1. The Lifegiving Benefits of Befriending Our Mortality, a new poem from Andrea Gibson.

2. These Are the Most Gorgeous Botanical Gardens in the U.S. Eric and I are planning a road trip to visit botanical gardens, state parks, museums, and all the good restaurants, so this list might come in handy.

3. Could You Transform Your Yard into a Flourishing Wildlife Haven? “Through Backyard Habitat Certification, individuals strive to make even the smallest outdoor spaces more biodiverse. Those changes add up.”

4. We Quit Our Jobs to Build a Cabin—Everything Went Wrong on Outside, “And it was also the most awesome experience.”

5. The soft life: why millennials are quitting the rat race. “Ambition once came with a promise: a home, a salary, progress and fulfilment. What happens when that promise is broken? Meet the women who are turning their backs on consumerism, materialism and burnout.”

6. Maybe You Just Need To Take a Nap Right Now. “We work (almost) more than ever before. It’s time to take it easy.” In related news, this piece from CBS Sunday Morning, Take it easy – The importance of being lazy. (video) “Social pressures to be productive – not to mention a culture that prizes multitasking – make doing nothing hard to do, for fear of being accused of the dreaded sin of laziness. However, experts say there are rewards for not pushing yourself to the edge all the time. Correspondent Susan Spencer looks at how some of the most productive and innovative people in history allowed themselves to take time out, just to be.”

7. How to Break Dependence on the Phone on Zen Habits. In related news, A leading mindfulness teacher shares insights to counter tech addiction and isolation.

8. Dan Rather, at 92, on a life in news. “It’s been almost 20 years since Dan Rather signed off as anchor and managing editor of the “CBS Evening News,” at the network where he spent 44 years covering wars, politics, and the assassination of JFK – and where he mentored a young correspondent named Lee Cowan. Rather, now 92, talks with Cowan about his illustrious career; about the story that gave him (and CBS) a black eye; and his post-CBS years, writing books and finding a new, younger audience on social media.”

9. Restorative in every way: a rewilding retreat in Somerset. “A Wild Weekend on the 42 Acres estate near Frome offers fresh air, cosy rooms, sumptuous food and a chance to get hands dirty with some land regeneration work.”

10. Why Your Vet Bill Is So High. “Corporations and private-equity funds have been rolling up smaller chains and previously independent practices.” In related news, Pets may need to wait weeks, months for care amid US veterinarian shortage.

11. They turned cattle ranches into tropical forest — then climate change hit.

12. Embracing intimacy and uncertainty: At work with Oregon’s poet laureate.

13. The big idea: what if dreaming is the whole point of sleep? “Rather than being an optional extra, dreams might be vital to our functioning.”

14. Recipes I want to try: Apple Kuchen Bars, and Jumbo Brownie Cookies (Facebook reel), and Cinnamon Sugar Butter Swim Biscuits, and Cheese Biscuits (Facebook reel), and Bob’s Chicken and Cabbage Salad.

15. The ‘real-life’ Martha from Baby Reindeer says she’s planning to sue Netflix.

16. Heart and Soul Podcast | Religion in the 21st Century: Buddhism. “What does it mean to be a Buddhist today?”

17. Why a Dog’s Death Hits So Hard.

18. If I Must Break from Nightbirde. “If I must break, I thought, Maybe I can break like the waves. And if I am shattering, maybe it’s into ten billion gleaming pieces, only for a second. And soon I’ll fall back into one whole. Maybe the breaking means I’m finally reaching home.”

19. 50 Ways to End a Poem on LitHub. “Emily Skaja Has Some Recommendations for Making a Strong Exit.”

20. Three gardeners remember their first gardens. “First gardens, like first homes, can have a dramatic impact on what comes later. Here three gardeners, Arne Maynard, Clare Foster, and Daisy Garnett remember the first gardens they made themselves.”

21. 33 loft conversion and attic room ideas. These are so dreamy.

22. The Enchanting Chichi-sugi: An 800-Year-Old “Breast Tree” in Japan.

23. A couple accidentally shipped their cat in an Amazon return package. It arrived safely 6 days later, hundreds of miles away.

This week’s list of things worth reading, watching, listening to, contemplating, and sharing.

1. To read poetry like a poet, don’t worry about ‘getting it’. In related news, The Healing Power of Poetry. Here’s a whole bunch of poetry to get you started, most posted to Instagram: Life is Soup, I am Fork, and This Spring, and An Aspirational Self Portrait of a Woman in Savasana, and what to do when your heart breaks, and Giving Notice, and Letter to the Person Who Carved His Initials into the Oldest Living Longleaf Pine in North America.

