1. Rest in peace, Jeff and Andy. An update to the obituary, which states, “In addition to his husband, Jeff is survived by his brother, Steven Oaks of Canton, MI.; and beloved Andy, the black lab,” is that sadly, Andy passed the day after Jeff. Andy was a distinguished gentleman and it wasn’t a surprise to his family that he passed or that he would follow Jeff, but it was still double the heartbreak. So many of us are experiencing this holiday season for the first time without someone we really love, and our hearts are so tender. In related news, What Grieving People Really Want During The Holidays This Year.

2. 5 Survival Tips for Introverts Attending Big, Crowded Events. In related news, How Highly Sensitive Introverts Can Soothe Holiday Stress and Why Naps Are an Introvert’s Best Friend.

3. Working Out, Working In: Applying the Six Principles of Athletic Training to Writing and Creative Work.

4. This is 54: Author Elizabeth Gilbert Responds to The Oldster Magazine Questionnaire.

5. Sinéad O’Connor remembered by Gavin Friday. “The artist and musician on his long friendship with an extraordinary vocalist whose courage helped so many raised in Catholic Ireland.”

6. Pine View Graduate Zander Moricz Challenged His School and His State Over LGBTQ Rights. In related news, Student Gives Mic Drop Speech About Why Moms For Liberty Co-Founder Should Be Fired From School Board.

7. How to Be Less Emotionally Sensitive, According to 7 Experts.

8. Here’s a dozen books from 2023 you should read, critics say. In related news, Favorite Books of 2023 from Maria Popova.

9. 4 Daily Habits that Held Most of Us Back Over the Past Year.

10. 5 Signs The Stress You’re Dealing With Isn’t ‘Normal’ Stress.

11. 9 Things HSPs Need Their Partners to Understand.

12. 380 Artists, 51 Countries, 14 Years: A Community Embroidery Project Connects Women Around the Globe.

13. How mindfulness went mainstream. “Americans embraced meditation. So did corporations.”

14. Tenement Museum to Feature a Black Family’s Apartment for the First Time on The New York Times. “The museum has shared the stories of immigrants and migrants who lived in New York City in the 19th and 20th centuries for nearly four decades. For the first time, a Black family’s apartment will be included.”

15. Kah-Nee-Ta Hot Springs Village Resort Reschedules Reopening, Targeting Early Next Summer.

16. Amazingly intricate and colorful vertical tattoos by Jing.

17. Klepper’s Wildest Moments With Trumpers in 2023 | The Daily Show. (video)

18. Winter poems from the Poetry Foundation. “Perfect for snowy days and long nights by the fire.”

19. Gabor Maté: Healing Principles to Embody in a Traumatized World, a Sounds True podcast. “Why do we suppress our authenticity? How do we reconcile the need to accept things as they are with a desire to change them? What is the pathway to healing in a world that’s breaking our hearts? In this podcast, Tami Simon speaks with renowned physician and author Dr. Gabor Maté about these profound questions, and how the approach he calls Compassionate Inquiry can help us find the answers within ourselves.”

20. On Gentle Buddhism: Your Word for 2024 Will Work Magic and A Buddhist approach to self-care.

21. Good stuff from Nikita Gill: Why “You cannot love someone until you love yourself” is the most unhelpful saying in the world (“On self-love, self-hatred and embracing being a work-in-progress”) and On preserving vulnerability and human connection in the time of social media (“More reflections on loneliness, the loss of human connection due to social media, why I do not share my private life online anymore, a writing prompt and a photo prompt”).

22. 52 things I learned in 2023.

23. How long will you live, according to statistics. My results (based on country where you live, your birthdate, and gender): “We estimate you will live until age 86.8 years.” 30 more years — that is, if the planet and culture remain habitable.

24. Lost on Purpose from Seth Godin.

25. I love this story J shared in her recent newsletter about how a small shift in focus when it comes to setting goals makes a big difference. “None of us can control how other people receive what we put out into the world, so our goal has to be about production – putting good stuff out there, whether it’s art, or expertise, or activism, or love.”

