O sky
O earth
O man
O time
O game we play
O winds that rhyme
O everything inside my head
O all that’s living, all that’s dead
O far away
O here and now
O shaking branch
O broken bough
O all before
O all beyond
O tree and life and duck and pond
O what it is
O what can be
O you
O you
O me
O me
Welcome to The ALIVE hour.
Illustration: Shannon Colon
Music + story: Chloe Riley
Things found in real life
Everything blood orange. Like this cheese feast atop this handmade wood board — a Christmas gift from my uncle:
Also this blood orange smoothie recipe via my friend Kate (and her friend Katie) who are both food geniuses. (Recipe here)
This winter missive:
Things found on the internet
This Betty White tribute:
Graced with bright eyes and a wide, dimpled smile, she radiated delight: delight to be working, delight to be alive, delight in conversation, delight in animals, but also delight in wickedness. She could turn a lilting voice to sharp ends, and a combination of these effects applied in different proportions — of innocence masking experience and experience informing innocence — would serve her through her career.
This article on spiritually-oriented New Year’s resolutions:
Every time we act, our actions affect more people than we actually see. One of the hallmarks of Catholic social teaching is solidarity, recognizing that we are all connected as human beings and that our own well-being is tied up with the well-being of others. One small way to live that out is to pause before taking a particular action to think about the third person who will be affected by it.
So, for instance, if you send an angry email to someone, you will be affected by it first, and the person you send it to will be affected by it second, but who will be next? That person’s spouse? Their child? What will that effect be? Is it worth it? If we all thought a little more about the third person, we would likely be more careful with how we treat each other.
This thought on what it means to be a person in the world:
We are living through a time when all the stories the larger culture tells us about ourselves are being rewritten: the story of what the United States is; what it means to be a man or a woman; what it means to be a child; what it means to love oneself or other people. We are imagining all of this again so that these stories can guide and comfort us rather than control us.
Hi. This is the end of season 1. Please take a moment to pause and flip your tape over to season 2. (Just kidding.) But, hey, maybe in the future we’ll do a special mix tape season based on a show of hands.
But also, please do stay tuned for season 2.
Also, also: if any part of this show is resonating with you, please consider supporting, at any level. Your support, your attention, your care, your feedback, in any fashion, is so appreciated. Thank you for listening.
The ALIVE hour