humanity

For better or for worse, relationships reveal the core of the human condition.

Thee Unknown
We inherit Thee Known. We fear Thee Unknown. We misunderstand Thee Unbecoming. This allegory explores what happens when a human steps beyond performance and allows identity to reorganize from within.
By Flower InBloomabout a month ago in Humans
A System That Breaks You More
I feel that to explain this, it might be worth explaining who I am and my own predicament first, and why it is that I feel the urge to explain what it feels like to live with a life-long illness in America. The American healthcare system has long been criticized, but it goes beyond that, and I’d like to explain the completely failed system. A system that buries people in debt, pain, and a constant overwhelming feeling of being unwanted by society at large.
By Richard Foltzabout a month ago in Humans
Socialism
Socialism is one of the most used forms of government since it was coined. Despite the ancients running similar systems, it has taken a different form in each place, depending on regions. The different forms all have similar core principles. Yet they do differ in the smaller factors. It conquered many nations with its promises of equality and high social benefits. The equality of the systems draws so many to their ideas. They are generally simple and offer a sense of equality, but they deliver few results that consolidate power in the ruling elite. As this system has been tried, it has not always been successful. It is a system of government control that lacks personal ownership and offers little room for dissent. Socialism will ultimately depend on everyone working together to make the system function, but it will still suffer from financial difficulties. Over a hundred years, the results have spoken: socialism has proven it struggles without elements of capitalism to address financial issues.
By Sarah Danaherabout a month ago in Humans
Paging Doctor Amazon!. Runner-Up in A System That Isn’t Working Challenge.
Every trip to the Emergency Room with my mother, age 95, has deepened my appreciation for our undervalued nurses and support staff while confirming how broken the medical system has become. The Trump administration's cut in educational funding that targets nursing and other medical programs is demoralizing female students of color who are starting to drop out of school.
By Lisa Suhayabout a month ago in Humans
Please Take a Number
The first thing they gave my father wasn’t a diagnosis. It was a number. Printed in black ink on thin white paper, slightly curled at the edges, handed to him with neutral politeness. “Please wait to be called.” The waiting room was bright, organized, calm in the way that institutions are calm when they have decided that calm is a design feature. Chairs arranged in obedient rows. A mounted screen blinking forward in disciplined sequence. A102. A103. A104. Order. Process. Fairness. My father sat beside me with his hands folded over his knees, breathing carefully, as if even the act of taking air required correct timing. He believed in systems. He paid his bills early. He followed instructions precisely. If the screen said wait, he waited.
By Melissa about a month ago in Humans
Democracy is in Permanent Beta. AI-Generated.
Elections are just poorly implemented patch notes Every few years, we get what looks like a major update. Campaigns roll out like release notes:
By Joshua Estrinabout a month ago in Humans
Dear Diary, I want to tell you about how I learned to understand perception.
In an earlier story, I told you about how I stopped wearing a hijab. Now I want to back up a bit to tell you about how I began wearing it and my experience with it, as it was all a bit unconventional.
By Diary of Some Girlabout a month ago in Humans
Dear Diary, I want to tell you about February 2022.
Four years ago this month, I closed the door on my old life and locked it. The anniversary of coming out to my parents and deciding they didn’t belong in my life anymore. Woof.
By Diary of Some Girlabout a month ago in Humans
The System That Never Sleeps
The first time I noticed it, it didn’t feel like a failure. It felt like motivation. My phone had started showing me a small number every Sunday evening — a report of how many hours I had spent on it that week. The number glowed faintly beneath a graph that rose and fell like a pulse.
By Melissa about a month ago in Humans
The Toxic Feminine and the Divine Feminine: What They Are and What They Are Not
The words “feminine” and “womanhood” are often used as if they mean the same thing, but they do not. Feminine energy is not limited to gender. It is a universal force found in all people, just as masculine energy is. The problem begins when the feminine is twisted into something manipulative, fearful, or self‑erasing. That twisted version is what many people call the toxic feminine. It is not the same as the divine feminine, which is the healthy, grounded, and life‑giving expression of feminine energy found in spiritual traditions around the world. Understanding the difference helps us see that the issue is not femininity itself, but the systems and beliefs that distort it.
By Julie O'Hara - Author, Poet and Spiritual Warriorabout a month ago in Humans
Toxic Patriarchy and Divine Masculinity: Understanding the Difference
The words “masculinity” and “patriarchy” get used so often that people sometimes forget they are not the same thing. Masculinity itself is not harmful. It is a natural expression of strength, protection, clarity, and grounded presence. The problem begins when masculinity is twisted into something controlling, fearful, or dominating. That twisted version is what many people call toxic patriarchy. It is not the same as divine masculinity, which is the healthy, balanced, and life‑giving expression of masculine energy found in spiritual traditions around the world. Understanding the difference helps us see that the issue is not men or masculinity itself, but the systems and beliefs that distort it.
By Julie O'Hara - Author, Poet and Spiritual Warriorabout a month ago in Humans
Why Heaven and Hell Don’t Exist: How Ancient Teachings Became Misunderstood
Most of us grew up with some version of the same story. If you are good, you go to heaven. If you are bad, you go to hell. Heaven is perfect and bright. Hell is dark and full of fire. The story is simple, clear, and easy to use as a warning. It is also, when you look closely at history and sacred texts, not actually what the earliest teachers said. Heaven and hell as physical places of eternal reward and eternal punishment are not ancient universal truths. They are later ideas, built from misunderstandings, mistranslations, and, at times, deliberate choices by people in power who found fear to be a useful tool.
By Julie O'Hara - Author, Poet and Spiritual Warriorabout a month ago in Humans