I have a practice of curating cool things that I share with friends…and (#coincidence?) this post from last week made me think about that practice in a different way. Austin Kleon writes an amazing weekly “newsletter” to send curated stuff he loves to people he knows… but more importantly, to people he wants to know.

I’ve been pondering how to use this website to best serve the people I know (and the people I want to know!) … and I think Austin Kleon just gave me the answer.

So here goes! 

My first “letter” to you… a short list of cool stuff that a pediatric surgeon/almost pastor who loves cooking and art (especially writing) thinks approaches “astonishing” (or at least really interesting) and is therefore worth sharing. 

Is it Church or church? I’m about to be ordained in the United Church of Christ. I know that surprises you… it kind of surprises me, too, to be honest. But I have come to understand that this is an unexpected extension of my life’s work as a healer… and that church (the place) is really about community (which includes the messiness of being human) while Church is about possibilities. There is something about it that also feels like an act of resistance against a tide of not-love. I’m still figuring it out. 

Frogs in Portland. Speaking of resistance… What a statement that Amazon is struggling to keep up with orders for inflatable frog costumes! Although inflatable animal costumes aren’t listed specifically, this kind of protest (mockery and humor) is one of the three ways to undermine autocracy that Nicolas Kristoff describes in this column. (The other two are 1) point out corruption and excess (like massive ballrooms and gold toilets?), and 2) tell individual stories more than making appeals for the principles of democracy.)

Air fryer Okra. If you hate okra this might make you reconsider. No slime, great taste, in a super healthy popcorn-like snack (1lb of okra makes a good snack size bowl for two and has 150 calories, 7.5gm protein, and 14 gm fiber). Add some cumin, garlic powder, or any other spice(s) if you want.

Also Accidental by Ellen C. Bush  This poem made me remember and wonder… How many times did I lose count of stitches I placed (or more likely never counted in the first place)? It always seemed to be the first question from my patient (or their parents) once the drapes were off and the dressing placed… “How many stitches did I need, doc?”. What a beautiful reminder that these moments disappear for the sewer, but not those we treat … thanks to a scar (and sometimes a tiny piece of glass left under the skin). 

About Blessings (which we need more of IMHO). “A blessing is a form of spoken poetry about the divine. It’s an incredibly positive form of speech, but it’s not simply “reframing.” (We don’t need to say, Oh, never mind. Tragedy is great! I love it. This is my new mind-set practice!) We might use blessing as a kind of act that scholar Stephen Chapman calls “emplacement.” Calling something blessed can let us say: This goes here, that goes there. This is beautiful. This is awful. And all of it can be called true.”  Kate Bowler in The Book of Alchemy: A Creative Practice for an Inspired Life by Suleika Jaouad