Even in the city, it is possible to maintain a connection to the cycles of the seasons and the rhythms of nature. It's increasingly recognized that regular contact of this kind is an important component in establishing and maintaining the kind of inner balance and peace that promotes happiness.

 
One of the best ways to heal a physical problem or reduce emotional stress is to interrupt our daily routines with experiences that reacquaint us with Nature. As we are swept up, captivated, and enthralled by the displays of Nature's wonder, we sense the immutable balance that is our own source...

In July, the website Snopes published a piece fact-checking a story posted on The Babylon Bee, a popular satirical news site with a conservative bent.

As a composer, John Cage sought to get the weight of Beethoven and the other past masters off his shoulders. He felt it was essential to be freed from the repetitive patterns of personality and style (“memory, tastes, likes, and dislikes”) and to free audiences from their expectations of what art should look and sound like.

Toni Morrison, who has died aged 88, was the most influential and studied American author of her generation.

More than four million Britons watched Amber Gill and Greg O'Shea being crowned the victors of Love Island 2019.

Learning how to relax is one of the most powerful healing tools that I have ever come across. Emotional suffering comes from overthinking issues. Stress also plays a major role in our physical health, affecting for example, our weight, cholesterol and digestive systems.

While it’s difficult to fully disconnect from work as we head home for the day, our personal thinking styles and values can affect how well we manage the stress of work interruptions, and think about work during leisure time.

In the late 17th century, the female English playwright Aphra Behn wrote a smash hit play about a man obsessed with the moon, who was constantly travelling there in his imagination.

Imagine walking through a lush tropical forest. You hear a rustle overhead, and a half-eaten fruit plops onto the trail. You lock eyes with a howler monkey, before he gives a soft grunt and moves higher into the trees. These magical, fleeting connections with a wild animal can be the highlight of a holiday.

In the first act of Stephen Sondheim and Hugh Wheeler’s musical A Little Night Music, the long-suffering Countess Charlotte Malcolm mentions her younger sister, noting, “Dear Marta has renounced men and is teaching gymnastics in a school for retarded girls in Bettleheim”.

Marvel’s “Shang-Chi” – the studio’s first Asian superhero movie – is a sign of the times.

Whatever our cultural or linguistic background, we can all claim some knowledge of the lives of others, and this knowledge has reached us through stories. These stories may have been told by an animated grandparent; maybe we heard them on the radio or encountered them during a religious-studies lesson at school, where we learned about the lives and times of saints, gods, and goddesses.

Online gaming has become a concern for some parents in the past few years and there are worries children might become addicted,

Many Americans celebrate Cinco de Mayo, but how many actually know the story of the holiday?

Beethoven and Picasso are the perfect examples for mastering the creative process. Behind each of their works are countless studies and sketches. - The lesson?

It is my observation that true creativity often involves a marriage (or surprising connection) of two things that are not related to most people’s minds. The larger point I am trying to make here is that creative people often see connections and build bridges where others see no such things (until someone shows them! Then many of us can cross the same bridge).

This year is the 40th anniversary of the release of Monty Python’s Life of Brian. The film met with instant controversy in 1979 and was banned in Ireland, Norway and parts of Britain.

Not all bike routes are equal. Some places that are marked as bike routes on a map feel precarious when traversed on two wheels, including shoulders covered in debris and places where you can feel the wind from speeding cars.

Virtually everyone has heard of Ernest Hemingway. But you’d be hard-pressed to find someone who knows of Ellen N. La Motte.

Here’s an interesting fact for Mothering Sunday. When it comes to children’s books, the word “mother” is the most frequent noun used to refer to female characters – and has been since the 19th century.

Local libraries are often thought of as places to check out books or engage in some silent reading. But libraries offer so much more than just what can be found on their shelves or done in hushed tones.

When Stevie Wonder’s 1972 hit “Superstition” comes on, you might find yourself bobbing your head, tapping your feet and maybe even dancing along.