Category Archives: Philosophy & Thought

Would the End of US Matter?

So here is a more unsettling question: if life is, at its core, absurd, would the extinction of humankind really deserve our grief? One might be tempted to say no. After all, we rarely mourn what we believe has no lasting purpose; we let it fade without ceremony. But the thought refuses to settle soContinue reading “Would the End of US Matter?”

Against the Tide: Why We Still  Create

People have long sought a kind of immortality by leaving behind legacies—works of art, writing, institutions, traces of themselves meant to endure. This impulse stretches back across human history. Shakespeare, for instance, imagined that his poetry could grant a form of permanence, declaring, “So long as men can breathe or eyes can see, / SoContinue reading “Against the Tide: Why We Still  Create”

Travelling Light

I recently made the decision to move out of my home and into a long-stay hotel — and honestly, it wasn’t that big a deal. As a pensioner, I travel light these days, so I spent no more than half an hour stuffing everything I needed into a rucksack. Done. For most people, moving homeContinue reading “Travelling Light”

Beyond Consciousness — the Case for AI as a Creative Force

As artificial intelligence continues to compose music, write stories, and create art that rivals human efforts, it forces us to question long-held beliefs about creativity. Must creativity stem from consciousness, or can it be judged solely by the innovation and impact of the work itself? In this exploration, we challenge the traditional boundaries of creativity, arguing that AI—despite lacking a mind of its own—can produce outputs that are as transformative and thought-provoking as those of humans. It’s time to rethink what it truly means to create.

Telling Stories to the Night

Amber light seeps into the dark, softening the edges of the things in the care home —chair, curtain, glass of water—until  everything becomes mere smudges of shadows. I take up my pen, as I often do at this hour, to write. Habit, almost: to trawl the day for small truths, to catch brief scraps ofContinue reading “Telling Stories to the Night”

You Simply Are: Two Plum Blossoms and the Art of Immortality

Your peers blossom in a sunlit room,By curtain, cabinet and New Year’s knot;They wear the season’s warm and hopeful bloom,Yet all that lives in time must live and rot.No sooner do they flower than they fade—For all that dwells in place must know an end,And every gift that light and context madeIs but a loanContinue reading “You Simply Are: Two Plum Blossoms and the Art of Immortality”

The Mythic Life of Ordinary  Days

A simple morning routine—waking, making coffee, pulling back the curtain—quietly mirrors ancient myths of chaos giving way to order. By seeing our inner upheavals (especially grief and change) as underworld journeys within a larger cycle of renewal, we recover meaning and dignity in ordinary life, much like Joyce’s Ulysses turns one day in Dublin into an epic.

The Ordinary as a Test of Freedom

I meet my brother for lunch every week. I tap a heart to my beloved. I scroll through my photo album and notice faces I haven’t seen in years. And then it hits me—how quickly time has passed, how quietly distances form, how easily a life can drift without anyone meaning to drift. In thatContinue reading “The Ordinary as a Test of Freedom”