The Miracle of Mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh

I haven’t finished this book yet, but I am impatient to make this report.

This book helps me to be aware of my life, and to express the power I felt from the book, I need to go no further than quote these two paragraphs:

‘Then Allen said, "I’ve discovered a way to have a lot more time. In the past, I used to look at my time as if it were divided into several parts. One part I reserved for Joey, another part was for Sue, another part to help with Ana, another part for household work. The time left over I considered my own. I could read, write, do research, go for walk.

"But now I try not to divide my time into parts anymore. I consider my time with Joey and Sue my own time. When I help joey with his homework, I try to find ways of seeing his time as my own time. I go through his lesson with him, sharing his presence and finding ways to be interested in what we do during that time. The time for him becomes my own time. The same with Sue. The remarkable thing is that now I have unlimited time for myself!"’

This link leads to the excerpt that contains the lines quoted above.

For me, these two short paragraphs are especially touching. I was doing exactly the same thing Allen used to do: seeing my time with those that were close to me as a burden–something that I must get through. If I were able to see this point and start to care and love, I would not have lost what I cherished and feel lonely at times.

If you feel much the same after reading the excerpts, I strongly advice you to find this book and read it. The joy you get from reading the book and being aware that you are reading this book is beyond your experience. There is a Chinese version entitled 正念的奇迹, which may come in handy as, for us, many Buddhism terms are better understood in Chinese than in English.

The Richer, the Happier?

If both polls are right, the Chinese are pretty miserable now but they expect a dramatic turn for the better.

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A recent Economist article has it that people in rich countries generally feel happier than those in poorer ones.

The Callup survey asked people to rate their happiness on a scale from null to ten. Finland emerged at the top of the list, with China at the bottom.

Another thing worth noticing is that in poor countries, the elite are much more optimistic than the general population.

Generally, the new survey findings are at odds with the conventional wisdom.

‘In fairness, the "new happiness" economists, such as Mr Layard, never claimed there was no connection at all between money and feeling good. What they have said is that once people climb out of poverty, the link is weak, and may not work at all above a certain point (as one British pundit put it, extra money "is now proved beyond doubt not to deliver greater happiness, nationally or individually"). The evidence for this comes from surveys in most rich countries (such as America’s general social survey), which show that happiness has been flat for decades, even though incomes have risen sharply.

On the face of it, the new findings are a counter-point to the earlier data. If the richest countries report greater "happiness" than moderately rich ones, that would suggest there is no quantifiable level of income at which extra cash fails to deliver extra contentment. Still, the latest findings don’t invalidate the historic experience of particular countries—like the United States—which have surged to greater levels of wealth without experiencing any rise in general levels of reported happiness.

But if you treat history as bunk and concentrate on the levels of satisfaction that countries feel right now, the results are—in Mr Deaton’s view—quite striking. He has compared Gallup’s satisfaction score with national income based on purchasing-power parities, and got a close fit.’

I come to understand the new findings as not contradictory to the old theories. The GDP values as used in the surveys can be a proxy to "living standard". Generally, rich countries have better standards; at the same time, above a certain standard (which most rich countries have crossed), happiness do not rise as income. This also explains the gap between the elite and the general population in poorer countries (such as China), where the people at the top have risen above the standard, while those at the bottom are far below it.

And I’d like to hear from you. When you are making big money, do you feel happier?

随便写一点 + 寻物启事

好久不写日志了，重新做人真是很难啊……虽然很有心情，也只能随便写点什么。这几天终于拿到了年级通讯录，把手上的照片发出去了。现在看看大家的照片，悠悠然觉得很留念的样子。大家就是我人生最珍贵的财富，我却把大部分都留在北京了……可怜我天性不爱旅游的，以后还是要下定决心回北京看看各位。

 

p.s.好像还有不少美女毕业典礼那天和本道具合影来着的，碰巧看到本贴一定要记得把照片发给偶啊……为了便于交流偶已经用中文书写本告示了:)