We use — rather than lovingly treasure — art, beauty, and poetry: They’re a gateway to pure love and truth — What’s the best and worst reason to read or write a poem? A single sentence stole my soul with the shortest, most straightforward explanation of the purpose of poetry. “A poem is either mesmerizing, or it is nothing,” poet Dana Gioia explains. That’s it: all poetry summed up in nine…

Which beach personality type are you for the latest sunrise? We take turns playing these seven different roles — Why do we need to walk across the beach to that pier? Because it’s there. We run to the beach at sunrise, running into (and taking turns trying out) seven types of personalities: 7. The walkers Long before the sunrise (nearly every hour you visit a beach), you see — or become —…

How many times have you seen a celebrity’s plastic surgery and thought, ‘oh no’? — How often have you seen a celebrity, realized they “had work done,” and thought, “Oh no”? How often do you see someone after they altered their appearance with surgery or drugs (or even a bad haircut) and you think: You looked so much better when you were natural. But you…

He inspired lover Meryl Streep: ‘He wasn’t like anybody I’d ever met…’ Five Best Pictures in 7 years? The amazing John Cazale — You know Academy Award champion Meryl Streep — but do you recall the actor who changed her life? Every John Cazale film was nominated for Best Picture and rated among the greatest films ever. Streep won three Academy Awards (a record of 21 nominations). Cazale taught Meryl Streep how to…

He dismissed loving offers to ‘pray for you,’ not knowing certain prayer warriors have a better success rate with Him — We tune out posts about “thoughts and prayers” the way we know “Luv” isn’t “In Love.” One sounds polite, while the other really moves people. True prayer is transformational. Intercessory prayer involves standing in “the gap,” bringing two loved ones together, pleading on someone’s behalf the way Abraham pleaded with…

45 years after his death, we know more about addictions, drugs, and food — but what about the need to work to keep your family going? — Did Elvis Presley work himself to death? Forty-five years after his death, we know more about addictions — but what about an “inner need” that he alone would keep his family and friends going through constant work? Presley, the most successful solo artist in music history, died 45 years ago…

The writing paradox: He dreams his work will ‘go viral,’ and when it does, he worries about rude commenters and nasty feedback — Admit it: The thing you want most — for your writing to go viral — is scary. So many views mean more comments and feedback — and if they hate us? “If you’re going to say what you want to say, you’re going to hear what you don’t want to…

The politics of Trump mirror gun politics: The three ways to see Trump and danger — it’s a fear to one side and an appeal to the other — Democrats repeat: “Donald Trump is dangerous,” and Trump backers answer, “Exactly — He’s our gun to protect us from you.” To understand the latest round of Trump coverage, it helps to compare the Trump debate to the debate over guns: A record number of U.S. …

Reckless love makes for hit music: How God can even use an inaccurate song to reach new hearts — Our Church enjoys “Reckless Love,” one of the most popular Christian pop praise and worship tunes. But, now Abby Johnston warns, “Don’t listen to Christian songs that misrepresent who God is.” Johnson, a former Planned Parenthood director who is now a highly influential Catholic and pro-life activist, just tweeted: “I…