Medium | 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.

The most important item on this list: Nepal death toll climbs towards 2,000 as world responds to earthquake. Heartbreaking, heart breaking, but here are some ways to help: How you can help Nepal after the earthquake and To Nepal With Love: Earthquake Relief and How to help Nepal: 7 vetted charities doing relief work following the earthquake and Help Nepal Heal (by way of charity:water).

1. Don’t Read The Comments: Comment Sections Are Our Own Fault on Terrible Minds.

2. Choosing Rest (& Why it Makes us so Uncomfortable) from Mara Glatzel’s newsletter.

3. Making Peace Possible: The Shared Wisdom of the Human Heart, a free online talk from Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche on May 7th.

4. Wisdom from Rumi, by way of Erin,

Be ground. Be crumbled,
so wildflowers will come up
where you are.

You have been stony for too many years.
Try something different. Surrender.

5. 5 Better Ways to Start or Grow a Blog and If You Want to Be Light, You Have to Let Go from Be More With Less.

6. Wisdom shared by Laura Simms in her newsletter: We All Have Permission To Be A Work In Progress and 3 Empowering Questions to Ask When Dealing with a Challenging Situation.

7. Good stuff from Dances with Fat: Things You Don’t Owe Anybody, and What the Hell is Going on at Protein World?, and Back Off My Big Fat Body and When They Say “War on Obesity” I Hear “Casualties.”

8. prescription for calm, (thanks for sharing, Karen).

9. Don’t Wear Shoes That Hurt, a great list of wisdom.

10. Good stuff on Bored Panda: 20+ Photos Of Geometrical Plants For Symmetry Lovers and 22+ Before & After Photos Of Dogs Growing Up (Part II) and Japanese Craftsman Restores Old Books To Look Good As New.

11. Confront Death by Avoiding Fritos: The Gluten Lie, Fad Diets, & Foodie Faith.

12. How Living With and Loving Bruce Jenner Changed My Life Forever.

13. The Challenges of Seeing Meditation Only Through a Scientific Lens.

14. The Crossroads of Should and Must.

15. Beyond Mindfulness: Explore Mindfulness as a Path to Wisdom and Transformation, a free online event.

16. When a man asks people to translate a hate message he’s received, their response is unforgettable.

17. 5 Ways to Stop Worrying About What Everyone Thinks of You.

18. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön,

Not acting on our habitual patterns is only the first step toward not harming others or ourselves. The transformative process begins at a deeper level when we contact the rawness we’re left with whenever we refrain. As a way of working with our aggressive tendencies, Dzigar Kongtrül teaches the nonviolent practice of simmering. He says that rather than “boil in our aggression like a piece of meat cooking in a soup,” we simmer in it. We allow ourselves to wait, to sit patiently with the urge to act or speak in our usual ways and feel the full force of that urge without turning away or giving in. This is the journey of developing a kindhearted and courageous tolerance for our pain.

19. To overcome an irrational fear… from Seth Godin.

20. From this week’s Blessing from Ronna Detrick,

I kept myself busy with so many responsibilities. I took them on because they needed to be done, but more, because they seemed like the best way to keep from feeling crazy. When I slowed down, when I rested, when I stopped, my mind fought against the silence, the space, the calm. But, in truth, silence, space, and calm was what my heart wanted most; what I needed most. It took time, but I learned that it’s not in working harder, faster, or smarter; but in sitting, resting, and leaning that feeling crazy eventually vanishes, that transformation comes, that love shows up.

21. Frog discovered in Costa Rica resembles Kermit. Don’t know quite why, but this makes me so happy.

22. Good stuff on Hello Giggles: Amy Schumer’s NSFW sketch brilliantly skewers how Hollywood treats older actresses and ICYMI: Tracy Chapman’s awe-inspiring cover of “Stand By Me” leaves us speechless.

23. Transgender Kids, a series of features from NBC News.

24. Interesting stuff on Huffington Post: Parents’ ‘Demanding’ Invitation To Baby’s First Birthday Goes Viral and What Makes ‘Liking Your Body’ So Damn Hard and Grieving Dad Pens Honest Obituary For Daughter Who Died Of Heroin Overdose and the comments section of My Battle With My Son’s Addiction.

25. On What it Takes from Dani Shapiro.

26. This Advice on Dealing with Your Struggles and Privilege is Pretty Much Perfect – And Super Adorable.

27. Read Amy Schumer’s Powerful Speech About Confidence.

28. A Conversation with Neil Gaiman.

29. 10 Things You Should Know About Doing a Crowdfunding Campaign from Todd Mitchell.

30. The Pioneering Poet, Tig Notaro interview’s Andrea Gibson.

31. Amy Schumer’s brilliant ‘Friday Night Lights’ parody puts the blame for rape where it belongs.

32. ‘Wellness Guru’ Belle Gibson lied about having brain cancer, profited from lying about bogus cancer cures.

33. Wisdom from Atisha,

The greatest achievement is selflessness.
The greatest worth is self-mastery.
The greatest quality is seeking to serve others.
The greatest precept is continual awareness.
The greatest medicine is the emptiness of everything.
The greatest action is not conforming with the worlds ways.
The greatest magic is transmuting the passions.
The greatest generosity is non-attachment.
The greatest goodness is a peaceful mind.
The greatest patience is humility.
The greatest effort is not concerned with results.
The greatest meditation is a mind that lets go.
The greatest wisdom is seeing through appearances.

34. “What Is Systemic Racism?”, a playlist of important videos from Race Forward.

35. Native Actors Walk off Set of Adam Sandler Movie After Insults to Women, Elders.

36. The Best Job Interview Answer Ever. This Man Just Nailed It.

37. From In The Realm of Hungry Ghosts in the Introduction,

The inhabitants of the Hungry Ghost Realm are depicted as creatures with scrawny necks, small mouths, emaciated limbs and large, bloated, empty bellies. This is the domain of addiction, where we constantly seek something outside ourselves to curb an insatiable yearning for relief or fulfillment. The aching emptiness is perpetual because the substances, objects or pursuits we hope will soothe it are not what we really need. We don’t know what we need, and so long as we stay in the hungry ghost mode, we’ll never know. We haunt our lives without being fully present.

38. togs: my natural hair journey on Chookooloonks.

39. Walking Is A Humans Best Medicine.

40. Obama Just Burned GOP Climate Deniers in “Anger Translator” Rant.