02.09.2026. Big-Tiny, Small Praises and Tiny Neurons
Hello dear Friends,
“Hard times require furious dancing.
Each of us is proof.”
— Alice Walker
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Dance—sometimes that is what is required. It is what is needed for dark times when we don’t know what to do or what to feel, so we feel our bones: furious and alive, our bodies moving, becoming prayer, becoming praise.
Praise for the 360,000 babies born worldwide each day. Praise for the 2,900 athletes from over 90 nations competing in the 2026 Winter Olympics in Italy right now! Praise for our hearts, open in cheer for every athlete, regardless of country—watching in awe and wonder, our hearts blown away by their dedication, sacrifice, and the sheer brilliance of the human body and the soar of the human spirit. Praise!
Praise for the 200 billion new red blood cells made every day to maintain us; praise for the 20,000 breaths we take. Praise for our bodies that show up for us, even when not well cared for at times—amazing the human—resilient, and courageous in body, heart, and mind! Praise for this body that can feel pleasure and pain, joy and sorrow, velvety dark and silky light; that can hug and touch, offer bandaids, and be warm skin that offers care to a hurting other.
Praise for Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina—the Senate’s only Black Republican—speaking up and speaking out against the president’s alarming, horrific, heartsickening (what words even speak to this?) post portraying the Obamas as apes. As Scott said: “It is the most racist thing I’ve seen out of this White House.” Praise for integrity—for “when they go low, we go high”—and that evil never has the last say. Praise for our capacity to add our light into the Divine spark, every day. Praise for this reminder from great wisdom teachers: it is not the end of our story!
Praise for praise!
Historically, we have seen that escalating hate and division has never been a solution in degenerative times. Perhaps our next evolutionary step will be found in the incredibly tiny, small praises: every minuscule act of care, every small little dimple of beauty, every small tilt towards love, every tiny sign—winter melting into green, watching a butterfly dry her wings—every human meeting humans with “just like me” eyes and ears of the heart.
Then there are these tiny, tiny, tiny little neurons in the brain—powerful peacemakers and changemakers! "Neurons that fire together, wire together.” They have the capacity, when cultivated, to soften and rewire our internal wirings: those crazymaking voices that “hate on” us, are cruel, are stuck in chronic “threat” that give us no peace. We all have them. They are our negativity bias. They are our most intimate bedfellows—what my meditation teacher would name our “Vampire lover,” sucking our life dry, ignoring our blood cries, wiring us to believe in its faulty whispers, seductive voice, and lies.
This is where the research of Dr. Rick Hanson, a psychologist and expert in positive neuroplasticity, offers profound hope, care, and support—perhaps even the beginning of an internal peace treaty: “A typical neuron fires 5–50 times a second. If you hold an experience for just a few breaths, you allow millions of neurons to fire together long enough to start wiring.” Right? Amazing! Talk about a wake-up call—the sound of the gong rippling into the heart!
This is both good and not-so-good news. Depending on our awareness and effort, we are either consciously or unconsciously wiring in inner resources of warmth and care, value and self-worth—re-membering our innate goodness-wholeness and calm, our divine spark, gold—or we are not. Imagine what pervades the mind, what “sticks,” gets wired in, and is strengthened when we are “hating on,” firing down that pathway of awful-awful towards the self.
Who doesn’t know this painful, tender place? This is where our oldest wiring lives—where our "little self," trying to withstand a perceived threat, did something to protect. Our habituated defenses are born, begin to wire tight like a closed fist, and harden, “the issues in the tissues.”
Who knew the power of big-tiny, the huge transformational power of small? Small praises, a million small drops of love, and tiny, tiny, tiny neurons firing for goodness! Now that is something mighty—something we can each do in troubled times, and hopefully in all times. “As long as there is breath in my body, I will be doing the work of waking up,” my meditation teacher always said.
“What you can each offer to this world is a place of peace and a steady heart.”
— Jack Kornfield
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Come Practice & Be In Community
Drop-in Meditation Today. All are welcome; no prior experience is needed—just an open tender heart.
