Links Worth Clicking

One thing I gave up when I cut my Facebook time to five minutes a day is sharing links. I can't just throw a link on my wall and walk away because I know what can happen in the comments. So, I'm not so much sharing there. Still, though, I read things I want to tell about...

Here are a few links I've bumped into recently. Maybe they'll interest you, too?

Distracting Ourselves to Death

This one starts with a general bash on TV, which is always hard to swallow in this house because, well, TV pays for the house;-). But once I pressed past that, it's a very good read on a question worth pondering, praying upon, and adjusting one's planner to answer: "To be or not to be. That is the question. To be alive to the goodness, truth and beauty which surrounds us, or not to be alive to it. To delight in the presence of Creation so that we might dilate into the presence of the Creator or to distract ourselves to death."

To  death. I think we might literally be distracting ourselves to death. First the soul slowly closes upon itself and then general inertia sets in. Slowly, we die.

You Don’t Need "Meternity" Leave to Be Happy—You Just Need to Love Someone Else More Than Yourself

"But the personal growth that results from motherhood isn’t a result of this self-care, as important as it may be. No, what transforms women into mothers isn’t self-care—it’s self-sacrifice.

On the surface, this seems utterly strange. How can focusing so intensely on the needs of someone else have such a transformative effect? How can spending so much time serving another person have the end result of making me more fully me?"

Because Life Doesn't give Do-Overs

I've been thinking A LOT about choices we make, particularly choices to do or not to do something. The research in this post fascinated me and I was particularly taken by the author's Portland anecdote. 

"We regret not acting when we had the chance, or we regret waiting too long. We regret not reaching out to a sibling, not pursuing that master’s degree, or not standing up to a bully at work. We don’t have as many regrets about the things we chose to do. Our actions usually become things that were meant to be, and even our poor choices teach us something. "

25 Books To Read When You Feel The World is Falling Apart

The first two books on this list are books we are reading this summer and I was commenting to a friend recently that they seem so perfect for these times. Clearly, I'm not alone. Anne has some great suggestions here. "Some of these works are precise depictions of realities as it stands; some are aimed for the heart. Some are calls to action. Some are hopeful, inspiring, redemptive—highlighting the glimmers of good in desperate, devastating situations."

Serving Without Resentment

Oh, Sally. Sometimes--lots of times--you read my mind and know exactly what to say.

"Over and over again through the years, my children have needed me, my love, my comfort, my time, my serving them–ONE MORE TIME. Yet, I have realized that there has never been, through all of my seasons as a mom, an end to their needs."