Category Archives: philosophy

Am I enough? Am I doing enough?

Posted on June 19, 2022 by Sarah

I’ve been struggling a bit lately with a sense of mediocrity and a feeling of confusion about what I should be trying to do with my life. I can’t seem to shake the belief that I owe someone something for … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, self-improvement, suffering | Leave a comment

Responsibility and Stoicism

Posted on March 28, 2016 by Sarah

A constant theme running through many of my recent posts has been around the overburdening of individuals with responsibility for their own plight. Shame resilience, for example, is partially about letting ourselves off the hook, and empathising with each other’s struggles, failings, … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, politics, social justice, Stoicism | Tagged , | 4 Comments

Learning to relax

Posted on March 26, 2016 by Sarah

I have written before about being driven to be highly organised, and not feeling sure whether this is an entirely healthy thing. I’ve been thinking about this again in light of my recent forays into Brene Brown’s shame resilience work, … Continue reading →

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Stoicism, acceptance and happiness

Posted on March 22, 2016 by Sarah

I have a negative bent, a tendency to see the bad in life more clearly than the good. I get very affected by bad news – and there’s a lot of it: worsening inequality, dismantling of the welfare state, another financial crisis potentially … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, meditation, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, Stoicism, suffering, Sunday Assembly | Tagged , , | 6 Comments

Stoicism

Posted on September 19, 2015 by Sarah

I just read “The Antidote: Happiness for People Who Can’t Stand Positive Thinking” by Oliver Burkemann. It presented several different counter-intuitive paths to happiness, having first discussed the limitations and ineffectiveness of a lot of the “positive thinking” cult. One … Continue reading →

Posted in philosophy, Stoicism, suffering | Tagged , , , , | 2 Comments

God Revised

Posted on August 11, 2013 by Sarah

A while ago, I attended a service at my local Unitarian church led by a guest minister: Galen Guengerich from New York. I enjoyed it enough to want to read his book “God Revised: how religion must evolve in a … Continue reading →

Posted in God, is religion good or bad for you?, morality, philosophy, science, Unitarian | 7 Comments

And so it goes with God

Posted on May 12, 2013 by Sarah

“I told you two stories that account for the 227 days in between.” “Yes, you did.” “Neither explains the sinking of the Tsimtsum.” “That’s right.” “Neither makes a factual difference to you.” “That’s true.” “You can’t prove which story is … Continue reading →

Posted in God, myth and metaphor, philosophy, science, Unitarian | 24 Comments

Suffering and the need for a good story

Posted on March 24, 2013 by Sarah

A few years ago, one of the big things that stopped me believing in an underlying purpose and intention in our existence (i.e. that the universe was created by some kind of a god) had to do with suffering. I’ve … Continue reading →

Posted in absolute goodness, God, morality, myth and metaphor, personal reflection, philosophy, science, suffering | 4 Comments

Clarity: my new understanding of mindfulness

Posted on February 24, 2013 by Sarah

I have been interested in meditation as a way of improving quality of life ever since I first read about it in 2004, and have even dabbled in it from time to time. I find its track record in healthcare … Continue reading →

Posted in is religion good or bad for you?, meditation, morality, personal reflection, philosophy, science, self-improvement, spiritual, suffering | 8 Comments

Choosing beliefs: is it possible?

Posted on September 3, 2012 by Sarah

I recently read a book on Cognitive Behavioural Therapy. Under its instruction, I have begun to learn how to examine myself whenever I experience difficult feelings or moods, and identify the thoughts underpinning these feelings. I have begun learning to … Continue reading →

Posted in personal reflection, philosophy, science, self-improvement | 10 Comments