1. Morning walks. We saw some friends last week and they were talking about a trip they just got back from, another one they were planning, and also about how they’d never be able to afford a house here (I’m not sure we would have been able to in the current market, as our house is worth about 3 times what it was when we bought it 20 years ago) but that they’d rather be renters and travel, see the world and have adventures. I get it, but for me, I’d rather know a place, see it through the seasons, the years, have adventures that are about depth rather than distance. It never gets boring to me being in one place because rather than static, things are always changing and alive, and being able to remember what was and notice what is new and be in love with a specific single place is my jam.
2. Practice. Making art with Calyx and Janice, Wild Writing with Laurie and our writing sangha, meditating in the quiet dark of the morning, sitting in front of my HappyLight with a hot cup of coffee, cocoa, and tiny marshmallows while I write in my journal.
3. Spring. The daffodils and crocus are blooming, the grass is getting green, and we’ve been able to hang out in the back yard on the nice days, which is one of Ringo’s favorite things.
4. Good neighbors. Our next door neighbors are moving to Ohio to be closer to family and they really have been the BEST neighbors, good friends for the past 14 years. As they clean out their house and pack up, we’ve been getting some good stuff — our favorite being some toys that belonged to their dog, who passed a few years ago and was so loved by us. One night this week when it was nice out, I made dinner in our “outdoor kitchen” (i.e. an electric skillet I put on our patio table) and the whole time I was cooking, our neighbor on the other side was with his dog in his backyard playing his guitar — they are super good neighbors too.
5. My tiny family, tiny home, tiny life. It really is everything I ever wanted.
Bonus joy: Dinner with Chelsey and Jon, texting with Chloe’ and Mom and Chris, pay day, strawberries and raspberries, Ringo so soft after getting a bath, how much Ringo loves his physical therapist Teri, ordering pizza and watching a movie with Eric, the hydromassage chair, the pool, the sauna, small group training with Shelby, gummy supplements, a big glass of cold clean water, listening to podcasts, watching TV, sitting in the sun in the backyard with Ringo and Eric, paint, a warm shower, clean sheets, new socks, being retired/not having to work at CSU anymore, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.
1. Right Action in the Face of Suffering on Lion’s Roar. “After we see the world as it really is, we take action. Based on the clarity we develop in our mindfulness practice, we respond to the world with compassion.”
7. The incredible afterlife of an abandoned luxury hotel. (video) “The Grand Hotel in Beira, Mozambique has had an extraordinary life: opened in 1954, it was a luxury destination with an Olympic-sized swimming pool and cinema. Closed in 1963 and taken over for political purposes during the country’s war of independence, it now houses a few thousand squatters – some of whom are the third generation living there.”
10. Jared Polis: The Gaymer Democrats Need? “Look to the Colorado governor for a model of how you can build a coalition of the normal and decent.” I feel incredibly lucky to have him watching out for us.
11. My Teenage Life After Leaving a Cult. “I spent my childhood waiting for the apocalypse. When it never came, I grasped at anything I could to feel in control, from binge drinking to suicide.”
14. What is “Match Day”? “After years of hard work, graduating medical students’ fates are handed to them in an envelope.” I had never heard of this before and was seeing videos about it so I was glad for this explanation.
19. Giving Your Heart Over to Real Change: Sharon Salzberg, a Sounds True podcast. “In this podcast, Sharon Salzberg joins Sounds True’s founder, Tami Simon, to discuss her recent book, Real Change: Mindfulness to Heal Ourselves and the World—and how you can begin to bring the core of your being into your work, your community, and your life. Sharon and Tami also discuss how contemplative practices can open the heart, agency and reclaiming your power to effect change, the empowering symbol of the Statue of Liberty, transforming anger into courage, determining the next step you can take when you’re uncertain, patience, faith as the act of giving over your heart, generosity and how you end up with more through giving, moving from grief to resilience, suffering and the First Noble Truth, the role of joy on the path, living by the truth of interconnection, caring to know as the first step in making a difference, and a sneak preview of Sharon’s forthcoming book, Real Life.”
20. National Grief-in-Public Day, “a day for awareness to be raised about our global grief crisis. By creating grief-accepting spaces in public we begin to change the cultural narrative about where grief expression is acceptable.”
21. Gary Vee: The Youth Pastor of Capitalism. (video) “Today we’re looking at Gary Vee – analysing how he runs his business, makes his money and separates himself from all the ‘fake gurus’ out there. But is he as legit as he likes to try and make out…?”
26. It’s still the apocalypse, let’s give ourselves and one another some grace. “Everyone is suffering, and we’re all in denial about it. Things are not just not normal, they are horrible for a lot of people. We need to renegotiate the rules and standards on how we treat ourselves and one another, or I don’t know how we can get through this with our relationships and integrity intact.”
Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray) 