list

What you need to navigate your love life; advice about dating, healthy relationships and dealing with your overbearing mother-in-law.

The Quiet Epidemic of Emptiness
From the outside, everything can look fine. You have a phone. You have access to entertainment. You might have friends.
By mikeabout 17 hours ago in Humans
The Comfort of Borrowed Minds
Thinking for yourself sounds powerful. Almost everyone claims they do it. Very few actually practice it. Because real independent thinking is uncomfortable. It forces you to question beliefs you’ve held for years. It asks you to stand alone when the crowd moves in another direction. It exposes you to doubt, uncertainty, and sometimes isolation. Following the majority is easier. Borrowing opinions is safer. Repeating popular narratives feels like belonging.
By mikeabout 17 hours ago in Humans
Stuck Between Yesterday and Tomorrow
Most people don’t live in the present. They live in memories. Or in worries. Rarely in now. The past feels safe because it already happened. The future feels terrifying because it hasn’t. So the mind escapes into nostalgia or anxiety, depending on which illusion feels more comfortable at the moment. One tells you things were better before. The other tells you things will probably go wrong. Both steal your ability to experience the only moment where life actually exists.
By mikeabout 17 hours ago in Humans
Speaking to Time Instead of the Room
Much of modern communication is oriented toward immediacy. Writing is framed as something meant to be consumed quickly, reacted to instantly, and replaced just as fast by whatever comes next. Under this model, the value of a piece is measured almost entirely by its initial reception. If it does not land immediately, it is treated as a failure. This assumption narrows the purpose of writing and misunderstands how meaning actually travels through time.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcasta day ago in Humans
The Art of Self-Sabotage
Self-sabotage rarely looks like a dramatic decision. It doesn’t usually show up as a conscious choice to ruin your own life. It shows up quietly. You procrastinate on something important. You push away people who treat you well. You quit when things start getting serious. You convince yourself you’re not ready even when you’ve been ready for a long time. From the outside, it looks like inconsistency. From the inside, it feels like confusion. But underneath both sits something deeper: fear.
By mikea day ago in Humans
The Loneliness Nobody Talks About
Loneliness today looks different than it did in the past. It doesn’t always mean sitting in a dark room with no one around. Many people are surrounded by others every day. They go to school. They go to work. They scroll through hundreds of faces online. They exchange small talk. They laugh at memes. From the outside, their lives appear full. Yet inside, something feels empty. Not because they lack people. But because they lack connection.
By mikea day ago in Humans
Why Ancient Blades Still Fascinate the Modern Mind
There is something about Asian swords that goes beyond their physical form. You can look at a blade in a museum case, separated from its original purpose, and still feel a quiet presence coming from it. It isn’t just steel. It isn’t just a weapon. It feels like a memory solidified into metal.
By mikea day ago in Humans
The Purpose of Pain
Torture is one of the most uncomfortable subjects humanity avoids talking about. Not because it doesn’t exist. Not because it’s rare.
By mike2 days ago in Humans
The Invisible Script
Most people believe they are living their own lives. They believe their thoughts are theirs. Their desires are theirs. Their opinions are theirs. Their goals are theirs. But if you slow down long enough and really observe, an uncomfortable realization starts forming: a large portion of what we call “ourselves” was handed to us before we ever had a chance to choose. Family expectations, cultural norms, school systems, social media trends, economic pressure, and survival instincts quietly write a script in our minds. By the time we’re old enough to question anything, the script already feels like identity. You don’t remember agreeing to it. You don’t remember signing anything. Yet you wake up every day playing a role that feels strangely familiar, even when it doesn’t feel true.
By mike3 days ago in Humans
The Slow Poison of Comfort
Comfort feels harmless. It doesn’t look like destruction. It doesn’t smell like danger. It doesn’t announce itself with chaos or violence. It feels soft. Warm. Safe. It feels like rest after a long day. It feels like staying where you are because at least you know what to expect. That’s why comfort is so seductive. It doesn’t force itself on you. You choose it willingly. You choose it every time you avoid a difficult conversation. Every time you delay a goal. Every time you settle for “good enough” even though you know you’re capable of more. Comfort doesn’t attack your life all at once. It slowly replaces your ambition with tolerance. You stop asking for better. You stop imagining bigger. You stop demanding growth from yourself. Not because you’re lazy. But because discomfort feels unnecessary when survival is already handled. And once survival becomes the highest goal, living quietly disappears.
By mike4 days ago in Humans
The Weight of Nothingness
There is a specific kind of suffering that doesn’t scream. It doesn’t cry. It doesn’t collapse on the floor. It simply exists.
By mike4 days ago in Humans
The Quiet Loss of Self
Most people don’t wake up one day and realize they’ve lost themselves. It happens slowly. So slowly that it feels normal.
By mike4 days ago in Humans