connection

An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 16 – Final Exam Week – Part 5: Have you hugged someone today?

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A hug doesn’t fix everything. But it reminds the nervous system that it doesn’t have to face everything alone. It reminds the mind that it’s safe enough – just for a moment – to soften. We don’t have relationships. We are relationships. Every word you speak, every silence you choose, every kindness or cruelty rewrites the invisible web you’re standing in. Connection isn’t a distraction from life… it is the point where life happens.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 15 – Meaning of Life – Part 6: What time is it on the sun?

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Asking “What’s the meaning of life?” is like asking what time it is on the sun. The answer isn’t waiting to be discovered; it’s made through how we show up in life. Meaning isn’t found. It’s lived. Through love, through relationships, and by being present. Instead of searching for an answer, we’re meant to step into life. The meaning of life is life itself, and the meaning we create shows up in the connections we make.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 15 – Meaning of Life – Part 3: Who’s your hero?

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Sometimes, the most meaningful lives don’t look meaningful at all. It’s not about grand achievements or leaving a name etched in history—it’s about the impact we have on others. A kind word, a listening ear, a small act of care—it all adds up. What if the meaning of life isn’t about greatness, but about connection? George Bailey didn’t build an empire, but he changed lives just by being there. We all do, too, whether we notice it or not. So ask yourself: who will you help tomorrow—just by being you?

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 12 – Ethics 2 (Objectivism) – Part 6: Who’s your daddy?

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At the heart of ethics, the true north may not be a rulebook or a theory—it’s the bonds we share. Whether it’s with another person, a community, or even ourselves, ethics can be grounded in how we nurture our relationships. Does our action build trust, understanding, and love? Or does it damage, isolate, and hurt? The quality of our relationships might just be the most important measure of a life well-lived—ethics is deeply rooted in connection.

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An Introduction to Philosophy (RLL style) Week 09 – God 1 (Theism) – Part 6: What’s love got to do with it?

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Love isn’t a necessity for the universe to function, but it persists anyway. It disrupts the cold efficiency of survival and adds something deeper, more tender, to the story of existence. Metaphysics and philosophy ask whether love is a fluke of chemistry or a clue that the universe is more than machinery—it might be the very force that holds the system together, a source of connection, meaning, and goodness that can’t be explained away.

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A New Year, A New World

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Dear December Riptide, As this year winds down, we may feel like we’re caught in a riptide, pulling us toward an uncertain future. So much is being swept out to sea – the things we thought we knew, the comfort of the past, the world that no longer serves us. It’s painful to watch the … Read more

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Go Boldly Where You’ve Never Gone Before – Next Door

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Dear Fellow Explorer, We live in an age obsessed with the stars.Mars colonies, moon bases, billionaires in space – the dream of going where no one has gone before still lights up our imaginations. But maybe, just maybe, the next great frontier isn’t light-years away.Maybe it’s ten feet to your left. We used to know … Read more

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