We spend much of our lives trying to gain control over something that may never have been ours to possess. Few ideas feel more reassuring than the belief that we are in control of our lives. We make plans, set goals, build routines, buy insurance, save money, exercise, study, and carefully consider our decisions. These are all meaningful activities, and they often improve our lives. They...
When the United States withdraws from the World Health Organization, it’s easy to treat the moment as purely political. Policy disagreement.Funding disputes.Ideological differences. But events like this rarely land with such intensity because of logistics alone. They land because they touch something deeper—something existential. Health is one of the few domains that makes interdependence...
What We Were Really Being Taught About Healing “Don’t pick at it.” It’s one of those phrases almost everyone heard growing up.A scraped knee. A scab on an elbow. A healing cut that itched just enough to demand attention. Don’t pick at it.You’ll make it worse.Let it heal. At the time, it sounded practical. Medical. Obvious. But years later, many of us are doing the exact opposite — not just with...
When a culture starts romanticizing the past, it’s rarely because the past was better. It’s because the present feels unstable—and someone knows how to monetize that feeling. The resurgence of trad-life aesthetics, rigid gender roles, nationalist religion, and nostalgic politics isn’t just a grassroots yearning for simplicity. It’s a market, a strategy, and in many cases, a business model. To...
Safety used to describe an environment. Something structural.Something contextual. A condition that made growth, disagreement, and learning possible. But somewhere along the way, safety changed. It stopped being a condition. It became a demand. When Safety Became a Feeling That Must Be Preserved Today, safety is often defined internally. If I feel unsettled, something is unsafe.If I feel...
