1. December Reflections hosted by Susannah Conway, “A gentle and creative way to reflect back on 2022.”

2. An antidote from Seth Godin.

3. Decolonizing Thanksgiving. “In 2016, Bioneers made a commitment to decolonize Thanksgiving, by recognizing and sharing the truth of what this holiday means for Native Americans and all Americans. On this page, you can find resources to learn more about what it means to decolonize Thanksgiving, from articles to videos, and curriculum.” In related news, Native foods educator Valerie Segrest on marking Thanksgiving with respect, and Immerse Yourself in the Work of Indigenous Writers With This Anti-Colonial Reading List, and IllumiNative (“Our mission is to build power for Native peoples by amplifying contemporary Native voices, stories, and issues to advance justice, equity, and self-determination”), and Thanksgiving is a Tradition. It’s Also a Lie, and Truthsgiving: The True History of Thanksgiving.

4. Somatics + Embodiment (wtf are they and why do we even care?). (video) From Jes Baker.

5. David Bowie on Creativity and His Advice to Artists. “It’s terribly dangerous for an artist to fulfill other people’s expectations.”

6. Craft Talk: The Paint Job from Jami Attenberg. I love how Jami’s posts about writing are almost always also applicable to life in general.

7. Creative Living with Jamie Episode 290: Sam Tucker. (video)

8. Storytelling and the Art of Tenderness: Olga Tokarczuk’s Magnificent Nobel Prize Acceptance Speech. “Tenderness is the most modest form of love. It is the kind of love that does not appear in the scriptures or the gospels, no one swears by it, no one cites it… It appears wherever we take a close and careful look at another being, at something that is not our ‘self.’”

9. Wisdom from Octavia Butler, (by way of Jena Schwartz’s Dispatches from Daily Life): “First forget inspiration. Habit is more dependable. Habit will sustain you whether you’re inspired or not. Habit will help you finish and polish your stories. Inspiration won’t. Habit is persistence in practice.”

10. This Week, Billionaires Made a Strong Case for Abolishing Themselves on The New York Times. “[B]illionaires are not our saviors. They are our mistake.”

11. New Guidelines for Weight Loss Surgery? from Ragen Chastain.

12. Gratitude from Robert Jones, Jr.. “In the midst of despair, I seek out, with intention, the reasons to be grateful.”

13. Supporting Young Farmers of Color Can Help the U.S. Meet Its Climate Goals.

14. The Walking Ghost Phase Of Twitter, And Where The Hell Do We Go From Here from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

15. Holiday Anxiety? 5 Ways To Stress Less And Enjoy The Holidays.

16. We Got Gay Married!! Here Are The Photos!! from Mary Lambert.

17. Some of the Books, Podcasts, and TV Shows I loved in 2022. I always find something new in these sorts of lists, something worthy I would have never known about otherwise. In related news, Announcing The 100 Best Non-Fiction Books of 2022, and NPR Books We Love 2022, and 100 Notable Books of 2022 on The New York Times. 

18. I Followed a 1920s Cleaning Routine for a Week — And It Was Nearly Impossible. In related news: I despise dusting. I know it needs to be done, but it’s just so…dumb.

19. 15 Ways To Deal With A Toxic Family During The Holidays. I’d add, “or any time at all.”

20. How to Comfort a Friend Or Co-worker Going Through a Hard Time.

21. What Are The 7 Types Of Rest? (Plus, The Best One For You).

22. The Simple Little Secret That Will Help You Live a Healthy Life from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

23. Machine Embroidered Landscapes by Rachel Wright textile artist / England. Stunning!

24. Army Veteran Went Into ‘Combat Mode’ to Disarm the Club Q Gunman on The New York Times. “Richard M. Fierro, who served for 15 years in the military, was at the nightclub in Colorado Springs with his family when the gunman opened fire. ‘I just knew I had to take him down,’ he said.” In related news, Those we lost in the Club Q shooting and How to help Colorado’s queer community right now.

25. Synonyms for Belonging from Jena Schwartz.

26. Recipes I want to try: Sheet Pan Thanksgiving, and sour cream and chive fantails, and Wonton Soup, and drop cornbread biscuits, and Lemon Oatmeal Sugar Cookies.

