“No one’s coming to save you.” — David Goggins

The ancient Greeks recognized that the world is a tough place. Given that it is constantly testing everyone, they also realized that character is destiny. The initial circumstances you find yourself in are often outside your control. However, whether you sink or swim is determined by your reaction to these conditions.

While Lady Fortuna’s strange ways can take away just as much as they give, fate is a conscious choice. …

Almost a decade ago, watching TV was still a thing for me. Just like a dog is taken in by the sight of a juicy biscuit, I was mesmerized by the magic box. One day, I remember flipping through the channels when an image caught my eye. A Japanese samurai riding on a horse.

My eyes lit up. Ever since I was a kid running around the house practicing my “wax on, wax off”, I was fascinated by Asian culture. Of course I wanted to watch this documentary.

Relishing the opportunity to confirm my knowledge on how cool medieval Japan…

Vincent van Gogh made color the passion of his life. The master artist chased “the gravity of great sunlight effects”, exploring it in his paintings. At the peak of his career, Vincent’s palette was full of bright, vivid colors. Wielding a brush like a magician brandishes a wand, the Dutchman left behind works full of intense shades and hues.

If you ask people their opinion on the most beautiful feature of the world, many will respond: color. Rabindranath Tagore, the famed Bengali poet, saw color as a defining factor of his existence.

“Clouds come floating into my life, no longer…

Panta rhei or “everything flows,” stated Heraclitus two and a half millennia ago. This is the fundamental feature of reality. It never stays the same.

Often regarded as one of history’s first true philosophers, Heraclitus insisted on the world being in a constant state of flux. If you think about it, it’s an insight that is profound in its simplicity.

Imagine standing on the side of a river. You watch the water streaming, the current gushing along. As your eyes take in the sight, you notice a little branch floating downstream, carried by the water. …

A few days ago, Italy blocked a shipment of AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccines destined for Australia. A huge row ensued, with many people accusing the European Union of engaging in “vaccine nationalism”.

This was the first such blockage since the EU instituted its “Transparency and Authorization Mechanism”, by which every shipment of vaccines outside the EU has to be registered. The EU also reserves the right to block any shipments under this scheme.

The mechanism was put in place at the end of January 2021 after different vaccine manufacturers started to renegade on their promises of the number of jabs they…

The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided By Politics And Religion — Jonathan Haidt

Main Idea in the Book (Short Summary):

According to Jonathan Haidt, moral judgments don’t arise from any type of rational reflection, but instead gut feelings buried deep inside the subconscious. The divisions that we see in the world in terms of ideology and religion are due to the fact that different people have different internal moral foundations, which come in 6 different flavors.

Lessons from the Book:

In a time of growing polarization across the world, Haidt’s book sheds some light on the dynamics of what is happening. It explains why people have different moral frameworks guiding them, and how this plays out in the real world.

The basic premise is…

A few years ago, I decided to take a solo trip to Thailand. Despite my long-term fascination with Asian culture, this was the first time I actually set foot in that part of the world. While the local customs seemed mysterious at first, over time I started seeing how it all functions.

One thing you notice in Thailand is the sheer number of people going around in orange robes. These are monks, devotees of the local branch of Theravada Buddhism. …

“Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and others have greatness thrust upon them.” — William Shakespeare

“Many painters have gone insane yet nevertheless started to produce true art,” noted Theo van Gogh in a letter to his brother Vincent, after the struggling artist ended up in a mental institution.

“Genius roams along such mysterious paths.” — Theo van Gogh

Vincent van Gogh’s paths have indeed been mysterious, taking him on fits of madness and back. Looking in hindsight, we might think that the man who many have described as being “on fire” was predestined…