2. Andrea Gibson – Finding Me. “Now two-and-a-half years into an ovarian cancer diagnosis, they’ve never felt more grateful for the clarity on life, fear, joy—and, yes, impermanence—that their diagnosis has offered. And this revelation is something they want to share; something Andrea believes we all have access to. They offer us a reminder that facing our own mortality is perhaps the simplest truth about life—Andrea says, ‘I will not fight against what is.'”

3. Lama Rod describes himself as a Black Buddhist Southern Queen. He wants to free you from suffering.

4. Yoga and the Maintenance of White Womanhood.

5. How wildlife crossings protect both animals and people on CBS Sunday Morning.

6. Get your broken items fixed for free at a Repair Café. “Adrianne Ferree and her daughter Lauren Bash discuss why providing tools, resources and Makerspaces to all communities is vital to people and the planet.”

7. As Above Astro on Instagram. I’m loving their most recent series.

8. What anti-ageing discourse forgets by Nikita Gill.

9. From Embracing Vulnerability to Finding Joy – Let’s Do It. “The human mind is a relentless engine of thought, constantly producing ideas and emotions without an easily accessible off switch.”

10. From Seth Godin: Dreams, plans and contradictions, and Other people’s problems.

11. Time’s 100 Most Influencial People of 2024.

12. 20 Delightful Idioms From Around the World. “Idioms like Mandarin’s ‘take your pants off to fart’ make no sense to English speakers—at least, not to English speakers who haven’t read this list.”

13. Wisdom from Robert Henri: “The object isn’t to make art. It’s to be in that wonderful state which makes art inevitable.”

14. Sojourn: The first new essay from the forthcoming ‘Consolations: II’ by David Whyte.

15. a cadence of self-compassion from Karen Walrond. Also from Karen, reaching toward creativity.

16. 10 Unconventional Ways To Practice Real Self-Care from Courtney Carver on Be More With Less.

17. This beautiful thought from Hugh Hollowell: “We live in a world animated by magic.”

18. Eight ways to transform a walk in the forest into a wellbeing immersion.

19. In Praise of Freshness AND Routine on Going Gently.

20. Wisdom from Nick Cave: “As far as I can see the secret to a successful and enduring marriage rests entirely upon both participants believing in, wishing for and working toward the good of the other.”

21. Consistency without misery.

22. A chat with Stephanie Zacharek and Dwight Garner, a conversation hosted by Austin Kleon. “We had a good time talking about honesty in criticism, having a sense of humor, the writing process, our favorite books and movies, how to develop your personal taste, and much more.”

23. Why Uncertainty Is Good for Us. “Most of us want to avoid uncertainty, but the latest scientific research is showing that uncertainty may be essential for our overall well-being. Here’s how mindfulness can help us unlock its beneficial potential.”

24. 6 ‘Therapy-Speak’ Terms You’re Probably Misusing. “Here’s what they actually mean — and why it matters.”

25. Hope and Rosemerry Trommer | Of Ink & Earth: The Poetic Gifts of Grief, Love, & Wonder. “In the second episode of Wild Heart Revival, Rosemerry Trommer beckons us into a grounded exploration of the plentiful well of possibility that is poetry, inviting us to draw from its depths and discover the richness therein. Where Earth, Heart, and Spirit converge, the wild and rugged beauty of cave-like love exists, alongside the graceful flight of rough-legged hawks, and the radiant warmth of the sun. With sincerity and transparency, Rosemerry unveils the poetic gifts nestled within grief, love, and wonder, inviting us to embrace the simplicity that underlies each moment. Join us as we wander through the tangled landscapes of language and poetry, with bewilderment, curiosity, and a reverence for the mysteries that surround us”).

26. Earth Day: How one grocery shopper takes steps to avoid ‘pointless plastic.’

27. Wisdom from Ban Hass: “‘Listen to your body’ may be unhelpful for those who are scared of their bodies. You can’t ‘listen to your body’ when you don’t speak the same language. You can’t listen to your body’ when you have spent years ignoring it. Perhaps the first step should be, ‘Be curious about your body: What is it trying to tell me?’ & then, ‘Become more familiar with your body’ & finally, ‘Learn to develop trust with your body’. Underlying all of this should be: “Understand that you will sometimes get it wrong’.”

28. ‘It’s totally unhinged’: is the book world turning against Goodreads?

29. My Mental Health Drastically Improved When I Stopped Posting on Social Media. “How I’m moving past being online every waking moment and finding peace in my offline life.”

30. How Scam Calls and Messages Took Over Our Everyday Lives on The New York Times. (gift link) “Digital life is cluttered with bogus text messages, spam calls and phishing attempts. You can try to block, encrypt and unsubscribe your way out of it, but you may not succeed.”

31. ‘Catfish,’ the TV Show That Predicted America’s Disorienting Digital Future on The New York Times. (gift link) “For 12 years, the MTV reality series ‘Catfish’ has traveled the U.S., presenting hundreds of intimate snapshots of what can go wrong when the heart mixes with technology.”