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

1. Truth: I need a lot of rest. And more specifically, I need rest to recover from effort and engagement. The past few months, I’ve spent a lot of time focusing on my body and what would make it feel good. Some of that meant movement (walking the dogs, aqua aerobics, Pilates, and yoga in particular), but some of it meant visits to the doctor, getting a massage, a session with my physical therapist, three hours on the couch with a heating pad, a really long nap, or going to the Farmer’s Market to be sure I had fresh carrots and peaches.

2. Truth: I go back to work next week. To be honest (because this is a post about truth), I’m not sure how that’s going to go. I’m stepping back into a moment in the academic year that is notoriously chaotic, as well as returning to a huge ongoing project that I will need to help complete, and I have a new intern to get settled. I’m not sure how all that will align with my need for rest, my commitment to giving my body what it wants.

3. Truth: I return with a new question. It came to me recently as I was doing my morning writing practice. Forgive me if I already mentioned it, but it came to me that my fundamental confusion rests in this question — Am I denying myself what I’m truly hungry for or am I resisting what is? I’m not sure I can explain, but it’s related to my search for deep meaning in my life, and my growing awareness of my particular energetic requirements. It’s a question about the source of my discomfort, the cause of my dis-ease. So, when I dread going back to work, or I am uncomfortable being there, is it because I really should be somewhere else or am I resisting what is and therefore generating unnecessary suffering for myself in that way? Should I be looking for an exit, or should I learn how to stay?

One wish: May my path clarify my confusion, and may my confusion dawn as wisdom. (Based on the The Four Dharmas of Gampopa).

I could NOT put this book down! So good.

1. So many good books. This summer, everything I’ve read has been so good: Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me: a Memoir by Sherman Alexie, We Are Never Meeting in Real Life by Samantha Irby, The Chronology of Water: A Memoir by Lidia Yuknavitch, The Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead, Kindred by Octavia Butler, 3,096 Days in Captivity by Natascha Kampusch, and Guidebook to Relative Strangers: Journeys into Race, Motherhood, and History by Camille T. Dungy.

2. Make Light, an new podcast from Karen Walrond.

3. Radical Black Care is the Revolution. “Our care and preservation is not a break or distraction from the revolution; it is the damned revolution. Full stop.”

4. David Sedaris Q&A. “The writer and comedian talks House of Cards, abstract expressionism, and the cartoon character Jonny Quest.”

5. Should White People Feel Racial “Guilt”? (video) “The real question we should be asking is: do people of color even *want* you to feel guilty in the first place? And what does white guilt actually accomplish?”

6. Is Whole Foods the End of Black Harlem? (video)

7. This is why it’s so important for parents to support their trans kids. (video)

8. A Nebraska community is using renewable energy to resist the Keystone XL pipeline. (video)

9. Recipes I want to try: Crispy Black Bean Sweet Potato Baked Burritos, and Avocado Chicken Salad Recipe, and Baked Falafel, and 12 Delicious Weeknight Dinners That Don’t Have Dairy (who cares about dairy, these look good).

10. E. Jean Carroll is the longest running advice columnist in history—and possibly one of the most interesting women in the world. (video)

11. Brooklyn Wolfrey, a young Inuk girl from Rigolet, drums at the Labrador land protectors camp across from Muskrat Falls on Tuesday evening. It might be slightly embarrassing how many times I’ve watched this video.

12. The NAACP issues its first-ever travel advisory. For MISSOURI! (video)

13. Ava DuVernay on Queen Sugar and Her Hollywood Journey. Seriously, I have the biggest girl crush on her.

14. NYT Magazine Story Identifies the ‘Wellness’ Movement For Exactly What It Is: Dieting. I also recommend the original article, Losing It in the Anti-Dieting Age, “The agonies of being overweight — or running a diet company — in a culture that likes to pretend it only cares about health, not size.”

15. Stop Saying Affirmative Action Disadvantages White Students.

16. Procter & Gamble Release an Ad About ‘the Talk,’ and White People Respond With the Wettest, Saltiest, Stupidest White Tears Ever.

17. Celebrity Diet Culture: Just Stop Already. In related news, ‘Clean eating is ugly, malevolent and damaging’, says eating disorder specialist, and Samantha Irby Has Some Diet Advice for You: Stay Fat.

18. Facebook’s Complicity in the Silencing of Black Women.

19. 5 Reasons Why Sharing a David Wolfe Meme Makes You an Asshole.

20. ‘Unlikely Hiker’ Jenny Bruso Blasts Open the Idea of Who Belongs in the Wilderness.

21. Functional Training – Ultra Spiritual Life. (video) *teehee*

22. Raising money for Leslie for Black Women Being Convening. “Leslie and the Safety Pin Box team want to plan a dope convening to support Black women and femme organizers. Help her start a budget for the community improvement work. Leslie will use the money to create workshops for community organizing with Black women/femme grassroots organizers.”

23. Stop Being an Ally. (video)

24. Dove’s Powerful Short Film Skewers Stereotypes About Female Beauty.

25. When you compare it to what guys wear to the beach, women’s swimwear starts to look pretty ridiculous. (video) “You know what’s sexy? Joy.”

26. Here’s The Animated Gay Love Story We’ve Been Waiting For.

27. 9 Not so Little Things that are Holding You Back (+ how to say goodbye) from Be More With Less.

28. The 12 Stages of Burnout.

29. A list of great writing prompts from Jena Schwartz.

30. We can be scared together, wisdom from Alexandra Franzen. “This is me, reaching through the Internet tunnels to hold your hand and say, ‘If you’re scared of criticism, negativity, bullying, angry customers demanding refunds, all that stuff, it’s OK. I’m scared, too. We can be scared together.'” In her latest newsletter, Alexandra also recommended this podcast, Terrible, Thanks for Asking.

31. A Tour Through the Many Doorways of India.

32. On beating yourself up, wisdom from Seth Godin.

33. I am disappointed but unsurprised by the news that an anti-diversity, sexist, manifesto is making the rounds at Google. And if you skip reading this one, I don’t want you to miss the cartoon from xkcd that’s included, Free Speech. Also, in related news, So, about this Googler’s manifesto, a really great rebuttal to the original manifesto.

34. Ambulance Dada. (video) “India’s Karimul Haque, also known as #AmbulanceDada, has saved 4,000 lives with his motorcycle.”

35. Brandless. (video) “Did you know there is an online store that sells organic vegan products for $3.00 named Brandless.com?”

36. Fancying a ‘curvy’ woman doesn’t make you a hero, so stop acting like one. In related news, 8 Hilarious “Curvy Wife” Responses To Make Your Monday.

37. #Flint: An Update and a Reminder That It Has Been 1,196 Days Since the Mich. City Had Clean Drinking Water.