Why do phones make us tired and ruin our mood?
The phenomenon of technoference (that is, the daily disturbance people experience due to the use of mobile phones) is becoming more and more prevalent, and researchers at the University of Technology in Queensland warn that as we become more dependent on these devices, we become more tired, more unproductive and unwell.
Why it’s okay to let your children get bored from time to time
The refrain: “I’m booored…” is “the worst song on the parenting soundtrack,” says journalist Kat Patrick humorously. Chanted in the most inconvenient moments, this complaint often triggers the parent’s guilt or concern. But there’s nothing wrong with letting your child get bored sometimes.
Burma to Brisbane: Esther Moo’s story
Let me paint you a picture of Esther Moo’s life, one of approximately 1959 Karen refugees who migrated to Australia between 2009 and 2010.
Seven books about change worth reading
Almost all bookstores today have a section dedicated to books on change, except that the generic name given to this category is "personal development", or "self-help".
Shame and its traps
I must admit, I was a shy child. Shame is a lesson well learned. However, I don’t know if it is always correctly learned.
Small changes and their remarkable impact
Changing habits is like tightrope walking: an exercise in which the balance is always fragile, but it is the small changes that pave the way to truly remarkable results.
The death of Death: Easter and eternal life
Ultra-rich Silicon Valley tech magnate Bryan Johnson has been regularly having transfusions of his own son’s blood plasma in an effort to live longer. The treatments are expensive and are essentially still being trialled.
An encounter with kindness
Sartre may have been right when he said Hell is other people. Yet, for some, their first step toward Heaven is meeting the God who shelters in someone else's soul.
A few things that help life make sense
I spoke very little in my early years and my mother says that my silence scared her. She never knew what was going through my mind. She was afraid I was hiding something.
Changing without change
Our greatest, most desperate need today is not the type of change which loses its power over time, but that which leads to our transformation into a permanent Good.
The stranger in your home
You must run. You only have a few days, perhaps only minutes, to pack all the things you can take with you. You don’t know whether you’ll arrive at a safer place, or whether anyone will welcome you, or whether you’ll ever return home.
The mad monk and the case for good theology
The Oxford Online Dictionary describes theology as “the study of the nature of God and religious belief”. That’s a helpful understanding, but let’s begin with some seriously bad theology as practised by the Russian mystic and faith healer Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin.
How risk-free is alcohol tasting as a child?
To offer one’s child a sip of alcohol during mealtime or for other special occasions is not as rare as one might like to believe. Even if parents believe that a controlled start to alcohol consumption is protection from bingeing later on, the reality is that alcohol tasting in childhood generates major risks for the child’s development.
Portrait of a mother
Inexplicable joy, sleepless nights, fulfilled dreams, well-founded or irrational fears, wide smiles, bitter tears, unexpected rewards, and sacrifices—they all intertwine in the life of a responsible parent in such a way that it is not easy to grasp how difficult and beautiful they can be, all at the same time.
The last tear
I found myself at the airport, waiting to board my flight. At one point, the speakers announced the names of four people who were expected at a nearby boarding gate. Their names were called three times. Eventually, the airport staff withdrew, and the door closed behind them. Shortly afterward, a modest-looking family appeared. The confusion in their eyes, as they glanced left and...


























