Insights & Stories

PhiloLife Blog

Reflections on philosophy, wellbeing, and the art of living well.

Jun 18, 2026Dr. Joëlle Samaha

What is Normal?

The more I have studied health, wellbeing, disease, and human experience, the more I have found myself returning to a deceptively simple question: What is normal? It is a word we use every day. Your test results are normal. Your reaction is normal. This is normal for your age. This is normal in your culture. This is normal in your family. But have we ever stopped to ask what we actually mean by normal?

The Day a Coin Taught Me to Trust the Path

Storytime

Jun 18, 2026Dr. Joëlle Samaha

The Day a Coin Taught Me to Trust the Path

In early March, on a flight to Mauritius, my earbud slipped under my seat. A small, ordinary annoyance, until I reached down to retrieve it and found something else instead: a coin. I assumed it was local currency, slipped it into my pocket, and didn’t think about it again. What I couldn’t see in that moment was how unaligned I felt with the trip itself. Externally, I was traveling. Internally, I was in resistance.