literature

Whether written centuries ago or just last year, literary couples show that love is timeless.

Bewilderment
Finally there and happy, she entered the third-floor apartment, sweaty and out of breath. He was already waiting for her, hidden behind the black shadows of the monochrome curtains and the chirping of birds in the courtyard.
By Moon Desertabout 6 hours ago in Humans
What the System Forces You to Become
The Question the System Replaces By the time a person has passed through employment law, healthcare coverage rules, unemployment insurance, disability determination, and benefit eligibility, the relevant question has already shifted without ever being stated out loud. It is no longer whether the system helped or failed them. It is whether they managed to remain legible long enough to survive it. Each institutional layer imposes requirements that appear reasonable when viewed in isolation, yet become coercive when experienced sequentially:
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcasta day ago in Humans
Why Are We Here? Finding Our Purpose in Life
Why Are We Here? Finding Our Purpose in Life By Hazrat Umer A Simple Guide to Understanding Our Journey on Earth Have you ever looked up at the stars at night and wondered, "Why am I here?" Or maybe you've just woken up on a normal morning and thought, "What is the point of all this?" These are big questions, and every human being, young or old, asks them at some point. It's like being given a toy without instructions and trying to figure out what it's for.
By Hazrat Umer2 days ago in Humans
Forgiveness Is Not a Prerequisite for Healing
There is a persistent cultural belief often framed as callow wisdom that forgiveness is necessary for healing. Survivors are told that to move forward, they must “let go,” “make peace,” or forgive those who have harmed them. This belief is not only inaccurate; for many survivors but it is also actively harmful.
By Cadma3 days ago in Humans
Rabbi Rachel Rosenbluth: Reimagining Jewish Ritual, Kehilla, and Communal Covenant in Modern Life
Rabbi Rachel Rosenbluth is the founder of Bluth’s Ritual Studio, a Toronto-based practice that works globally, and is devoted to reimagining Jewish ritual for modern life. Ordained by Beit Midrash Har El, an Orthodox yeshiva that ordains women, she works largely in a Conservative-inflected mode as a rabbi, educator, wedding officiant, and artist. Her work blends pastoral care, theology, and aesthetic craft, including Hebrew calligraphy and ceremony design. She is developing a stunning coffee-table book to help people build community around the rituals that matter most. She collaborates with couples and communities to make belonging resilient.
By Scott Douglas Jacobsen3 days ago in Humans
The Color Line Within the Color Line
Colorism is often described as a preference for lighter skin within communities of color. Yet this definition, while accurate, is incomplete. Colorism is not merely an aesthetic bias or cultural quirk. It is a social technology one that developed within colonial and racial hierarchies to maintain systems of white supremacy without constant direct enforcement. At its core, colorism is a structure that rewards proximity to whiteness and punishes distance from it. It operates through psychological conditioning, social incentives, and internalized hierarchies. Over time, it becomes self-sustaining: communities begin to reproduce the same divisions that were originally imposed upon them.
By Cadma3 days ago in Humans
THE LEATHERMAN
In the mid-1800s, residents of rural New York and Connecticut began to notice something strange... not all at once, and not dramatically.
By Veil of Shadows3 days ago in Humans
Beyond Epstein
The night I stopped thinking about Epstein as a person and started thinking about him as a mirror, I couldn’t sleep. Not because of fear.
By John Smith4 days ago in Humans
Power of Silence
The room was loud, but what scared me most was the silence I was about to create. My phone buzzed again on the table, lighting up with a name I hadn’t saved but knew by heart. I watched it vibrate itself tired, then stop. I didn’t pick it up. For the first time in a long time, I let the silence win.
By John Smith4 days ago in Humans
the legal system's plight. AI-Generated.
In contemporary society, the effectiveness of rules and regulations often hinges less on their explicit content and more on the willingness of individuals to adhere to them. This phenomenon underscores the idea that the collective will of the people plays a crucial role in governance, shaping how rules are interpreted and followed. However, the inherent vagueness of many laws, often articulated in natural language, complicates this dynamic, leading to varied interpretations and potential non-compliance. By exploring the intricate relationship between collective will, the ambiguity of language, and social compliance, this article aims to illuminate the significant factors influencing rule adherence and the implications for effective governance.
By Alain junior4 days ago in Humans
Prayers That Go Deeper Than Politics
Prayers for safety, prayers for peace, Prayers that violence would finally cease. Prayers for realization, hearts made aware,
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast6 days ago in Humans
Why Modern Life Feels Heavy Even When Nothing Is Actually Wrong. AI-Generated.
I’ve been thinking about something for a while now, and I don’t fully understand it yet — but I can feel it. Life isn’t falling apart. Nothing terrible is happening. There’s no crisis demanding immediate attention. On paper, things are mostly fine. And yet, there’s this quiet heaviness that doesn’t seem to leave, no matter how much I try to ignore it.
By Jennifer David7 days ago in Humans