humanity

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

The Power of the Nudge: How Nonviolence Won the Civil Rights Movement
History is often written by the victors, but it is shaped by those who refuse to strike back. Pushes for civil rights have covered a majority of American history, however, the movement heightened from the 1950s to the late 1970s. The tactics deployed during these times had a wide range from peaceful, nonviolent protests all the way to extreme armed resistance. Both forms had an impact on the Civil Rights Movement, but nonviolent action appears to have created a larger influence and helped the movement move closer to its goal of civil equality. Inspired by actions from Gandhi, Martin Luther King led the charge in nonviolent actions through techniques such as; sit-ins, marches, boycotts, and other peaceful tactics to desegregate and move towards civil equality for African Americans in America.
By Sam Shroyer4 months ago in Humans
Are Good and Evil Real, Or Just Conventions?. AI-Generated.
• • • History moves like a train, passing through plains that each belong to a different era. And if you hold up a magnifying glass over any one of those eras, something unsettling becomes visible: the values people live by keep changing.
By Han Elucidation4 months ago in Humans
The Haus of Roots and Secrets
The salon was alive with sounds of clients talking over driers, electric razors humming, and Millennial jams grinding in the background. Had it not been a weekday, I wouldn't have been able to recognize the song so quickly. Deee-Lite's Groove is in the Heart. Classic.
By Laura Roodenburg4 months ago in Humans
You’re Not Stuck—You’re Attached to What Feels Familiar
You keep telling yourself you’re stuck, like something in your life isn’t moving, like you’ve hit a point where nothing is really changing no matter how much you think about it or want it to. And it feels real, because from your perspective, you’ve been in the same place mentally for a while. Same thoughts, same situations, same cycles repeating. But if you really step back and look at it honestly, most of the time, you’re not actually stuck—you’re just holding on to something that feels familiar, even if it’s no longer good for you. Because familiar doesn’t always mean right. It just means known. And the mind prefers what it knows, even when it’s limiting, over something new that might be better but uncertain. That’s why people stay in situations that don’t help them grow, why they keep habits that don’t benefit them, why they hesitate to move on from things they’ve already outgrown. Not because they can’t leave, but because leaving requires stepping into something they don’t fully understand yet. And that gap—that space between what you know and what you don’t—is uncomfortable. So instead of crossing it, you stay. You convince yourself you need more time, more clarity, more confidence. But in reality, what you need is the willingness to let go without having everything figured out. Because growth doesn’t happen when everything feels safe. It happens when you accept that things won’t feel fully secure at first. And that’s the part people avoid. Not the effort, not the change itself, but the uncertainty that comes with it. You start thinking about all the things that could go wrong, all the ways it might not work out, all the risks involved. And those thoughts feel like logic, like you’re being careful. But a lot of the time, they’re just fear in a more acceptable form. Because staying where you are also has a cost—it just feels less obvious. You lose time. You lose opportunities. You lose the version of yourself that could’ve developed if you had moved earlier. And that loss is quiet, which is why it’s easy to ignore. You don’t feel it immediately, but it builds over time into frustration, into that sense that you’re not where you’re supposed to be. And then you call it being stuck, when really it’s the result of staying attached for too long. The shift happens when you stop asking “why am I stuck?” and start asking “what am I holding on to that I already know I should release?” That question hits differently, because it removes the illusion that something external is blocking you. It brings the focus back to your own choices, your own patterns, your own resistance. And once you see that, you realize you’re not waiting for the right moment—you’re avoiding the moment that requires you to be uncomfortable. Because letting go isn’t just about removing something from your life, it’s about accepting a temporary period of instability. It’s about not knowing exactly what comes next and moving anyway. And that takes a different kind of strength—not the loud, obvious kind, but the quiet kind that chooses progress over comfort. And once you make that shift, something changes. Not everything becomes clear instantly, but you start moving again. You feel momentum instead of stagnation. You feel like you’re actually participating in your life instead of just thinking about it. And that alone creates clarity over time. Because clarity isn’t something you wait for—it’s something that builds as you move forward. So the next time you feel stuck, don’t immediately assume you can’t move. Ask yourself what feels familiar that you’re still holding onto, and be honest about whether it’s helping you or just keeping you comfortable. Because most of the time, the only thing standing between you and progress isn’t a lack of options—it’s your attachment to what you already know.
