Where is my happiness?

Date: 15 April, 2010

Dedicate the poem to my son on the school commencement ceremony day on 27 April, 2010 -


When I was a child, I thought I would be happy if I were an adult;
When I grew up, I thought I would be happy if I were a child;
When I was a single, I thought I would be happy if I were married;
When I was married, I thought I would be happy if I had a baby;
When I had a baby, I thought I would be happy if he grew up tomorrow.
…..

Where is my happiness?
I was lost on the way pursuing my destiny!
Perhaps I would never find of what I dreamt.

Climbing over one mountain,
Another one is awaiting you.
A bigger one or smaller one,
It all depends how you see it.

A half cup of water,
The “Positive” says there is still a half cup of water
The “Negative” says there is only a half cup of water.
It all depends how you view it.

Challenges, hardships are parts of life.
Men create themselves to solve problems.
The more you hate them, the more you fear them.
The more you love them, the more you enjoy tackling them.
The more you enjoy tackling them, the more fulfilling is your life.

Then you turn challenges into your best friend,
You enjoy every moment with them.
Then you focus on how to get through them,
You simply forget they exited as your foe.

Happiness is in your mind,
If you take daily hassles and adversity as a fact of life.
Happiness is in your heart,
If you cherish every moment you learn from living with them.
No matter if you have setbacks or success,
Happiness is in your heart,
Because you have realized happiness can be unconditional;
Because you have set yourself free from the prison of events.

Happiness will never fall from the sky.
But happiness is not a Neverland that we will never find.
Happiness can be everywhere if we don’t take it for granted.
Happiness is always living with us if we have peace of mind.


Sometimes, happiness doesn’t mean we must win;
But we still can smile at it if we know how we lose and how to get up;
Happiness can come more from giving than gaining;
Like a candle - burning itself to brighten up others.

Happiness is not how much you own,
Happiness is not how long you can live,
Happiness is qualified on how much you have enjoyed
No matter how short you life is.
Happiness is judged on how much you have given,
No matter how little you have of your own.


To love and to care;
To help and to devote;
To relish and to appreciate;
All sources of happiness
Close as your home and far as a corner of the world.


You are what you think.
If you think you are a happy guy,
You will be happy even if you lose everything;
If you think you are a miserable guy,
You will be miserable even if you own half the wealth of the world.

Happiness is a life attitude;
Happiness is a state of mind.
Happiness is a way of thinking;
Happiness is a journey
But not a destiny.

The poem was inspired by people who are still being stricken by the aftermath of Haiti earthquake and inspired by a HK volunteer, Mr Wong Fu Yung who scarified his life to save more children in debris in the earthquake in China.