1. Wisdom from Ram Dass: “Our journey is about being more deeply involved in Life and yet less attached to it.”

2. Wisdom from Rabindranath Tagore (by way of Jena Schwartz): “Faith is the bird that feels the light and sings when the dawn is still dark.”

3. Speaking of Jena Schwartz: Falling Forward: On Change, Choice, and Patience and How Community Holds Us.

4. 6 Ways Reading Books Benefits Introverts. “For introverts, books provide the perfect escape — you can ‘go out’ into another world while staying in.”

5. Essential, a gorgeous poem from Rosemerry Wahtola Trommer. 

6. The Signing Line. “But we don’t write toward the signing lines! That jazzy, excited feeling you get if there’s a long line, I know that it doesn’t linger. But the work always does. That satisfaction, that feeling of finishing, completing this beautiful task, making a piece of art, is the memory that nestles inside. We write toward that.”

7. “Every single day I wake up filled.” “A conversation about rabbits and composting and the opposite of self-reliance with Ifeoma Ozoma.”

8. On James Baldwin: An Intimate Look at James Baldwin and His Rarely Discussed Suicide Attempts and 5 Things You Didn’t Know About James Baldwin. Also, James Baldwin Archive on Instagram, “A place to focus on the life & work of Black queer genius James Baldwin.”

9. Wisdom from Seth Godin: Don’t blame the mouse and Cultural distress (and consumerism) and Crickets.

10. My Body Is Causing Me Pain – anti-diet approaches from Jenna Hollenstein. “Even though the go-to for many doctor’s is the suggestion to lose weight – and perhaps now this is something that comes up in your own mind as well – there is actually a lot more to do when working with everything from the occasional aches and pains to chronic and debilitating pain that HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH WEIGHT LOSS!”

11. All good things from Andrea Gibson: I Got Engaged!: Here’s Our Proposal Story and Don’t Cry, Andrea: How the Worst Advice Became the BEST and I Stopped Waiting For Awe To Find Me: Now, I Find It.

12. About Wabi-Sabi on Lion’s Roar: Wabi-Sabi For Artists, Designers, Poets & Philosophers (“Lion’s Roar presents an excerpt from Leonard Koren’s gem, Wabi-Sabi for Artists, Designers, Poets and Philosophers, considered a class statement on this Japanese aesthetic”) and Wabi Sabi Is Imperfect Beauty (“Prizing newness with its sleek and perfect lines has some ugly consequences. An aesthetic alternative, offers author Elizabeth Farrelly, is wabi sabi, a philosophy with roots in Zen tea ceremonies, which posits that beauty lies in what is flawed”).

13. Having a Bad Day? Here Are 11 Simple Reminders to Help You Feel Better. This made me think of one of my favorite printables, Everything is Awful and I’m not Okay: questions to ask before giving up.

14. The Joy of Rest.

15. How to log off.

16. The White House on Twitter, a thread throwing shade at congresspersons who are complaining about student loan forgiveness but had their own PPP loans forgiven. In related news, Wealth is the Missing Piece, “If you want to talk about student loan cancellation, you have to talk about wealth.”

17. How to Manage Overwhelming Emotions as an Introvert.

18. Books Unbanned. Brooklyn Public Library in NY has created this program which gives free internet access, for people aged 13-21, to books that are being banned in school districts across the country. In related news, A Teacher Told Students How to Access Banned Books. A State Official Wants Her License Revoked. One of my favorite genres is Dystopian Fiction — I really never thought I’d be living in one.

19. My Dog, My Heart on Lion’s Roar. “Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu discovers you don’t get over the death of a beloved pet. You just learn to love more.”

20. Everybody Hates Prologues: Except writers. Writers love prologues.

21. Hacking and whacking the way to writing clarity — and pie. “An author and freelancer contemplates story craft as she tames and harvests the blackberry brambles on her land.”

22. Permission to Stop Doing the Thing.

23. The fetish of commitment: it’s okay to change your mind.

24. Why the US photographed its own WWII concentration camps. “Dorothea Lange’s photos of the incarceration of Japanese Americans went largely unseen for decades.”

25. Jac Ross covering Tennessee whiskey, one of the best covers of one of the best songs. Jac Ross’s voice is everything.

