The Best of Humaning: 2024 Edition

Top 10 posts, top 10 friends, and top 10 good news stories of 2024. Plus, a sneak peek at 2025.

Maybe it’s because I grew up in the ‘80s (the birthplace of top ten video countdowns), or perhaps it’s because I cherish this momentary pause at the end of the year—this breath between what we did and what we’ll do—but for whatever reason, I love year-end lists. So, here are three of mine for 2024, plus a preview of 2025…

Top 10 Humaning Posts of 2024

How do you determine the “ranking” of a post? Views? Shares? Comments? This year, I used a metric that honors the growth of our community and recognizes the lovely souls that joined us this year: the number of new subscribers generated by a post.

1. The One Practice That Changed My Life

2. It is well with your soul.

3. Do What Is Most Beautiful

4. Worthiness Is Where Hierarchies Go to Die

5. There’s Nowhere to Get To but Here

6. I Was Blind but Now I See

7. The Place You’ll Find Peace

8. Keep Your Eyes Open for Holy Relics

9. You Are Okay

10. Navigate Boundaries with an Open Heart

Feel free to give a shout-out in the comments to the post that impacted you the most in 2024.

Top 10 Friends of Humaning

In Loveable, I wrote,

…by vulnerably announcing who we are and waiting to see who rejoices at the announcement, we will gradually begin to find—and trust—the people to whom we truly belong.

The Substack Recommendations feature is a digital manifestation of that principle. Here’s a combined list of the five Substacks that referred the most readers to Humaning, and the five Substacks to which Humaning referred the most readers.

• The Corners by Nadia Bolz-Weber

• Birds in the Hand

• Changing the Channel with Kirsten Powers

• Learn with Dr. Emily

• The Courage to Live It

• Follow Your Gut

• The Hyphen by Emma Gannon

• The Spark

• Letters from Love with Elizabeth Gilbert

• The Louder Song with Aubrey Sampson

Do you read any of these publications? Feel free to let our community know which ones you enjoy the most.

Top Ten Good News Stories of 2024

Remember when good news used to go viral in social media? I miss those days. So, I decided to conclude the year by curating a list of good news stories from 2024. The last one includes one of our very own Humaning members!

• Saved by a Saxophone: Delayed Flight Gets Unexpected Holiday Cheer for Cranky Travelers

• Man With Unyielding Depression Starts Picking Up Litter–And Helps Clear 13 Tons of Trash with Family and Strangers

• Tarrant police officer delivers groceries to woman caught stealing eggs at Dollar General

• UPS Driver Saves Collapsed Grandmother, Then Brings Her Treats Every Week to Hospital: ‘She’s Family Now’

• Good Samaritan Finds $12,000 and Returns it All to the Senior Citizen Who Lost it

• Massachusetts Cafe Offers Free Coffee if You Come in Dancing

• When Missouri School Wanted to Rename Their Building, They All Agreed to Honor the Longtime Janitor

• Thousands Raised for Homeless Busker After Performance Goes Viral on TikTok

• 28-Year-old Man is Overwhelmed With Emotion After Hearing for the First Time

• Unforgettable Christmas as man discovers family he never knew he had

Do you have a good news story of your own to share? We’d love to hear it in the comments.

What’s in store for 2025?

The truth is, I don’t totally know! Do you? Oh good, I’m not alone. However, here are three things I do know…

1. The first Crowdsourcing post of 2025 will land in your inbox on New Year’s Day, and you’ll be invited to share your “word for the year.” So, you can start considering that now.

2. Have I ever told you how hard it is to write publicly while you’re writing a book behind the scenes? It’s like your wife is pregnant, but she’s still in the first trimester, so you’re waiting to tell all the people you love about what matters to you most right now. The manuscript for my next book—working title, Openhearted: Turning Conflict into Connection with a Single Choice—is due to my editor on March 3. I can’t wait to tell you more about it in 2025!

3. If you’re interested in getting a jump start on that topic, our paid community has been digging into it during our monthly Human Hour calls. If you aren’t already a paid member, there’s still time for you to join us in the first quarter of 2025, when we’ll be focused on showing up to life with an open heart by (1) setting boundaries without battles, (2) softening to our setbacks, and (3) connecting with compassion.

One of the last things Grace whispered to me in 2024 was this:

Live whatever is happening as beautifully as you can.

What do you say, shall we do that here at Humaning in 2025?