Back to feed
Slow Days·the think normal

The start of what makes today's life unhappy

NS
normalstory
cover image
These days I'm caught up in this kind of worry. 
So to do some mind control, I started writing this piece.



The start of what makes today's life unhappy begins with resenting your own environment and circumstances.

It's people who are ashamed of their parents and of their own situation.
Who are ashamed of the hometown they were born in, ashamed of the school they graduated from,
who resent the chronic environment around them and the senior who oppresses them.

When they step out into society, they resent how unfair society is,
and they start cursing the work and the workplace that squeezes their daily life.
They complain about the workload, complain about colleagues above and below them, and in the end the boss's mindset becomes the talk of the town.

While that's happening, they gradually start resenting their past too.
After marriage, they resent their wife or husband's support,
and once they have a child, they start resenting the cost of raising kids, school grades, and the children's attitudes.



Many flowers blush unseen, blooming alone with no one to notice them, 
and cast their sweet fragrance in vain on the desert air.
- Thomas Gray, from 'Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard'


I never saw a wild thing
sorry for itself.
A small bird will drop frozen dead from a bough
without ever having felt sorry for itself.
- D.H. Lawrence, 'Self-Pity'


Before that, what we must clearly understand is that resentment and criticism are very different things.
Cynical criticism and criticism that wrestles with alternatives are also different. 




Before criticizing or being dissatisfied with something,
how much have you tried to communicate with them,  
and how much have you tried yourself, from where you stand right now, to change the unfair or unsatisfying environment,
and was it really your best,
"Is this your best?"

I ask myself again and again.






That's why I'm starting a small project.
It's now May since I started, so we're closing in on four months..
Daily Project : UX design of MA WorkPlace
http://normalstory.tistory.com/category/AIT%20project%202011
 

Honestly, like always..
the start of change isn't persuasion or rational explanation - it begins with changing yourself. 
The reason a satisfying change isn't yet visible in front of me

is because I'm not yet mature, and because each one of my actions still lacks persuasive power.
That's the reason I have to keep tirelessly living today, and it's also the engine that keeps me alive today.. 
  • Open in Google Docs Viewer
  • Open link in new tab
  • Open link in new window
  • Open link in new incognito window
  • Download file
  • Copy link address
  • Edit PDF File on PDFescape.com
  • Open in Google Docs Viewer
  • Open link in new tab
  • Open link in new window
  • Open link in new incognito window
  • Download file
  • Copy link address
  • Edit PDF File on PDFescape.com
  • Open in Google Docs Viewer
  • Open link in new tab
  • Open link in new window
  • Open link in new incognito window
  • Download file
  • Copy link address
  • Edit PDF File on PDFescape.com

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

Keep reading

Slow Days

With a single thought, a whole world arises.

Apr 30, 2026·1 min
Slow Days

부유함은 상태가 아니라 감정이다

Feb 16, 2026·1 min
Slow Days

Reading a book next to my coding

Jan 18, 2026·1 min