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Pleasures and pastimes

Photo of three men smiling and holding a large inflatable globe in a room with various boxes and jars.

Creativity

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A life of splendid uselessness is a life well lived

Like the fertile soil of a well-kept garden, a life of splendid, utter uselessness yields abundance beyond our immediate aims

by Joseph M Keegin

Photo of a man sitting on grass near a bridge with people relaxing and walking in a park setting.

Thinking and intelligence

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Being alone with your thoughts is a skill you can practise

People go to extreme lengths to avoid time with their own thoughts. We’ve found some ways to make it more pleasurable

by Rémy Furrer

Photo of hands playing a piano keyboard, showing close-up of fingers and a ring on one finger against dark background.

Pleasures and pastimes

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Feel free to stop striving: learn to relish being an amateur

When I rekindled my relationship with the piano and tapped into my inner amateur, I discovered a quiet room of my own

by Xenia Hanusiak

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

Technology and media

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Why teenagers are deliberately seeking brain rot on TikTok

Talking to teens reveals a hidden sophistication to their media use. Rather than policing it, maybe we could learn from it

by Emilie Owens

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

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

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

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

Black and white photo of two women in swimsuits, one lighting the other’s cigarette while holding a towel, vintage style.

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