Bring Happiness to Yourself

By Daodao

On New Year’s Day, my parents, my sister with her husband and son,came to visit me in Beijing.

After dinner we were preparing to go to Wangfujing Street and had just come out of the restaurant when my mother got up on her tippy-toes to button up my father’s collar. The next day when we visited Nanluogu Lane,for every few steps, Father looked back to make sure my mother followed. He worried that she might get in the endless streams of people. Later, he even asked her to walk a few steps ahead so that he could easily keep an eye on her.

When we were back at the hotel that night, I asked my mother,“How come decades are like a day to you guys? I mean, you two are still so close, why is that?”

My mother answered in a simple idiom, “He who has tolerance is at peace.”

“What do you mean by tolerance? Tolerate what? Don’t you feel unhappy having to be tolerant every day?” I asked.

Mother smiled: “Tolerance doesn’t mean I have to put up with your father’s temper, but that I control my own emotions.”

At that moment, I realized that happiness can come so easily for a person like my mom, who doesn’t ask for much.

I now look back on those moments last Spring Festival,when I talked to my mother about happiness.

I asked her, “How can we bring happiness to our loved ones?”

“Bring happiness to yourself.When you are filled with happiness, it will naturally overflow and touch other’s life.”Such simple but profound words of wisdom. ◆

(FromThe Storyteller, The Writers Publishing House.Translation: Huilan)

元旦，爸妈、姐姐、姐夫和大外甥一起来北京玩。

准备去王府井的时候，老妈从吃饭的地方一出来，便踮着脚给老爸扣衣领。第二天去南锣鼓巷的时候，老爸走几步就回头看，生怕步子小的老妈被人潮挤丢了。后来干脆就在老妈后面走，让她先走几步他再追上去。

晚上回到酒店，我问老妈：为什么你跟我爸几十年如一日，感情这么好？

老妈只说了四个字：能忍则安。

我说：这个“忍”是什么意思？忍受么？您天天生活在忍受里面，岂不是很不开心？

老妈笑了笑说：我说的忍，不是忍受你爸的脾气，而是忍住自己的情绪。

突然觉得，对于老妈这种凡事向己求的人，幸福就是这般轻而易举，信手拈来。

还记得去年回家过年的时候跟老妈聊天，说起“幸福”这个名词。

我问老妈：怎样才能给喜欢的人带来幸福呢？

老妈说：把自己过幸福，它装满了，自然就会溢出去。◆