Sonya Sukalski

@sonyasukalski

Retired in 2022. I enjoy writing, gardening, hiking, biking, and new ideas.

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We send people away for years, tell them exactly what to do every day and they get to make exacrly one choice every day: do you obey or not? That's the only choice you get to make. Then, after 3, 5, 10 years, we send them out into society and tell them, "Make better choices." But we haven't prepared them for that at all. We have given them almost... See more

“Of all countries in the world, America has taken greatest advantage of association and has applied this powerful means of action to the greatest variety of objectives.” --Alexis de Tocqueville, a French political philosopher, visited the United States in the early 1830s and was impressed by the ways Americans associated with one another.

But having an enviable career is one thing, and being a happy person is another.

Creating a life that reflects your values and satisfies your soul is a rare achievement. In a culture that relentlessly promotes avarice and excess as the good life, a person happy doing his own work is usually considered an eccentric, if not a subversive. Ambition is... See more

Bill Watterson • SOME THOUGHTS ON THE REAL WORLD BY ONE WHO GLIMPSED IT AND FLED

A Good Life

“I'm hoping, through this action, through this lawsuit, that we can just call out the federal government to begin to enforce American laws,” Moor said. “Now, I'm realistic about the chances of that happening, and frankly, feels like a lot of this work is almost archival at this point. If there's ever justice or pursuit of justice, we got a paper... See more

Prem Thakker • Gaza v. Blinken: Palestinians Sue Secretary of State Over 'Failure' to Follow US Law on Sending Military Aid to Israel

Belonging

How exhausting it is to go up against the system

400 Clothing and Design ideas in 2023 | natural dye fabric, how to dye fabric, botanical dyeing

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Aesthetic Goods

Have you heard this story: Woman learns she has cancer, six months to live. Within days she quits her job, resumes the dream of writing Tex-Mex songs she gave up to raise a family (or starts studying classical Greek, or moves to the inner city and devotes herself to tending babies with AIDS). Woman's friends think she's crazy; she herself has never

Steven Pressfield • The War of Art

I wonder how doing what we love affect the very ability of our body to heal, to turn genes on and off, to become more resilient, body, mind, and soul?

The fatigue of grief is fucking staggering.

Rob Delaney • A Heart That Works

My spouse has cancer

I wish I knew more the context for this quote, and I thank whoever it was that put Rob Delaney’s book on my radar! It has been hard to account for the fatigue. It feels like I do nothing but wait around in the transfusion clinic or at the hospital. And then give up more of what I thought made my life fulfilling. Not that those things really do, or that they are more important than being with my spouse through his bone marrow transplant story. But yeah, the fatigue is real.

When people feel like they belong, they are able to do their best and be their best. When we work toward belonging, we’re working toward creating a space where collaboration and cooperation can flourish. This is true for every kind of group, big and small. Whether you’re a parent, teacher, business manager, community organizer, or leader of any... See more

Stanford Engineering Staff • Design to make a difference: How do we foster a culture of belonging?

Belonging

“I wish I could say you get used to people dying. I never did. I don't want to. It tears a hole through me whenever somebody I love dies, no matter the circumstances. But I don't want it to "not matter." I don't want it to be something that just passes.

“My scars are a testament to the love and the relationship that I had for and with that person.

Why All Love Stories Are Destined to End in Tragedy

Beautiful! I hope if I have to come back and read this that it gives some solace.