Tag Archives: The Bloggess

Something Good

Bonus Something Good:  Writing And Me (Blog Hop), Justine’s response to the blog hop. I loved getting to hear more about her writing process, the why and the how of it.

1. The Above and Beyond Memorial at the National Veterans Art Museum, “an immense 10 x 40 foot sculpture…comprised of imprinted dog tags, one for each of the more than 58,000 service men and women who died in the Vietnam War.” Click the link to see it. It’s weirdly beautiful and utterly heartbreaking.

2. The Illusion of the Bottomless Pit from Rachel Cole.

3. A Non-Diet Diet: The Case for Eating Whatever You Want on New York Magazine.

4. I’m coming out of the closet from The Brand Alchemist, “I have depression…and I’m GRATEFUL for it.”

5. Ultra Small Bonsai Plants Give New Meaning to the Word Miniature on Colossal.

6. An updated Radical Self Love Manifesto from Gala Darling.

7. 21 Pictures Guaranteed to Make You Feel Better About Life from Pleated Jeans.

8. These 30 Dogs Were So Disgustingly Naughty That They Need Publicly Shamed. This Is Hysterical. on Viral Nova.

9. Japanese Artist Creates Incredible Stone Sculptures That Defy The Laws Of Physics on Bored Panda.

10. I’m a yogi on antidepressants and I’m cool with it on Rebelle Society, which says,

Yoga draws a lot of different types of people, and many of us are searching for a way to be okay. Yoga can be part of that solution; it can even be the whole thing. But if it’s not, then it’s not because you’re weak; it just means you need a few more members in your village.

11. An awesome site shared by The Bloggess, Put You In A Better Mood.

12. The Truth About Careers That Your Parents Didn’t Tell You, a guest post by Kate Swoboda on Create as Folk.

13. the secret life of a curvy girl, a beautiful story by a beautiful woman on Spirit Soul Earth.

14. 20 Questions — Soul-Style, with Rachel W. Cole on My Peace of Food.

15. A beautiful poem by William Stafford, The Way It Is, shared in Erin’s Body Happy newsletter, (you should sign up if you love poetry, she’s always reminding me of some of my favorites or sharing something new).

There’s a thread you follow. It goes among
things that change. But it doesn’t change.
People wonder about what you are pursuing.
You have to explain about the thread.
But it is hard for others to see.
While you hold it you can’t get lost.
Tragedies happen; people get hurt
or die; and you suffer and get old.
Nothing you do can stop time’s unfolding.
You don’t ever let go of the thread.

16. Don’t “write blog posts” or “launch products.” Create little miracles. from Alexandra Franzen.

17. Wisdom from Brave Girls Club,

One kind person can make such a difference. One compassionate hand placed on a hand in distress can make such a difference. One phone call, one thank-you note, one sweet text message can make every bit of difference. One job well done, one child rocked to sleep, one lunch packed, one single daisy given away can make such a difference.,/p>

One smile in the grocery store, one proclamation of forgiveness, one loaf of freshly baked bread, one handmade card, one offer to help can make such a huge difference.

It’s the little things, gorgeous friend, that make the heroes. It’s the one thing, after one thing, after one thing. It’s that one person who makes the difference. Be the one.

18. Mudita. The practice of sympathetic joy. on Superhero Life.

19. Wisdom from Tulku Thondup,

There are two crucial junctures of the day when meditation can be especially fruitful—when you are falling asleep and when you are waking up. At these times, the mind is in a transition state, and you are especially open to the power of healing. If you make a habit of experiencing peaceful feelings when the mind is naturally more open, the healing energies can take hold more deeply and firmly in your mind. Then, because you are cultivating this deeper level, it will be easier to develop a more open hearted attitude toward the rest of life. You can be more open to the experience of peace even as you are involved in your everyday activities.

20. Awakening, a blessing from Mara Glatzel.

21. And Then I Could Breathe Again on Painted Path.

22. Ordinary Moments from Jonathan Fields.

23. what’cha growin’? on Chookooloonks.

24. These 26 Baby Photos Are So Bad, They’re Good. LOL.

25. 5 Ways to Reclaim Your Mornings and Never Have Nothing to Wear Again on Be More With Less.

26. From Chookooloonks this was a good week list: a day on camp and The Grind.

27. Shared on SF Girl by Bay’s Friday Finds list, a beautiful Flickr set by Stefania Jane.

28. Grieving Goat Transforms After Sweet Reunion With His Best Friend.

29. 21 Girls Who Don’t Know What Eyebrows Are Supposed To Look Like. These are more scary than funny, unlike the baby eyebrows I shared on last week’s list. And I’d say there are 20 on this list, because I disagree with the inclusion of Amanda Palmer. She knows exactly what she’s doing.

30. a sweet list of things to remember on Rebelle Society.

31. Meet Millie, The Rock Climbing Adventure Cat Who Goes Camping With Her Human on Huffington Post.

 

Something Good

1. Oh, hell yes, from the Bloggess.

2. On Starting Over Again, from Lisa Congdon.

3. How Depression Serves Us on Elephant Journal.

4. I need to find a dance studio, stat: Watch this 2-year-old and her mom break it down to Beyonce on Hello Giggles.

5. You are not broken or in need of fixing, a beautiful poem on Many Voices, a Sounds True blog.

6. Wisdom from Thomas Merton,

To allow oneself to be carried away by a multitude of conflicting concerns, to surrender to too many demands, to commit to too many projects, to want to help everyone in everything is itself to succumb to the violence of our times. Frenzy destroys our inner capacity for peace. It destroys the fruitfulness of our work, because it kills the root of inner wisdom which makes work fruitful.

