Breathing bubbles, book recommendations from a beloved author, a monastic approach to our days, and more in today’s five finds!

An app to download:

The Calm app has become my favorite app for meditation, but I also use it for other things! They have awesome sleep stories (Matthew McConaughey reads one and it’s delightful) that I use to fall asleep at night (my counselor told me that falling asleep to words somehow is better for you than music, and I’ve found it to be true!). They also have a breathing exercise feature that has been working WONDERS for me this week. (You can find it by clicking “more” in the bottom menu.)

Highly recommend a download— the breathe bubble + a few mediations and sleep stories are available for free, but I do pay for a subscription to access the entire library and find it’s well worth it.

An article to read:

Ann Patchett (author + owner of Parnassus Books, one of my fave indie stores!) shared this article with book recommendations and positive thoughts, and I’m grateful a coworker shared it with me this morning.

Some women to follow:

This roundup of 15 vegan women activists of color you need to know about helped me add some great new ladies to my feeds, and I’m all about filling up those up with good news and people making great things happen. Maybe you need that too?

A monastic approach to planning your day:

I loved this article on Saint Francis de Sales' Approach to Schedules — a helpful thought from the intro: “monasticism does hold wisdom for times such as these. The Visitation Sisters that I know practice a generous, flexible approach to their daily schedule that I deeply admire. I have seen them pray the Liturgy of the Hours while being interrupted by neighbors or adjust their timeframes to accommodate doctor appointments or visitors. They have taught me that interruptions are to be expected. No schedule, no matter how well thought through, goes perfectly.”

If you, too, need some structure (with a healthy dose of grace) for your days at home, I highly recommend implementing some of these ideas.

Photography to admire:

The headline said “I Can’t Stop Looking at Julie Blackmon’s Photography” and NEITHER CAN I. It’s odd, the lighting is incredible, it seems both staged and totally natural, and it’s so intriguing and interesting. Worth a scroll!

more five finds: