The Plane of Original Conception

Eight great things worth sharing this week: a new take on Hamlet, Gurdeep Pandher, and a word for the fear of inadequate sunshine.

Here are eight things I thought were worth sharing this week:

1. I’m loving this quote from A Swim in a Pond in the Rain by George Saunders: "No worthy problem is ever solved in the plane of its original conception.” Apparently it’s a paraphrasing of Einstein, that Saunders borrowed from a student, so I’m just not even going to try and make an official attribution. Instead, we’ll just bask in the beauty of the idea.

2. If you’re on Twitter, you need to follow @GurdeepPandher. Or if YouTube is more your speed, you can find him here. Everything he posts makes me smile.

3. Just so you know, NASA has not, repeat NOT, found a doorway on Mars. (Sci-Fi writers - this is a must read.)

4. One of the questions I get most often about meditation is this: how long I should meditate for? Is 5 minutes enough? Do I have to do it every day? Short answer: it depends on why you’re meditating. I wrote a blog post about it, breaking down the details.

5. This coming Monday is William Shakespeare’s birthday, which I share mostly because it reminds me that you should absolutely go see the new movie The Northman. It’s Hamlet. Kind of. And while it’s not a perfect film, I loved it.

6. For those of you in the Los Angeles area, I will be teaching a mindful writing session at this retreat in the foothills of Altadena on June 11 & 12. There are a few residential spots available or you can sign up for a day pass.

7. Nerd Word of the Week: dunkelflaute. A German word meaning roughly “a dark lull,” it’s being used lately to refer to the fear of having inadequate sunshine or wind to maintain a viable supply of renewable energy.

8. For all the memoirists out there - Faith Adiele (one of my fellow meeting leaders at at A Very Important Meeting) will be teaching a Master Class at the Mendocino Coast Writers’ Conference in August. Registration is open until the end of June.

Have a great weekend, y’all and by the way, if we’re not yet friends on Instagram or Twitter, come find me.

Cheers,

April