1. 12 Reasons to Celebrate Introverts on World Introvert Day (Jan. 2). In related news, How to Find Peace in the Chaos When You’re a Highly Sensitive Introvert.

2. 22 Ways To Simplify Your Life from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

3. The world as it is from Seth Godin.

4. The Five Things Essay. “An all-purpose writing prompt to help you find your voice, lose your voice, beat writer’s block, or figure out what the hell you want to write about in the first place.”

5. Good stuff from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds: The Death And Rebirth Of A Year: What Happened In 2022, What May Happen In 2023 and Writer’s Resolution 2023: Mounting An Aggressive Defense.

6. Unruly Sainthood, “Dorothy Day, Catholic anarchy, and neurodivergence.”

7. Saying Goodbye, a poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer.

8. Embodying “Less Is More” Is The Most Potent Way To Boost Well-Being In 2023.

9. 10 Secret Therapy Lessons We Learned for Free in 2022.

10. 99 Inexpensive Self-Care Ideas For Your New Year.

11. The Alt-Right Manipulated My Comic. Then A.I. Claimed It. on The New York Times.

12. Greta Thunberg ends year with one of the greatest tweets in history.

13. She was a popular yoga guru. Then she embraced QAnon conspiracy theories.

14. Pelé, Brazil’s mighty king of ‘beautiful game,’ has died. I adored Pelé. Watching him play football was like watching someone dance, joyful and graceful, and as this article describes it: fluid and fast.

15. On setting low goals and reading my way through the year: how I read 56 books in 2022.

16. Dave Attell Bids a Heartfelt (and Hilarious) Farewell to Carolines on The New York Times. “Each year, the comic headlined the club during the holidays. With the space closing, his final show there was a mix of deadpan and melancholy notes.”

17. Leave Room For Your Future Self, a comic.

18. In search of an attainable New Year’s resolution. “How to actually improve your life, one small change at a time.”

19. 71 of Our Favorite Facts of 2022 on The New York Times. “Each day, Times Insider editors scour the newspaper for the most interesting facts to appear in articles. Here are facts that surprised, enlightened or entertained us this year.”

20. Stop tying yourself in knots: what stress does to your body – and how to beat it. “From migraines to IBS, back pain and hair loss, millions of us suffer health problems triggered by stress and anxiety. Here’s how to deal with them.”

21. Holiday Illustrations For The Culture from PBS. “Representation in media is not only important, it is vital. As a team, we have always understood the importance of seeing oneself represented both on and off screen. Throughout the course of 2022 we commissioned holiday art from artists across the country of varying cultural backgrounds. The task? Create a captivating illustration that celebrates a holiday from the artist’s unique perspective. Some artists drew inspiration from their family traditions while others depicted the historical reason for celebrating. We also asked each artist to provide a writing sample that explained the illustration and spoke to their connection to the holiday itself. From Lunar New Year to Kwanzaa, we collaborated with these BIPOC artists to help educate and inspire.”

22. Winter Fruit, a gorgeous poem and post from my friend Wendy.

23. 30 Day Meditation Challenge with Joel, from the beautiful Instagram page @asoulcalledjoel. “Join me each morning at 7:30 am Central Standard Time [beginning January 9th] for a 30-minute live stream with moments of gratitude, live music, and meditation. Let’s start 2023 out with a practice that supports, lowered stress and anxiety, greater emotional regulation, reduced fight or flight response, and greater well-being.”

24. It’s a Sin Official Trailer (video). “The latest masterpiece from the creator of Queer As Folk (UK) is as devastating as it is endearing. A heartfelt chronicle of young friends navigating the joys, heartbreak, and outlandish parties that await them amidst an epidemic in 1980s London.” Queer as Folk is one of my all time favorite TV shows (both the UK and USA versions), the kind of show where you fall in love with the characters, laugh and get your heart broken. I just finished It’s a Sin and it is just as good. LA!