26. Living Without Air-Conditioning? Here’s How to Stay Cooler at Home on The New York Times. In related news and from the same source, How can I keep my pet cool and safe during a heat wave?

27. Three-year-old loves her ‘creepy’ Halloween store doll and Disney embraced her in the best way.

28. Wildlife Photographer of the Year Image Gallery. “View the Wildlife Photographer of the Year images from the current and previous years’ competitions. These images were awarded for their artistic composition, technical innovation and truthful interpretation of the natural world.” 

29. Mississippi Crisis Highlights Climate Threat to Drinking Water Nationwide on The New York Times. In related news, How to Help People in Jackson, Mississippi, Right Now, and Avoiding the tap water in Jackson, Miss., has been a way of life for decades, and The flooding in Pakistan is a climate catastrophe with political roots, and How melting glaciers fueled Pakistan’s fatal floods.

30. I thought needing subtitles on TV just meant I was getting old. Turns out it is all the rage among the kids. “Apparently four out of five viewers between 18 and 25 put subtitles on – but it is not for the reasons you might think.”

31. I paid $150 to cuddle cows. I expected it to be like the Instagram Reels, but it was totally disappointing.

32. 10 Ways to Save the Bees.

33. Nature photographer, videographer Nick Kleer on Instagram. This video in particular made me seek out his other work.

34. ‘We had such trust, we feel such fools’: how shocking hospital mistakes led to our daughter’s death. “Living with a child for 14 years, they become a part of you: a year after Martha’s death, it’s still so hard to break the lovely habit of her.”

35. “When you feel that tug on your heartstrings, do you move your feet?” (video)

36. Creepy, tiny, beautiful. NoelleBurd Creations on Instagram: “Miniature Artist | Tiny Abandoned Explorer. 1:12 scale miniatures inspired by the abandoned and magical.” 

37. Recipes I want to try: Apple Walnut Bread and corn, cheddar and scallion strata.

38. Using A Sauna After Working Out May Benefit Your Heart Health. And it just feels good.

39. Barbara Ehrenreich, Explorer of Prosperity’s Dark Side, Dies at 81 on The New York Times. “Her book Nickel and Dimed, an undercover account of the indignities of being a low-wage worker in the United States, is considered a classic in social justice literature.”

40. 28 Best Toxic Positivity Quotes To Encourage Authentic Hope.

41. America’s failures in response to the Holocaust.

42. Milli Vanilli biopic first look teases controversial music duo’s looming vocal storm.

43. An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy. on The New York Times. In related news, This AI-Generated Artwork Won 1st Place At Fine Arts Contest And Enraged Artists.

44. Elisa Gabbert on Writing and Capturing Beginner’s Luck.

45. ‘I’m Not Broken’ is about being broken — and building a new life. “Jesse Leon’s I’m Not Broken is about being broken — but also about changing, growing, and building a new life. A sad, brutally honest, and emotionally gritty memoir about ‘a poor, sexually abused, drug-addicted Chicano kid,’ I’m Not Broken is the kind of narrative that vividly brings to the page the realities of someone ignored by the system and trapped by the streets.”

46. FDA expected to authorize new omicron-specific COVID boosters this week.

47. In a Japanese Nursing Home, Some Workers Are Babies on The New York Times. “They get paid in formula and diapers, and their work hours are flexible, in a program that connects people across generations and brightens lives.”

48. Your local park has a hidden talent: helping fight climate change.

49. With a budget of $100,000, two young architects turned a ‘murder shed’ into a quirky tiny home in LA. Take a look inside. Something you might not know about me: I get really really sad when buildings, in particular homes and schools and churches, are left to decay or are torn down, so a story like this makes me really really happy.

50. Several Layers of Glaze Finish Mia Alajasko’s Ceramic Octopuses with Colorful Textures.

51. Nigerian Hair Culture Documented in Rainbow-Hued Portraits by Medina Dugger.

52. Woman Shares Story About Man Who Saved Her Life In Viral Twitter Thread.

53. ‘Magic in Her Hands.’ The Woman Bringing India’s Forests Back to Life on The New York Times. “Tulsi Gowind Gowda has spent most of her more than 80 years planting and nurturing trees in southern India. ‘I like them more than anything else in my life,’ she said.”

