Boredom: how many ways can you scratch an itch?

"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone" (Blaise Pascal).

Daddy issues in the White House

Recently, I became a dad for the first time (that is, if you don’t count my miniature schnauzer, Banjo). Ever since my daughter was born, I’ve had a single thought going through my head: how do I ensure I don’t screw up my child?

Money and the inevitable worrying about tomorrow

The love of money may be the root of all evil, but the need for money cannot be subjected to a harsh moral judgment.

Misleading bridges, and better prayers

Bridges seem to be the emblem of existential stress for Romanians. In the face of a difficult situation, even Romanian folk wisdom recommends: "Make a pact with the devil until you have crossed the bridge."

The Christian citizen

“If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone” (Romans 12:18).

When making friends is not easy | Friendship and shyness

Next to family and health, friends are among the top reasons that make us happy. But what if we are solitary, recluse or shy?

How to speak to be heard

“The problem with communication is the illusion that it has been accomplished.” (George Bernard Shaw)

A shield against decline

Regardless of how dramatic a life's collapse may be, God’s love has the power to heal it. This was the simple yet shocking message with which a Christian community confronted the wave of crime in the city’s most violent neighbourhood.

The mirror is part of us | Friendship and our self-image

A friend carries within him our identity’s safe box.

Have it your way

“You can have any colour you want, as long as it’s black,” Henry Ford famously said, and the modern mass production revolution began. Today, however, you can customise almost anything. You can blend your foundation to match your exact skin colour. You can design your own shoes; you can personalise your car, your suit and even your M&Ms.

What’s growing on your family tree?

From a distance, it looked like a simple picture of a tree: nothing very artistic—more of a sketch in subtle shades of brown and green. But as I looked closer I noticed something unusual. The tree had been constructed out of words and phrases. Someone had collected snippets of information about their family and their ancestors, and written it down to form the...

Snail racing: The strange social dynamics dictated by social networks

Social interactions and the tools that facilitate them are changing the world in ways that even now, after all this time, we cannot anticipate.

COVID-19: How to stay positive and balanced

Our reality isn’t always a calm place. Feelings of safety and peace that are so necessary for our well-being often elude us. What is happening today on a global level only goes to show how fragile our world is, and how easily we can lose control over the things we thought we had mastered.

COVID-19: What people on the front line think and feel

While most of us have been staying inside for several weeks, many leave the safety of their homes every day to help us live our lives as normally as possible.

No one deserves to have that much money

In a dilapidated shack in Nairobi, a young woman makes her confession to the BBC reporter eager to hear her story: “I don’t know why God allows some people to be poor while others are rich.”