Tag Archives: Jennifer Boykin

Something Good

narrowleafbare

1. Sas Petherick’s “Down To Basics” Pinterest board. I want this, all of it.

2. Do You Conspire Against Yourself? A hard truth from Jennifer Boykin on Life After Tampons,”YOU are at the heart of everything that happens in your life.”

3. A heartbreaking and beautiful post, written by Neil Gaiman about his beloved Shepherd, The Power of the Dog. Cabal (2003-2013).

4. This quote: “There are days I drop words of comfort on myself like falling leaves and remember that it is enough to be taken care of by my self.” ~Brian Andreas

5. From Pema Chödrön:

Here, Now, Always: This is a work in progress, a process of uncovering our natural openness, uncovering our natural intelligence and warmth. I have discovered, just as my teachers always told me, that we already have what we need. The wisdom, the strength, the confidence, the awakened heart and mind are always accessible, here, now, always. We are just uncovering them. We are rediscovering them. We’re not inventing them or importing them from somewhere else. They’re here. That’s why when we feel caught in darkness, suddenly the clouds can part. Out of nowhere we cheer up or relax or experience the vastness of our minds. No one else gives this to you. People will support you and help you with teachings and practices, as they have supported and helped me, but you yourself experience your unlimited potential.

6. This quote:

The experience of joy is not
necessarily religious in any conventional way.
But a distinguishing characteristic of joy
is the feeling people have that they have touched
the hem of something far beyond themselves.
~Ardis Whitman

7. A note to me from the Universe: “It was perhaps one of your greatest acts of love, Jill. Choosing to be alive at a time when so many live so deeply in the dark. And already things are looking brighter.”

And this one, “Sometimes the people who know, Jill, don’t know they know. And sometimes the people who don’t know, think they do know. But you can always tell who is who, because, of course, with knowing comes tolerance, and patience, and love.”

And this one, “Believe it or not, Jill, if it weren’t for your so-called issues, problems, and challenges, there’d be no other way you could become even happier, cooler, and more enlightened than you have ever been before.”

8. This one makes me laugh, “For peace of mind, resign as general manager of the universe.” ~Larry Eisenberg

9. The Challenge in Beginning, on Kind Over Matter by Jo Anna Rothman.

10. On Turning 45 by Lisa Congdon. I think I want to trade 45s with Lisa.

11. This quote from Mark Nepo:

We waste so much energy trying to cover up who we are when beneath every attitude is the want to be loved, and beneath every anger is a wound to be healed and beneath every sadness is the fear that there will not be enough time. Our challenge each day is not to get dressed to face the world but to unglove ourselves so that the doorknob feels cold and the car handle feels wet and the kiss goodbye feels like the lips of another being, soft and unrepeatable.

12. This is making me so happy right now, music from the band Washed Out. It’s categorized as “Dream Pop” on Rhapsody, one of my favorite genres. You might recognize this from Portlandia.

13. Inspiration Procrastination — are you a self-help junkie? on Simply Woz. Why yes, yes I am.

14. This video is so sweet: Lazaro Arbos, American Idol Auditions Chicago ~ American Idol.

15. The Surprise That Left Steve Harvey [and me] In Tears.

16. This quote from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche:

By connecting with basic goodness in this moment, we can live in an open, free, and unconditioned way. Without comparison, there is no jealousy or pride. There is simply a feeling of delight and brilliance. When we cower from this possibility, comparisons immediately arise and we are thrown into a whirlwind of insecurity and doubt.

17. 25 free romantic fonts from A Subtle Revelry.

18. By way of Susannah Conway’s Something for the Weekend list, Eight Healthy Comfort Foods (I am going to make some Amazeballs), and this video, which makes me so happy, (by way of Swiss Miss–check out the rest of their site, there’s some really cool stuff there–amazeballs!):

19. From From Positively Present Picks list: On Dog Hair from Bobulate, and from Huffington Post, Tina Fey: ’30 Rock’ Star’s Success Secret: ‘Say Yes’.

20. Moving Art channel on You Tube. Some really beautiful videos.

21. Some of my favorite women in conversation, connecting: Story Whispers, Sas Petherick with Hannah Marcotti, and The Illuminated Purposepreneur: Hannah Marcotti on Create as Folk with Laura Simms.

22. Scattered by Sas Petherick. (I’m apparently crushing hard on Sas, because she’s on my list three times this week).

23. From Brain Pickings: How to Write with Style: Kurt Vonnegut’s 8 Keys to the Power of the Written Word and Can Money Buy Happiness? The Science of Materialism, Animated.