By mike4 months ago in Humans
You Don’t Hate the Process—You Hate Not Being Good Yet
A lot of the time, when you say you hate doing something, that you’re tired of it, bored of it, or just not feeling it anymore, it’s not actually about the thing itself. It’s about how it makes you feel while you’re doing it. And more often than not, that feeling is tied to one simple reality—you’re not as good at it as you want to be yet. That gap between where you are and where you think you should be creates frustration, and your mind translates that frustration into “I don’t like this.” But if you were already good, if things were flowing, if results were coming easier, you wouldn’t feel the same resistance. You wouldn’t question it as much. You wouldn’t feel like stopping every time it gets uncomfortable. Because it’s not the process that’s pushing you away—it’s the feeling of being average, or even worse, being a beginner again. And that hits your ego more than you realize. You’re used to being comfortable in things you already understand, things where you can move without thinking too much, where you feel in control. But the moment you step into something that challenges that, something where you’re not immediately sharp, where you make mistakes, where progress is slow, it feels like a step backward. And nobody likes feeling like they’re going backward. So instead of recognizing that as part of growth, you start labeling the activity itself as the problem. You say it’s boring, or it’s not for you, or it’s not worth it. But if you look deeper, it’s not boredom—it’s resistance to discomfort. Because real growth doesn’t feel clean. It feels repetitive, slow, sometimes even pointless. You do the same thing over and over without immediate results. You try, fail, adjust, try again. And during that phase, there’s no external reward keeping you motivated. It’s just you, dealing with your own expectations and your own impatience. That’s where most people stop. Not because they can’t do it, but because they don’t like how it feels to not be good yet. They want the result without sitting in that uncomfortable middle phase. But that phase is the process. There is no shortcut around it. And the people who eventually become great at something aren’t the ones who avoided that feeling—they’re the ones who stayed long enough for it to pass. Because it does pass. At some point, things start clicking. Movements become smoother. Thinking becomes clearer. Results start showing. And suddenly, the same thing that felt frustrating begins to feel satisfying. Not because the activity changed, but because your relationship to it changed. You’re no longer fighting it—you’re moving with it. And that’s why it’s important to be honest with yourself when you feel like quitting something. Ask yourself if you truly dislike it, or if you just dislike being in the phase where you’re not good yet. Because those are two very different things. One is a genuine lack of interest. The other is a temporary discomfort that comes with improvement. And if you confuse the two, you’ll keep walking away from things that could have been meaningful, simply because you didn’t stay long enough to get past the hard part. The truth is, almost everything worth doing has a phase where it feels like you’re not progressing fast enough. Where you question yourself. Where you feel behind. That’s not a sign to stop—it’s a sign that you’re in the part most people avoid. And if you can stay there, if you can keep showing up even when it feels slow and uncomfortable, you give yourself a chance to actually get somewhere. Not instantly, not perfectly, but steadily. And that’s how real progress happens—not by loving every moment, but by understanding that the moments you don’t love are often the ones that matter the most.
By mike4 months ago in Humans
You’re Not Confused—You’re Avoiding a Decision
You keep telling yourself you’re confused, that you don’t know what to do, that you need more time, more clarity, more certainty before making a move. And on the surface, that feels true. It feels responsible, like you’re trying to make the right decision instead of rushing into something you might regret. But if you really look at it, most of the time, the confusion isn’t the real problem. The real problem is that you already see the options clearly—you just don’t like what each option requires from you.
By mike4 months ago in Humans
Dr. Prakash Bhatia and the Growing Importance of Mental Readiness in Military Performance. AI-Generated.
Dr. Prakash Bhatia is a board-certified psychiatrist with more than 25 years of experience treating adults, adolescents, and older adults across the full spectrum of mood, anxiety, trauma, and cognitive disorders. He is also dual-trained as a physician-scientist, having earned an MD/PhD in Neuroscience through the Medical Scientist Training Program at UT Southwestern. His professional background reflects a growing understanding within healthcare and performance science that mental readiness plays a vital role in helping individuals navigate demanding situations. This perspective is especially relevant in military environments, where resilience, decision-making, and adaptability are often tested under significant pressure.
By Prakash Bhatia4 months ago in Humans
Once In A While Fuck Up's. AI-Generated.
I genuinely couldn't land on a title for this one — my head's just not cooperating today. I don't have a word for what I'm feeling, so I'll just write it out and let you name it for me.
By Tala Noir4 months ago in Humans
The Fight Outside the Rink. Content Warning.
Trigger Warning: The following article discusses mental health, suicide, death and grief. “I’m fine.” Maybe one of the most common lies told. Every day, millions of people wake up in the morning, plaster a smile on their face and fight battles no one will ever see, not even their most cherished loved ones. As a man, it can seem more challenging at times. “Boys shouldn’t cry”, “man up”, “be a man”, we have all heard at least one of these before.
By Saurav Sarpal4 months ago in Humans
TAINTED LOVE THORN
CREATED, WRITTEN, EDITED BY TRUSSELLI ART ALL PHOTOS ARE MINE FROM MY CANON REBEL AND CELL PHONES. I USED AI FOR ANIMATION. IF YOU DO NOT READ OR LIKE MY ART OR MY PHOTOGRAPHY THAT WAS WRITTEN FROM MY HEART AND SOUL BECAUSE I USED AI FOR ANIMATIONS, THEN THAT IS YOUR ISSUE NOT MINE. IT IS MY WRITING, MY ART, MINE, & copyright 2026 and before that too. I worked on this song and editing 10 hours. No magic buttons found.
By Vicki Lawana Trusselli 4 months ago in Humans
From Ice Queen to Street Survivor: The Heartbreaking Story of Elena Gouliakova. AI-Generated.
The Magic on Ice In the 1990s, when Elena Gouliakova stepped onto the rink, it seemed as if the ice parted to let her pass. Her movements had something unreal, as if gravity were less important to her. With every glide, spin, and jump, this Russian figure skater captivated audiences across Europe, leaving them breathless with her extraordinary elegance and fluid artistry.
By Kashif Hayat4 months ago in Humans
Too Much Power Can Break You
Power feels good at first When you start gaining control—over your life, your decisions, your environment—it feels like freedom. You’re no longer dependent, no longer waiting on others, no longer stuck. You can move how you want, decide what you want, shape things your way. And at the beginning, that’s healthy. It builds confidence. It gives you direction. It makes you feel like you’re finally in charge of your life instead of reacting to it.
By mike4 months ago in Humans