40. On body acceptance and grief: The Grief That Leads to Body Acceptance, and Body acceptance begins with grieving the thin ideal, and How to Move Forward with Body Grief.
41. “I see you. I love you. We’re gonna get through this.” (video) Trying to heal a lifetime of trauma and the resulting habits and coping strategies takes time. Be gentle with yourself.
P.S. There won’t be a Something Good list next Monday. I’m flying out to Oregon to visit family. I and the list will be back at it Monday, August 7th. Have a wonderful week, kind and gentle reader. May whatever is hard find a soft place to land, and may mercy, grace, and rest find you there. ❤
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 