Day 24: seven things worth clicking on

Does it count as a post for NaBloPoMo if I do something lame like a list of links? hope so. I pre-wrote this for Friday since we'll be in Seattle, but then I didn't have time to write something for tomorrow. I'm confusing myself.

1. When I started this blog, one of my ideas for possible topics was dealing with aging parents. But I've been putting that one off because I don't have much experience with it. My dad passed away a few years ago after having been beautifully cared for by his wife; my mom is still alive and living independently. So I haven't (yet) had to deal with any of the major issues of aging parents. My dad and I weren't close, so I haven't even had to deal with the heartbreaking grief of losing a beloved parent.

But our very own DreaG, who comments often here, wrote a brilliant post with her thoughts after her father-in-law's funeral, which she used as a starting point for thinking about some other things that hadn't even occurred to me. Well worth reading, great thoughts on mid-life: Passing the Baton.

2. I've been reading Mary Stella's blog about her journey after gastric bypass surgery for a couple of years now, and her post last week about dealing with failure is a classic.

3. Here is a CNN story about what happened inside the Bataclan theater in Paris on Friday the 13th. Heartbreaking but manages still to be life affirming.

4. This one, from Buzzfeed, was all over social media this week, but if you haven't seen it yet, it's the best use of Twitter I think I've ever seen. When Brussels police asked Belgians to stay silent about any police activity they might see, Belgians responded by posting increasingly creative cat pictures instead. Love, love, love. (and here's another one)

5. John Shore on what he thinks about people who give up on Christianity:  "My point is that 99% of what’s wrong in this world is caused by people believing that it’s important they have an opinion on what other people are doing and thinking. Almost all conflict and strife, from the personal to the global, is caused by people’s crazy-ass need to tell other people how to live. What to believe in. What to think. What to feel. What to do. What to be."

6. A word-people grin from xkcd (make sure you hover your mouse over the comic to see the mouseover text--a staple of all xkcd comics).

7. Julie's blog is always worth clicking on, but I especially liked her post from last week How to Hear and See Joy: "Turns out, we’re all wrong. Constantly. And it makes not one damn bit of difference. In fact, it’s kinda helpful. To let go of that control and NEED is to let go of so very very much more."

We're all wrong. Constantly. love that.