Humans evolve with their surroundings. Whether you realize it or not, you’re not just a product of your environment, but an imitation of it. When it’s cold and dark you become more secluded and drawn in. When it’s warm and breezy, you become hopeful and light. You see possibilities again, feel the winds of change […]
“A short practice that you do every day is better than a long practice you keep putting off to tomorrow.” Dr. Kelly McGonigal is a health psychologist who is known for her work in the field of ‘science help’—popular explication of scientific research—as it relates to achieving personal goals despite inner conflict. She’s studied the […]
Antidepressants is a loaded topic. With advocates for it and critics against it, there may never be a straight forward answer if antidepressants are right for everyone. There are articles written about its harmful side effects and just as many written about its benefits. I recently came across Helen Rosner’s essay Not Everyone Feels This […]
Hanne Blank is a historian, writer, editor and public speaker. She has also edited and written erotica but is retired from that genre. Blank believes in civil rights in general and fat rights in particular. She says: “For me, as a progressive feminist, opposing the whole range of physical-body-based prejudices and stigmas is all of […]
We have this weird idea about celebrities. Because of their time in the spotlight (and consequently, in our homes) we assume we know them. We assume we understand their lives — always assuming those lives are far better than our own. When we watch old movies featuring Bette Davis, Marilyn Monroe, Elizabeth Taylor, Audrey Hepburn, […]
It is never too late to turn on the light. Your ability to break an unhealthy habit or turn off an old tape doesn’t depend on how long it has been running; a shift in perspective doesn’t depend on how long you’ve held onto the old view. When you flip the switch in that attic, […]
Sonder: The realization that each passerby has a life as vivid and complex as your own. Opia: The ambiguous intensity of looking someone in the eye, which can feel simultaneously invasive and vulnerable. Monachopsis: The subtle but persistent feeling of being out of place. Énouement: The bittersweetness of having arrived in the future, seeing how […]
Choice is a fundamental power of the human experience. Everyone knows the power of the choices you make have infinite consequences. We have no idea, however, what’s a little choice or a big choice. We believe that big choices are obvious ones — buying a house, getting married, changing careers. These are the ones we […]