Happiness, success, and death
I remember I once told my friend that if we are determined to do something, and we genuinely want it, we wouldn't see the obstacles or challenges in front of us as suffering, or sacrifice. That was after I spent 1 hour of time travelling by train to meet Venerable Chao Khun Samai for 10 minutes, and then spent another 1 hour travelling back to Kingsford. 2 hours of travelling just to meet someone for 10 minutes.
I can be quite impulsive, but this thought still hold true till now. To meet him for dinner today, I delayed my call (medical student's privilege, don't think my houseman friends are going to be happy seeing this), changed my habit of not eating late during weekdays (I sleep early these days, and don't like to sleep with a full stomach). Yet it's something so natural that you won't even hesitate a single bit to change your plan or your habit that you hold very strongly.
He was a strong man, a successful man. As an engineer, he is successful and well known in his field. As a father, he has 3 good children and a wonderful family. As an uncle, he is humorous, loving, and one that deserves a lot of respect. Of course no one is without weakness, but generally he is someone who is very successful in life.
Yet things changed, from a strong man he became so weak in just a year. From someone who's lively, who's a marathon runner, he struggled to eat by himself in just over a year. How fast can a person change, and how these changes struck me.
He told me, that life is not about your aims. It's about how you live your life day to day. I guess his sickness changed him in some ways, too. He started appreciating good people around him, wonderful things and people in life that he might have taken for granted, and also how you should be happy every day, instead of setting aims and chase after them, thinking that you will be happy ONLY IF you achieved something.
Time passes very quickly, it is a fact that I know. But sometimes I do get caught up in those small challenges and sufferings in life, and get agitated, annoyed, depressed, as a result of not seeing the big picture. In front of the real important things, many things don't matter. In front of death, you realise how much time you have wasted. But ironically these small and unnecessary things are the things we are sad and cry about the most.
Yes, there are still a lot of unfinished work, assignments, studies, and etc. My medical road is still a long path which I can see no end. But I promise myself to face all these with a happy and positive mind. It is all these little moments that matter. After all, I do not want to regret for getting upset too easily, and not being able to live my life happily when it is ending. I am very sure of that.
How do you judge success in life? I certainly see it from a different point of view compared to many other people who are struggling for success. And I am genuinely saying so.
I can be quite impulsive, but this thought still hold true till now. To meet him for dinner today, I delayed my call (medical student's privilege, don't think my houseman friends are going to be happy seeing this), changed my habit of not eating late during weekdays (I sleep early these days, and don't like to sleep with a full stomach). Yet it's something so natural that you won't even hesitate a single bit to change your plan or your habit that you hold very strongly.
He was a strong man, a successful man. As an engineer, he is successful and well known in his field. As a father, he has 3 good children and a wonderful family. As an uncle, he is humorous, loving, and one that deserves a lot of respect. Of course no one is without weakness, but generally he is someone who is very successful in life.
Yet things changed, from a strong man he became so weak in just a year. From someone who's lively, who's a marathon runner, he struggled to eat by himself in just over a year. How fast can a person change, and how these changes struck me.
He told me, that life is not about your aims. It's about how you live your life day to day. I guess his sickness changed him in some ways, too. He started appreciating good people around him, wonderful things and people in life that he might have taken for granted, and also how you should be happy every day, instead of setting aims and chase after them, thinking that you will be happy ONLY IF you achieved something.
Time passes very quickly, it is a fact that I know. But sometimes I do get caught up in those small challenges and sufferings in life, and get agitated, annoyed, depressed, as a result of not seeing the big picture. In front of the real important things, many things don't matter. In front of death, you realise how much time you have wasted. But ironically these small and unnecessary things are the things we are sad and cry about the most.
Yes, there are still a lot of unfinished work, assignments, studies, and etc. My medical road is still a long path which I can see no end. But I promise myself to face all these with a happy and positive mind. It is all these little moments that matter. After all, I do not want to regret for getting upset too easily, and not being able to live my life happily when it is ending. I am very sure of that.
How do you judge success in life? I certainly see it from a different point of view compared to many other people who are struggling for success. And I am genuinely saying so.
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