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Stuff to Feel Good About!

A collection of 22 issues

Two Things We Can Do to Strengthen Democracy Today

A few insights to set the mood: "The only recognizable feature of hope is action." Grace Paley, short story writer. "What if the mightiest word is love?" Elizabeth Alexander, a poet who once taught at the University of Chicago, where she met a community organizer who

How to Find Comfort in a Discomforting Season

When my Mum was diagnosed with cancer, lentil soup showed up on her porch. Friends picked her bouquets from their gardens, baked her bread from their sourdough starter, sent letters quoting Rumi and Wendell Berry, which she perched on her windowsills. And my mother whose spine was straight and fierce

Where the Saviors Are

"K-I-D!" Coach Murphy bellowed from the pool deck at swim meets when I would ask him how our team was doing. "Don't WASTE my time with that. Go swim your heart out and get me a BETTER score." So I'd refasten my

Ways to Win the Day Right Now

When I drove by the assisted living facility on a cold, lightless February day, a group of residents, some in wheelchairs, some with walkers, were posted on the corner waving homemade signs: "HONK FOR PEACE!" The word win comes in part from the Old English winnan meaning to

How to Stop Giving the Powerful More Power + Build Up Our Own Instead

Years ago, I knew a woman who worked at a muscle magazine. She told me that before photoshoots, some bodybuilders would inject a kind of filler into their muscles to temporarily make them look bigger. It's very dangerous, and very effective. It creates the appearance of strength, though

How to Meet the Chaotic Moment with Greatheartedness

Most winter Mondays, I pull into the gym parking lot a little before 5pm, grab my sneaks, and hoof it through the cold towards the glowing outdoor light by the entrance. This past Monday, though, there was no glowing outdoor light. Which was the first time I'd noticed

A Gentle Guide For Hard Times

This is a noisy season, isn't it? Rapidly accumulating headlines on top of posts on top of podcasts on top of people at the gym saying, "Can you believe that they're going to..." We couldn't be blamed in this young year for

Things to Be Hopeful About in 2025

"You are brilliant and the earth is hiring," environmentalist Paul Hawken once wrote for a commencement address. And it's not just the earth who's hiring. Kindness, justice, gentleness all have many, many openings, too. But first, we need a bit of hope, don'

Preparing for the Road Ahead

On a bitter January DC day in 2009, Congressman John Lewis approaches Barack Obama, who moments ago was sworn in as President. The Congressman holds out a commemorative photo to the new President. Would you sign this? he asks. The President autographs the photo. First, though, he writes four words:

A Post-Election Love Letter for You

"I know there are a bunch of you whose work lives have been turned upside down in the last week, and I'm sorry," the Senate staffer wrote to anyone who cared to read. The staffer's world had been upended a decade ago when the