Positive Things on the Internet

I’ve been working on improving my relationship with the internet.  Isn’t that weird?  It is related to me also trying to be more purposeful about what I personally post on social media.

I do believe there is a lot of goodness out there, things worth investing and spending our time reading and listening to.  However, it’s too easy to fall down the useless rabbit hole of things like Facebook and Instagram; I’m still guilty of that.  However, when I do my best to be more selective of WHAT I’m taking in, I have found it easier to also manage the amount of TIME I’m spending doing it.  It’s like a naturally get my fill in much faster because then quality is so much better.  I guess it’s like food, that way!

In turn, I’d like to turn Friday’s into a regular series where I share some positive things I found on the internet.  Turns out, I usually read the same blogs, and listen to the same podcasts, so there might be some repeat sources. You might see things from a while back too, things that I’ve finally gotten around to reading or listening!

The purpose behind this is to share some things that I saw/read that made me feel encouraged, inspired, connected, and pushed.

1) “Fuel” Series on the Munchies channel, Youtube.  I am fascinated by what athletes eat and how they view food as fuel.  My favorite so far was the ballerina one.

2) I really appreciated the honesty behind Emily Henderson’s post on she and her husband’s 10 year wedding anniversary, and what they’ve learned as a couple.  People really shy away from sharing some intimacies of the highs and lows of marriage, and for obvious reasons.  We’re approaching our 9 year anniversary, so I think it’s valuable what she had to say here and the hopeful view the post carried of a committed marriage.

3) My friend Whitney introduced me to a powerful site and podcast called On Being.  It produces very deep, thought-provoking articles and interviews on what it means to human, in all of its complexities.  There’s an undertone of spirituality–in all forms–and its anchor to the majority of humans’ lives.  My favorite podcast so far was this one, where a lot of runners share how their hobby–running!–has translated into a spiritual practice.  I must say, I TOTALLY relate to that–and it made me a little sad that I’ve had to stick to walking (dr.’s orders, blah!).  But, I can also add that walking outside has given me an almost comparable effect of meditation and a escape from the world.  I’m a deep thinker, and if you are too you will love all of this.

4) Also related to running, I’ve been a fan of Hungry Runner Girl for a few years.  I admit, I couldn’t read her when she first started because of her apparent-to-me disordered relationship with food and exercise.  The past few years, though, she has really worked on improving that.  She wrote a recent post where she compares the difference behind running a marathon a few weeks ago to her first marathon, when she was 30 pounds lighter.  I love her refreshing honesty!  Reading that gave me a good boost to keep working on how I view my body.

5) This final one is my “I feel so connected to you!” share. Anne Cropper wrote a post on her struggle with depression, including Ante Partum Depression.  We so often hear about Post Partum depression, but I loved her honesty about the burden of depression while you are pregnant.  I read that and though, “Woah!  That was me, too.”  I definitely feel that I struggled with, at very least, a lot of anxiety while pregnant with my last baby, including a lot of unshakeable sadness that just wasn’t “me.”  We all struggle though, and it’s enlightening to see that others are battling similar things.  Connection is good, right?!

What positive things have you found on the internet lately?  I’d love to hear!