24. This quote: “Our way to practice is one step at a time, one breath at a time.” ~Shunryu Suzuki

25. This quote from Rumi:

Sorrow prepares you for joy. It violently sweeps everything out of your house, so that new joy can find space to enter. It shakes the yellow leaves from the bough of your heart, so that fresh green leaves can grow in their place. It pulls up the rotten roots, so that new roots hidden beneath have room to grow. Whatever sorrow shakes from your heart, far better things will take their place.

26. Daily Rocks from Patti Digh, Say “Wow” and Be Open to Change.

27. Living Things on SF Girl by Bay.

28. From Patti Digh’s Thinking Thursday list, this quote: “Yoga is the practice of tolerating the consequences of being yourself.” -Bhagavad Gita (so true…)

29. Judgement vs. Empathy by Alexis Yael on Kind Over Matter.

30. Some Days, a blessing from Erica Staab (and John O’Donohue).

31. Salon’s guide to writing a memoir.

Something Good

I made my best effort to find the original source of this image, but couldn't, and also couldn't stand not sharing it with you.

I made my best effort to find the original source of this image, but couldn’t, and also couldn’t stand not sharing it with you. Forgive me.

1. The Power of Asking from Laurie Wagner of 27 Powers. Laurie is an amazing writing teacher, and her next session of Telling True Stories starts on January 7th.

2. Live Your Own Life Now. Permission Slip Enclosed. from Jennifer Boyken at Life After Tampons.

3. This quote from Jonathan Fields, “You cannot create change in others. Until you embody the truth you seek to inspire.”

4. From my Inner Pilot Light, “When you let go of attachment to outcomes, the Universe is free to work its magic, and it’s a great opportunity to learn to trust that even if things don’t go the way you hoped, the Universe has always got your back.”

5. Providence, Poetry and Magic from Stacy Morrison on Filling in the Blanks.

6. Show Your Work from Jen Lee.

7. From Pema Chödrön, on training with uncertainty:

Many of us prefer practices that will not cause discomfort, yet at the same time we want to be healed. But bodhichitta training doesn’t work that way. A warrior accepts that we can never know what will happen to us next. We can try to control the uncontrollable by looking for security and predictability, always hoping to be comfortable and safe. But the truth is that we can never avoid uncertainty. This not knowing is part of the adventure, and it’s also what makes us afraid.

8. From Danielle LaPorte’s Daily Truthbomb: “Creativity is the difference between life and death.”

9. How To Keep Your Heart Open When It Breaks from Lissa Rankin.

10. Regrets of the Dying from Bronnie Ware. This is one I’ve posted before, but it bears repeating.

11. Quote from Kris Carr: “When we accept ourselves exactly as we are, in exactly this moment, we shift from living for tomorrow to appreciating today.”

12. This quote: “There is a way that nature speaks, that land speaks. Most of the time we are simply not patient enough, quiet enough, to pay attention to the story.” ~Linda Hogan

13. I love what Patti Digh has to say about about making strong offerings, “Putting your work into the world without regret, without attachment to outcome, without hesitation. Voicing your voice.”

14. I want this: Walking into Fire: Sidestepping Fear, Writing Your Heart Out, and Letting Your Story Tell Itself with Susan Piver. This is an audio of a workshop with three of my favorite women–Jennifer Louden, Susan Piver, and Patti Digh, “a heart-expanding, writing refreshing day bursting with learning, craft, and creativity.” This whole site BetterListen! has lots of good stuff available.

15. Sas Petherick launched her new site, her new venture. You can download her beautiful book, Body Stories, for free! Keep an eye on this one. She’s going to do some amazing things.

16. 21 Pictures That Will Restore Your Faith In Humanity, ” People aren’t always awful. Sometimes, they’re maybe even just a little bit wonderful.” And 26 Moments That Restored Our Faith In Humanity This Year.

17. This quote: “To pay attention, this is our endless and proper work.” ~Mary Oliver

18. Celebrating Consciousness with Patti Digh, Author and Master Teacher on the Daily Own.

19. Love Apocalypse. I found this site after watching a video Jen Lemen made, Thoughts On Newtown and the End of the World as We Know It.

20. Aimee Mann puts on one of the best Christmas shows ever. Sadly, she’s not doing it this year, but she shared this video (a compilation of videos made to play during her previous shows).

21. 46 Reasons Why My Three Year Old Might be Freaking Out. You don’t have to be a parent to get why this is so funny, (thanks to Susannah Conway for this link).

22. Beautiful pictures by Kevin Russ, (thanks to Susannah Conway for this link).

23. A New Year’s Ritual. Andrea Scher always has the best New Year’s prompts, and this year she shares them in a series of videos, (it’s a total bonus that she’s also super cute).

24. This quote: “Grief is not a disorder, a disease or a sign of weakness. It is an emotional, physical and spiritual necessity, the price you pay for love. The only cure for grief is to grieve.” ~Earl Grollman