For your stray attention this weekend

Briefly: May and June day retreats in Kent, UK | I made this little piece about simple rituals on my Instagram - seems perfect for Easter | You can find my forthcoming live appearances here | I love Everything is Amazing, and this piece on the power of deep water set me reeling

Hello,

My selections this week are decidedly bittersweet - stories with beautiful upsides and dark underbellies; people who make your heart soar, only to disappoint you.

For residents of the Marshall Islands, the concept of ‘home’ is becoming ever more diffuse. As climate change brings droughts and floods to their Pacific paradise, and leaving the string of islands to seek work becomes the norm, a new trend has emerged. Breaking a long tradition of naming children after their ancestors, parents are now choosing names pased on places in the atoll. Ellen Milne-Paul, mother of two island-named children, puts it poignantly:

“We’re going to live and die here,” she says. But for Elenak and Tarlan, “should they leave, if they decide to become a permanent resident abroad, they’ll still be connected to this country”.

After my last weekend post on language, Lousie Marston sent a link to this extraordinary Radiolab episode that told the story of Charles Bliss, a Shoah survivor who had the beautiful idea of creating a universal language without words, based on symbols and logic. For the longest time, it looked like he’d failed. But then a teacher of kids with cerebral palsy dusted off the language to offer her charges a means of communication. To say the kids ran with it is an understatement. I’ll let you listen to the rest, but Charles’ reaction is… disappointing. People are very complex indeed. (I’d be interested to hear how my autistic readers read Charles - I have thoughts.) Thank you for recommending it, Louise! I’ve not been able to stop thinking about it.

When I saw an article called Why Tetris Consumed Your Brain, I had to read it. Because, friends, it did. To say I was addicted to Tetris in the late 90s would to be an understatement. As I struggled to cope in my first year at university, I became entirely dependent on Tetris to leave my mind for hours at a time, relishing the satisfaction of a tiny universe where I could actually make a difference, even if that difference was aligning blocks (Iplayed exclusively at Level 10). I also tapped the deeply therapeutic potential of the game in the form of two-player mode. My friend Beccy and I sat side by side as we played and spilled out our woes - zero eye contact; full human contact. So I love Tetris. But I also found it hard to ever stop playing it. This article explores why it’s simultaneously so soothing and addictive.

The Finns have been the happiest nation on earth for six years now - but that might just be because they understand happiness differently. As this article reveals, the Finnish mindset is to stoical to be fully comfortable with the word ‘happy’ - what they aim for instead is a more like contentment, security, grit and gratitude; freedom to take pleasure in their stunning natural environment. Teemu Kiiski puts it like this:

‘Happiness,’ somtimes it’s a light word and used like it’s only a smile on the face [...] But I think that this Nordic happiness is something more foundational.

There are concerns, too - Black Finns in the article feel isolated and fear a rise of white nationalism. And psychologist Frank Martela wonders if being the happiest country in the world might be a little too much pressure. ‘Dropping to be the second-happiest country country could be good for the long-term happiness of Finland,’ he says.

I loved Maggie Smith’s forthcoming memoir of the unravelling of her marriage, You Could Make This Place Beautiful. She’s appearing on my Book Club in June, and this excerpt in The Cut should whet your appetite. You can pre-order it now for its release in April in the US, or May in the UK. You already follow Maggie’s excellent Substack, right?

And finally, if you’d like to come to one of my retreats in May or June, you can extend your stay by booking accommodation at Elmley Nature Reserve. There are a selection of shepherds huts, cabins and farmhouse rooms to choose from. Use the code KatherineMay23 for 10% off a Farmhouse bedroom, a Shepherds Hut or a Bell tent for the night before and/or the night of the event.

Have a lovely week. I’m actually on holiday, so forgive me if I’m less responsive than usual to your comments - but please leave them. I’ll read them when I’m back :)

Take care,

Katherine