“The top environmental problems are selfishness, greed and apathy – & to deal with these we need a spiritual and cultural transformation”
– Gus Speth
We Need A Spiritual and Cultural Transformation
Dysfunctional / Characters / Claymen
These Claymen sculptures by Aman Khanna are making my heart sing.
Genuine Connection is Ease
“The truth is — genuine connection is ease. It is peace. When you find it you will know. You will feel seen, you will feel like you are being mirrored back to yourself, like you are discovering the shadow of your own heart in another human being.
Slowly, through loving the right people, you will come to realize that the human beings who are meant for you in this world will not exhaust you, or hollow you out, or leave you feeling like you are hard to love. Slowly, you will come to realize that you do not have to romanticize the things in this life that hurt. You do not have to run towards the fire. Love does not have to feel like a fight, does not have to feel like battle, does not have to wound.
Slowly, you will learn how to lay down your arms. How to walk away from those who will only ever love you in halves. Slowly, you will learn that you cannot love someone into loving you, or being ready, if they are not. You cannot love someone into their potential. You cannot close their hands around your heart if they are not willing to hold it themselves. You have to let them go. You have to focus on the people in your life who bring you back home to yourself. You have to focus on standing up for that kind of connection, on honoring that calm, because it exists. It exists.
And I hope you learn to trust that, because when you come across it, when you ultimately experience it, it feels as if you are standing at a door you finally have the keys for. You enter it with ease. There is no fumbling through your jacket pocket trying to find the right way in. There is no desperately reaching into your bag trying to uncover the point of access. You are no longer banging your fists against the door, asking to be invited in. You walk through. Soundlessly. Softly. Relief washes over you. You take off your shoes. You hang your coat in the closet. You put on a pot of coffee. You’re home. You’re home.”
Everyone’s Upstairs Neighbors
This is funny.
If It’s Right…
“If it is right, it happens –
The main thing is not to hurry.
Nothing good gets away.”
– John Steinbeck
Unreasonable Hospitality
“You have to be unreasonable to see the world that doesn’t yet exist!”
– Will Guidara
Happy Medium Events
Happy Medium is an NYC events series designed for the adult beginner who wants to have fun creating instead of consuming for a few hours with zero expectation of being “good enough.”
I love this so much I might burst!
“The Good News” by Thich Nhat Hanh
They don’t publish
the good news.
The good news is published
by us.
We have a special edition every moment,
and we need you to read it.
The good news is that you are alive,
and the linden tree is still there,
standing firm in the harsh Winter.
The good news is that you have wonderful eyes
to touch the blue sky.
The good news is that your child is there before you,
and your arms are available:
hugging is possible.
They only print what is wrong.
Look at each of our special editions.
We always offer the things that are not wrong.
We want you to benefit from them
and help protect them.
The dandelion is there by the sidewalk,
smiling its wondrous smile,
singing the song of eternity.
Listen! You have ears that can hear it.
Bow your head.
Listen to it.
Leave behind the world of sorrow
and preoccupation
and get free.
The latest good news
is that you can do it.
– Thich Nhat Hanh
Link Pack
I have recently discovered Sunday Service Choir and am deeply moved by their music. I am not religious but appreciate their music from an energetic point of view. I listen to it on my walk to work and I can tell how I am all high-vibes once I make it to my office. I consider it my walking meditation.
– These Cooling Eye Pads made me laugh out loud. Also come in rainbow.
– Colormoods.co is a color generator suggesting pairs of colors based on the amount of stimulation you desire. Think of stimulation as the effect or mood a color combination can create, ranging from sleep coma to hyper excitement.
– Weston Lambert makes beautiful glass/stone sculptures. Want.
– Cloud Berries? What?
– Why does time move forward but not backward? Physicist Sabine Hossenfelder explains. The physics of time, entropy, and death
– This underground library is making me swoon.
– Positive News. Delivered to your door.
– Well worth a listen: Dachner Keltner on while we all need daily doses of awe
– A Notion Habit Tracker. Intrigued.
– Trying Patch. Love it. (via)
– How to repair a broken Zipper
– I love the internet. So much.
