What Thomas Merton Learned at Fourth and Walnut   On March 18, 1958, Thomas Merton was standing at the intersection of Fourth and Walnut in downtown

A collection of reflections on isolation, meaning, friendship, solitude, aging, and human connection.   Loneliness in later life can arrive suddenly and disrupt our sense of

“The eternal quest of the individual human being is to shatter one's loneliness.” — Norman Cousins   Loneliness is not always the absence of people.   Sometimes it shows

Spirituality and Loneliness in Later Life Recent studies have revealed a troubling trend: nearly half of adults today have fewer than three close friends in

There are mornings when the lower back wakes us before the first cup of coffee has a chance to help.   Most of us treat these

What artificial intelligence can do—and what it can never decide for us   Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, once described his company’s ambition as creating

Certainty can be helpful. It lets us make choices, commit to them, and stay steady when life feels unpredictable.   But there’s another side to

What an ancient Jewish teaching suggests about faith, change, and seeing what was there all along   In the Jewish tradition, there is a passage in

Inner work in later life doesn’t usually begin with a decision.   It shows up in small moments—a reaction that lingers, a thought that returns, a

Studies show that solving crosswords and number puzzles later in life can sharpen your brain and potentially prevent or reduce dementia. Each month, the