Something Good

Frozen morning river, image by Eric

1. The Super Bloom in Pictures on The New York Times.

2. Together Rising. “Together Rising transforms collective heartbreak into effective action…100% of what Together Rising receives from every personal donation goes directly to an individual, family, or cause in need – not one penny we receive from individual donation goes to administration costs, unless a donor specifically authorizes that use.” A recent project was to find 90 families who’d been separated from their children when they came to the U.S. seeking asylum and reunite them. Here’s a video of a recent reunion they were able to facilitate. In related news, After Hours at the Border, 29 Parents Separated From Their Kids and Deported Take Step Toward Asylum, and Hundreds of migrant children are taken from families despite rollback of separation policy.

3. 30 Of The Best Responses To #Trashtag Challenge. “People are challenged to take a before photo of an area that is in need of intense trash clean-up, followed by an after photo of the beautified area.”

4. Wabi-Sabi for Writers, “A Weekend Writing Workshop with Laurie Wagner and Maya Stein, May 3-5, 2019 | Nutley, New Jersey…a weekend writing workshop that will engage participants to discover and celebrate the wobbly journey of embracing the stories that want to be told, and telling them truthfully. We will write and we will read. Led by seasoned facilitators and frequent writing partners Laurie Wagner and Maya Stein, we’ll dive into the troubled waters of the writing practice, and learn how to loosen our process – rather than confine it – to take deeper risks with our voice and give our work new clarity and strength.”

5. Between Two Pines, Upaya Podcast with Natalie Goldberg.

6. Is sugar (un)healthy? It depends.

7. So you care about white supremacy? Do something. An older post, but still so relevant.

8. Mini Trucks in Japan Are Being Transformed Into Enchanting Tiny Gardens.

9. Deep down I’m enormously lazy from Austin Kleon, which links to this great excerpt from Ross Gay’s new book.

10. It’s Not All Love and Light: Why We Can’t Ignore the Dark and Just “Be Positive.”

11. Rethinking Food Addiction.

12. Our Bodies are Basically Good, “Non-diet dietician Jenna Hollenstein’s new book Eat to Love paves a Buddhist path toward transforming our often troubled relationship with food and body. Lilly Greenblatt spoke with Hollenstein about how her revolutionary approach can guide us away from chronic dieting, food anxiety, and disordered eating with mindfulness and compassion.”

13. 4 Ways To Reduce Plastics And Other Single-Use Disposables In Your Kitchen.

14. Sorry, I’m Back My Letter to the Mipham.

15. Hard Pill Talk: What White People Must Do to Fight Racism. (video)

16. Bow Down! 65 Boundary-Breaking Black Women Who Have Paved The Way.

17. 60 Stunning Photos Of Girls Going To School Around The Globe.

18. Why I Won’t be Pursuing Weight Loss as a Solution to my Chronic Pain.

19. Go Fund Me: Marcia’s fight against Cervical cancer. I was just saying to someone this morning that every middle class family in the United States is just one medical emergency event away from losing everything.

20. This woman created the Free Black Women’s Library to foster a space that celebrates the work and incredible lives of Black women. (video) Check out their Tumblr site to see how to help.

21. The Dharma of the Princess Bride, “In The Princess Bride, outcasts and loners find true friendship. Drawing on the classic film, Ethan Nichtern offers Buddhist teachings on how to make friends with yourself and others.”

22. The Drop: Amanda Palmer Tackles The Long Walk To Abortion in “A Voicemail For Jill.” I’ve never had to make this decision but I’m pretty sure no woman ever WANTS to have an abortion. And if you think things wouldn’t be different if men got pregnant, open your eyes. Open your heart.

23. Fans Rally to Save Netflix’s LGBT-Inclusive Sitcom One Day at a Time. This show covers important topics, is high quality writing and acting, and makes me laugh — what more do you want from a TV show?!

24. 2,000 MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) Getting Started in March: Enroll Today.

25. Grief Becomes You call for submissions from Maya Stein, “I am very pleased to announce an open call for your stories and images around the subject of grief. I am asking for submissions by May 15.” I really, really want to submit something to this, but I’m afraid I’m too busy to do it.

26. This Woman Set Up A Photo Booth For Birds In Her Yard, And The Results Are Extraordinary.

27. Colorado Police Hold Black Student At Gunpoint As He Picks Up Trash On His Own Property.

28. University Dean Resigns Over Chick-fil-A Campus Ban.

29. New Hampshire Republicans Wear Pearls To Mock Moms Who Oppose Gun Violence.

30. Is this the fastest 7-year-old in the world? (video) “Meet Rudolph ‘Blaze’ Ingram — one day he hopes to smash Usain Bolt’s 100m World Record.”

31. This world-class chef won a $250,000 lottery prize — he’s using the money to hire people off the street and feed the homeless. (video)

32. How to Cope with a Toxic and Estranged Family Relationship.

33. Detroit man sues three white women who called police on him for ‘gardening while black.’

34. 5 Documentaries to Watch for Women’s History Month (or Any Month).

35. The Politics of Productivity: 7 Ways to Undo Societal Pressure to Constantly Perform.

Gratitude Friday

1. Snow. Winter waited until February this year to arrive, and the way it’s acting it might stick around through March.

2. Morning walks. I love these few weeks of winter before Daylight Savings time when we get to the river just when the sun comes up.

3. Practice. Yoga, writing, meditation. The opportunity to teach, the chance to learn, balancing effort with ease.

4. 8.5 weeks left at CSU! My three interns this semester are awesome. There are other people I’ll miss running into in the hallway or having them stop by my office for candy. There are situations and humans that are uncomfortable, difficult, and not something I’ll miss even for one second. I’m working harder than ever right now, but there is definitely a light at the end of the tunnel, and I can SEE it.

5. My tiny family. Because we worked so much this week, had after hours stuff some nights, Eric and I hardly saw each other, and I have yoga teacher training all weekend. I have been working from home more often, so I at least get to see the boys. I’m looking forward to spending more quality time with all three of them.

I got up to go to the bathroom and they stole my spot.

Bonus joy: orange juice, my infrared heating pad, napping, sleeping in, teaching yoga, Pilates class, being rowdy and laughing way too much in Pilates class, aqua aerobics, sitting in the sauna, a warm shower, clean pjs, getting the laundry done on Friday, my rental car (for a little cheap car, it has done amazingly well in the snow, or maybe after 20 years in Colorado I’m just really good at driving in it), getting nice feedback from a person I wrote an article about (“You are very good at what you do”), having friends I can talk through the big stuff with, knowing that being good at what I do doesn’t mean I have to always do everything well or that I have to keep doing it when it’s no longer fun or meaningful for me, being able to quit and still have health insurance and a roof over my head, a partner who loves me and takes care of me when I need it and makes me laugh.