#1 - WHAT IS THE ONE ALBUM (OR EP OR SONG) THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE THE VERY NEXT MUSICAL THING THAT EVERYONE PRESSES PLAY ON THE NEXT TIME THEY FIND THEMSELVES THINKING “WHAT SHOULD I LISTEN TO NOW”?

“Laughing Stock” or "Spirit of Eden" by Talk Talk. These are two of my favorite albums of all-time.

John Thayer (my collaborator on "Blue of Distance") turned me on to it maybe 8 years ago.Every sound on the record is impeccable yet simultaneously so vibey.

It’s actually kind of wild because it feels like a live recording- like they all tracked in the room simultaneously as a band- but I was shocked to later learn that this album was actually recorded over many, many different sessions and painstakingly edited together from . Mark Hollis’s later solo record is incredible too.

#2 - WHAT IS THE ONE MOVIE OR TV SHOW THAT YOU THINK SHOULD BE NEXT IN EVERYBODY’S NETFLIX QUEUE (OK, DOESN’T HAVE TO BE NETFLIX, WE’RE ALL INTERNET ADULTS HERE AND KNOW HOW TO FIND ANYTHING ONLINE, ONE WAY OR ANOTHER)?

Pretty much any movie by Hayao Miyazaki, founder of the Japanese animation company Studio Ghibli. I am half-Japanese so I grew up on his films but I would still watch one any day.

I love how often he makes young girls the heroines/protagonists and the way that his stories are always intensely tied to nature. I probably first fell in love with My Neighbor Totoro as a little one but other favorites are: Princess Mononoke, Nausicaa, (Laputa) Castle In The Sky and Spirited Away.

#3. I (AND BY “I” I MEAN “THE PERSON THAT IS READING THIS”) AM GOING TO THE LOCAL BOOK STORE (OK, MAYBE THE LOCAL LIBRARY FIRST) TO FIND THE VERY NEXT BOOK THAT I WILL BE PUTTING SOME EXTREMELY VALUABLE ‘ME-TIME' ASIDE FOR. WHICH BOOK WOULD YOU GET, IF YOU WERE ME (AND, I SUPPOSE, YOU HADN’T ALREADY READ WHAT YOU’RE ABOUT TO SUGGEST)?

Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer. This book captures the intersection of natural sciences and human spirituality so beautifully. Her story telling is shaped by personal life experiences, her work as a professor at the NY State University of Environmental Science and Forestry and the traditional wisdom and mythologies of her Native American ancestry.

I have recommended this book to people living in all corners of the earth but I would especially recommend it to anyone living in New York/New England because most of the stories she tells take place in this area and it will give you many opportunities to notice your surroundings much more carefully. Even after a decade of my own plant-foraging explorations and studies in western herbalism, the poetic, endearing way Kimmerer describes certain details of these landscapes has made the flora feel even more vivid and alive to me.

#4 - WHAT IS THE ONE WEBSITE (OR JUST ANY OLD INTERNET THING: APP, GIF, SERVICE, WHATEVER) THAT YOU WOULD GET REALLY DOWN IN THE DUMPS ABOUT IF IT WERE TO SUDDENLY GO AWAY?

For The Wild podcast is a really special podcast series featuring conversations with environmental scientists, radical thinkers, leaders of indigenous and racial justice movements and other very inspiring, compassionate humans.

I highly recommend tuning in not just to get educated about the state of the world but to also learn of ways to take action in support of each individual cause. I know the women who started it and am in awe of the platform they have grown to help amplify some potent and timely messages.

#5 - AND FINALLY… PLEASE GIVE ONE COMPLETELY UNAIDED RECOMMENDATION THAT YOU THINK EVERYONE SHOULD START DOING / USING / WATCHING / EATING / THINKING / QUITING / ETC-ING TO MAKE THEIR LIVES A LITTLE BIT MORE BETTER AND/OR BEARABLE.

Take at least five minutes to just lay down on the floor, on your back. It's so restful and restorative to your body in all the obvious ways.

This ritual of quietness can also be really helpful in resetting your adrenals by giving your body/mind a chance to find neutral again- especially if you don't have any other meditative practices/rituals. Thankfully, laying down is very easy to do.

OK folks, there you have it. Things that Lea Thomas thinks you should consider incorporating into your day/life. Before you log off and go lay down on the floor for a little while, make sure to follow Lea on the Facebook / Instagram and then also give ‘The Valley Is Wide’ a listen below…

…and if you like what you’re hearing, go do some further lea-thomas-flavoured audio exploring over on the Bandcamp / Spotify.