54. People are falling in love with Kiwi, a talking parrot who gives sweet kisses and ‘zerberts.’

55. Former media exec who found new calling saving donkeys sees surge of adoptions, donations. “Reevaluating his life in the midst of the pandemic, former media exec Ron King found a new mission, saving donkeys from slaughter. Lead national correspondent David Begnaud, who introduced us to King six months ago, talks with him again for the ‘CBS Mornings’ series How Are You Now?'”

1. Looking Back, Moving Forward: Alaska Native, Suicide Prevention Advocate and Ultra-Runner Carol Seppilu. “Some may go through such dark moments to the point where they feel that they can’t go on anymore. I’ve been there many times before and still get to that point to this day. As long as there is even just one particle of light in your life, hold on to it because even the smallest amount of light outshines the dark. I’ve seen it turn as bright as the sun in the sky. When I go through those dark moments, I just have to get through it because I don’t want to stay there, and I know it’ll get better again. I’m always grateful to be here still. Keep going.”

2. Artist Jon Foreman, whose canvas is a beach on CBS Sunday Morning. “Artist Jon Foreman finds inspiration in nature and a receding tide, using rocks that he finds, or raked sand, to turn the beaches of Wales into spectacular designs that are destined to be washed away.”

3. Thrift shopping: Fashion that’s more sustainable on CBS Sunday Morning. “Secondhand shopping, also known as upcycling, is one of fashion’s fastest-growing trends. Correspondent Serena Altschul looks at how getting new use from unwanted clothes is becoming a $35 billion market.”

4. Sweetest pittie gains foster kittens’ trust by letting them nurse on her from The Dodo, (video).

5. Christine and the Queens Opened Up About His New Pronouns and Expanded Artistic Moniker. “The artist will also release a new album in September.” His song Tilted is one of my favorites, all the various versions, including this from Better Things.

6. Living Myth Episode 293 – Thresholds of Change. (podcast) “On this in-depth episode, drawn from an event recording, Michael Meade suggests that because we live in a time of change, if we can allow ourselves to participate in the change, then we can find meaningful purpose that awakens the heart and leads us in the right direction in the world. The idea of a threshold is something that exists before one state and another, before one place and another. Most of us are collectively on that threshold betwixt and between the letting go of the old view of the world and the full stepping into the new world.”

7. Artist Penny Thomson on Instagram. This article about her showed up in my Facebook memories and I was surprised I hadn’t immediately followed her on Instagram — fixed! “Fish writhing through the ocean, colorful butterflies taking flight, and owls leaving their perch are a few of the creatures featured in Penny Thomson’s miniature ecosystems. The Sheffield-born artist deftly captures marine and land animals’ movement in her kinetic sculptures that operate with simple hand-cranks. Coated in moss, sprawling branches, and other foliage, the whimsical works are tiny renditions of their real-life counterparts.”

8. The Forgotten Story of Pixieland: The Oregon Coast Amusement Park. (video) “The Oregon coast was once home to an amusement park that promised to be the Pacific Northwest’s answer to Disneyland. Despite the talent and heart that went into its development, the park shut down within just a few years. This documentary tells the full story of the defunct Pixieland park, from its earliest inspiration to its long-lasting impact on the local community.”

9. Wisdom from Zoe Whittall on Twitter.

10. Wisdom from Thaís Sky on Twitter.

11. Masaka Kids Afrikana + Harry Styles = Joy. (video)

12. Ecosystems of Fungi and Coral Inhabit Vintage Books in Stéphanie Kilgast’s Intricate Sculptures.

13. Active Shooter, a heartbreaking nonfiction piece by Debby Thompson, one of my favorite dog humans.

14. The Most Heartbreaking Animal Deaths in Movies, Ranked. I can still remember being in a dark theater watching Eight Below when I realized what was going to happen (I didn’t know much about the story before seeing it) and losing it, swearing I’d never ever ever watch another movie if I knew something bad would happen to the dog. At that time the website Does The Dog Die didn’t exist, (“Crowdsourced emotional spoilers for movies, tv, books and more”).