2:00 PM - 3:00 PM: 20-min Guided Meditation: Working with Rough Edges & 25-minute Metta Meditation Practice
3:00 PM - 4:00 PM: Conversations and Nourishment for the heart, for your practice of Meditation.
Dāna: Pay What You Can. (suggested donation $10-$40)
Location: 778 West Frontage Road, Suite 111, Northfield, IL.
Gratitude, always.
Love, Wini
PS: More goodness below—two poems, three quotes, and things in between to inspire the heart. And, three closing songs!!! Always made with ♥️.
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🌸 Two Poems. “If I knew where poems came from, I’d go there.” ― Michael Longley
Advice from a Raindrop | Kim Stafford
You think you’re too small
to make a difference? Tell me
about it. You think you’re
helpless, at the mercy of forces
beyond your control? Been there.
Think you’re doomed to disappear,
just one small voice among millions?
That’s no weakness, trust me. That’s
your wild card, your trick, your
implement. They won’t see you coming
until you’re there, in their faces, shining,
festive, expendable, eternal. Sure you’re
small, just one small part of a storm that
changes everything. That’s how you win,
my friend, again and again and again.
The Hermit's Cell | Kenneth Steven
I had to listen for a silence
that was born inside.
It took a whole year to find
and now it does not fail.
I need nothing;
all I want is where I am.
I used to pray, and praying then
was struggle with myself.
Now I am made prayer, am hollowed out -
a song that needs no sound.
I pick the blow of flowers, bring them back
in blues and reds and golds,
and in the slow of winter dark
I watch for dawn and know
that I am growing into light
a little every day.
🍃 “... growing into light a little every day.” May we remember this— the little, the small, the staying with, letting tenderness soak our hearts– that is what grows us, wires us towards Light.
Give a listen to Simon DeVoil reading this poem—as poem, as prayer—from Kenneth Steven’s poetry book, Iona. Then, settle into a short meditation: ten minutes of quiet. Offering rest for your heart as you watch– wide landscape, the white and dry brown of winter, the pink and blue skies of Vermont set into night, offer praise.
🌸 Three Quotes | Danna Faulds. Ursula K Le Guin. Sebene Selassie.
"There's no bubble of safety, no place that grants immunity from life's challenges and difficulties, but there is the haven of the heart. The love that flows through all of us, whether we know it or not. There is a foundation, a center, a source. There's a presence inside us, inviting us into harmony and peace even when the outside world is swirling with insecurity. There's a choice to be made in every moment between fear and something greater than ourselves. I pray for the strength to make the bold choice, the only choice that leads to freedom." – Danna Faulds
“Love doesn’t just sit there, like a stone, it has to be made, like bread; remade all the time, made new.” — Ursula K Le Guin
“If we want a different world, we must imagine it. To imagine it, we must become intimate with our deepest wishes. We cannot imagine without a desire for creation, without longing for something different. We cannot connect to our deepest desire without simply being. We cannot long if we can’t feel what it is we long for.” —Sebene Selassie, You Belong: A Call for Connection
🍃 This call to stillness, to be, keeps calling into me—the radical and profound act of slowing the outer and inner noise.
Not just giving lip service to resting in mindful awareness, but really softening into quietude—even if just one minute a day is a profound wiring for the brain. Resting on whatever ‘wows’ your heart–a patch of sunlight, the flicker of a flame, the sound of snow; getting quiet enough to hear the beat of your own heart and the breath of spring breathing beneath the hard cold ground—getting quiet enough to listen to the whispers of what you most long for.
Then grab a pen and write it down! The mind is slippery and we forget, just like trying to remember a dream.
This holy act of be so we can long.
This sacred act of belonging.
🌸 Three Offerings to Know About | Peace Monks. Writing. Menopause
“We walk to remind you of this. To bring you hope. To tell you that even in your darkest moments, you are not without light. You carry it within you, always.”
— Walk for Peace Monks
🍃 The Buddhist Monks Walking: Now on Day 107. Step by step, they carry the message of peace, “kissing the earth with your feet,” as Thich Nhat Hanh taught.
