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Pleasures and pastimes

A denim jacket with a patch sewn on with red thread, with a needle with thread resting on the jacket

Traditional arts

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Could the art of ‘sashiko’ help to mend our frayed world?

The Japanese art of ‘sashiko’ celebrates the rough edges of life. Could this be the patchwork solution for our frayed selves?

by Melanie McGrath

Photo of a smiling person in vibrant attire and a large blue head wrap against a dark background.

Neuroscience

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The fascinating science of pleasure goes way beyond dopamine

Pleasure and happiness are too important for our mental health to be reduced to the single brain chemical dopamine

by Dean Burnett

Photo of a surfer riding a large wave in the ocean with cloudy spray, capturing the power and movement of the sea.

Meaning and the good life

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What surfing says about the importance of serendipity in life

What surfers call the elated state of ‘stoke’ is really a celebration of life and the meaningful serendipities it brings

by Aaron James

Black and white photo of a person sitting at a table in front of open windows with a mountain village view.

Stories and literature

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On the pleasures of hand-writing letters you’ll never send

Hand-writing letters you’ll never send takes the heat off feelings and lets you look back on drafts of a previous self

by Anandi Mishra

Black-and-white photo of a woman smoking at an outdoor cafe at night with tables, a bicycle and streetlights in the background.

Addiction

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You can want things you don’t like and like things you don’t want

The distinct neurochemistry of wanting and liking is helping to make sense of addiction – and more everyday behaviours

by Shayla Love

Painting of a woman alone in a closed café with chairs upturned on tables viewed through a window.

Emotion regulation

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Solitude can be profoundly restorative. Here’s how to savour it

Time alone offers unique psychological benefits, once you learn to embrace these quiet moments rather than escape them

by Thuy-vy Nguyen

Vintage black-and-white photo of two women in swimsuits wearing 1930s hairstyles, one lighting the other’s cigarette.

Drugs and psychedelics

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Cigarette! Exquisite fiend, ephemeral friend, how I miss you

Melancholic and alluring, addictive and seductive, cigarettes were the excuse for a sweet pause between lovers and friends

by Caroline Eden

Photo of a person jumping over graffiti-covered pavement with protesters in the background holding environmental signs.

Sports and games

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Sisyphus, skateboarders, and the value in endless failure

Skateboarders regularly fail at their chosen activity. But that doesn’t make it a meaningless task of Sisyphean proportions

by Andrei A Buckareff