25. A Lil List of Lists. What’s better than a book list? A collection of ALL THE book lists! In related news, The Best Reviewed Fiction of 2022.

26. There Are No Bad Days.

27. Pay Attention to the Beauty that Surrounds You.

28. An Animated Short Film by Martin Smatana Explores Loss Through Lighthearted Symbolism.

29. Self Portraits Embroidered With Images of Blood Vessels, Bones, and Muscle Tissue by Juana Gómez.

30. This almost makes me want to get a bird. (Instagram Reel). “This bird loves kisses. ‘I named him Hamlet because he acts like a little dramatic blue prince.'” 

 

Special request: My friend Brenna’s husband Joseph will undergo a bone marrow transplant next month as part of his fight against Acute Myelomonocytic Leukemia. Giving even the smallest amount would be so helpful as they navigate this process and pay for his treatments. If you can’t offer financial assistance, could you keep them in your thoughts and send love & healing their way?

1. Remembering Loved Ones During the Holidays: 19 Practical Suggestions.

2. Peace In The Silence.

3. ‘Can I go back to my regular job?’ Sports anchor goes viral for blizzard coverage.

4. The gifts of time on Rita’s Notebook.

5. The Satisfaction of Practice in an Achievement-Oriented World.

6. Debut Picture Book From NYT Bestseller Augusten Burroughs.

7. Graphic designer makes adorable mini ceramic souvenirs for her colleagues instead of Christmas cards. The owl is my favorite.

8. This woman’s powerful ‘before and after’ photos crush myths about body positivity.

9. I Don’t Need My Life to Be Remarkable on The New York Times.

10. I Have Just Months To Live. Instead Of Making A Bucket List, Here’s What I’m Doing Before I Go.

11. The underrated virtues of meditating on your own death.

12. Good stuff from Seth Godin: Protecting the sore spot and Our dreaming opportunity.

13. Ram Dass on Love.

14. Herbie Hancock’s Antidote to Burnout. “The core of what we are is a human being. And when we define ourselves as a human being, it changes everything. So music now, I look at it from the standpoint of being a human being and use that as the foundation. And then I use what I do to translate what initiates from my humanity into musical terms.”

15. The Books We Needed in 2022. “The best nonfiction, novels, and cookbooks published this year—and some older reads that resonated anew.”

16. Dharma for a Traumatized World on Lion’s Roar. “The cause of our global suffering is forgetting that we belong to one another and to the earth. Tara Brach recommends four practices to nourish a sense of collective belonging.” I pretty certain I have already shared this, but it’s worth a reread, over and over again until you have it memorized. 

17. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön: “Our wisdom is all mixed up with what we call our neurosis. Our brilliance, our juiciness, our spiciness, is all mixed up with our craziness and our confusion, and therefore it doesn’t do any good to try to get rid of our so-called negative aspects, because in that process we also get rid of our basic wonderfulness. We can lead our life so as to become more awake to who we are and what we’re doing rather than trying to improve or change or get rid of who we are or what we’re doing. The key is to wake up, to become more alert, more inquisitive and curious about ourselves.”

18. James Cameron’s old comments prompt Native American boycott of new ‘Avatar’ sequel.

19. How To Solve The So-Called “Obesity Epidemic” Today from Ragen Chastain.

20. Joy from Robert Jones, Jr. “I want to be more intentional about joy. And by ‘joy,’ I don’t mean an addiction to feeling good that numbs me to the reality of life; nor do I mean an obsessive pursuit of bliss that overrules all sense (no disrespect to Gladys Knight and the Pips). I’m not talking about joy as escape or façade. I’m talking about a deliberate appreciation for any and every wonderful person or thing that I might encounter or experience. When I say ‘wonderful,’ I really do mean full of wonder; and to be full of wonder, it has to be someone or something that doesn’t commit, revel in, or intentionally perpetuate harm.”

