Olio: a miscellaneous collection of things Here are some items of interest I’ve found online recently. —– For data geeks, Minnesota Compass has created geographic profiles for Minnesota cities over 1,000 in population. —– From Unstuck: How to be a better complainer – As a bit of a contrarian, I am weary of the constant societal push for everyone to be positive all the time, like we’re never supposed to complain about life. This article…
Seriously, I just finished the best book on meditation I’ve ever read. It’s called “Secular Mediation: 32 Practices for Cultivating Inner Peace, Compassion, and Joy” by Rick Heller. It comes from the Humanist Community at Harvard University. What makes this book so good? It’s not airy-fairy, like other meditation books, where meditation leads to ineffable states. (The book explains it can lead to a sense of selflessness, but only after many years of practice, and…
The unfathomable has happened. I am bookless. I don’t think I’ve been bookless since I was in elementary school. Once I finally got the hang of reading (I was a late reader, having caused first grade teachers some distress with my lack of literary ability) and had a library card, I was never without a stack of books to read by my bedside. Even though people told me that college would ruin me for reading,…