Steadfast no matter the weather, unshakeable within the ever-unfolding of life, they return to the breath again and again. Watching people come out to greet them is beyond heartwarming. It is hope.
If you need inspiration to sit on your cushion today, watch Day 105: strong winds, harsh, extreme cold—and they walk.
“The wind may slow us down, but we continue when we can. The cold may test us, but we walk forward with determination. We are grateful for every step we’re able to take.”
Good to know About: Join the Monks: Global Loving-Kindness Meditation, a special loving-kindness meditation session with Venerable Bhikkhu Pannakara.
📅 Wednesday, February 11, 2026 (Our Day 109)
⏰ 4:30–7:30 PM EST
📍 George Washington University Smith Center, Online Livestream on their website
🍃 Have You Heard of Laura Munson? She is a beautiful being, a gifted writer, and the founder of the top-ranked Haven Writing Retreats.
If you've been carrying a story and feel that familiar nudge to put your voice into written words—to meet the blank page with ink and heart—maybe this is your season to go on a writing retreat! Laura has a few spots open, which is a rarity.
You can reach out to Laura here
🍃 Are You Here in Chicago? Come experience the film that’s breaking the silence on perimenopause and sparking a movement for change!
Hosted by Midlife Upgrade, Julie Fedeli and Pamela DeRose, authors of Midlife Upgrade: A Girlfriend's Guide to Finding Your Power in the Pause
There are two opportunities to join in: Wednesday, February 25, and Thursday, February 26.
This special premiere features a screening of The M Factor 2: Before the Pause, followed by a live panel discussion with leading physicians and advocates.
Together, they will explore perimenopause—an often-misunderstood stage of midlife that can begin years before menopause and impact women physically, emotionally, and mentally.
🌸🎶 Three Closing Songs | Music for Your Soul in Uncertain Times
Songs to let the bones of the soul open, dance, breathe, tend to your shattered heart and the gorgeous goodness of being alive in a body–that innate loves song!
🍃 Stephen Wilson Jr. - "Stand By Me" (4:12 min) Ben E. King Cover Live at the Print Shop. A song and lyric to keep close to your heart, may we keep standing be each other human heart with human tender heart.
When the night has come/ And the land is dark/And the moon Is the only/Light we'll see/No I won't be afraid/No I won't be afraid/Just as long as you stand, stand by me.
🍃 Jon Batiste - What A Wonderful World (4:54 min) A song, a video both warm the heart, “The bright blessed day, The dark sacred night, And I think to myself, What a wonderful world.”
🍃 Emily – No Prisoner Be, 24 poems by Emily Dickinson, put in an extraordinary collaboration with the classical-roots string trio Time For Three. Set to music by Pulitzer Prize–winning composer Kevin Puts, into a continuous musical journey into the mind of Emily Dickinson.
Wow, it is something beyond to listen to, to open to. Give a listen here (3:27 min) and Joyce DiDonato speaking to the making of this idea give a listen here (9:18 min)
🌸🙏 Dedicate Merit | In all Mystical traditions, there is a closing prayer – prayers of blessing, gratitude and protection.
“May you allow everything to become a prayer, become a praise.
May you stay with the glimmers of wonder and awe, re-membering your innate wholeness, Divine spark!
May you offer the world what it needs most: the gift of your own peace and your steady, courageous gorgeous heart.
May all beings be safe and protected, this I wish for everyone. May we awaken fully to help all beings.”
– love, Wini
Have a blessed day 💖
🌸 PS. You can find all the newsletters archived on my website.
These newsletters will always be free—and if you appreciate receiving these weekly offerings grounded in tender-goodness please consider offering support through Buy Me a Coffee, 🌸 venmo (Winifred-Nimrod) 🌸 or zelle (wininim@gmail.com) 🌸
Thank you, I am a one-woman, two-finger typing, unfolding her thousand-petal bloom
✨ May we bloom more Light.
💞 May we grow more Goodness for the healing of all.
🌎 May each of us thread our heart-tenderness, our Beauty, into the fabric of our planet.
….Until next week. 💖
Instructions for living a life:
Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.
- Mary Oliver
Website: https://www.wininimrod.com/
