Happy Saturday! Here's five things I found around the internet this week that were interesting/inspiring/thought-provoking:

1. This poem by Rumi:

THE GUEST HOUSE

This being human is a guest house.
Every morning a new arrival.

A joy, a depression, a meanness,
some momentary awareness comes
as an unexpected visitor.

Welcome and entertain them all!
Even if they are a crowd of sorrows,
who violently sweep your house
empty of its furniture,
still, treat each guest honorably.
He may be clearing you out
for some new delight.

The dark thought, the shame, the malice.
meet them at the door laughing and invite them in.

Be grateful for whatever comes.
because each has been sent
as a guide from beyond.

-- Jelaluddin Rumi,
    translation by Coleman Barks


2. This past week the Tony Committee decided to drop the Sound Design award, and the outcry has been huge:
http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2014/06/12/tony-committee-decision-to-drop-sound-design-awards-prompts-noisy-outcry/?_php=true&_&_r=0


3.  This graphic. Do you agree? 

Short and sweet and just what I needed to tell myself this week. Hope this helps you all as well! 

Every year around graduation time, I can't help but get misty-eyed and inspired seeing all the graduating students decked out in their caps and gowns, bursting with pride, however young or old they might be. Their energy is contagious. I love the idea of being there in person to witness each of those seekers as they prepare to enter a vast forest of possibilities. Out there in the woods lies joy, danger, connection, adventure, struggle, and love. And it's all yours to embrace: the good, bad, and the ugly.  

My undergraduate commencement was on May 14th 2005, and my graduate commencement fell on the same date, exactly seven years later. This year on May 14th, a dear friend and I commenced what I hope will be a very fruitful project in the months to come (more news about that soon). May 14th has been a fortuitious date for me for almost a decade, and each year I try to mark the season of commencement by setting aside time to renew my vows to lifelong learning and new beginnings. It's a tradition I hope to continue.  

In the spirit of this tradition, I've been thinking about a piece of advice that I would give to my 21 year old undergraduate-graduating self.  I found a great series featuring this kind of advice here,  and although it may sound corny, it's actually pretty neat. After reading through some of the advice folks would give themselves at 21 or 22, I composed my own:  

Be on your own side. There's enough in this world to struggle with, don't pick a fight with YOU. Embrace each moment, even (and especially) the painful ones. Don't push pain away, hold it close like a baby, rock it, sing to it, let it know things will be ok. Don't wait to experience joy, actively cultivate it. Refuse to become jaded; it's easy to be pessimistic, and courageous to stay hopeful. Always act with love.  

How about you? What's your short and sweet advice to your younger self? Happy adventuring, today and always!  

 
NPR has collected and archived what they consider to be the 300 best commencement speeches of all time: http://apps.npr.org/commencement/ 

3. Tiny Buddha is one of my favorite positive psychology blogs online and this is a great little post about learning to cultivate patience while you wait for the next chapter, whatever that may be for you: 
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/power-patience-let-go-anxiety-let-things-happen/


4. A really interesting New Times article about the psychology of waiting that offers some scientific insights into why waiting for that callback or job offer is so tough. According to the article, "Investing upfront in realistic time frames — and learning to adjust those time frames as new information becomes available — may help us resist the pull of rewards that come too soon. Controlling our sense of the future, in other words, may help us control our behavior in the present."
http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/17/opinion/sunday/youre-so-self-controlling.html 


5. I found this humorous but practical guide to taking care of yourself after submitting your work for publication, but it easily applies to waiting on a job interview, audition, or the like. It has some concrete, practical suggestions of things to do in that in between time: 
http://www.tinhouse.com/blog/16373/how-to-stay-sane-while-querying-literary-agents.html


Let me know if you have any go-to strategies for getting better at waiting--I'd love to add to my toolbox!