Hey everyone. My apologies for the recent unexcused absence. The second semester of 1L year knocked at my door much sooner than I was prepared for, and it’s been pedal to the metal since then. I’m afraid I’ve hardly had any time to write what with my academic, professional, and organizing commitments. Which brings me to today’s announcement.
From now on, in the interest of protecting my capacity and maintaining a higher quality to my writing, Samsara Days will be published every two months, so bimonthly (if that is in fact what bimonthly means). While it was fun, intellectually challenging, and a valuable writing exercise to commit to monthly essays for the first six months, it’s not unsustainable for me as I am now. When I started this publication, I was working full-time at 40 hours per week, which meant—humorously enough—that I had far more free time and energy than I do now as a law student. Over this winter, I came to feel that if I want to deliver writing that’s actually worth a damn—well thought-out, well-written, well-edited, etc.—then I’m going to need some more room to manuever. So for 2023, Samsara Days will be released on the final Sunday of every other month, starting in February. Meaning my next essay will come out the morning of Sunday, February 26. I’ll still be posting gathas and other bonus posts outside of the regular publication schedule.
My apologies to anyone who might have been confused as to why I didn’t publish in January. There’s no excuse for not announcing this earlier—I’ve just been pushing it off and pushing it off, as is my personal brand. For my paid subscribers, I understand if this makes you reconsider your monthly commitment. However, I’m confident that quality over quantity is the rule of thumb in writing, and so this choice will result in a better experience for you as well as for me. For the uninitiated, just so you know, while Samsara Days will always be free to read, there is an option to also subscribe for $6 a month or $72 a year if you want to support me and my work. Think of it as buying me a beer a month! Not sure why you’d want to do that for a total stranger on the Internet, but evidently, some of you are just that kind.
So I will continue to deliver you reflections on life, culture, and politics from the world’s most nervous Buddhist socialist, and soon—if all goes well in the coming years—from the world’s most nervous public defender. We’ll about abolition, socialism, sports, Star Wars, Bruce Springsteen, and everything in between—and I’ll do what I can to connect it back to the Dharma. It’s a bold move. Let’s see if it pays off.
That’s all I had for you today. Happy February, and thanks for lending me your ear. I know my audience is all romantics and lovebirds, so have a happy Valentine’s Day as well. As I bid you goodbye, I also wanted to take this opportunity to recommend some of my personal favorite Substacks, in no particular order. Do me a favor and give these folks a read!
The Column by Adam Johnson
Love, A by Adrian Patenaude
Very Normal Girl by Audrey Lee
Sentences: Writing about Mass Incarceration by Brian Dolinar
JoeWrote by Joe Mayall
katelin’s thoughts by Katelin Penner
Terrain by Matthew Haugen
olurinatti by Olayemi Olurin