We are all searching for answers – that is the very point of asking questions. Specifically, our quest for answers comes down to a quest for meaning. Finding meaning in the absurd, the ecstasy, the tragic, the triumphs of life is often a challenging and perilous journey. Indeed, Cheryl Strayed walked more than 1.100 miles to make meaning of her life and experiences. Is the search ever complete? Have any of you reached a place of fulfilment, and if so, how, when and where did you find it?

In the mid 1970’s I heard a bureaucrat [Bob Lansdowne] argue that social change came from shifts in compassion or compulsion-he was discussing our relationship with Indonesia and argued that compassion was in short supply. He was suggesting that huge disparities in income and wealth in an increasingly open and global environment were a recipe for instability and conflict–and that we should be afraid of the consequences of failing to address it. His concern is even more relevant today.

Not everyone is into sport. For some, their equivalent is the arts/culture or even the environment. Why are these things considered ‘features’ rather than staples of our news diet? I wonder how society would change if one or two newsrooms started this trend?

I think fear drives the majority of our choices, in both positive and negative ways. I love hearing people talk about how it impacts them.

George seems a little paranoid about being left behind.

By narrowing the gap between scientific understanding and spiritual understanding, we get closer to god.

Because our individualism and increasing inequality is a huge concern

Will we continue the trend of McMansions or develop the increasing interest in tiny houses? Will we stay in small family units or revert to multi-generational households as Baby Boomers age and younger generations stay at home longer? In what ways will sustainability and energy-efficiency play a part?

We are stuck in the biggest humanitarian crisis since WW2. There are wars all over the place and the world is in ruins. When will we get out of this mess? What realistically needs to be done to create peace in the Middle East and Africa and how much of the unrest is the fault of the rich Western countries?

Dogs have been
important members of human communities for centuries. Some communities eat them and others are repulsed by this. I wonder how they are differ from other domestic animals.