A little thing called Happiness

I used to think life is short and I should make each day count. Make each day a happy day. This has become my motto in life. So then I've learned how to make myself happy.

I discovered many different ways to turn my mood and emotions around, even when I'm bored, lonely, sad or at the edge of depression. Experimenting new recipes, zulupping noodles, traveling to exotic countries or find a good book to ready, while having coffee with cookies. These have always been little tricks to indulge myself and keep myself cheerful and happy.

Happy people can spread their joyful and happy spirit to others. I truly believe finding ways to make myself happy is doing my part to create a better and happier world.

To stay happy and healthy, I also avoid depressing people. There are way too many unhappy people in Hong Kong. They never stop complaining about the government, their career, their love life, their sex life... it's like a never ending list of complains. I find it annoying when people making complains without doing anything about it. These people are contagious, they spread this negative energy to the world like SARS, once it got started, it takes forever to control. So, I decided to avoid them in order to be immune from the negative spirit. At least, in this way, there are one less depressing person in this cruel and difficult world.

But recently, I'm starting to doubt about my definition of happiness. If life is short, shouldn't we be pursuing the kind of happiness that goes beyond our life? In this way, happiness is not only an indulgence to oneself, but to the people around you, with or without your presence.

This is probably the biggest lesson I've learned from my Mom, who has left us just recently. Of course, it's one of the most devastating thing that happened in my life. But the support I got from my Mom's friends, even some that I never met, really tells me what an extraordinary woman my Mom is.


My coolest Mom


She was definitely a happy person. Not that she never complained. I've heard countless complained about her job, about her marriage and about her worries. There were times that I was even trying to avoid her, because of so much she complained. But she would always find a solution to these problems, which sometimes was so challenging that it felt like a miracle.

When I was about to graduate from secondary school, I was dying to study overseas for university. My mom used to share with me how much she worried about not being able to help support my dream to study overseas. Though the family income was not be able to afford that, my mom still made me researched and applied for universities abroad. Back then Mom was stuck with a company that she worked for a decade and was about to restructure. But miracle happened.

Not only she found a new job that almost doubled her paid, she was also laid off right before she resigned. Therefore, she was able to get a much better paid job plus a huge compensation from the previous company. With all the extra liquidity, she didn't spend them on indulging herself with a new bag or shoes, she spent it on my education!!

I seldom see her indulge herself on anything. She seems to indulge herself into working long hours, into volunteering, into helping friends, and more importantly, into pursuing her dreams. With so much responsibilities, work and difficulties in life, she was still able to find her dream, which was opening a bookstore, and pursue it in her 50s. That's something that I admire the most.

Although the bookstore is still a small one, it is bringing a significant impact to not only the business partners that she worked closely with, but everyone visiting it. She was really happy and spreading that happiness, not through indulging herself, but help people to deal with realities and complains in life.

I'm very proud to have such a courageous and wonderful Mom. I wouldn't trade for anything from a different Mom. It's ashamed that my definition of happiness was so limited to myself. Wish I could get the strength and wisdom to bringing happiness beyond myself but to people around me, just like her.