27. In the strawberry fields of Spain, migrants from Africa work in hope of a better life.

28. Why Brussels Sprouts Taste Better Than They Did When You Were A Kid. “Your tastebuds don’t deceive you: Brussels sprouts actually taste better than they used to.”

29. 12 Tiny Stories of Gratitude on The New York Times.

30. How to handle an overload of grief. “When losses stack up, how are you supposed to manage?”

31. Kindness 101: A lesson in gratitude. (video) “As part of our ongoing series, Kindness 101, CBS News correspondent Steve Hartman and his kids are sharing stories built around themes of kindness, character and the people who’ve mastered both. His latest lesson is gratitude.”

32. How did I not know about Wolfenoot?! “A celebration of canines and kindness” and “It is when the Spirit of the Wolf brings and hides small gifts around the house for everyone. People who have, have had, or are kind to dogs get better gifts than anyone else. You eat roast meat (because wolves eat meat) and cake decorated like a full moon.”

33. Zoo camera captures incredible moment mama chimp is reunited with her two-day-old baby. “When Kucheza raised his little hand and Mahale realized he was there, everyone felt her joy.”

34. Isobelle Ouzman, Altered Book Sculptures. So gorgeous.

 

1. America has seen at least 601 mass shootings so far in 2022. In related news, “I Can’t Stop Hearing the Shots,” Mass Shooting at Colorado Gay Club Leaves 5 Dead, 18 Wounded, and Colorado Springs Club Q shooting: Where to find resources and how to help, and How to help Colorado’s queer community right now. Which all makes me need to share this video again, Andrea Gibson performs “Orlando” featuring Mary Lambert.

Rebecca Solnit said of the recent shooting in Colorado Springs that it was “both the act of an individual and the culmination of a broad campaign of hate, lies, and othering.” 

And also worth considering, from Rabbi Abraham Heschel: “there is no limit to the concern one must feel for the suffering of human beings, that indifference to evil is worse than evil itself, that in a free society, some are guilty, but all are responsible.” 

2. Quitting Can Be Fun. “I’m still on social media. But years ago, before I was sober or had an idea that alcohol was bad for me, I realized Facebook was bad for me. So I stopped. And today I stopped being on Twitter, too.”

3. Yung Pueblo: Becoming Lighter Through a Strong Determination to Heal on the Sounds True podcast.

4. If You’re Worried About Which Vegetables Are ‘Healthier,’ You’re Overthinking It. “88% of us don’t get enough fruits and veggies in the first place.” I found this to be a super helpful perspective shift.

5. How to Save Your Knees Without Giving Up Your Workout on The New York Times. In related news, How to get stronger only using your own body weight.

6. Recipes I want to try: Green Goddess Salad, and Cranberry Walnut Kale Salad with Fresh Cranberry Vinaigrette, and slow-roasted sweet potatoes, and Raspberry Cranberry Sauce, and Fontina + Blackberry Basil Smash Grilled Cheese Sandwich.

7. Linda Ronstadt: A taste of home on CBS Sunday Morning.

8. Atelier Naco on Instagram, a Japanese eraser stamp artist.

9. Reading lists: 15 Beloved Black Banned Books You Must Read Now, and All of the 2022 National Book Award finalists, read and reviewed, and The 100 Must-Read Books Of 2022.

10. 30 Outstanding Podcasts for Writers.

11. Soil: The Story of a Black Mother’s Garden. “Poet and scholar Camille T. Dungy recounts the seven-year odyssey to diversify her garden in the predominantly white community of Fort Collins, Colorado.”

12. Joyce Carol Oates Thinks You Should Write Your Heart Out, an interview with the author.

13. Heartstopper author Alice Oseman: ‘If you don’t have sex and romance, you feel like you haven’t achieved’. “The writer and illustrator on turning her ‘weird hobby’ into a bestselling YA series and Netflix hit, the importance of asexual representation and lessons from her fans on love bites.”