26. Good stuff from Lion’s Roar: Winter Blues (““Perhaps,” says Sylvia Boorstein, “these days of less sunlight are opportunities for more contemplative time, more looking deeply to see what can only be seen in the dark”), and Have a Very Buddhist Christmas (“Joy, giving, family, and peace—people of all faiths can celebrate these values of the holiday season. Seven Buddhists offer their take on yuletide dharma”), and You Don’t Have to Know (“John Tarrant shares how he discovered that not knowing is the best — and maybe the only possible — response to suffering”), and Joyful Giving (“In the spirit of the holidays, six Buddhist teachers share why generosity is the starting place of all the virtues”), and ‘Tis the Season of Compassion (“Author and interfaith spiritual director Janice Lynne Lundy explains how a simple question helps her to keep her heart open – to others, and to herself”).

27. How can activists change the world? Experts offer seven strategies. 

28. The secret ingredient for optimum health? Kindness, says this fitness expert.

29. What went right in 2023: the top 25 good news stories of the year.

30. The dumbest and best productivity trick.

31. Pee-wee’s Playhouse Christmas Special. (video) 

32. 11 Things You Can Do for Yourself That Only Take 60 Seconds a Day.

33. The Weird Holiday Nowheretimes (And Why Knowing Thyself Matters) from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

34. Letter From 35,000 Feet from Summer Brennan. “Hello from a fellow time traveler, plus an art mystery in progress.”

35. Poverty is not a choice from Patti Digh. “Instead, life was designed this way. If you give, give freely and without conditions.”

36. Solstice Blessing from Jena Schwartz. In related news from Jena, Listening to the Body, Listening to the Soul, “11 things that culminate with ‘keep going’.”

37. Anatomical Details Emerge From Found Coral and Shells in Gregory Halili’s Intricate Sculptures.

38. Wisdom from Anam Thubten: “Every human being is sacred. Can you imagine how amazing it would be if humanity suddenly woke up and realized and treated each other accordingly? We would live in a very different world, a much more loving, peaceful, and joyful world.”

39. Why You Should See Your Introversion as a Gift.

40. 10 Simple Japanese Habits That Will Make Your Life So Much Better.

41. celebrating the light from Karen Walrond on Chookooloonks. “So here’s my point, my friends: whether or not you celebrate Christmas, or honestly, any of these celebrations, I hope you take a moment during this, the darkest days of the year, to celebrate the light. I hope, whether you’re surrounded by friends and family today, or are instead enjoying sweet solitude, you are reminded of the good in the world. Of the way that love, inevitably, must win…And I hope you remember despite the darkness in the world, with a little effort, we can always find the light.”

1. A tribute to Pittsburgh’s Jeff Oaks, a sensitive poet too young to leave. He’s still here, but he’ll be going soon.

2. Holiday Help Fund. “Each year, as the festive lights twinkle and the city buzzes with holiday spirit, we embark on a mission to make Christmas Eve special for families in need. Our goal this year is once again: to raise $10,000 for holiday meals and gifts.” As Frederick Joseph says, “If you are in a position to help, we are asking that people consider giving $3 (or more), as that amount with enough people will help us quickly reach goal.”

3. Family Switch, streaming on Netflix. I’m adding this one to my regular rotation of holiday movies. If you enjoy the “Freaky Friday” genre of film, this is a good Christmas flick with a great cast. 

4. Find Your Food Voice, a podcast from Julie Duffy Dillon RDN. “Join in as we ditch cookie cutter approaches, expose the lies that society feeds us, and rewrite the rules around food, eating and our bodies.” If you, like me, have a history of disordered eating, the holidays might be triggering you too, so it can be nice to have a “voice in your ear” reminding you to take it slow, be gentle, stay sane and true to yourself.

5. How the Hygge Philosophy Is Right for Introverts.

6. Wisdom from Omkari Williams: “Take some time, remember why you care about what you care about, and let that knowing deepen your commitment to making the difference you can in your unique way.”

