We rule the world. We have everything. We’re safe. Yay! When we are honest with ourselves, this is the narrative of a lot of people in our society. This is what pushes their hate and exclusion. Before we get into that though, let's define what I mean by the "privilege lottery". Country lottery Congratulations, you… Continue reading We Won the Privilege Lottery! But We Don’t Want to Share?
Category: Essays
These are either personal essays or more essay-like explorations of set topics compared to my regular more informal posts
Maybe we can never truly understand ourselves
The mind, the brain, it’s a crazy thing. We use it to understand it. What a paradox. How utterly impossible a feat. Psychology aims to understand and categorise but I fear we never will, and that’s both beautiful and terrifying. We have all these convenient hacks for the brain. How to optimise the mind. I’m… Continue reading Maybe we can never truly understand ourselves
Is critiquing creative work almost pointless?
Critiquing art is not my favourite. I do it naturally. I think we all do. But I don’t like it. When I’m self aware, I get an icky feeling. Someone worked hard (probably) on this thing and here we are just tearing it apart. It’s unkind. But more importantly, it’s nonsensical really! Art is so… Continue reading Is critiquing creative work almost pointless?
The problem with reviewing art (films, tv, books)
Lately I’ve been trying to review the things I watch and read more than I used to. Why? Because it encourages me to engage more critically and closely with these things. To consume with a keen eye. This in turn helps me develop my own writing and my own tastes. However, I’ve noticed how difficult… Continue reading The problem with reviewing art (films, tv, books)
Do We Need to Categorise Ourselves with Labels? (podcast)
I provide a whistle-stop tour on our poor categorisation skills, how complicated the whole business can get, and share some ideas about perhaps scrapping it all together! Hank Green's video on Sexuality that I mentioned here Your identity will never be something you could write out on a sheet of paper, listing with words and… Continue reading Do We Need to Categorise Ourselves with Labels? (podcast)
Why You Need To Understand Your Emotions (Part Two)
*Part two, see Part One here* Knowing how to process and cope with emotions It's so natural to say "control your emotions" but there is so much more power in learning to understand, interpret and express emotions instead. Emotions aren't our enemy. They're not some annoying thing to control or hide or defeat. We… Continue reading Why You Need To Understand Your Emotions (Part Two)
Why You Need To Understand Your Emotions (Part One)
*Part One* What are the main emotions? Let me start off by saying that there are many ideas about this. When I went digging, I expected to find one concrete answer, but no! Many psychologists and philosophers have agonised for centuries over the concept of emotions; which we have and what they mean and… Continue reading Why You Need To Understand Your Emotions (Part One)
Do You Know Yourself?
What does it mean to really know yourself and how does it benefit you?
Life-Paralysis: What Holds Us Back?
There are things that hold us back in life, but how and why? Lets discuss life paralysis...
My Thoughts On Communication and Connection
Here are my thoughts on why we fall victim to disconnection and poor communication and how we can do better to cultivate connection in this complex world of today... Empathy over sympathy Sympathy is "I feel sorry for you," which doesn't take away my pain, or share it, or take away my shame and… Continue reading My Thoughts On Communication and Connection
S. R. Crawford 