Friday Menagerie: Collection #9

The â€œFriday Menagerieâ€ is a handful of links & tweets & other goodnesses from around the web that I gather throughout the week and then corral into a post. Stuff I loved, found fascinating, got a kick out of, etc. Please to enjoy!

Of summers past: Me, center, snorkling with my brothers (ca. 1999)

Does That Make Me Linky? Possibly.

When faced with a tough decision, Gretchen Rubin suggests using her “Five Fateful Questions” to help you decide: [1] What am I waiting for? [2] What would I do if I weren’t scared? [3] What steps would make things easier? [4] What would I do if I had all the time and money in the world? and [5] What is the worse, and the best, that could happen? (A note from my past two days’ experience: these questions make fantastic journaling prompts too.)
There’s a lot of talk about boundaries, and about being clear about your own wants. But being aware of your boundaries, sensitivities and needs is very different than unbendingly adhering to or presuming entitlement to any of them. Danielle LaPorte counsels that “[s]ometimes, the most enlightened, classy, and loving thing you can do is shut up and put up. … You suspend being right, or more evolved, or protected, and you intend loving equanimity – because you can.” White hot truth, indeed.
Do you ever wonder why it seems like certain writers are saying the same thing over and over again? The reason’s simple: they probably are. And that’s not necessarily a bad thing. In fact, done appropriately, it can be a very smart and effective approach. Mark Silver explores the notion of writing a lot when there isn’t that much “new” to say, complete with actual book and author examples.
The topic of children–of having or not having them, wanting or not wanting them, and all tangential topics that entails–is generally an emotionally loaded one. Havi Brooks wrote an article about her own relationship to and experience with that topic–but she did it using the metaphor of moving to Bolivia. The technique stripped out a lot of the emotional landmines that often make talking about the topic so difficult (especially between people who exist on opposite sides of the metaphorical Bolivian border) without sacrificing many of the nuances. Great article, and intriguing presentation of the idea.

Crazy Little Thing Called Tweet

I bet many of the best life-altering epiphanies have been accompanied by the words “Well, fuck.” @kyeli
Being intrigued by someone is quite different from being intrigued by the idea of someone. @the_turtle
The worst thing that can happen in biz is… nobody cares. Be real enough to provoke a response. @jonathanfields
We spend 99% of our emotions on the 1% of people that don’t deserve it. Honor the ones that do. @unmarketing
You are bigger than your j-o-b, your database, your disappointments. @DanielleLaPorte
I get all excited when I check Facebook & see one of my friends has a panda for sale. It always turns out to be a crappy game, but I hold out hope. @crispycracka
You know what I love? No matter how debauched a conversation gets, someone always mentions cupcakes. @NaomiDunford

This Week’s Jukebox: Crazy Edition

You can visit the Friday Menagerie Jukebox playlist anytime, all week long!
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01. Crazy by Gnarls Barkley