Happiness is Everywhere

Zhuangzi and Huizi were sauntering along the dam of the Hao waterfall.
Zhuangzi said, “The minnows swim freely and play at ease in the water – they truly enjoy.”

Huizi asked, “You are not fish - how do you know that fish enjoy?”
Zhuangzi rejoined, “You are not me. How do you know that I do not know that fish enjoy?”

It is a famous debate in Chinese philosophy. I would like explain it in this way: You are not me - how do you know that I do not enjoy my time watching the fish swim? You are not me, you can’t judge my happiness. Happiness is a self definition.

When you are in good mood, you think everything is happy, swimming fish, flying birds, running dogs, playing kids and more. When you smile, the world smiles back to you; when you are happy, you transmit frequency of happiness around.

Happiness comes from peace of mind. How hard the outside world is, with peace of mind, you can take the tense situation calmly, drinking a cup of tea, reading an uplifting book, and listening soothing music, taking pleasure in a quiet moment. Keep cool you will win through.

Happiness comes from generosity. Be broad-minded towards others, be kindhearted to the needed, and be tolerant to the different. Spend less time on criticizing others, more time on improving oneself.

Happiness consists in contentment. Either being rich or being poor, either staying home or travelling, enjoy what you have, proactively develop yourself for better. Feel grateful for people who ever help you and show your true appreciation. A contented mind is a perpetual feast.

To smile or not to smile is an attitude. Happiness is in your heart; happiness is everywhere.

Right Timing, Right Location and Right People

The sage Mengzi (Mencius) ever said, “The right timing is no better than the favorable location; the favorable location is no better than the cooperating people.” If we want to pursue great achievement, we should do it with the right people, at the right location, and at the right time.

We don’t rise from nothing; we are the product of our environment. The family and community we grow in, the culture we belong to and the legacies passed down by our forebears shape our thinking, behavior pattern, social situation and connection.

However great and talented you are, if you are at the wrong location with the wrong people, you are unable to tap your real potential and feel shackled, as a misplaced pearl loses its sparkle in the darkness. A dragon should go swimming in the colossal ocean; a tiger should be the king of mountains. If they stay in different surroundings, they lose their power.

Although when and where we grew up make a big difference, we are not entirely passive to our environment. We are defined, but not limited by our environment. However hard it can be, we can create and change our environment, proactively communicate with people we like and respect. No one truly makes on his own.

As a tall tree grows from a hardy seed, a lot of highly-achieved people are born in modest circumstances and by virtue of their own determination and talent fight their way to greatness. Hardships and obstacles train their character, refine their skills, bring opportunities to them, and pave a way for them to the tower of success.

At the right location, with the right people, if we can’t grasp the right timing, the time will pass by quickly. Nevertheless, it needs a lot of wisdom to judge the right timing, the right location and right people. Maybe, a real wise person, living in a realm of freedom, will never be restricted by the limitation of time and location, and will be never disturbed by the wrong people.

Each According to His Own Lights

There is an old European saying, there are a thousand audiences, and there are a thousand Shakespeares. Everyone has his own understanding; everyone to his own taste.

There is an ancient Chinese proverb, “The benevolent see benevolence; the wise see wisdom.” When viewing a same activity, the kindhearted see kindheartedness; the wicked see wickedness; the obscene see obscenity. Each one perceives according to one’s own lights.

In the real life, we may behave like the six blind men who touch an elephant to figure out how it looks like, stumbling blindly, touching only small parts of the information, and coming away with a narrow and fragmented understanding, jumping at a quick conclusion and then believing we can represent the truth.

People have different family backgrounds, personal experiences, cultural customs and social economic situations. The reality is observed differently depending on one's perspective, as a result, what is deemed an absolute truth may be relative due to the deceptive nature of half-truths. And a half-truth may be a total lie.

Everyone has blind spots in every aspect of life; however, we are unaware of our ignorance, we assume we know all and we make good judgments. We have to accept the inadequacy of human observation and reason. Don’t grasp only a part of the object, but claim comprehending the whole, because the result is bound to be false and one-sided.

The first step to true wisdom is to recognize and accept the limits of one’s own ignorance. Understand we have limitations; there is always something that we don’t know or don’t see, and even what we see isn’t always what it seems.

Thoughts and Quotes about Fate

Does everyone have a fate? A lot of great thinkers and philosophers, either Eastern or Western, either ancient or contemporary, believe so.

To the ordinary Chinese, Heaven is the supreme ruler of the world. All comings and goings in the world is believed to be arranged and controlled by Heaven.

A good number of the westerners are Christians, who believe that the world was created by God, and all happenings in the world is arranged and disposed of according to God's will.

Ordinary people are bound by their fate, but destiny can be changed and you can create your own future. In Buddhism belief, usually a person is more fortunate when tending toward kindness but invites trouble when tending toward cruelty.

Here I share some famous quotes about fate and destiny with you:

Man proposes; God disposes. –Confucius

Life and death are decreed by fate, rank and riches determined by Heaven. –Confucius

There is no such thing as accident; it is fate misnamed. - Napoleon Bonaparte

How a person masters his fate is more important than what his fate is. - Karl Wilhelm von Humboldt

Control your destiny or somebody else will. - Jack Welch

You are the master of your own destiny. Use your strengths well. They are the keys to your destiny and your success in life. Once you know yourself and take action to realize your dreams, you can unlock the doors to your own potential. - Neil Somerville

It is what a man thinks of himself that really determines his fate. - Henry David Thoreau

Our destiny rules over us, even when we are not yet aware of it; it is the future that makes laws for us today. - Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche

You are what your deep driving desire is; As your deep driving desire is, so is your will; As your will is so is your deed; As your deed is so is your destiny. - Maitri Upanishads

To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven; A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; A time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up……
- Ecclesiastes 3 Bible

Time is the Best Touchstone

Time can test anything. Under the magic wand of time, everything will eventually shows off its true nature.

Time is the best touchstone for friendship. You can’t know a person very well in a short time, but during a long time, in a lot of situations, fortunate or misfortunate, you can know if your friend is sincere, reliable and patient. Good friends are not always around, but will definitely show up when you need help.

Time is the best touchstone for love. The physiologists said that love is a passion waterfall and a chain-reaction to release a few drops of the hormone in our bodies, so love can come and go as ephemeral as a sparkle of fire. However, true love is a kind of human feeling which can endure all kinds of circumstances and can last for a very long time. Only the love without vulgarity can be put to the proof.

Time is the best touchstone for character. You can deceive some people at some time, but you can not deceive all the people all the time. People can defile your reputation, but if you have inner firmness and strong belief, no one can use your reputation to manipulate your actions and no one has power to defile your character; you are still your true self. “If you want to see how pure and noble a pine tree is, wait until the snow and ice melt down.”

Time is the best touchstone for talent. A lot of people complain they have unrecognized talents or they have no opportunity to use their talents. As a wit says, being talented is like being pregnant, after some time, people will finally find out, you cannot hide. Even if you have talents, you have to grow with time and grasp the right timing.

Time is a river, flowing all the time. Time washes away all the wastes and illusions, and shows the truth and reality to the broad light.