sunday saves | 6.23.24
A weekly catalog of things that brought me joy, resonated, made me mad, or caused me to think
I finally watched The Eras Tour Concert Film last Sunday, and I’ve thought about it every single day since.
I knew I would really enjoy this film, but I did not expect to lovelovelove it like I did — even though I am such a fan of Taylor Swift. The concert film was beautiful and fun, and chock full of grace and generosity and humor. It also kept my attention for the entire 2.75 hours with no problem.
I waited eight months to see the film — mostly because we were taking a break from our subscription to Disney+ to catch up on things offered by other streaming services — and it was totally worth the wait. I enjoyed every era of the show and every genre Taylor explores, but the third era — evermore — was my hands-down favorite. It’s an album I didn’t expect to love to the degree that I do, and seeing her performances of the few songs she chose to represent were such highlights for me — both visually and musically.
The movie and Taylor’s genius songwriting abilities have stayed with me all week. Bringing joy, resonating so much, and even making me think about so much!
Photographer Captures Once-in-a-Lifetime Shots of a Fish Trapped Inside a Jellyfish
“Even more unusual is that, according to Samuel, the trapped fish was able to control where the jellyfish moved, like some sort of twisted version of a living and breathing submarine.”
I mentioned last week that my husband and I recently celebrated our fifteenth wedding anniversary. Fifteen years! Somehow that seems like such a long time. But it also feels like he’s been a constant in my life for much longer than the sixteen years I’ve known him.
On this subject, I’ve been thinking about this from Russell Moore, from his recent newsletter celebrating 30 years of marriage to his wife Maria — specifically these words —
What I really would not have predicted, though, is how—just like the story of Ruth—so much of our story would be made up not in those “big” moments but in the very small, ordinary ones…
All of that comes about in each of our lives through lots of little decisions that ripple out in ways we can’t see. Every once in a while, though, we can look back and see some words—like I do—that were the right words to the right person—words that we can only explain by grace.
I’m so grateful for all of my moments with my husband — big and small — and for the words we spoke to each other and the promises we made to each other, on that rainy June day in 2009.
I loved digging into this article and graphic about what language each country’s capital city wants to learn. The article details some of the surprises found in the research, and also makes distinctions amongst different generational interests, too.
I used to nap often but it’s been quite some time since I’ve taken one. I often start the day thinking, “today will be a nap day”, but I’m usually able to go without (unless I have a really bad migraine). But as a former napper, this article about how to take the perfect nap caught my eye and I’m sure I’ll refer back to it if I get to the point where I want to make naps a more regular part of my routine.
THIS from Further and Trudi Roth on aging! What a great article (with so many rabbit holes for me to go down!), but these two thoughts resonated most with me and gave me so much to think about:
…there’s scientific evidence that negative beliefs about getting older make them a self-fulfilling prophecy, with higher rates of memory loss, hearing impairment, and cardiovascular issues. Conversely, those with positive beliefs enjoy better health and increased longevity of up to seven and a half years…
The beauty of a mindful approach is that it welcomes self-compassion and allows you to approach your changing body and circumstances with an opening and accepting beginner’s mind. Turns out Mark Twain was right when he said, “Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter”.
I’ve been subscribed to, reading (and learning from ) Further — a weekly personal growth newsletter aimed at Generation X — from Brian Clark for at least five years. I highly recommend it!
With our recent move to Chicago — we moved on Friday and are still settling in — this was a fun find! I grew up in St. Petersburg, FL, another (much smaller) city organized on a grid system. So knowing Chicago is the organized in a similar fashion will help me find my way!
Words matter! I’ve said it here but this lesson — complete with a perfect illustration — from 4th grade teacher Natalie Ringold made my week! Wouldn’t the world be a better place if we would all remember (and practice) this?
In this lesson, we discussed how….
- we are responsible for our words & actions
- we need to spread kindness and love
- we choose what to put out into the world
- our words & actions have power and an impact on others
- once our words & actions are out in the world, we cannot erase them or fully take them back
- we can choose to fill other people’s “buckets” or do the opposite
- apologizing is an important part of making things right after we make a mistake
What brought you joy or made you mad this week? Did anything make you think? I’d love to know about any of it — or all of it!
Please share in the comments!
Napping, thoughts on aging, and the importance of a 4th grade lesson…..so true!
Glad to be connected, again!
Happy Anniversary, and congratulations on the big move!