The present is a limited edition. Today's gains, losses, joys, and sorrows will not be repeated tomorrow. All we can do is make every minute of the present happy and meaningful, without violating our inner will to please others by dressing up as someone else. The outside world does not interact with you much; do not tire yourself out. Whether depicting future scenes or recalling past scars, the only thing that will accompany you forever is your shadow.
1. The Way of Spending: A million can buy a house for comfort; a hundred thousand may not buy a house, but can buy a car for convenience; ten thousand may not buy a car, but can buy a diamond ring for lifelong love; one thousand may not buy a ring, but can buy a watch to master time; a hundred may not buy a watch, but can buy books to enrich the mind; ten may not buy books, but can buy a bowl of noodles to satisfy hunger; one yuan may not buy noodles, but can be given to a beggar to show compassion.
2. When others see a truckload of red roses and are moved to tears, you coldly say, "What a waste of money"; when others see a cockroach scurrying and seek help in fear, you pick up a slipper and strike it; when others are moving house, you are unwilling to even make a phone call to offer help, choosing to handle everything yourself. You might wonder, why are you still single?
3. Avoiding closeness is often the greatest longing for it. A child craves a mother's embrace; if denied for too long, the child might resist when the mother finally opens her arms. Many people handle intimacy this way, eventually becoming strangers to one another. Realizing this, seeing the sadness and fear behind the person avoiding closeness, a sincere and heartfelt hug can break down their defenses.
4. Do not demand too much; if it comes, let it come. Do not dwell on trifles; if it passes, let it pass. Do not frown at troubles; if you smile, just smile. Do not force results; if you act, just act. Life is simplicity; when the mind is calm, peace follows. Stay grounded, do not be indifferent, and do not waste time. Keep singing; remember both joy and sorrow. Even if your heart is broken, maintain your most beautiful posture.
5. The value of life is measured by pleasure by the mediocre, and by entrepreneurship by the heroic. Differences in thought create the diversity of the world. The value of life lies in social necessity; the more people need you, the greater your value. The more one respects objective laws, the more one can transcend oneself. Life has no ownership, only the right to use it. The greatest value of life lies in knowing how to give. The feeling of being needed is the greatest happiness. True value does not lie on the stage of life, but in the roles we play today. No matter how brilliant past experiences were, they are like withered flowers; though today's life may be ordinary, it is a seed full of vitality.
6. Use your heart, but do not be preoccupied or vexed. A lost mind brings suffering, while an enlightened mind brings freedom. A kind heart is heaven; an evil heart is hell. If one's concepts are incorrect, their work will not be upright; if concepts are biased, actions will be wrong. One must learn to remain unshakable amidst the trials of people and affairs, and learn to maintain inner peace amidst movement.
7. Emotions are a form of energy; they come and they go. Adults should not interfere excessively but should let children learn how to process their own emotions, providing them with infinite love and support. If you teach children to avoid negative emotions through diversion, they may learn to escape emotions through substitutes like smoking, drugs, or becoming workaholics when they grow up. Suppressing emotions is also detrimental.
8. Sometimes, you feel inexplicably bad and just want to stare blankly alone. Sometimes, in the dead of night, you stubbornly refuse to sleep. Sometimes, a song suddenly reminds you of someone. Sometimes, someone says, "I feel you've changed," and you find yourself overwhelmed with emotions. — The lost self can only be slowly picked back up.
