From me to us | Friendship and reciprocity
The wisdom of friendship consists in finding those who do not require a price, or ask you to change.
Does divorce make us happier than continuing in an unhappy marriage?
At the age of 27, for the first time in my life, I worried that time was passing too fast. For the next few years, the speed with which most of my friends were getting married was the next source of concern.
Good or bad: How we come to love negative characters
It is as surprising as it is real: negative characters like Dexter Morgan, from the eponymous Dexter, and Walter White, from Breaking Bad, have been cropping up in popular culture more and more often lately. Since when, how, and why have anti-heroes gained so much popularity?
More than stardust | Grandparents and their spiritual heritage
"Children are not a distraction from more important work. They are the most important work.” (Dr John Trainer)
Sometimes I pass my grandparents' house, which...
The shame that changes us (or not)
If shame were personified, its main characteristic would be its ability to creep into the darkest depths, avoiding any trace of light and any discussion of itself.
Friendship, rarer than love? | Friendship and honesty
Romantic love is easily hurt and somewhat pretentious, especially when faced with direct honesty. Friendship is more solid.
The essentials of Christian thought: Seeing Reality through the biblical story | Book review
Written by renowned church historian and Baylor University theology professor Roger E. Olson, The Essentials of Christian Thought [1] explores the metaphysics embedded in the biblical narrative.
Sports betting: from entertainment to addiction
Sports betting may seem to be a harmless way to unwind, but the relationship between winning and losing is, mostly, not in the player’s favour. Moreover, the road from entertainment to addiction can prove to be a short one, while the recovery process is arduous and long.
The kind of romance that destroys our relationships
Twenty-first century people are bombarded with fiction about romance.
Moral fatigue: Why do we stop doing what’s right?
Psychologists call it "learned helplessness". People just call it "it is what it is". Both terms describe the same phenomenon: the exhaustion that comes from trying to maintain the belief that their efforts matter.
The relay of small acts of kindness
In chaos theory, there is something that scientists call the “butterfly effect”—a seemingly insignificant event triggers a series of other events that later acquire significant importance. The butterfly effect has been used outside the realm of science as a metaphor for small things that have a considerable impact. When it comes to kindness, few things could demonstrate the butterfly effect better than the...
Self-esteem and religion, a complicated relationship
Some psychologists fear that religion erodes self-esteem. Some believers fear that self-esteem endangers salvation. Who is right?
Why we think things are worse than they are
In the age of the internet and the “global village,” an irrational fear taking hold in a small American town can easily go viral, reaching and affecting us all. Once online, news—whether true or false—can have a corrosive effect, leading us to feel cynical about the future and to hold low expectations for our leaders.
“I am because we are” | Dignity in fellowship
Nelson Mandela, one of the most iconic figures in the fight against apartheid—the system of racial segregation enforced by South Africa’s white minority government—spent 27 years in prison for his commitment to dignity, equality, and justice.
Visible and invisible chains
"Man is born free but everywhere is in chains." (Jean-Jacques Rousseau)


























