Kindness (Ben Glover)

Life is better, thanksforasking!  I woke up yesterday morning with a skip in my step, a lilt in my voice, and a desire to re-engage with the world.  Had some great phone conversations, accomplished some minor but fulfilling tasks that had been weighing on me, made a delicious vegan lasagna-ish dish, participated in a great discussion with a few friends re: body image, which led me to choose my next book, Hunger by Roxane Gay (see below).  Saw an interview with Sarah Paulson, and will toe-dip into Mrs. America, her new series on Hulu (right up my feminist alley...  :-)

[2:00 p.m., edited to add:  spent some time online with my dear friend Brian earlier today, who fixed my laptop sound issues, which had made Zoom a plague rather than a pleasure.  Back in business to chat with friends.  Thanks and love, BLW... 😍 ]

As is tradition, five items below of beauty, interest, and humor to brighten your day/weekend/week.  Enjoy!  


~ Whole 60:  The Laura Lippman plan requires that you eat whatever you want whenever you want to eat it, and declare yourself beautiful. We’re not going to lie — it’s really hard. (thanks to Judi for alerting me to this amazing article!)


~ Louvre virtual tour


~ By the Book:  Writers on literature and the literary life.


~ The Radical Quilting of Rosie Lee Tompkins:  A triumphal retrospective at the Berkeley Art Museum confirms her standing as one of the great American artists — transcending craft, challenging painting and reshaping the canon.


~ Hamilton's Secret Character: How Death Appears Throughout The Show:  A member of Hamilton's ensemble plays a character called "The Bullet," who represents death gunning for Hamilton and the other characters.  (thanks again goes to Judi.  I didn't know this!  Did you know this?!?)



SONG:  Kindness by Ben Glover (thanks to Amy Speace for the heads-up on this song; she performed it for the Camp Jews Don't Camp virtual Kerrville campfire, and I was immediately hooked... 💖)

BOOK:  Hunger: A Memoir of (My) Body by Roxane Gay

POEM:  Flower Song / Flor y Canto by Francisco X. Alarcón

every tree
a brother
every hill
a pyramid
a holy spot

every valley
a poem
in xochitl
in cuicatl
flower and song

every cloud
a prayer
every rain
drop
a miracle

every body
a seashore
a memory 
at once lost
and found.

we all together—
fireflies
in the night
dreaming up
the cosmos


cada árbol
un hermano
cada monte
una pirámide
un oratorio

cada valle
un poema
in xochitl
in cuicatl
flor y canto

cada nube
una plegaria
cada gota
de lluvia
un milagro

cada cuerpo
una orilla
al mar
un olvido
encontrado

todos juntos—
luciérnagas
de la noche
soñando
el cosmos

QUOTE:  "A good way to become more fearless is to cultivate tenderness. As you expand your capacity to feel compassionate affection, you have less to be
afraid of.  That's the opposite of conventional wisdom, which says you become brave by toughening up, by reinforcing your psychic armor." ~ Rob Brezsny