Today's Reading..and Other Thoughts

TOP ARTICLE OF THE DAY: My late former professor's widow, Regina Holliday, was featured in Dana Milbank's Washington Sketch for Thursday August 6. Mrs. Holliday has been something of a hero to me in her fight for health care reform through her artwork. The late Prof. Holliday and his family lacked health insurance for many years; when he finally was employed by an organization that provided health insurance (my university), he was soon diagnosed with Stage IV kidney cancer, and died several months later. He was an inspirational professor for me, and his wife has been fighting for better health care since his diagnosis and death. I could (and probably will) say a lot more, but for now, I will say this-- IF YOU READ NOTHING ELSE TODAY, READ DANA MILBANK'S PIECE "IN A PLEA FOR HEALTH REFORM, A WIDOW PICKS UP HER PAINTBRUSHES."

Thank you.

On a separate note, here's some of my "simple living/simple productivity" reading, mostly from my new favorite blog, Zen Habits, and an entertaining yet profound site called SlowDownNow.org.

• 5 Inspirations for Being in the Moment
• How to Get Out of Bed
• Slow Down, Get Smart
• The Art of Not Doing Much
• Slow Down...to Enjoy Life
• How NOT to Multitask-- Work Simpler and Saner
• 10 Benefits of Rising Early, and How to Do It
• 12 Ways to Decompress After High Stress
• 75 Simple Pleasures to Brighten Your Day

Some days I have to wonder if it's possible to do these things and be in a job that makes what our society considers (and what, in my comfortable existence, I often consider) a decent amount of money to live on. Leo at Zen Habits does it in his life in Guam, but he is an author and blogger. I've been worrying about my dad a lot; in his high-pressure job with IBM, he can't seem to stay asleep at night. Yet he believes (probably quite rightly, given today's economy and job market) that slowing things down is a good way to stop having a well-paying job. I really don't know what to tell him, other than to keep encouraging him and sending him all the love I have...and I pray that there may (there MUST) be a way to stay sane and stay employed.