Tag Archives: Danielle LaPorte

Something Good

image by Eric, Lory State Park coyote

image by Eric, Lory State Park coyote

1. People react to being called beautiful. “I conducted an independent project, which evidently turned into a social experiment halfway through, regarding beauty at my performing arts high school in Chicago. I want to clarify that my intentions were not to get a reaction out of people. I was simply filming beauty and this is the result. Here it is.”

2. Carrie Fisher just scorched ‘Good Morning America’ and you’re not worthy. So adorable, so funny.

3. The 5 best moments from ‘A Very Murray Christmas,’ which is now streaming on Netflix.

4. Adele has my dog feeling all types of emotions. This dog is my spirit animal.

5. Tig Notaro got married.

6. Kid President’s Path to Awesome! “They were experienced foster parents, but these were two special needs children. Were they ready for that?”

7. Here Are 2015’s Biggest Pop Songs—All Mashed Up Into a Single 4-Minute Earworm. This might be my favorite song of 2015. 🙂

8. What to leave out and what to leave in and In praise of the simple kitchen timer from Austin Kleon.

9. This was a good week on Chookooloonks. “The Rice University Gallery currently has this amazing exhibit, called Intersections. Created by Pakistani-American artist Anila Quayyum Agha, the exhibit is a single, bright light suspended from the ceiling through an intricately laser-cut box made from wood, and painted black.” Karen shares her pictures of the exhibit and a video of the artist talking about and walking through it.

10. 5 Questions to Ask Yourself When You’re Feeling Stuck from Tiny Buddha. The first one alone is worth the read.

11. Wisdom from Brave Girls Club, “When we have the chance to do something kind or good…we really should just do it. Sometimes we think we have to plan elaborate occasions to show kindness and compassion, when just about every day there are opportunities that come up that allow us sprinkle some goodness in little doses that often don’t take more than a moment, but that make a world of difference to both the person we are gifting with our kindness and to ourselves.”

12. 8tracks, “Listen for free to millions of playlists, all lovingly handcrafted by people like you who know and love music. Pick a top playlist below, or explore playlists by artist, genre, or activity above.” Gift idea: make someone a mixtape.

13. How to Think About Nutrition. “When people start trying to eat normally, they almost always have to go through a phase of craving and eating things they used to think were ‘bad’, or things that are not generally considered ‘healthy’. And it freaks. them. out.”

14. A Response to the Fat Shaming on the London Subway from Dances with Fat. And another good one, Fat-Shamers Hand Out Nasty Cards on Subway, So Plus-Size Company Has Awesome Response.

15. Tips on making care packages for the homeless.

16. Painstaking Arrangements of Colorful Objects and Food by Emily Blincoe. This kind of order is very soothing to me.

17. Wisdom from Charles Orlando, “Don’t settle. Either they will wake up to the fact that you deserve more… or you will.” Oh, snap.

18. I call all of my power back to me now. I am whole and complete. (Say it with me now.) from Danielle LaPorte.

19. 11 Reasons That You Are Actually Matt Bellassai.

20. This poem from Rumi seems so appropriate right now,

Sit. Be still. And listen.
For you are drunk.
And we are at the edge of the roof.

21. In exclusive first interview, Mingyur Rinpoche reveals what happened during his four years as a wandering yogi on Lion’s Roar.

22. Fifteen Things for When the World is Shitty and Terrifying, a great list, for any time really, no need to wait until things get bad.

23. IT HAPPENED TO ME: I Was Trolled and Fat-Shamed by One of My Male College Students. I love how she handled this.

24. Chakra Salad. {Vegan Recipe} on Elephant Journal. It’s from this summer, but looks yummy.

25. Study: Dieting Increases Your Risk of Becoming Obese.

26. It’s OK, He’s Friendly. Amen, because of this, “Unsolicited interactions are a type of assault,” and this, “It’s perfectly reasonable for a person to expect to be able to use a public space without being pestered by others.”

27. BIRDY + RHODES – Let It All Go. Beautiful song, beautiful video. Gave me goosebumps.

28. Print out these 100 questions, and as Alexandra Franzen suggests, “Cut the paper into little slips with one question per slip. Put the slips in a bowl. Keep them on your kitchen table. When you’re lounging around, solo, or with your family, pull out a question at random and answer it. You might learn something fascinating about yourself — or someone else.”

29. Getting BuzzFeed Clicks by Drinking and Whining.

30. All Songs Considered: The Year In Music 2015.

31. In search of serendipity, which suggests, “The internet has become so good at meeting our desires that we spend less time discovering new ones. To update the Rolling Stones, you can always get what you want. But you may not get what you need.” I’m not sure I agree, not entirely.

32. 10 Ways Creativity Can Completely Change Your Life from Tiny Buddha. “Creativity is not just for artists or making art. Creativity is life making. It’s anything we do that turns us on, invigorates us, or offers a simple moment of pure merriment.”

33. What This Guy Creates Out Of Paper Really Needs To Be Seen To Be Believed. For real.

34. Burnout: How to deal with creative and mental exhaustion.

35. May You Be Present and Clear, great advice from Be More With Less. “If you want to break up with your busy mind, buzzing phone, and crazy to-do lists to engage in meaningful relationships, try incorporating one of the following ideas.”

36. The In-between State, “Pema Chodron points to the perfect training ground for the spiritual warrior — anxiety, heartbreak, and tenderness.”

37. Hope in the Midst of Hopelessness.

38. The simple way one American mom helped thousands of refugee children. “She’s not a politician or a community leader. She’s a mom who found an amazing way to help refugee families by sending over thousands of baby carriers.” Here’s another short video about her. This is a beautiful story of someone being touched by someone else’s suffering, and then moved to do something to ease it. We all have the opportunity to do the same, in our own way.

39. Pizza Delivery Man Overcome With Emotion After Receiving This Tip.

40. Gifts For Writers, 2015 from Terrible Minds.

41. Miley Cyrus – Silent Night (A Very Murray Christmas).

42. 20+ Simple Tips For A Happy And Healthy Life.

43. Awesome Books of 2015 (at least a few), a great list plus some bonus inspiration from Kira Elliot.

44. Hard Conversations Book Club 2016 from Patti Digh. “This monthly book club provides an avenue for reading and thinking in community about hard topics such as race, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, classism, and all the ways in which we ‘other’ people. We will dive deep and have open, honest, and safe dialogue to seek greater understanding of issues with which we may have limited experience. We will emerge changed in significant, enriching ways.” Admission is by donation. I can’t do the club, but I’m making note of the reading list.

45. The Biggest Mistake Pet Owners Make at the End. Having to let two of my dogs go was the hardest decision(s) I ever had to make. This article would have been very helpful, still is.

46. Paper Life – The artist Rogan Brown cuts thousands of microorganisms in paper. Science + art = so cool.

47. Ridiculous Holiday Diet Tips from Dances with Fat.

Something Good

Lory State Park, image by Eric

Lory State Park, image by Eric

So great to be partnering with Wanderlust to share this list with a larger audience.

1. December Reflections with Susannah Conway. “This project has no real rules – the idea is to simply take a photograph every day(ish) for the whole of December. That’s it. Pause, look around you and shoot what you see. Reflect on how the year’s gone down. Enjoy a bit of mindful creativity in the run up to the new year.” 31 photo prompts, three ways to share your pictures. I’m in!

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2. An Ancient Chinese Ginkgo Tree Drops an Ocean of Golden Leaves. This is one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

3. 29 Playlists To Listen To When Everything Sucks. I haven’t listened to any of these yet because I can’t stop listening to Adele’s new album, but when I do, I will.

4. F*ck That: A Guided Meditation. This has been floating around for a bit, and I finally listened to it. *gigglesnort*

5. How Lowering Your Standards Leads to Greatness from Jen Louden. I’m always open to lowering the bar. In this post, Jen gives us permission.

6. You are Allowed, from Mara Glatzel’s latest newsletter. This is the kind of thing you should print out and hang on the fridge. Click the link she includes to hear her read the list to you, close your eyes and listen to all the things you are allowed. And when you are done, go sign up for her newsletter for more of this sort of goodness.

7. A Little Guide for More Comfort and Joy from Be More With Less. Courtney consistently writes things I have to share. I feel like she’s a version of me, wiser and more compassionate with a simpler more fulfilling life, some years down the road sending me messages from my possible future, reminding me to not give up, to keep trying.

8. Body Gratitude Print Out for the Holidays from Curvy Yoga. What a great practice.

9. How to be generous from Danielle LaPorte. It’s funny to me how the antidote to poverty mentality, a feeling of scarcity, is to give more away, to let things go, to have less, to be more generous.