14. What Does Rest Look Like in a Climate Crisis? “Minimum Viable Planet is a weeklyish newsletter about climateish stuff, and how to keep it together in a world gone mad. This week, we look into the restless mind, kept awake by the climate crisis.”

15. Healing, Then Writing: Confronting Writer’s Block in the Early Years of Sobriety.

16. You’re Allowed To Be Ready To Heal And Rest from Morgan Harper Nichols. “In whatever way you have had to learn to be resilient in your life, I hope that you can find room to also nurture the parts of you that need care. You are not frail for needing rest, and you are not selfish for taking time to fill yourself up. There is nothing wrong with craving a steady pace that doesn’t call for constant resilience.”

17. Speckled, Crackled, and Kintsugi Sheets of Ceramic Cloak Lisa Agnetun’s Tiny Spirited Ghosts.

18. 11-Year-Old Buys an Old Van, Transforms It Into Ultimate Space. I wish more kids had this sort of access, resources, and parenting.

19. Lost in Translation: Is the Bible Wrong That Homosexuality Is a Sin? I say Amen.

20. Abstract, Textured Patterns Woven With Natural Fibers Compose Massive Wall Hangings by Tammy Kanat.

21. What To Know if You’ve Applied for Student Loan Forgiveness. “Biden’s plan to provide federal student loan forgiveness has been blocked by two federal courts, leaving borrowers wondering what happens next.”

22. The Visions of Octavia Butler on The New York Times. “As a science fiction writer, Butler forged a new path and envisioned bold possibilities. On the eve of a major revival of her work, this is the story of how she came to see a future that is now our present.” Seriously, go now and read everything she’s ever written — so good.

23. Audrey Assad’s new cover of Joni Mitchell’s River. (video)  

24. Healing Hurts, a new EP from BLÜ EYES. You can also listen to most of the tracks and her other music on her YouTube channel.

25. Listen to Maya Stein’s latest 10-Line Tuesday poem, in praise of i don’t know. I love the final lines: “But look how, against the late season light, a filmy beauty descends, nearly silencing the clamor of what pulls at our sleeves to solve. What if we could let ourselves rest for a little while in this halo of I don’t know, feel its soft touch against our urgent skin. What if the thing in our hands, and every fractured remainder, is its own answer. What if leaning into the wobbly shapes of our lives is another kind of sweetness and gold.”

26. Wisdom from L.R. Knost: “Do not be dismayed by the brokenness of the world. All things break. And all things can be mended. Not with time, as they say, but with intention. So go. Love intentionally, extravagantly, unconditionally. The broken world waits in darkness for the light that is you.”

27. Want To Evolve Quickly? Try Vulnerability. from Andrea Gibson.

28. #46. Tomato plant (after Ross Gay). “On some recommended essays, and on emptiness and reaching to fill it” from Jonny Sun.

29. Weight Watchers – Up To Their Old Tricks from Ragen Chastain.

30. How to Be Bored, and What You Can Learn From It on The New York Times. “Figuring out the root cause of our lack of inspiration can help us make better choices in how we spend our time, experts say.”

31. How to kick your habit of assuming the worst. 

32. Are You Actually ‘So Busy,’ or Is It ‘Toxic Productivity’?

33. The Comprehensive Guide to Customizing Daily Wellness Rituals.

34. 5 Ideas For Creating A Spiritual Practice—Whether You’re Religious Or Not.

35. A Slamdunk Conversation Starter at Big Dinners.

36. Two Artists Turn One Tree Into a Different Installation Every Season.

37. Baby elephant tickling a local news reporter. (video)

38. Observing Thanksgiving? Consider making this part of your day: 9 Best Charities for Native Americans (Complete 2022 List).

39. 4 levels of Fat Liberation. In related news, Weight Science: Evaluating the Evidence for a Paradigm Shift, and F*ck Health, and Social Justice, Fatphobia, and Eating Disorders.

40. In Praise of the Glorious Deliverance of Swimming: Michael Parker on Worshipping Water, in Life and Fiction.

41. Scientists can’t contain joy after finding bird they thought went extinct: ‘Like finding a unicorn’.