One of the very best views of the New Year we’ve seen is from Lebanese-American poet and artist, Etel Adnan. Shortly after we read it, this poem* from the great 13th century Chinese poet, Stonehouse jumped into our hands. Amidst darkness that seems so pervasive, they gave just the reminder we needed.
Read MoreOdes to Joy in Days of Darkness
Bach’s Ode to Joy got us thinking about how JOY works when when life throws in a giant monkey wrench and we find ourselves navigating darkness we never imagined…,
Read MoreHow to Socialize in the Cold + Richard Johnson’s Ice Huts
With winter fiercely, the covid-mandated necessity to socialize outdoors is challenging for those of us who live in cold regions or are simply cold-sensitive. So I’ve hunted down advice about how to hang out outside, whether at a restaurant or on a park bench or in an ice hut if you happen to have one.
Read MoreHow to Give Thanks Anyway (Melanie Beatty, Bob Dylan, Gary Snyder, Pablo Neruda…)
Many months after coronavirus radically changed our world, we don’t know anybody that is not having a difficult time. We turn to the greatest balancing mechanism we’ve found to find out way back to fullness, “enough”, clarity, joy.
Read MoreWhy Walk in Hard Times (Rilke)
We take a walk daily because it never fails to refresh our thinking, change our view of things, calm us. Especially, in these most stressful times. It is perhaps our most powerful medicine. Walking, we find our mind shifting, ideas sparking, problems beginning to yield in ways we never expect. Rilke nailed it in A Walk:…
Read MoreA Body Language Vaccine for Stress and Overwhelm (S.B. Dworski)
Since the convergence of Covid-19 and the run-up to the election, I’ve been increasingly bombarded with homemade mini zeitgeist-videos expressing the pent-up emotions we’re all sharing during this rocky time. The best of these I forward to good friends; mostly, I enjoy a good chuckle, then hit delete. I’ve kept this one on my desktop,…
Read MoreYayoi Kusama’s Reflections on the Year 2020
Early on in the pandemic, Yayoi Kusama sent out a defiant message “to the whole world”. We found it deeply heartening in the face of the very dark time. Recently, she shared this affirming message with her reflections on the year 2020…
Read More“You Are Made by All the Hands that Touch You” (Elisa Moro)
Amid the subtle hues of black in the negative images of Elisa Moro’s photographs, only hands are in positive gray tones. “You are made of all the hands that have touched you” points to one of the great absences caused by the pandemic, and raises a compelling question…
Read MoreOver-Glasses Sunglasses for Instant RX Sunglasses and Virus Protection
I first became enamored of sunglasses worn OVER prescription glasses when I saw my friend Fran Black* wearing a pair; I suddenly noticed that there was a pair of glasses underneath her sunglasses. That’s just what I need, I thought, so I hunted a pair down. They made my life way easier. I didn’t have…
Read MoreYoko Ono’s Instruction For Navigating Our Changed Lives
In advance of reopening after months of coronavirus lockdown, the Metropolitan Museum of Art posted words by Yoko Ono on its facade. She created them in response to Covid-19 as an essential instruction.
Read MoreA Young Poet’s Fierce Wisdom on Navigating Darkness
Indigo Girls’ Amy Ray and Emily Saliers put their finger on what makes poet/rapper Kae Tempest so unique: “…their willingness to love humanity through the darkness makes me hopeful”. That comes through powerfully in these two spoken word pieces and this short powerful interview. Words to live by.
Read MoreHow to Dispel Worry (Mary Oliver)
Worry and overwhelm are common emotions these days. This morning, we found two simple things that shifted us out of them.
Read MorePowerful Scientific Imaging Shows Why Masks Work
This remarkable video captures what is normally invisible to our eyes — how masks work to slow airborne infection carried on our breath — and resolves much conflicting information about them. Essential viewing for those that wear them and those that don’t.
Read MoreRisk Equivalents of Common Activities (Roz Chast)
At the New Yorker, cartoonist Roz Chast takes on the kind of equation we are seeing everywhere, of “experts” assessing the level of risk in commonly enjoyed activities of human existence.
Read More‘The Pandemic is a Portal’ Arundhati Roy
In this short, potent video, Arundhati Roy reads from her essay “The Pandemic is a Portal” It is at once a question to hold in mind, an invitation, and a call to arms.
Read MoreHow We Manage Our Distracted Mindset and Get Working
We’ve heard a lot of people complaining about the strangely distracted mindset caused by the limbo of Coronavirus. Here’s a way we’ve found to manage it.
Read MoreNature’s Ascent: An Opera Plays to an Audience of Plants, Penguins Visit Museums…
Among the many challenges the lockdown has brought, the ascent of nature has been among the unexpected gifts. Cultural institutions are embracing that view to shift and refresh their locked-down patrons.
Read MoreSeamus Heaney On Suffering, Self-healing, and Hope for a Great Sea Change
This Seamus Heaney poem from “The Cure at Troy” resonates POWERFULLY in this time of extraordinary social upheaval as though it was written yesterday, and lends hope to our sea change.
Read MoreProtective Face Masks Get Stylish
Now that it has sunk in that mandatory wearing of masks will be with us for some time, masks are moving beyond surgical and bandana-ish into serious style and design. Check THESE out.
Read MoreAtul Gawande’s Solid Science: 5 Keys to Lifting Lockdown
Amidst contradictory guidance from the government, we’re putting our faith in wiseman physician Atul Gawande’s carefully-reasoned approach.
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