15. The Top 5 True Crime Channels on Youtube.

16. Cheryl Strayed on the 1995 Pacific Crest Trail Thru-Hike That Changed Everything. “Ten years after the publication of ‘Wild,’ the beloved author shares her thoughts on the haters who thought she was unprepared, the transformative power of doing big things, and where Monster is now.”

17. I Went Viral On TikTok For Being Fat-Shamed — Here’s What I Learned From The Response. “My comments section confirmed this: It didn’t matter how much evidence they were given; it was almost as if thin people needed to believe that I was making this up. They had to know, beyond a doubt, that strangers were kind to them because they deserved it, rather than because of what their bodies looked like.”

18. Black Girl Songbook podcast from Danyel Smith: Donna Summer Deserves (Chapter 27).

19. Call your abandoned self home from Amy Oscar. “If I could offer you one piece of advice, it would be: Go and find the parts of yourself that you rejected as too fast, too loud, too quiet, too much, not enough, too big, too small, too young, too old, too … anything and call them home.”

20. Fried, The Burnout Podcast: Guided Meditation for Grounding, Filling up, and Protection. “Guided meditation is a great way to center yourself by reconnecting with your body and the Earth around you. Meditation provides a safe space for your body to heal and replenish itself while keeping your mind clear enough for you to receive messages from your heart. In this week’s #straightfromsarah episode, FRIED Burnout Coach Sarah Vosen guides listeners through a meditation for grounding, filling up the body with energy, and creating a protected space.”

21. How To Stop Waiting And How To Start Living from Andrea Gibson.

22. What Comes After Ambition? “Hustle culture is dead. Did American women’s drive go away, or has it morphed into something new—and maybe better?”

23. Do More Things That Make You Forget to Check Your Phone. “Here you’ll find six activities to help you do more things that make you forget to check your phone, and live a more present life.”

24. 5 Habits of the Happiest Women I Know. 

25. ‘I’m a Chef, and This Was by Far the Most Valuable Time-Saving Cooking Technique I Learned in Culinary School.’

26. Labor and wait from Austin Kleon.

27. All communication is lossy. “Adopting the mindset that lossiness is a fact of life has another benefit: that of beginning to see communication not as simply a transference but as a generative space. That is, we often think of communication as simply moving understanding from one place to another, the way we might move electrons from a substation to a home. This assumption is behind a lot of otherwise well-intentioned efforts to reduce or even eliminate synchronous communication, as it can seem wholly inefficient compared with other methods. But the best communication makes way for something new to emerge in the exchange. It’s not passive but generative, not mere delivery but a creative transformation.”

28. No Self, No Suffering on Lion’s Roar. “The Buddha made a big promise — that if we know the cause of suffering we can end it. Melvin McLeod breaks down the Buddha’s four noble truths — including his unique insight into the real cause of our suffering — and argues it’s not only the ultimate self-help formula, but the best guide to helping others and benefiting the world.”

29. #43. Magnolia tree flower (from my book, Goodbye, again). “And of course everything will not be fine. But I believe that what defines us, in part, are the things we draw ourselves to that make us believe that they might, for a brief moment, be okay.”

30. Breaking Is Part of Healing by adrienne maree brown.

31. The Bridge Project: Reframing the Prevailing American Narrative for 2052. “The Reframing the Prevailing American Narrative for 2052 report details the findings of over a year and half of research and analysis. We are sharing these findings with organizers, movement leaders, storytellers, and cultural influencers in the hope that you will help us imagine a future in which the prevalent story of American identity is untethered from white supremacy.”

32. In the Middle is a Pile of Words, on writing and grief.

33. Climate change, Covid, and the Arctic Refuge. “A first-person account of long-delayed, on-and-off-again rafting through arctic tundra during times of global and personal stress.”

34. Walking around Kamo-jinja Shrine and Keihoku-cho Area. (video) This creator has a whole collection of gorgeous videos on YouTube of scenic places in Japan. 

35. Animals Evolve into Islands Teeming With Coral, Succulents, and Tropical Fish in Hyperrealist Paintings by Lisa Ericson. Her work is so beautiful, joyful and gorgeous.