literature
Whether written centuries ago or just last year, literary couples show that love is timeless.
The Quiet Bench
A Place for Thinking The bench sat beneath a jacaranda tree at the edge of the park, slightly removed from the paths where most people walked. Its paint had peeled over the years, revealing layers of green and blue beneath, as if it had lived more lives than anyone remembered.
By Waqas Khan 5 days ago in Humans
The Weight of Being "Too Much": How I Learned My Sensitivity Was Never the Problem
I was seven years old the first time someone told me I was too sensitive. I'd come home from school crying because my best friend said she didn't want to play with me anymore. My father looked up from his newspaper, irritation flickering across his face. "You're being too sensitive," he said, turning the page. "Kids say things. You need to toughen up." So I tried. I swallowed my hurt. I forced a smile. I pretended it didn't matter. That moment became a blueprint for the next three decades of my life. By the time I was thirty-seven, married with two kids and a successful career, I'd perfected the art of not feeling too much. I'd learned to laugh off insults, minimize my pain, and apologize for my emotions before anyone else could criticize them. But the cost of all that toughening up? I'd become a stranger to myself. The Education of Emotional Suppression The messages came from everywhere, each one teaching me that my natural way of being was somehow wrong. When I cried during a sad movie: "It's just a movie. Why are you so emotional?" When a friend's thoughtless comment hurt my feelings: "You're overreacting. I was just joking." When I needed time to process conflict: "You're being too dramatic. Just get over it." When I was moved to tears by beauty—a sunset, a piece of music, an act of kindness: "You cry at everything. What's wrong with you?" Each time, the same lesson: Your feelings are excessive. Your responses are inappropriate. You are too much. I learned to preface every emotional expression with an apology. "I know I'm being ridiculous, but..." "I'm probably overreacting, but..." "Sorry, I'm just too sensitive..." I became an expert at minimizing my own experience, at gaslight myself before anyone else could do it for me. The Slow Erosion of Self What happens when you spend decades being told your emotions are wrong? You start to believe it. I stopped trusting my own reactions. When something hurt me, my first thought wasn't "that was hurtful," but "I'm being too sensitive." When I felt uncomfortable in a situation, I'd override my instincts and force myself to stay, convinced my discomfort was a character flaw rather than valuable information. I became everyone's emotional support system while denying myself the same care. Friends would call me for hours when they were upset, and I'd listen with endless patience and compassion. But when I was hurting? I'd minimize it, laugh it off, handle it alone. In my marriage, I'd absorb my husband's bad moods without comment, adjust my behavior to keep the peace, and swallow my hurt when he was dismissive or short with me. "You're too sensitive" became his go-to response whenever I expressed that something bothered me. Eventually, I stopped expressing it at all. I taught my children to share their feelings, while simultaneously teaching them through my example that their mother's feelings didn't matter. I'd hide in the bathroom to cry, ashamed that I couldn't be stronger.
By Ameer Moavia8 days ago in Humans
The Attention Economy Is Quietly Rewriting Our Minds — and Most People Don’t Notice
Every time you unlock your phone, scroll a feed, or tap a notification, you are participating in something far bigger than momentary distraction. You are engaging in what experts call the attention economy — a system where human focus is the most valuable resource on Earth. This isn’t hyperbole. It’s reality. For the companies that fuel the modern internet, your attention is currency. Every second spent watching, clicking, or reacting generates data that platforms use to predict your behavior, tailor your feed, and pull you deeper into their ecosystem. And the consequences go beyond algorithms. They are reshaping how we think, feel, and decide — often without our conscious awareness.
By Yasir khan11 days ago in Humans
The Day My Phone Started Knowing Me Better Than I Did
It started with a notification I almost ignored. “Good morning, Alex. Based on your sleep patterns, we’ve adjusted your morning schedule. Coffee is ready at 7:15. You might want to leave home at 8:03 instead of 8:10.” I froze. My phone had never spoken to me like this before. Sure, it suggested playlists, predicted traffic, and reminded me of appointments. But it had never calculated me this precisely. Curiosity overcame caution. I followed its instructions. The coffee was perfect. Traffic was lighter than usual. I arrived at work feeling oddly efficient.
By Yasir khan11 days ago in Humans
Digital Shadows: How Our Online Lives Shape Who We Are
We live in a world where almost every thought, habit, and interaction leaves a digital trace. Every post we make, every story we share, every “like” or reaction contributes to a vast, invisible record of our lives. These traces—our digital shadows—are shaping more than just algorithms; they are shaping us.
By Yasir khan11 days ago in Humans
We Are Training Technology More Than It Is Training Us
Most conversations about technology focus on what machines are learning. We talk about artificial intelligence becoming smarter, algorithms improving, and systems adapting faster than ever. The common fear is that technology is watching us, analyzing us, and eventually outgrowing us. But there’s a quieter truth hiding in plain sight. Technology is learning because we are teaching it—constantly, unintentionally, and without pause.
By Yasir khan11 days ago in Humans
The Age of Invisible Technology: How Silence Became the Most Powerful Feature
Technology used to announce itself loudly. New devices arrived with dramatic launches, glowing screens, and long lists of features designed to impress. Faster processors, bigger storage, sharper displays—progress was measured by how much more we could pack into a single machine. The louder the innovation, the better it seemed.
By Yasir khan11 days ago in Humans
7 Deadly Sins of the Bible in Detail
The Bible teaches us that sin is not simply wrongdoing but a separation between humanity and God. Sin corrupts both spirit and society, distorting the divine image within us. Among the many forms of sin described in Scripture, seven have traditionally been recognized as especially destructive to the soul. These are known as the Seven Deadly Sins. They represent the root causes of moral decay and vices that distort character, fuel rebellion against God, and destroy relationships with others.
By The Big Bad 11 days ago in Humans
Why Winter Brings Back the Love You Thought You’d Healed From
Winter has a way of reviving old love, forgotten heartbreaks, and emotions you thought you’d healed from. This deeply human article explores why cold seasons trigger emotional relapses, loneliness, and soul-level memories… through psychology, neuroscience, nostalgia, and the quiet honesty of winter itself.
By F. M. Rayaan12 days ago in Humans
The World Through Different Eyes
We often believe that reality is fixed, that the world exists exactly as we perceive it. But the truth is, reality is much more flexible than we realize. It’s shaped by our thoughts, our experiences, and the lens through which we choose to view life.
By Yasir khan15 days ago in Humans
A Pachelbel Canon Night. Top Story - December 2025.
When I was writing my first book, the world around me was asleep, and I was awake in the wonder of the light. Every guidance was in the nuance of the living form. I had a house then and not much else, but I had a room for which to grow and live, and everything else was a beam of light to see by. I lived in prayer, in meditation, and there was no radical transformation. It was more of a sifting and taking it all in.
By Canuck Scriber Lisa Lachapelle16 days ago in Humans
The Foundation for Order in a Collapsing Culture
This is a systems-level framework, not a polemic or a list of opinions. It lays out a sequence of foundational truths about how societies maintain order, how that order erodes, and why collapse follows when truth, accountability, and consequence are selectively suspended. Each point builds on the last, tracing a logical path from epistemology and moral agency to politics, institutions, and cultural outcomes.
By Peter Thwing - Host of the FST Podcast16 days ago in Humans
