Finding light in dark days

Susan B. Clark

Susan B. Clark

— 3 min read
Finding light in dark days
A pink plastic flamingo hides among orchids at the "beach" at the Chicago Botanic Garden's "Feelin' Groovy" 2026 orchid show. © Susan B. Clark

In the past couple weeks, I went to the Chicago Botanic Garden's beautiful show of orchids "Feelin' Groovy", laughed at two comedy shows, celebrated birthdays, attended a reading of five new one act plays, and visited Chicago's wintery Lake Michigan beach.

The world is heavy and dark. Every day there's a new atrocity here and abroad. There are personal losses. Groceries are more expensive than ever. Income gaps widen. As my friend Yulia over at Going Places Media said:

💡
We acknowledge that the house is on fire, because pretending otherwise is doing more harm than good – to our nervous systems, our wellbeing, and our capacity to engage with the world.

My remedy is to fill my days with as much joy, creativity, and adventure as possible, interspersed with all the fighting fascism and supporting local organizations and mutual aid as much as possible.

Some days that's harder than others, so I was inspired by writer Nadia Bolz-Weber's invitation to notice and share 40 days of good shit. Her 40 days align with Lent - as she's a Lutheran minister - while I'm thinking of them as the days that shift from winter into spring.

I've been consistently posting on my Instagram and Facebook pages (and less so on BlueSky), so feel free to follow along and let me know what good you're noticing in the world.

We saw Josh Johnson at the Chicago Theatre (one of five sold out shows), and at the end he had the audience turn on their phone flashlights for a selfie. It was so pretty 😍

2026 photo walk dates are live!

Come take a walk with me in Chicago's loop. We'll look at some hidden gems of architecture and public art, and I'll share a few phone photography tips.

Chicago Loop public art and architecture photo walk
Walking tour around Chicago’s downtown Loop area, filled with artistic and architectural treasures, prime for photography.
Humanitix logo

Sign up before March 27th with code SPRING15 for $15 off

I have Friday and Saturday dates set up from April-October.

Get $15 OFF per ticket through Friday, March 27th with the code SPRING15.

Check out dates and sign up

Table for Two’ish with Mac & Cheese Productions’℠

Join me on the Zoom screen April 30th 11am-12pm CT as Saya Hillman of Mac & Cheese Productions’℠ and I chat about living a Life of Yes.

Table for Two’ish - Mac & Cheese Productions℠
Free, virtual conversation with someone inspiring in how they’re designing life to best fit themselves. Bonus: repeated quality community.
Mac & Cheese Productions℠

From Saya's post: "Come hear and be inspired by Susan B. Clark's journey! When we met, Susan was a single mom 9 to 5er, with an established career in philanthropy. After a few years, she was ready “to do something else
 I'm not sure yet what the something else is - maybe another day job, maybe some side hustling, maybe some consulting, maybe all those things.”

Today, Susan’s a married mom multipotentialite, crafting her dream life of visual storytelling, photography, Chicago tours and workshops, online courses, and non-profit communication management, all while being her own boss, allowing her to prioritize what matters most to her.

So much to unpack, learn, and be inspired by!Make a (free, virtual) reservation at Table for Two’ish, where you are the ‘ish and two is Saya and Guest.30 minutes of Saya + Guest—you listen. 30 minutes of ‘ish—your questions, stories, recommendations, discussion, me too’s
"

Sign up for our April 30th chat

Art for your home

Still need a wall calendar for 2026? I've got one for sale!

Chicago art and architecture calendar

Enjoy scenes from Chicago from January 2026-June 2027

Printed calendar $22
Downloadable calendar $12.99

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