Open Space Practice, (AKA: A Thousand Shades of Gray)

1. Morning walks. This was a strange week because we had some rain/snow and cold weather at the beginning, but the ground was still so warm that it didn’t exactly freeze over. When it comes to the dirt trails by the river and around the ponds, that can make for a muddy, messy walk so we had to find the spots with more paved trail than not. And yet, even under those circumstances, where we live does not disappoint — the sky, the water, the trees. Getting to spend time with Ringo while he’s doing something he also loves is an extra bonus.

2. The lingering fall. I got my snow tires put on this week and am ready for winter weather, but the color and sunshine of fall that remain are glorious.

3. My “support team.” I feel really lucky that I can identify and seek out help when I need it, and especially grateful that it is accessible and involves people who are kind and wise.

4. Practice. I had a few insights as I was writing this week that made all the effort worth it. I am also so lucky to have found solace and comfort in things I can do regularly and wholeheartedly.

5. My tiny family, my tiny home, my tiny life. Love, love, and more love.

“Can I haz this stick, Mom?”
“Uh, that’s not a ‘stick’.”
“Oh right. So, can I haz it?”

Bonus joy: sitting in the sauna with Eric, getting in the pool, chatting with Janice and Sarah, texting with Chloe’ and Mom and Chris, the cute pictures they send me of cute kids, Eric’s parents finally getting phones we can text and send pictures to (now they just have to figure out how to open them and respond…), my little desk at the dining room table, watching the birds in the feeder while I sit at my writing desk, the crows and bluejays taking actual baths in our bird bath out front, naps, health insurance, vaccines, the “kids” who work the front desk at the gym, training with Shelby, missing Calyx but knowing she’s “still there” and I’ll see her soon, chrysanthemums, sweet potatoes, green grapes, smoked salmon, roasted almonds, the crunch of the leaves and the way they flutter to the ground when they fall, Ringo lounging in the backyard in the sun, naps, reading (The Prophets and Braiding Sweetgrass are my current reads, both of which I recommend), listening to podcasts, being able to find just about any music I want to listen to on Spotify, good TV (I have watched a few really good true crime limited series recently), cooking, a warm shower, clean laundry and sheets, laughing with Eric, reading in bed at night while Ringo and Eric sleep.

1. Overwhelmed by Life? Gift Yourself an Abundance of Rest. “We have a right to rest simply because it’s a human need and we matter, not only as a means to an end goal! If you feel overwhelmed by life, one of the kindest and wisest things you can do is to gift yourself an abundance of rest.”

2. Why women are more burned out than men?

3. Acceptance Speech after Setting the World Record in Goosebumps, a poem from Andrea Gibson.

4. David Sedaris Knows What You’ll Laugh at When No One Is Judging on The New York Times Magazine.

5. Tori Amos shares sixteenth studio album ‘Ocean to Ocean’.

6. 1,200 Calories a Day Is a Starvation Diet, Actually. “We’ve spent 100 years trying (and failing) to lose weight on 1,200 calories a day. It’s time to stop.”

7. Why Many Police Traffic Stops Turn Deadly on The New York Times. “An investigation into traffic stops across America and the deaths of hundreds of motorists at the hands of police.“

8. Don’t Let Consumerism Co-opt the Zero-Waste Concept. “The movement began as anti-consumerist. Yet now there are marketing ploys, feelings of inadequacy, and misplaced responsibility.”

9. About a Marriage, from A to Zed. The way this post is structured, formatted is super interesting, makes me want to write one like it.

10. Shattered Porcelain Fragments Are Elegantly Bonded in Kintsugi Sculptures by Yeesookyung.

11. At The ‘Museum Of Black Joy,’ It’s The Everyday Moments That Go On Display. “Helping to flood the cultural conversation with Black joy, she says, is an artists’ approach to reverse engineer anti-Black racism.”

12. 11 Artists Share the Bedtime Rituals That Keep Them Creative. “We asked eleven artists from around the world to tell us about one of the most important parts of their daily routine: bedtime. Read on to learn the unusual ways they cap off a hard day’s work, get ready for sleep, and prepare for the day ahead.”

13. It’s not Halloween without some zoo animals smashing pumpkins.

14. Newly launched Black Film Archive provides history and context to more than 200 Black films made from 1915-1979 and currently streaming.

15. Native American History Timeline. “As explorers sought to colonize their land, Native Americans responded in various stages, from cooperation to indignation to revolt.”

16. Subway Scenes: Halloween Returns With a Vengeance on The New York Times. “Lanternflies, mushrooms and container ships: Costumed riders came back to haunt New York City’s underground during one of the city’s most celebrated holidays.”