Satori Café

  Antifragility As the legend goes, the son of Zeus, Hercules, a man born with unimaginable strength, needed to accomplish a series of tasks known as the 12 Labours at the service of King Eurystheus in order to atone for his sins.  However, as the second of his 12 Labours, Hercules had to face a creature unlike any other. A nine-headed, water-dwelling serpentine beast known as the Hydra of Lerna or more commonly known as the Hydra. As the battle began to ensue, Hercules, despite all his might & bravery, was disheartened when he discovered that cutting off one of its heads would only mean that two more shall take its place. Essentially, Hercules would never be able to kill it, as it only got stronger with every wound.  Now luckily for us, we no longer live in a day & age where we have to carry swords & shields to defend ourselves from mythical creatures or fantastic beasts.  However, most of us are not equipped with adequate armor or protection in the form of emotional knowl

This is the story of a young boy who tragically lost his left arm in a devastating car accident. Years went by, but his self-esteem was left behind. One day, his parents decided that it was time to move to somewhere new. So while looking through some boxes, the boy came across an old martial arts magazine, and it was from there that he quickly signed up to study Judo.  The boy began his lessons with an old Japanese Judo Master. On his first week, the Judo master taught him a very impressive throw. And on the second week, he was asked to practice that same throw. Time passed, and he was doing extremely well, so he could not understand why after three months of training, the master had only taught him one move.  " Sensei ", the boy finally asked. "Shouldn't I be learning more moves?" To which the master replied: "This is the only move you know but this is the only move you'll ever need to know." Not quite understanding but believing in his teacher, t

When I was an adolescent, I envied the great ballerinos among the kids on the block and pretended I had other things to do at parties like having a conversation. But in fact, I was terrified of looking ridiculous, and because of that I would not risk a single step. Until one day, a girl called Marcia called me out in front of everybody: "Come on!". I said I did not like to dance but she insisted. Everyone else in the group was watching, and because I was in love, I could refuse no further.  I did not know how to follow the steps, but Marcia did not stop. She went on dancing as if I were the best ballet dancer in the world. "Forget the others and pay attention to the bass, try to follow its rhythm." she whispered into my ear.  At that moment, I understood that we do not always have to learn the most important things; they are already part of our nature. When we become adults & when we grow old, we need to go on dancing. The rhythm changes, but music is part of li

It's your first ever boxing match, but not necessarily your first fight, as you've been training in the art of the sweet science for nearly three years now.  Your opponent on the other hand is also having his first fight, but after spending a few rounds with him, you question his level of skill as his training seems to be mostly made out of a couple of bar fights, with his coach being You Tube videos of street fights.  "After all, performance reflects everything." You wondered.  And thus, the final round begins.  Right off the bat, your opponent chases you down, trying to pile on aggression & pressure as he did in the previous rounds. Though he seems more fit to be in swimming than boxing as he swings for the hills, headhunting as his objective. You decide to play it cool for this round and work on your defense & footwork instead. And as your haymaker-specialist friend tries to take your head off in one blow with a cocked-back right hand, you exploited the gap

After two rounds of relentless trading, a moment of brilliance flashed across your eyes as you realized that your opponent has the uncanny habit of constantly over-relying on the basic combination of the 123 (Jab-Cross-Lead Hook).  You took notice of this, but as quick as you realized it, your opponent surges forward, like a raging bull on steroids, charging furiously to stop you of your plan.  But without thinking, through sheer instinct & intuition, your heart tells you that this next wave of attack is the same exact sequence that once gave you trouble in the earlier rounds. But that was all about to change.   For in this moment of eternity, you took a quick step backwards while parrying your opponent's jab with your right hand, before swiftly shifting your head & body weight to your left side to evade the cross. But not stopping there, you take a small step to the right, ducking & weaving your head under his thunderous left hook that you once feared but are now handl

One day, a woman lost her young son and just a few days before, her husband had also died. Kissa Goutami was her name, and now her only son had perished. She was in great despair for naturally, her child was her only hope. The Buddha happened to be passing through town and the people said: "Do not cry & do not weep. Why don't you take the child to the Buddha? He is so compassionate, perhaps he may revive him back to life." The woman upon hearing this, rushed with the dead body of the child to find him. When she had found him, Buddha looked at the woman, told her to put the child in front of him & said to her: "Yes, I will revive him, but you will have to fulfill one condition." The woman said: "I am ready to give even my life. Say any condition and I will fulfill it."  Buddha replied: "It is a simple condition, I never make big requirements of people, only small ones. This is a very simple task. Just go into town and bring a few mustard se

  One day, a psychology professor entered the classroom with half a glass of water in his hand. The students expected the old common question: "Is it half empty or half full?"  But to their surprise, he asked them: "How heavy is this glass of water?"  The answers given by the students ranged from 7 ounces. to 25 ounces. But the professor replied that the actual weight of the glass doesn't really matter. What matters is how long you hold the glass in your hand.  If you hold the glass for a minute, you won't feel much weight. But if you hold it for ten minutes, you will feel a little more weight. And as more time goes on, the heavier this glass of water will be. So if you hold the glass for an entire day, your hands will go numb from the pain.  You would have cramps & feel exhausted, and your only wish would be to drop or lay down that glass of water. But similarly is the case when you carry stress or pain with you. If you think about stress or pain for a

  "Knowing yourself is the beginning of all wisdom".     -Aristotle Journaling is the habit of keeping a diary or a written record about one's ideas, thoughts, experiences, aspirations, insights and anything else that touches us in our daily lives. In a way, it can be said to be a reflection of one's heart & soul written on paper. One of the most famous and timeless transformative diaries that humanity has ever come to know is one written by Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius. Although his collection of private thoughts (known as Meditations ) are well known by readers and philosophers around the world now, Marcus Aurelius never intended for his journal to be published. Most likely, as being an emperor, one of the most powerful men in the ancient world, he could not find anyone who was of equal status or intellect to relate his thoughts & life experience to. S o therefore, he resorted to pen and paper as an outlet.  But it could also be the fact that he knew of the

Once upon a time, there lived a sage who was known for his ability to solve difficult problems. One day, he had two visitors who needed his advice. Both were polite young men, and each insisted that the other should go first.  After some discussion, they discovered that their questions were essentially the same, so they settled on speaking with the sage at the same time. One of the young men asked: "Master, our problems are similar. We are both low-level employees being treated badly at work. We get no respect at all, and our employers constantly push us around. Can you please tell us if we should quit our jobs?" The sage closed his eyes & meditated at length. The two young men waited patiently, until finally the sage opened his eyes.  He gave them the answer in five words: "Only a bowl of rice." The two young men thanked the sage and departed. They contemplated the answer as they walked back to the city.  After a while, one of them broke the silence: "That