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If the coreopsis can hold both the ones blooming with color and the ones already fading, all in the same roadside, maybe that’s the more honest picture of how time actually moves through life.
When we identify with our fellow humans on the basis of our weaknesses rather than our supposed strengths, we open ourselves up to real connection with one another.
Losing oneself in the beauty of nature or great art is only one specific form of un-selfing, but there are others.
Large language models carry the risk of a critical distortion of reality that can lead to real cognitive hazards. Guardrails may help mitigate the psychological risks inherent in uncritical LLM usage.
In this thoughtful reflection, Allen Simon explores an unconventional understanding of religion, drawing on years of study and personal experience. Rather than focusing on doctrines or beliefs, the essay examines the role religion can play in helping people navigate life’s deepest questions and search for meaning. Along the way, it challenges familiar assumptions about spirituality, belief, and what it means to live a purposeful life…
In this review, we praise Erick Cloward’s Stoicism 101 as one of the best modern introductions to Stoic philosophy. Balancing clarity, practicality, and intellectual substance, the book succeeds in making Stoicism accessible without reducing it to inspirational clichés. We highlight its strong organization, modern real-world examples, attention to compassion, and honest discussion of Stoicism’s limitations and misconceptions. It is an ideal entry point for newcomers seeking a concise but meaningful guide to Stoic thought and practice…
Part memoir, part meditation on ancestry and belonging, this essay explores how grief, memory, and rediscovered heritage can reshape our sense of home. Through a deeply personal journey to Sweden—the land of the author’s maternal ancestors—it reflects on the enduring pull of place, the stories families carry or conceal, and the ways identity can be reawakened across generations.
In this reflection inspired by Braiding Sweetgrass, the author explores how a childhood relationship with land can quietly shape a lifelong sense of meaning and belonging. Through memories of walking the woods and creek with a beloved great-aunt, the essay becomes a meditation on attention, inheritance, and the sacredness of learning the language of a place.
This article explores the inherent tension between competing moral “goods,” like economy versus environment, which often drive social polarization. It advocates for a “both/and” approach to help bridge these divides by recognizing the valid intentions behind perspectives different from our own.