Other | J.R. Johnson

Archive for the ‘Other’ Category

Work and Hope

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, inspiration, Thoughts on January 4, 2026| Leave a Comment »

“After that, work and hope. But never hope more than you work.”

― Beryl Markham

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You’ve Got This

Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2026, encouragement, New Year, Thoughts on January 1, 2026| Leave a Comment »

Welcome to a new year. Past me thought I might need a little encouragement as we step into the unknown. Here’s the letter I wrote myself in case you do too:

Dear FutureMe,

You’ve got this.

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One Good Thing

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on December 31, 2025| Leave a Comment »

This has been a year for the history books, and a lot of it has been bad.

But not all of it.

A recent article got me thinking about the importance of focusing on the good things. In this case, the author forgot his wallet on a train in England and despaired of getting it back.

Need cheering up after a terrible year? I may have just the story you’re looking for

Spoiler alert: A considerate person found it and returned it to him.

Good things happen. Strangers help strangers, neighbors come through in emergencies, people work together to support good causes, and much more.

I try to focus here on the more positive dimensions of life, but it can be hard to do when so much of the world is looking the other direction. Social and other media do their best to highlight the dramatic, the car crashes, the bad news. I get it, it sells, and humanity is programmed to pay attention to problems so we can avoid them.

But I’m certainly not alone in thinking that we’ve gone too far in that direction.

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A lot of positive things have happened this year, in the worlds of science, of technology, of society, and more. Need a source of happier news? I may have promoted this site before but I’m going to do it again, because David Byrne and his mission deserve it.

Reasons to be Cheerful

We tell stories that reveal that there are, in fact, a surprising number of reasons to feel cheerful…. Reasons to be Cheerful was founded by artist and musician David Byrne, who believes in the power of approaching the world with curiosity—in art, in music, in collaboration and in life….Through stories of hope, rooted in evidence, Reasons to be Cheerful aims to inspire us all to be curious about how the world can be better, and to ask ourselves how we can be part of that change.

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In some ways, it’s also been a challenging year personally, but alongside the difficult we’ve also had the encouraging.

Before I go to bed I try to ask myself, “What was good today?” Even on the worst days there’s at least one good thing.

Friends (multiple!) put out some terrific new stories. Saving baby squirrels. Donating to help our community. Hiking in the woods. Ice cream after.

Those are just a few of my good things. What are yours?

“Find the good. It’s all around you. Showcase it and you’ll start believing in it.”

— Jesse Owens

Happy New Year!

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Keep Doing It

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, Thoughts, writing on December 30, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Scared is what you’re feeling. Brave is what you’re doing.”

― Emma Donoghue

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Reminder to Self

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on December 29, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“Success is no accident. It is hard work, perseverance, learning, studying, sacrifice and most of all, love of what you are doing or learning to do.”

— Pelé

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Time Machines

Posted in Other, Writing, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, creativity, inspiration, Thoughts on December 28, 2025| Leave a Comment »

“We all have our time machines, don’t we. Those that take us back are memories… And those that carry us forward, are dreams.”

― H.G. Wells

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Already Ahead of the Game

Posted in Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, Thoughts on December 26, 2025| Leave a Comment »

We are an impossibility in an impossible universe.

— Ray Bradbury

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This May Come in Handy

Posted in Holidays, Other, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, learning new things, Thoughts on December 23, 2025| Leave a Comment »

13 seconds?! Impressive!

Japanese Speed Gift Wrapping, an art and cultural tradition of care How to wrap presents

And for more details, here’s a tutorial series on How to wrap presents Japanese-style.

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Brighter Days Ahead

Posted in Other, Science!, tagged #365Ways, #365Ways2025, astronomy, science, solstice, Thoughts on December 21, 2025| Leave a Comment »

It’s that time again!

Winter solstice is nearly upon the Northern Hemisphere. Here’s what to know about the shortest day of the year

Yes, the darkest day of the year is here, but that means brighter days are ahead.

Sunday is the shortest day of the year north of the equator, where the solstice marks the start of astronomical winter.

That’s right, if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere, today is the shortest day of the year. (And if you’d like a quick reminder of the astronomy of it all, this one’s helpful: December Solstice 2025.)

So light a candle (physical or metaphorical, your choice!), and look ahead to a brighter future.

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