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Close-up of hands playing a piano, with a focus on a ringed finger pressing the keys.

Pleasures and pastimes

idea

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 woman in an orange sweater is practising her golf swing in a narrow, cobblestone alleyway lined with bicycles, adjacent to a building with large windows.

Play

idea

The achievement society is burning us out, we need more play

This is about more than a self-help switch – it will take structural changes to reject capitalism’s productivity obsession

by Alec Stubbs

A close-up of a man using an online betting platform on his smartphone. The phone screen lights up a darkened room

Addiction

guide

How to control your gambling

What’s fun at first can all too easily get out of hand. Learn the warning signs and use these tips to rein things in

by Luke Clark

Dance

film

How the acrobat and choreographer Yoann Bourgeois plays with gravity and time

Directed by Raphael Wertheimer

Hands clapping flour over a ball of dough on a floured surface with a wooden rolling pin nearby, in a dark background setting.

Food and drink

idea

If you don’t fancy mindfulness, then try cooking instead

When overwhelmed I schedule in a cooking day: playful, daring and full of memories. Beats any other stress-reliever for me

by Chloe Faure

Play

idea

What TikTok videos have in common with Victorian parlour games

TikTok and Insta videos are the Victorian parlour games of today, allowing us to share in the emotional benefits of play

by Kim Beil & Ryan Tacata

Abstract watercolour painting of figures walking in different directions on a white background.

Play

film

An Oscar-nominated animation that celebrates walking with humans

Directed by Ryan Larkin

A surfer rides a large blue wave, with white spray and foam around them under a dark, dramatic sky.

Meaning and the good life

idea

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 an older man in a suit standing near a railing, illuminated from above, looking slightly upward.

Identity

idea

Stanislavski’s revelation: we’re more than the parts we play

Stanislavski taught that performance – on stage as in life – is created by analysing a character’s feelings and objectives

by William Justice Bruehl

Black-and-white photo of photographers taking pictures of a meerkat at a zoo, with onlookers in the background.

Animals

film

The zoo is a funhouse mirror that reflects and refracts the peculiarities of being human

Directed by Bert Haanstra