21. Practices for Making Life a Masterpiece of Joy. “I’ve spent the years since exploring, developing, intending, discovering a path towards living from joy. I haven’t yet found the nirvana of every breath being filled with exuberance and delight (I do love the contrast of seesawing between expansion and contraction), but I have come upon some reliable practices that bridge me back to the heart-filled wonder of joy. In the interest of preserving carolers’ shins (and motivation to keep them singing in the cold), I humbly offer them to you.”

22. On Openness and Equality in the Workplace | Deborah Owens on The GoodLife Project Podcast. “Deborah believes in the power of sharing experiences (good and bad), strategies, and lessons learned to accelerate career growth and success, and I’m excited to dive deeper into her story with you all today. She takes me back to where it all started, growing up in Louisville, Kentucky. We explore her family’s legacy of social justice before diving into the unique—yet, familiar—experiences and challenges she faced as a young Black woman finding her voice in corporate America and the lessons she’s learned since on reclaiming her power, and how you can contribute to the conversation and solution.”

23. Unedited Photos Of Urban Hell That Prove We Are Living In A Dystopia. Fascinating but also disturbing.

24. Twitter Thread Tracks Where Trump Likely Got Images For His Digital Trading Cards–And Hoo Boy. Grifter.

25. Making Christmas Cookies with Moth, Part 1 from Treehouse Creatures, (Facebook Reel).

26. Teacher makes toys for her young students based on their drawings and they are so adorable.

27. Studio of Archives: Monuments and Memory in Ghana I Africa Direct Documentary. (video) “From textiles and domestic objects to aircraft and a living museum installation, internationally acclaimed artist Ibrahim Mahama is known for his monumental installations in Ghana and beyond. His collections explore the significance of historical memory through everyday objects and his Red Clay Studio is a treasure trove of relics and artefacts. It’s a place where visitors explore their history, start new conversations about the past and imagine their futures – a studio of archives.”

28. THE COIN: A Moving Stop-Motion Short Reveals the Power of a Family’s Cooking Traditions.

29. Using More Than 4,000 Pieces of Paper, Artist Lisa Lloyd Painstakingly Constructs Birds and Butterflies.

30. It’s My First Solo Christmas and I’m Dreading It. “After losing both his parents, Jackie Summers wonders how he’ll get through the holidays he’d always held so dear.”

31. A Gift You Can Never Wrap.

32. I Have Just Months To Live. Instead Of Making A Bucket List, Here’s What I’m Doing Before I Go.

33. US life expectancy falls to lowest levels since 1996 due to COVID, drug overdoses: CDC.

34. If Twitter Fails, They’ll Be Free on The New York Times. “For some of Twitter’s most prolific users, the platform was often a ‘hellsite.’ Now they contemplate a life without it.”

35. 88 Writers on the Books They Loved in 2022.

36. A writer not writing. “but don’t call it writer’s block.”

37. Thousands of Leaves Transition from Summer to Fall in a Hypnotic Stop-Motion Short. 

38. Hulu’s Kindred solves the Handmaid’s Tale problem. “The 8-episode first season forms an uneven, haunting adaptation of Octavia Butler’s classic.”

39. A popular DIY-er shared stunning before-and-after shots of a $3,500, four-month ‘sweat equity’ kitchen makeover.

40. Cecile Davidovici, Artist on Instagram, a “thread visual artist from Paris.”

41. Best of 2022 from Allison Mae Photography. Her work is so beautiful, mostly dogs and their humans.

42. Can dogs smell time? Just ask Donut the dog.

43. WPLC files Complaint on behalf of Diné and Oneida Two-Spirit U.S. Marine, Darrell House, against NPS.

44. The 10 Biggest Literary Stories of the Year: Bans, Blocked Deals, and More Bans.

45. 7 reasons our planet might not be doomed after all.

46. How Christmas trees stopped being just a German thing.

47. Flower by mememeii0 on Instagram. I love this print.