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Keywords: Mortal Life

  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Here we are now, entertain us

    • Barry Gittins
    • 01 May 2024

    The raw power of ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’ blasted Nirvana past the mainstream and into the realm of music immortality. So what was it about Cobain’s music that resonated with young people in the early 90s and continues to find vast audiences 30 years later?

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Easterwards

    • John Kelly
    • 28 March 2024

    Dante and Hopkins named it lavishly: Christ’s vita nuova, shared to Easter in us;  Ignatius of Loyola called it: magnanimity . . . How could we then, receiving,  hoard or dispense it stintingly, like Scrooge before his Christmas haunting?

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  • AUSTRALIA

    The Easter immortality project

    • Justine Toh
    • 27 March 2024
    2 Comments

     As the world grapples with the promise and perils of technological advancement, billionaire Bryan Johnson's quest for eternal life underscores a broader societal fascination with defying death. Can science truly outpace the inevitability of mortality? 

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    What is the good life?

    • Barry Gittins
    • 24 May 2023
    2 Comments

    The Personal Wellbeing Index in Australia points to an all-time low in life satisfaction, particularly among young people. Could it be that the path to living well lies not in grand pursuits of wealth and fame but in the smaller, modest moments of joy, peace, love, and hope? 

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Near life experiences

    • Barry Gittins
    • 18 April 2023

    Near-death experiences can serve as stark reminders of the fragility of life, prompting us to cherish the moments that transcend routine and monotony. Whether it's the wit of a child, the intimacy with a partner, or the tranquility of nature, these moments awaken us to the gift of life. 

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  • RELIGION

    Thereafter

    • Bill Uren
    • 13 April 2023
    15 Comments

    In a world where we are constantly faced with life's fragility, it's no wonder that we find ourselves wondering what lies beyond. Is it the bright promise of immortality, or the endless cycle of birth, life, death, and rebirth? Or perhaps nothingness? When contemplating the 'thereafter,' what can we hope for?

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  • RELIGION

    From dust to life

    • Simon Smart
    • 04 April 2023
    3 Comments

    In a culture that shies away from ageing and death, the annual ritual of Ash Wednesday is a sobering reminder of our vulnerability and mortality. However, it also invites us to reflect on our failures and fallibility, and to recognize that life is not all about us, but about how we relate to others and contribute to their betterment. 

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  • INTERNATIONAL

    In times of crisis, strengthening Greek-Turkish connections

    • William Gourlay
    • 23 March 2023
    1 Comment

    The tragic train crash in Greece that claimed 57 lives has sparked an unexpected show of solidarity from Turkey. This is not the first time these two nations have come together in times of crisis, and despite a history of conflict and mistrust, recent events have brought the Greeks and Turks closer together, and intercommunality may be on the rise.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    The Fall of Man

    • Barry Gittins
    • 02 March 2023
    1 Comment

    Autumn's arrival may bring with it uneasy visions of creeping mortality. With younger and keener generations marching on, the impetus for older generations is to share the wisdom we've gathered and remind ourselves we're still breathing, still contributing, and still sound of limb and mind.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Chatbots for love

    • Michael McGirr
    • 09 February 2023
    6 Comments

    At the root of questions around ChatGPT are issues of authenticity and creativity. It has the capacity to call the bluff on a society which is increasingly inclined to trade pre-digested ‘messaging’ and call it a conversation. Outsourcing self-expression to a computer forces you to ask yourself what makes a human being. Where does the machine end and where do I begin? 

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  • AUSTRALIA

    Christmas in the face of uncertainty

    • Andrew Hamilton
    • 21 December 2022
    4 Comments

    In 1939, King George VI gave an encouraging Christmas address, speaking after the Declaration of War on the Nazis. The future was uncertain, with no assurance of survival. In Australia we do not face the same immediate threat, but we do share the same uncertainty.

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  • ARTS AND CULTURE

    Intimations of immortality

    • Gillian Bouras
    • 06 December 2022
    8 Comments

    The child, Wordsworth thought, is able to witness the divine in nature, but gradually this ability fades. Whereas once everything seemed apparelled in celestial light/ the glory and the freshness of a dream, four stanzas end with the questions Whither is fled the visionary gleam? Where is it now, the glory and the dream? We know this development happens to us all.

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