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

1. The do over from Seth Godin.

2. Living Tiny by Emily Harger on Narratively.

4. Stephen Colbert, Tim Cook, George W. Bush crack jokes for Class of 2015.

5. Body image hero Brittany Gibbons gives us her formula for self-love.

Dear Courageous Girl,

The hardest decisions in life are the decisions that start with two good answers. Choosing between two or more good things is one of the hardest things we will ever have to do.

This is what sacrifice is. This is where the richest rewards are, because we are not REALLY choosing between what is good and what is good. We are choosing between what is good and what is BEST for our lives.

Stay where the BEST things area, even if you have to walk away from some really good things once in a while. And never forget that the simple, small things in life are very often the best — better than the shiny, fancy, and ‘popular’ things; and that it’s completely okay to walk away from everything that the world tells you will bring you happiness, and towards small, simple, and good things that others usually just walk right past. That’s where the magic is, friends.

Choose the best for YOU.

You are beloved.

xoxo

7. Wisdom from Tara Brach,

Grieving loss consciously is at the center of the spiritual path. In small and great ways, each of our losses links us to what we love. It is natural that we will seek to manage the pain of separation in whatever way we can. Yet as we awaken, we can allow our sorrow to remain faithful to itself. We can willingly surrender into the grieving. By honoring what has passed away, we are free to love the life that is here.

8. Grief is Hard Work from Kira Elliott.

9. This Man Filmed His Dog Every Day. The Reason? You’ll Be Heartbroken. We don’t know how long any of them, any of us will live. We should love each other like this all the time.

10. Practice: Embodying Your Curvy + Beloved Body. The next session starts June 8th.

11. Nonconformity and the Creative Life from Shots of Awe.

12. Women Turn Tables on Online Harassers.

13. These 25 Examples of Male Privilege from a Trans Guy’s Perspective Really Prove the Point.

14. More good stuff from Justine, on her blog Allowing Myself (which you should be reading!): Just Give In and Nap, and Travel Journal, and Day In The Life, and Bathroom Cabinet Magic.

15. Amy Schumer Takes On The Bill Cosby Sex Scandal On ‘Inside Amy Schumer.’ Oh, snap!

16. Garlic Roasted Broccoli recipe. Roasted vegetables are my favorite.

17. Surviving an Alcoholic.

18. 30 Days Of My Baby Bunnies Growing Up on Bored Panda.

19. This not so perfect life from Aubrey’s Baby Weigel blog.

20. Compassion is true communication. One of the most beautiful videos, with such an important message.

21. A Prominent Yogi on Fat Yoga, Instagram, and Changing Stereotypes.

22. The Small, Happy Life.

23. It’s Always a Good Time for Child’s Pose on Wanderlust.

24. Hanging by a Thread by Elizabeth Aquino.

25. Let’s Celebrate the Art of Clutter.

26. 10 Composition Tips with Award Winning Photographer Steve McCurry.

27. 5 of the Hardest Things Yoga Taught Me.

28. my favorite buttermilk biscuits recipe.

29. My Mom Has a Question on Medium.

30. What Fat People Know Best on Dances with Fat.

31. Colleges To Students: Don’t Trash Those Dorm Castoffs! Donate!

32. The Place Where You Are on Zen Habits.

33. Good stuff from Be More With Less: 7 Places to Create Space for Ease and Clarity and Holding on for Dear Life.

34. So, I’m a Teacher Now — 10 Reflections From the First 10 Weeks on Medium.

35. This Journey called Life on Medium.

36. thrive portrait: asha on Chookooloonks. Karen’s Thrive Portrait Project is so great.

37. Truthbomb #810 from Danielle LaPorte, “Surrender isn’t about being passive. It’s about being open.”

38. Wisdom from Ernest Hemingway, “The world breaks everyone, and afterward, some are strong at the broken places.”

39. Brian Dettmer’s book autopsies, shared by Austin Kleon.

40. Danny Gregory, an interview by Lisa Congdon, shared by Chookooloonks.

41. “You must give up the life you planned in order…” from Jennifer Louden.

42. Really great stuff from Alexandra Franzen: Trying is always worth it, and Keep writing the damn alphabet, and I’m not lying. It’s just that the truth has changed., and Tell me everything, and Whatever it takes.

