Ah Chang is 45 years old this year and is a neighbor in the same village as me. He opened a small lathe processing factory. After making some money by opening the factory in the past few years, he began to expand his business scope and opened a hot pot restaurant and a home textile store in our county. Everyone should know that the bad environment in the past three years has had a great impact on everyone. The Achang processing factory has been unable to receive orders intermittently. The hot pot restaurant also has insufficient foot traffic. The home textile store is located in a large supermarket and can hardly earn rent due to the impact of the general environment. In the past, the end of the year was Ah Chang's busiest time, and he was rarely seen in the village. But this year is different. New Year is coming soon, but Ah Chang walks in the village every day. The neighbors in our village were very curious and asked him how he had time at home. Ah Chang did not hide it and said: The processing factory, hot pot restaurant and home textile store have all closed down, with a loss of more than 3 million. I have nothing to do now, but am I just idle? Neighbors did not expect that Chang would be in such a miserable state now. Several neighbors said on the surface that the current difficulties are temporary and everything will be fine after next year. Ah Chang smiled and said nothing.
In fact, several neighbors took pleasure in Ah Chang's misfortune. I went back to my hometown on the weekend and chatted with several neighbors of similar age in the village. One neighbor actually said this to Ah Chang: Where did the energy go when I was rich? Look at it now, it's worse than us ordinary working people.
Chang lives next to my parents’ house. Our two families have a good relationship. Chang is five years older than me. I usually call him Brother Chang. When I go back to my hometown on weekends, if Chang happens to be at home, we often sit together to eat and chat.
I was also curious about the fact that all of Chang's businesses have collapsed now, but his expression was no different from ordinary people, and he didn't feel decadent at all. I was curious and asked him why.
Ah Chang also told me the truth when he arrived. He said: The processing factory, hot pot restaurant and home textile store closed down, and it was estimated that they lost more than 3 million yuan. However, I have been running a processing factory for more than ten years, and I can still afford several million. Now I just don’t do anything, and my life is still worry-free.
I understand what Ah Chang said. Ah Chang’s family is very rich and he has made a lot of money over the years. Now that he is not doing anything, he can still make out at least five or six million.
So I said to the neighbor who was laughing at Chang: Don’t underestimate Lao Chang. He still has several apartments in our city and county, and as far as I know, his deposit is at least several million.
After hearing what I said, my neighbor instantly became weak. Because he knew that what I said was not a lie, and they also knew that they would not be able to earn so much even if they worked hard for decades.
The neighbor said: Oh, people are really incomparable. I thought that Lao Chang was bankrupt, but I didn’t expect that he is still so powerful. We work hard and earn thousands of dollars every month, and we still want to laugh at the bankrupt boss. Now that I think about it, I feel ashamed for myself. I am already in my forties, and I have really achieved nothing in my life!
I can see that the neighbor's confidence in living has suddenly hit rock bottom. He couldn't think about it all the time, and his life was really miserable.
I said: What does it mean to achieve nothing by living to the age of forty? To live is to win.
The neighbor rolled his eyes at me. It was obvious that he did not agree with my statement. He retorted: Living is victory? This is the spiritual victory method .
I said: How can this be a spiritual victory method? Now I am alive. When I wake up every day, my body does not hurt or itch, which is happiness. What else can't you think about? If you go to tertiary hospital and squat in the corridor of the ICU center for a night, you will feel relieved about everything. When you see the seriously ill patients in the hospital, you will understand that living healthily is the greatest happiness.
When my neighbor heard what I said, he lowered his head and thought silently. Maybe it touched him.
I suddenly thought of something I saw on my phone, a psychological counselor, Mr. Li, and I continued to tell it to my neighbors.I said: As long as you don’t do bad things and live well in this world, this is your greatest contribution to the world. If you compare with those economic elites, then we are all ordinary people, and we have accomplished nothing.
Each of us is an independent individual. There are big trees, grass, and flowers in this world. We are born to be useful in our own way. Everyone has his own unique value. And from a deep perspective, it is not what you do that contributes to the world. Your existence is a contribution to the world, so there is no so-called problem of accomplishing nothing.
The neighbor said: What you said is too profound, I can’t understand it.
I said: You and I are the same, both doing an ordinary job. We don’t want to compare ourselves to big trees, but just be ordinary grass that is perseverant, bends down when it needs to bend down when it is hit by wind and rain, and stands upright when it needs to stand tall. If you can survive these days, you are very successful. Our living is our contribution, because everyone has to survive. To live, we need to eat, drink, and have diarrhea. Where does eating, drinking, and diarrhea come from? You have to work, you have to work to get it, and then you have to consume it. This is making a contribution to the world, but the contribution varies.
The neighbor nodded and said: What you said is really right. I understand. It’s good that we can live, because some people don’t even have the courage to live.
In fact, through Chang’s factory closure, the neighbor’s jokes, and then the neighbor’s loss, I thought deeply.
Many people struggle with the fact that they are approaching 40 or even 50 years old and still have accomplished nothing and have nothing. First, he did not live the way his parents wanted, second, he failed to set a role model for his children, and third, he did not let his wife feel the expectations for a better life in the future. But I want to say that you really can’t be too greedy!
Every individual in the world is unique. I am born to be useful. At the same time, I accept my mediocre self in comparison. If a person can live a strong and persistent life, good health is the biggest thing. What else is there to be dissatisfied with?
I have two daughters. Now I am 41 years old after the Chinese New Year. Looking back, I have neither learned nor improved myself. I really have no hope for the future. But some people say that having two daughters already surpasses many people. Not to mention, when I say this, I feel instantly better.
Yes, as long as you are not sick or in pain, you should be happy. You really can’t be too greedy. Rich or not, everyone has the same goal, to live, especially to live happily.
Many people envy and worship those rich people or celebrities. In fact, it is generally meaningless worship. If you can truly realize your own small wishes and work hard for them, it is better than envying and worshiping the success of others. The most important thing is that we can live happily every day. After all, everyone lives how we want to live. Being able to live the life you want is the true meaning of life.
I have been coding silently in Toutiao for 600 days after work, because this is my hobby. Although I often stay up late to write, I enjoy it very much. In addition to improving my writing skills, I also earn tens of thousands of dollars. Although it is not much, I really get happiness from it.
This is how I live for happiness.
The state of life I hope to have is: warm and not struggling, relaxed and not tense, born ordinary, willing to be ordinary, but not willing to lie down in the ordinary, and never slack off when it is time to work hard. Be tolerant to yourself, don't be harsh on yourself, don't hurt yourself.
Let’s welcome the new year with a calm mind! Are you ready? What is supposed to come will always come, and what is supposed to go cannot be kept. Face it calmly! #2022 Year-end Workplace Inventory#
