What’s Inspiring Me: Fall 2023
This is an excerpt from my November 2023 newsletter where I shared some of the books & media that have been inspiring me this Fall. Sign up here to get on my newsletter list.
Reading
I've been watching the events in the Middle East unfold, eyes covered by my hands and peeking through my fingers with a heavy heart. One thing that has brought me solace is revisiting the book, See No Stranger: A Memoir and Manifesto of Revolutionary Love by Valerie Kaur. Valerie's book was written in the shadow of 9/11 amidst the backlash against the Sikh community. Valerie calls on us to use revolutionary love to, "see no stranger but instead look at others and say: You are part of me I do not yet know. Starting from that place of wonder, the world begins to change: It is a practice that can transform a relationship, a community, a culture, even a nation." It is a soothing balm of a book.
I love this article by Sophie Strand, "Dear Patient, On a Scale of 1 to 10 How Much Joy Do You Feel in Your Body?" Sophie speaks from personal experience about the dehumanizing impacts of the current Western medical system. She unpacks the nocebo effect and reminds us that there is a different way to treat illness. This quote she shares from a friend reminded me of aging and how we can both experience pain and decreased range of motion AND still be joyful. “I think health isn’t about being healthy or pain-free. It’s about the amount of joy I can feel in my body and in my life.”
Watching
If you're looking for a show that is entertaining, informative, and thought-provoking, I can't recommend America Outdoors with Baratunde Thurston highly enough! It's on PBS and the 2nd season is being released now. Baratunde visits beautiful spots in nature, meets new people, and encourages viewers to get outdoors, even if it's just to a neighborhood park. He really understands the health benefits of nature and issues of access. (There is also a great conversation with Baratunde on House Calls with Dr. Vivek Murthy.)
I saw mythologist Michael Meade speak live right before the pandemic closed events down, but he moved his talks online and I watched many of them throughout the pandemic. In this clip, Grief is an Ocean, from a recent talk, he shares ways to move through grief.
I may have shared this with you before, but it's worth revisiting! The Monterey Bay Aquarium in CA has a live jellyfish cam that you can watch on youtube, accompanied by ambient music. Whenever I need a break but can't leave my computer, I like to put it on and take a few deep breaths while watching the jellyfish and remembering that my respiratory diaphragm moves like a jellyfish with each of my breaths.
Listening
I've been listening to Hymn of Healing by Beautiful Chorus on repeat. Sometimes I wake up singing it in my head!
I was just introduced to this 15-year old On Being podcast interview Matthew Sanford. Matthew wrote a book called Waking about his experience. His book inspired me when I first read it to consider that my wounds also included gifts that I wouldn't have if I hadn't been wounded. In this interview they chat a bit about his history, the car accident when he was a boy that caused his injury and his unique experience of mind-body connection. Matthew isn't just a yoga practitioner, he is a renowned yoga teacher. A good reminder that ALL BODIES are yoga bodies.
And I may have saved my favorite for last. The For the Wild interview with Andrea Gibson was heartbreaking and soothing and gave me much to think about. As a young person with a terminal cancer diagnosis, Andrea is uniquely suited to speak about coming to grips with death. "What is there to be gained from the wounds of life, from loss, from our own mortality? These questions guide this emotional and heartfelt conversation. Hard things will happen in life, yes, but when we leave behind the impulse to control, we can learn so much from simply being. Andrea’s openness about their diagnosis and emotional journey, brings depth and emotion to the conversation. Through poem and spirituality, Andrea draws us to see the beauty in being alive in this particular life, in our particular bodies, at this particular time."