10. Breathe, an offering from the wonderful Julia Fehrenbaucher, “an eleven week, (self-directed), deep breathing, creative recovery retreat for your spirit.”

11. The Biggest Legal Mistake Freelancers Make from Paul Jarvis.

12. How To Read A Book. I developed a bad habit of reading multiple books at a time while I was in graduate school, but according to this list, that means I’m doing it right.

13. Two Dog Pals Separated At The Shelter End Up In The Same Loving Home. This makes me so happy. And, I have a serious crush on Mr. Riley!

14. I Quit My Boring Office Job To Start Making Mini Paintings On Recycled Wood. I’m glad. She makes some beautiful things.

15. I Doodle Introvert Comics To Express How I Feel. Love these! Her website is great too.

16. Scientists now think that being overweight can protect your health. Oh, snap!

17. #whatayogilookslike: Spotlight on Laura Sharkey.

18. Why this woman’s “badass undie” selfie is starting a viral movement.

19. Adam Kurtz, a great artist interview on Lisa Congdon’s blog.

20. ‘You Can’t Prepare Yourself’: A Conversation With Adele. Because, I’m obsessed.

21. Jimmy Fallon, Adele & The Roots Sing “Hello” (w/Classroom Instruments). Seriously: my brain = all Adele, all the time. Her voice here gives me goosebumps.

22. Sensitive-The Untold Story, a documentary.

23. Move Over Turducken, PIECAKEN Is The Dish To Beat This Thanksgiving. I don’t know how to feel about this…

24. 75 inspiring gratitude prompts from Positively Present. These would be great journal prompts or conversation starters.

25. December Encouragement Notes from Esmé Weijun Wang. This is a free offering. “I’m making this because I think we all need a little extra push and a little extra comfort in December, and because I’m grateful to all of you who make this online space something to be excited about.”

26. What is Literature for?

27. The World Will Be Saved By Waffles, a beautiful post by Erica Staab, which she ends with, “When we can offer a soft place to land for those we love, when we can share with one another our little acts of love, we light up the world. And we could all use a little more light in the world.”

28. Chronic Dieting: The Socially Acceptable Eating Disorder. I lived this, could have written this post, but since I didn’t, I’m so glad Caroline Dooner did.

29. The Real Difference Between Artists and Everyone Else. Spoiler alert: “Making things makes you an artist.”

30. My sister is a heroin addict. This isn’t my exact story, but I’m living a version of this and it sucks.

31. Pet Every Single Dog. This event on Facebook is so perfect. I’m in!

32. Flora Bowley’s Bloom True ecourse. “Enjoy 25% off my five-week, deep dish, transformational, painting course now through December 1st, and savor the freshly designed course at your own pace for one full year. You can also give this as the most rocking gift ever! Use coupon code: btgratitude to receive your discount.”

33. 24 Tweets That Will Make Every Nurse Laugh Out Loud.

34. World’s Largest Spice Company to Go Organic and Non-GMO by 2016. Cool.

35. Wisdom from Jeff Foster, “Heaven is this moment. Hell is the burning desire for this moment to be different. It’s that simple.” It’s also that complicated.

36. The Power in Writing About Yourself.

37. Love List Selfie, a little project and short interview I did with my dear friend Sherry Richert Belul.

38. Dharma of Writing Group a great offering from Susan Piver and Kate Lila Wheeler.

The Dharma of Writing is an ongoing two-hour online monthly gathering designed to help you enter your own writing with the support and companionship of other writers…At each session, we will practice meditation together and then actually write. Each person will work on his or her own project with the quiet, supportive companionship of writers all over the world. We will convene using the video conference platform, Zoom. Sessions will be recorded and links sent to all, so if you can’t join live you can still participate.

39. Wisdom from poet Andrea Gibson, (thanks to Jessica for the original share),

Just to be clear
I don’t want to get out
without a broken heart.
I intend to leave this life
so shattered
there better be a thousand separate heavens
for all of my separate parts.

40. This Man’s Wife Cries About Absolutely Anything So He Started Writing The Reasons Down.

40. Neil Gaiman and Georgina Chapman – Donate to UNHCR – UN Refugee Agency. “Together with UNHCR, international best-selling author, Neil Gaiman, and co-founder and designer of Marchesa, Georgina Chapman, are developing a storytelling project highlighting the Syrian refugee crisis.”

41. Couple Lets Their Dog Film Their Wedding And The Result Is Better Than Most Wedding Videos.

42. How to get out of a rut. Good advice.