– Your breathing is an operating manual for your nervous system.
– Whoa! How well can Magnus Carlsen identify chess positions?
– Instagram was bombarding me with ads for this entryway rack. Eventually I broke down. I love it. It’s well made and holds a ton of shoes. Ok, Instagram, you win.
– One day I will own one of these bear shaped cotton throws by Donna Wilson. They make me giggle.
– What makes a relationship flourish? Love the answer Yung Pueblo shared.
– 1K Project is a “not-for-profit collective focused on directly connecting sponsors in the USA and around the world to help Ukrainian families impacted by the senseless and inhumane war”. You give $1000 as a direct relief to a family in the Ukraine which in turn sends a picture, a brief story and a ‘thank you’ note. According to the site, more than $10.7M (going to roughly 11,000 families) has been given already. Tax deductible for US taxpayers. (via)
Play
“Play is the ultimate expression of freedom for its own sake.”
– David Graeber
The Future Will be Shaped by Optimists
“Every great and difficult thing has required a strong sense of optimism,” says editor and author Kevin Kelly, who believes that we have a moral obligation to be optimistic.
The Kindest People
“The kindest people are not born that way, they are made. They are the sounds that have experienced so much at the hands of life, they are the ones who have dug themselves out of the dark, who have fought to turn every loss into a lesson. The kindest people do not just exist – they choose to soften where circumstance has tried to harden them, they choose to believe in goodness, because they have seen firsthand why compassion is so necessary. They have seen firsthand why tenderness is so important in this world.”
– Bianca Sparacino
Love Bianca’s writing? Follow her on Instagram and check out her book A Gentle Reminder.
Update: Resurfacing this post from 2021 as I keep coming back to it. Good reminder.
Felipe Pantone
Subtractive Variability Dimensional 2 from Felipe Pantone on Vimeo.
Completely enamored with Felipe Pantones‘ works of art.
Hours Pass Like Minutes
“What did you do as a child that made the hours pass like minutes?”
– Carl Jung
Reverse Waterfall
Photographer RJ Hooper captured the rare phenomenon of a reverse waterfall in Ivins, Utah. There’s a metaphor in here, isn’t there?
Laundry Buddies
These laundry buddies made me laugh. (They supposedly remove pet hair and lint from your laundry.)
Not Knowing
“Letting there be room for not knowing is the most important thing of all. When there’s a big disappointment, we don’t know if that’s the end of the story. It may just be the beginning of a great adventure. Life is like that. We don’t know anything. We call something bad; we call it good. But really we just don’t know. ”
– Pema Chödrön
WaterLight
This is WaterLight, a device that provides electrical power using only salt water. 45 days of light with half a liter of seawater. This is incredible!
Eye Contact
“Eye contact: how souls catch fire.”
— Yahia Lababidi
Two Years of No Alcohol
Today marks two years of not drinking.
A few things I noticed:
– our society revolves around drinking
– not enough bars and restaurants offer non-alcoholic beers or mocktails
– being fully present is a gift
– sleeping well is a game changer
– sitting with your feelings instead of numbing them is a journey
– some people get triggered when they hear I don’t drink. I had to learn its not my job to make them feel comfortable.
– sober dating is different. Still getting used to it.
– I sometimes miss enjoying a glass of wine with friends. Its ok.
– the addiction will try to find other outlets (overworking, shopping, sport….)
– grateful for friends and family who support and respect my decision
Happy my two year non-drinking anniversary to you!
Safe Place / Biggest Adventure
I love love love the words shared on this post by Rainbowsalt.
Tell Me About Your Weirdest First Date!
What's the weirdest (good or bad) 1st date you've ever been on?
My date & I sat in a NYC bar on 12/31 and noticed people ringing a doorbell. So we did the same and crashed a strangers party. Upon entering I hear him say "She is cute". I play wing woman. They dated for 3 years. pic.twitter.com/eF3BR0FxP6
— Tina Roth Eisenberg (@swissmiss) February 15, 2023
Dear readers, will you share your weirdest / funnest 1st date stories?