In just two days, it will be the New Year.

Over the years, I've slowly come to realize that the true meaning of the New Year, actually isn't found on the first or second day, nor is it in those extravagant and lively celebrations.

What really touches me, instead, is that time right before the holiday. Starting from about ten days before the New Year, the festive atmosphere seeps bit by bit into our lives. It also lies in those days leading up to the holiday, the days when we are slowly drawing closer to "home."

And because of this, I increasingly feel that happiness, more often than not, isn't found in the moment we truly possess something, but in the moments we are drawing close to it. It lives in the anticipation, in the preparations, in the time before we've actually arrived. You can feel it when the markets start getting busy, when the streets light up and shimmer, when every household is busy preparing New Year's goods.

I love to slow down while selecting ingredients. The feeling of my fingertips touching the rice, flour, oil, and salt, as my mind pictures the scene of my family sitting together. In that moment, I am very clear—happiness is actually very simple. That feeling, it doesn't want to be flaunted, yet it feels so real.

On the way home, the streets are bustling with traffic, the crowds flow endlessly, and lights and shadows flash past the window. I remind myself that these seemingly hurried moments are actually very precious. Perhaps the meaning of the New Year lies within these small, fragmented actions. Shopping for New Year's supplies together, preparing gifts together, cleaning house together. These seems ordinary little things are actually proof that I am living my life with intention. They are also my way of having a conversation with life.

I believe more and more that happiness isn't about how much you possess, but about whether I am truly living in every single moment of the present. During these days of preparing for the New Year, I have learned to be grateful, and I have also learned to cherish.

Over the past year, I believe you all have tried your best. There have been successes and there have been losses, times of growth and times of exhaustion. I want to invite you to imagine this. Five years from today, you have a stable and considerable income, a home of your own, with the room filled with all the things you love.

A career with some small achievements, a face that still looks youthful, still carrying a light upon it. Your parents are still healthy, you have a couple of close friends by your side, and a person who truly loves you and is sincere accompanying you.

Trust me, these images will surely appear in your life. As long as you are willing to believe, they will draw closer to you, bit by bit.

In the new year, may you become an even better version of yourself.
May all your wishes come true; may you be in good health and stay safe.
May everything you think and wish for, eventually echo back to you.

Happy New Year.
May every step of this year be taken steadily, and also warmly.

( Translated from the original Chinese text )

 

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