7. Crowd-Pleaser! Maria Bamford’s latest album is now available on various streaming services.

8. How To Blow Up Your Writing Career from Chuck Wendig on Terrible Minds.

9. Poems from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer: Talking to My Son at Night and The Small Stuff.

10. A word of the year practice from Karen Walrond on Chookooloonks. “How to name your north star.” I’m not gonna lie, sometimes when I choose a word for my year, rather than guiding me, it seems like I’ve cursed myself. 

11. Good stuff from Seth Godin: Eight marketing maxims and Focusing attention is a skill.

12. Our Own Life As Our Message on Gentle Buddhism.

13. On the Need For New Things—and its Opposite. “A meditation on consumption, a rundown of COP28, and more.”

14. How to Survive the Holidays When You’re a Highly Sensitive Introvert.

15. What is happening on the inside of us? from Patti Digh, who says, “healthcare should not rely on Google searches—we all know this. But it needs to be helped along by curiosity, by different kinds of relationships with doctors, and by a strong will to know and stay alive whenever possible.”

16. Landscapes Altered by the World’s Largest Statues.

17. 11 Simple Self-Care Habits for Kids. P.S. these are good habits for people of ANY age.

18. Holiday Practice from Austin Kleon. “Making time and space for your art this season.”

19. Finding the words and music for healing, in which Gretchen Schmelzer says, “some of the most powerful moments in healing are small, bite-sized moments. They are single steps: they are single steps repeated over and over. They are the daily journal entries, mindfulness meditation, and gratitude practices. They are the simple discussions of how you are feeling and giving the feeling a name.  It’s time to find ways to make healing easier to begin, and easier to understand—while honoring the difficult and complex task that it is.” 

20. Feeling Stuck with Your Writing? Here’s Some Practical Things to Try from Esmé Weijun Wang.

21. How ‘husky therapy’ is helping offenders to tackle their mental health challenges. “In Wales, an adventure leisure company has partnered with the NHS to offer canine-led therapy to offenders on a mental health unit.”

22. Recipe I want to try: Gochujang Buttered Noodles.

23. 5 Downsizers Show Us Their Smaller Homes.

24. How to Handle Holiday Burnout.

25. How To Mindfully Consume The News.

26. “Their joy, that’s the gift to you.” (Instagram Reel) “Inspired by the ‘Secret Santa’ story from @stevehartmancbs’s ‘On the Road,’ Derek Brown’s students in Phoenix, Arizona, formed a club to raise thousands of dollars to spread holiday cheer to strangers.”

27. This.

28. In American Fiction, a Black writer who “doesn’t see race” pens a race novel.

29. The Best Comedy Specials of 2023. “The best hours reached for transcendence through gravity and sheer goofiness, often at the same time.”

30. Manifesto for posting online in 2023.

31. The Best Books of 2023. In related news, The Best Songs of 2023. 

32. The Hurtful Words Adults Use That Harm Children The Most.

33. Longevity: Is exercise the key to a longer, healthier life?

34. Joshua Smith Serves Up Slices of Main Street in Meticulously Detailed Miniature Buildings.

35. After 18 years living with cancer, a poet offers ‘Fifty Entries Against Despair.’

36. I Left Her: HER REACTiON. (video)

37. 27 Things You Do Because You’re a Highly Sensitive Person.

38. Finding Light in Winter on The New York Times. “Every day I remind myself that all over the world most people want peace. They want a safe place for their families, and they want to be good and do good. The world is filled with helpers. It is only the great darkness of this moment that can make it hard to see them.

No matter how dark the days, we can find light in our own hearts, and we can be one another’s light. We can beam light out to everyone we meet. We can let others know we are present for them, that we will try to understand. We cannot stop all the destruction, but we can light candles for one another.”

39. 64 Tips for Coping with Grief at the Holidays.

40. People Are Sharing The Small Things That Greatly Improved Their Lives, And I Can’t Believe I Didn’t Think Of These Before.