43. Suffering Opens The Real Path by Norman Fischer.

Lady Moon Meadow Trail, image by Eric

1. The bravest thing I’ve done this year from Marianne Elliott, the first post in a series on courage that I also wrote a post for, I showed up. I opened my heart. I stayed. Marianne’s next session of 30 Days of Courage: a guide to bravery in action starts April 20th and registration is open now.

2. 15 Things Stopping You from Moving Forward from Marc and Angel Hack Life.

3. our very special houseguest on Chookooloonks. For our next dog, I want to be able to say say, “She’s [or he’s] gentle, and sweet-natured, and incredibly calm, and so easy. She’s obedient and playful, and she’s taken to our family almost seamlessly.” You know how much I’ve loved my dogs, but so far, I’ve had “it’s been so hard but I know it will be worth it,” and someday I’d really like the other version.

4. 23 Best Movies On Netflix You Haven’t Yet Seen.

5. 30 Questions You Should Ask Your Best Friend and 30 MORE Questions to Ask Your Best Friend from Hello Giggles.

6. Three Eternal (So Far) Truths about Living and Writing from On Being.

7. Artist Paints Ocean Stones With Thousands Of Tiny Dots To Create Colorful Mandalas on Bored Panda.

8. the mabel magazine either / or question: part 2, in which you can read my responses.

9. I Gotcher Blog-Writin’ Advice Right Here from Terrible Minds.

10. Wisdom from David Whyte,

Courage is the measure of our heartfelt participation with life, with another, with a community, a work, a future. To be courageous, is not necessarily to go anywhere or do anything except to make conscious those things we already feel deeply and then to live through the unending vulnerabilities of those consequences.

11. In memory of Anne Frank, some of her most beautiful quotes on Hello Giggles, which says this,

Anne Frank’s diary remains one of the most essential pieces of writing in existence — a 13-year-old girl’s account of the most horrifying genocide in modern history. But more than that, Anne’s diary was a beautifully-written autobiography of a brilliant young girl, full of hope, potential and bravery. This year marks the 70th anniversary of Anne’s final diary entry, and she continues to inspire us with her spirit and courage.

12. WALK THE MOON – Shut Up and Dance (Official Lyric Video). Dance break!!!

13. Heartbreaking and beautiful, we have a trailer for the Amy Winehouse documentary on Hello Giggles.

14. Teen Comes Out As Gay, His Father Reacts Angrily. Hey Dad, what would Jesus do?

15. What Would Beyonce Do?! funny stuff from comedienne Luisa Omielan.

16. Interview: Patrick Mulholland on the Broken Saviors Kickstarter.

17. Good stuff from Dances with Fat: Dealing With Oppression – That’s Not How I Would Have Done It! and Can Trader Joe’s Reduce Our Guilt Around Food?

18. Your past experiences are blinding you: How to take a step back and view the world without bias or judgement on Medium.

19. Good stuff from Rowdy Kittens’ Happy Links list: The Journal Diaries- Gert’s Hobonichi and On Our Next Big Adventure and The one thing you’re most likely to regret.

20. A Note from the Universe, “For every fork in the road, Jill, there are often two paths from which to choose: the one you ‘should’ take and the one you want to take. Take the second. Always take the second.”

21. On Chookooloonks this was a good week list: Dressing up strangers as dolls: cute or ‘creepy’? – BBC World Service and Novelist Katherine Center’s philosophy on writing the story you long to read.

22. No Kids for Me, Thanks on The New York Times.

23. I Am A Plus-Size Woman Who Wore a Low-Rise Bikini to the Beach and This is What Happened on Bustle.

24. Orthorexia Nervosa: When Righteous Eating Becomes An Obsession.

25. Creating a New Cultural Story, Jennifer Louden talks with Brigid Schulte, author of the NYT’s bestseller Overwhelmed: How to Work, Love, and Play When No One Has the Time, which I want to read.

26. Good stuff from Alexandra Franzen: How to Talk Yourself in to a Great Day at Work and Be done with what’s done. Let it burn. and Always one more time.

27. Knock Knock, It’s Tig Notaro | Official Trailer | Showtime Documentary.