Happy Friday The 13th! I'm not particularly superstitious, but it seems appropriate that this day would fall at the end of a difficult week for myself. Saturday evening I had to say goodbye to my dearest friend Sonia. A white German Shepherd who was always loyal and full of unconditional love. We often see ourselves as superior to our pets but perhaps we are the lesser when it comes to empathy and compassion. In my past I have struggled with depression and anxiety, often times trigger by events such as these. In a way I am blessed to have had those experiences because it enables me to better cope with events such as this.

October is Mental Health Awareness month, and so some of my favorite articles this week are in relation to this. Everyone is effected by mental illness whether personal, a class mate, a co-worker, a friend, a partner, or family member. It isn't easy to understand but we must be more open to the conversation, open to supporting, and open to asking for support. It really does save lives.

But I digress. Here is the list of my Friday Fave Five:

1. This first article shows insights into the connection between mental health/illness and culture.

2. The hard choices -- what we most fear doing, asking, saying -- are very often exactly what we need to do. How can we overcome self-paralysis and take action? Tim Ferriss, podcast host and author of the Four Hour Workweek, encourages us to fully envision and write down our fears in detail, in a simple but powerful exercise he calls "fear-setting", in his latest Ted Talk.

3. I love Fall and trying new recipes one of which I will be trying this is Dana at Minimalist Baker, Quinoa Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

4. Speaking of mushrooms, (a recent obsession of mine). #4 this week is what I'm listening to which was an awesome interview on the Rich Roll Podcast all about medicinal mushrooms, with Tero founder of Four Sigmatic. He talks about his childhood in Sweden where he learned to forage for mushrooms at the age of seven, and how through the years he has been actively trying to provide to as many people as possible with a small dose of the healing benefits of these FUNGI!

5. I guess to finish off, it is more of my plans for the weekend. If you live in The Twin Cities, the Saint Paul Art Crawl is going on. I love every year being able to see all the amazing pieces, performances from local emerging artist. So often we never realize how much talent and passion is within our own neighborhood. Its a bit of a cultural boost without needing to travel.

That's it for this week! Have a fantastic weekend, and maybe enjoy some mushrooms with art?