Consciousness

It’s Worth Asking

Questions are a way of listening to one another and showing interest. But not every question awakens the other person’s interest. For some, certain questions aren’t really “their” questions, either because they already know the answer or have figured it out for themselves or because they don’t find the question particularly interesting or relevant. How can I tell the difference? How do I know whether a question touches me or not? What makes it moving, and what makes it boring? …

Andreas Laudert · 10 June 2026 · 1 min

Our Many Garments

I asked for a receipt for the far-too-expensive visit to the small Ethiopian farmstead. The men just stared blankly at me. Was I getting ripped off? I sounded like my mother and realized that her way of dealing with things had shaped me. I tried to smooth things over with wit and charm, and without drawing attention to my womanhood. After all, women certainly don’t have much say in matters here. Secretly, I thought the guide was arrogant before realizing that he came from the line of clan leaders. And eventually, I sat in a young wife’s hut and listened to her singing, as beautiful as the savanna wind at 5 p.m.

Gilda Bartel · 03 June 2026 · 1 min

The Maternal Body

When Marcel Proust was denied a kiss, the longing that remained gave birth to his future writings. Ensheathed by the principles of the mother and unconditional love, we are perpetually reborn. Marcel Proust’s In Search of Lost Time opens with a missing kiss. His mother stays at an evening party and sends word to her son that she cannot say goodnight to him tonight—and thus plunges him into a deep crisis. In the absence of his mother’s kiss, an inner …

Luke Wilkins · 27 May 2026 · 1 min