34 Comments
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Stephanie C. Bell's avatar

Gorgeous, every inch of this. Thank you Lisa. Love the "not alone" painting on your wall. <3

Lisa Olivera's avatar

So glad it reached you, thank you 💛 the wall hanging is from Bread + Puppet Press, they're amazing.

Leanne Shirtliffe's avatar

Oh, yes. I, too, love fall and em-dashes. And I need to hear "It’s safe to soften. It’s safe to soften. It’s safe to soften." It's hard to soften sometimes, especially in this world which feels so hard sometimes. Thanks for the poetic reminder.

Lisa Olivera's avatar

I need it too 💛💛

Diana Lee's avatar

I needed it too. 💜💜💜

Raechel Anne Jolie's avatar

Well I just loved all this so much. Really feeling some parallels as a person who "hates summer" but also loves watching the green vegetable leaves grow/tries to stay present with the moments of beauty in it. Also working on my manuscript edits! It's a slog but also a gift! Thanks for such beautiful grounding, it was a great way to spend part of this Sunday. <3

Lisa Olivera's avatar

A slog and a gift, yes! Like summer, like so many things, it seems. Thank you for reading, for saying so 💛

John Palmerlee's avatar

I say, Thank You… to the real you, the em-dash (I agree) you, the changing you, the new and old you.

Cheers to us all… as we are, as we have been and as we (surprised) will be 🥰

Lisa Olivera's avatar

Thank you thank you, John, for your kind generosity always 💛

Chris La Tray's avatar

So much here to comment on but mostly I want to say I didn't know about the imminent circumstance of Joanna Macy's crossing over. She's one of the best.

I had copied the Macy quote from #18 then I read #20 and that pretty much put me on my heels. Miigwech. 💚

Lisa Olivera's avatar

She truly is one of the best -- I feel so connected to the wide wide web of people who have been moved by her. I think you share some of her essence, in some ways; always grateful for the gifts you share. Thank you 💛

Rebekah Taussig's avatar

Thank you for sharing all of these beautiful nuggets to ponder here, Lisa. The exchange you shared between A.J Muste and a reporter took my breath away. After I read it, I scrambled to find my notebook so I could write out each word. I'm holding onto this💛

Lisa Olivera's avatar

It touches me so much too -- such a profound reminder 💛

Thomas Lloyd Qualls's avatar

Beautiful and so true. Thank you.

Amy Brown's avatar

Lisa, oh how you touched my heart and spirit over and over again with these 20 things. Thank you! That song! Adding it to the monthly playlists I am creating each month this year for all the songs that come into my orbit. The new Ocean Vuong novel! Yes! My first read of the summer and it endures. The Carl Rodgers quote. And all of your beautiful reflections on lostness, finding patience for our eternal changing, every season of the year, of our lives. Joanna Macy—I listened to her On Being interview too. I am new to her work but so touched by all the love radiating towards her. 💗

Lisa Olivera's avatar

Ohh thank you for this reflection -- so very grateful it reached you in this way 💛

Karen H's avatar

Sitting with these also. Especially thankful for #10. I am in my selfie era, to remind myself that I am here. The many faces and looks of me. Doing my best to flow with life. Sending love out into the world because that is what I want to see when I look at the world. Connectedness.❤

Lisa Olivera's avatar

I love this 💛

Dave Karpowicz's avatar

Lisa Your honoring of the mix of thoughts passing through is impressive and encouraging. D

Lisa Olivera's avatar

Thank you for reading xx

Selene's avatar

Thank you 🩵 your words always soften something in me.

Lisa Olivera's avatar

So grateful 💛

Ruth Morata's avatar

All of it ❤️‍🩹🌿 Especially nr 8, taking in the drops of wonderfulness in the mundane... Thank you for touching our hearts

Lisa Olivera's avatar

Thank you for receiving 💛

Undistorted, Radical Clarity's avatar

Reading this list feels like opening a raw field report on being human right now—nothing polished, just the real mechanics of attention. What lands most for me is how each line exposes a single tension: the habit to accelerate versus the invitation to soften; the urge to pin down answers versus the usefulness of letting questions breathe. You’ve named twenty ways that battle shows up in an ordinary day, and you’ve kept the focus on practice instead of performance. That’s rare.

Joanna Macy’s reminder that “showing up” is the gift cuts through all of it. Presence isn’t passive; it’s the hardest discipline. Your list makes that plain—whether it’s tasting arugula or noticing a fear that finally lost its grip. Thanks for mapping those micro-moments; they give the rest of us a mirror for where we still rush, grasp, or resist.

Marisol Muñoz-Kiehne's avatar

Lisa’s lettuce, lines

food for soul, beyond the mind.

Links lead to gold mines.

Carmine Hazelwood's avatar

Thank you 🙏🏼 So much resonates here, I see myself in many ways, recognized with such gentleness and kindness. Compassion I rarely give to myself, but how we need it. x

Ash Story's avatar

Number 13 made me cry. The man holding the candle. I love this so much, thank you.