7. 12 Storytelling Podcasts That You Need to Be Listening To on BuzzFeed.

8. Who Sees The Real You? from Soul Pancake.

9. Kids on LOVE! from Soul Pancake.

10. Wisdom in the form of a poem by Hafiz,

We have not come here to take prisoners,
But to surrender ever more deeply
To freedom and joy.

We have not come into this exquisite world
To hold ourselves hostage from love.

Run my dear,
From anything
That may not strengthen
Your precious budding wings.

Run like hell my dear,
From anyone likely
To put a sharp knife
Into the sacred, tender vision
Of your beautiful heart.

We have a duty to befriend
Those aspects of obedience
That stand outside of our house
And shout to our reason
“O please, O please,
Come out and play.”

For we have not come here to take prisoners
Or to confine our wondrous spirits,

But to experience ever and more deeply
Our divine courage, freedom, and Light!


11. Shared by Positively Present Picks: Jerk Cats Knocking Stuff Over.

12. Brene’ Brown’s new ecourse, The Gifts of Imperfection.

13. Flying Takes Getting Used To, a poem from Ken Robert.

14. Little boxes on the hillside… home to 40,000 Buddhist monks: The stunning makeshift town that has sprung up around a Tibetan monastery.

15. Pema and Me and the Essence of Life on Huffington Post, in which Robin Amos Kahn says,

The essence of life is that it’s challenging. Sometimes it’s sweet and sometimes it’s bitter. Sometimes your body tenses, and sometimes it relaxes or opens. Sometimes you have a headache, and sometimes you feel 100 percent healthy. From an awakened perspective, trying to tie up all the loose ends and finally get it all together is death, because it involves rejecting a lot of your life experience. There is something aggressive about this approach to life, trying to flatten out all the rough spots and imperfections into a nice smooth ride.

all of life is to be embraced, that all experience is here to teach us important lessons, even the most painful ones, and all human beings struggle with this at some point in their lives — it is part of being alive and connected to each other.

16. This close, another beautiful post from Christina Rosalie.

17. your daily rock : trust your heart.

18. Joy Retreat, an upcoming offering from Cidgem Kobu that’s sure to be wonderful, (because everything she does is, she is).

19. 7 Things You Should Stop Expecting from Others on Marc and Angel Hack Life.

20. How to Wish Someone Well for Real in a Way that Will Blow Your Heart Wide Open from Danielle LaPorte.

21. Still Writing, a review of Dani Shapiro’s new book on A Design So Vast. I just started reading Dani’s book Devotion this weekend, and can’t wait for her latest. In Still Writing, Dani shares this quote,

The good writer seems to be writing about himself, but has his eye always on that thread of the Universe which runs through himself and all things. ~Ralph Waldo Emerson.

22. Wisdom on the Buddhist teaching of emptiness,

The actual teachings on emptiness imply an infinitely open space that allows for anything to appear, change, disappear, and reappear. The basic meaning of emptiness, in other words, is openness, or potential. At the basic level of our being, we are “empty” of definable characteristics.

23. Adorable Brothers and Best Friends: Baby and His Dog Share Strong Bond, cute pictures on Dog Heirs.

24. living ether, from Doorways Traveler.

25. How Sweet It Is, Kat McNally saying sweet things.

26. Wisdom from Tama J. Kieves,

When you’re tired, you don’t feel creative, hopeful, capable or blessed. You can’t touch the light or depths. Rest is the first step to flight. Our culture runs us ragged. Go against the grain. Don’t be so “productive.” Rest and let the sunshine break through the clouds in your soul.

27. 25 Examples Of Artistic Watercolor Tattoos from Bored Panda.

28. Go Outside: mini-mission from Be More With Less.

29. Danielle LaPorte: Living With Fire And Desire, an interview on Good Life Project.

30. Thank You from Mystic Vixen. *sob*

31. October Notes from Jeff Oaks.

32. Why Self-Compassion Helps You Meet Life’s Challenges on Psychology Today.

33. On Publication Day from Dani Shapiro.

34. This Is The Most Inspiring Yet Depressing Yet Hilarious Yet Horrifying Yet Heartwarming Grad Speech on Upworthy. Really, you should watch it — it’s awesome.

35. Is Disordered Eating The New Normal? on Do You Yoga.

36. A Note from the Universe, “Jill, you’ve done better than you know. You’ve helped more than you realize. And you’re closer than you think.”

37. Wisdom from Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estès,

Be wild; that is how to clear the river. The river does not flow in polluted, we manage that. The river does not dry up, we block it. If we want to allow it its freedom, we have to allow our ideational lives to be let loose, to stream, letting anything come, initially censoring nothing. That is creative life. It is made up of divine paradox. To create one must be willing to be stone stupid, to sit upon a throne on top of a jackass and spill rubies from one’s mouth. Then the river will flow, then we can stand in the stream of it raining down.

38. Wisdom from Pema Chödrön,

Basic wakefulness, natural openness, is always available. This openness is not something that needs to be manufactured. When we pause, when we touch the energy of the moment, when we slow down and allow a gap, self-existing openness comes to us. It does not require a particular effort. It is available anytime. As Chögyam Trungpa once remarked, “Openness is like the wind. If you open your doors and windows, it is bound to come in.”

39. Neglected Ducks Get Their First Swim on Elephant Journal. This is what real joy, true freedom looks like.

40. Rachel Cole on The Fulfilling Life an interview with Kelly J. Dahl.

41. A new post from Hyperbole and a Half: Menace.