Then I will still go upstairs to greet my eldest daughter before school, telling her that successful people tend to wake early, stay cheerful, and seize opportunities rather than miss them (the school bus coming to collect her)
Still personally taking my two other children to school, checking whether their sandals are on the right feet and why there is no carton of plant milk in their bags, and wishing them a happy, good day of learning before they enter class
Still I told one of the other older children: study well this morning, and this afternoon, if there is any free time between two lessons, I will take you to buy your birthday toy (the child is homeschooled).
I asked the elderly lottery-ticket seller whether she was from Quảng Ngãi. When she replied that she was from Nam Định, I still bought 2 tickets to support her, because I had 2 tens left in small change
Having a glass of bạc xỉu, milky Vietnamese coffee, this morning after taking my child to school
Feeling the love I receive and being deeply moved by it, my eyes welling up over that simple thing…
I will still make time for what I most need to do now: sharing and teaching the path that unites the material and spiritual
I will still continue writing the final chapter of my 6th book
Still making time to meditate and breathe, even with only one day of breathing left
Still looking up at the sky, moved by the beauty of creation and the peace of its blue; all of us share that same sky
Still grateful that, as I write these lines, breath remains present in my body
I will still pause and settle into listening to a beautiful piece of music playing in the café
This afternoon, I will still pick up my children and bring them home
I will add something different from my usual schedule: visiting my mother, relatives, and several other people I need to meet and speak with
In the evening, I will watch a good, meaningful film with my wife and talk with her
Before turning 29, I wrote in my first book that people should be able to question their lives until death
After 31, I no longer doubted my life. I stopped questioning its meaning and simply lived
I will remember my father and his words: “The extraordinary is the ordinary from which we take flight.”
I will still do the ordinary things I do every day, with a few additions…
Because I have already lived that way every day
One day at a time
Nothing is meaningless
Everything has meaning
Thank you to all the beautiful souls
Thank you to creation & life
So that every day we can experience life and rebirth
And live
