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Slow Days·서른 사내의 생각

Luck and Fortune

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Something like this happened.


A

I was on the subway when a friend I was with ran into someone he knew.

He couldn't contain his overflowing joy and was ecstatic.

"Oh my god, what?! How is this even possible??! That's incredible!"


In truth, they were from the same gathering, and it was only a couple of hours after the meeting had ended.

I said, "Well... that can happen, can't it? Why make such a big deal?" But still...



B

Around 12:30 at night, I was taking a taxi home.

Then the taxi, which had been driving fine, suddenly slowed down.

A man was gently coaxing a large dog across the crosswalk.

The driver grumbled and stepped on the gas again.


In that moment, I let out a startled laugh.

It wasn't a big dog at all -- it was a woman, completely drunk, crawling across the crosswalk on all fours.

"Oh -- that wasn't a dog, it was a person?! Hahaha --"

"A dog is what she is -- ugh -- (grumble grumble....)"


I was amused by the rare, absurd sight I had witnessed,

while the taxi driver was stressed out.



C

Just a few years ago,

when I'd see my younger sibling and mother bickering about doing the dishes in the morning,

I'd think, "Why fight over something like that.. how frustrating.."

Today, after going home for the first time in a while and seeing my sibling and mother together,

I thought, "Ah, how lovely. This is what it means to be alive. Haha."


In fact, the motivation for this very post

was precisely this realization that sparked the impulse to write.






In the end, all three events -- A, B, and C --

came down to a single thought arising within the mind.


Even when the same events, phenomena, and situations occur,

in the end, it is that one thought within our own minds

that determines the day's mood, luck and misfortune, or whether life feels special or mundane.



Luck, fortune, or blessings... are actually

dependent on how I frame my own mind --

different depending on how I choose to accept things --

that's the thought that came to me.

This English version was translated by Claude.

친절한 찰쓰씨
Written by
친절한 찰쓰씨

Pleasant Charles — UI/UX researcher at AIT. Keeping notes on design, planning, and slow days here since 2010.

More on the author's page

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