After a week in Portland, I came home to find that my body had landed, but my mind was still somewhere over Denver. This is about the quiet art of returning — and how grounding helps us gather ourselves back together.
Author: Kath Thompson
Writer, yoga teacher, lover of sunny days, long walks, good coffee, and stimulating conversations.
Portland: The War Zone
This is so far from a war zone it’s laughable. There is nice weather, chill people, and yeah, granted, there is disturbing homelessness as there is in every major city, but don’t believe the BS the president is spewing. Enough of his demented bullshit. But you know what there is in Portland? People who walk … Continue reading Portland: The War Zone
The Mindful Dishwasher
The other morning, I opened the dishwasher expecting gleaming, sparkling plates that would restore order to my kitchen. Instead, I found… yesterday’s dirty dishes, sitting exactly as I had loaded them. I had gone through all the trouble of scraping, rinsing, stacking, arranging—but had somehow forgotten to press the one button that makes the whole … Continue reading The Mindful Dishwasher
Inspired By In September 2025
Thinking about: Bread. I’m amassing all the gadgets and gizmos required for making sourdough: proofing baskets, bench scraper, bread lame, thermapen, Weck jars. I’m going to wait until I get back from Emily’s, though, before I start. I tend to over-complicate things. She’ll help me simplify. She’ll teach me the Zen of Sourdough. . Hiking … Continue reading Inspired By In September 2025
Ezra Klein and Cal Newport Provide Ways to Navigate These Hard Times.
But what Klein is saying is that there’s no escape. I can move, sure. I can even go so far as to get dual citizenship and move to Portugal, if things get too bad, but as long as I live on planet Earth, there will always be people I’ll vehemently disagree with, and I’ll have to live with them wherever I go, like it or not.
I Don’t Want To Write About Charlie Kirk
His hubris was that he didn’t think it would happen to him. He wasn’t supposed to be the target. He was supposed to be the gun. Guys like him: white, young, politically up-and-coming with security details, even, aren’t supposed to get hit. We reserve that for a classroom of third graders.
Finding Comfort in Seasonal Changes: An Ayurvedic Approach
It’s because I’m a Vata and I go out of balance in the winter, but now I know how to prep so I don’t get sick or itch or eat all the cookies. I now operate like an enlightened squirrel stowing away oil, and soup, and socks, so I can ride out the winter without the icks.
Inspired By In August 2025
Thinking About I spend the mornings reading now. I used to spend them writing, and sometimes scrolling—a bad habit I finally fixed by installing Downtime*, which restricts my screen time. I finished The Master last night. It’s a fictional biography of Henry James, and I loved it. Now I want to re-read James’s A Portrait … Continue reading Inspired By In August 2025
Procrasti-bread
I’m afraid of failing at bread. It’s the yeast, and the kneading, and the rising, and the proofing, and god only knows all what else. It’s a lot.
Confronting Ultra-Processed Foods: My Journey
No wonder everyone is fat. No wonder everyone is sick. Our food is nothing but chemicals, shaped like food. And it’s screwing with our microbiomes and our gene expressions, and our mental health, and the freaking climate.
Inspiration Location 