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Lesson 71 : Obligations
I think that everybody noticed that recently there was a terrible inflation everywhere.
I told José that the tomatoes today costs more than 1$ each, and I am talking about really small ones…
José was astonished, saying, “Come on, how could that be since now it is the tomatoes season ?”
I said, “Yes, you see, even that…”
José said, “Ok, I think I will eat them more slowly… ”
“You should.” I responded.
I said,”Hmmmmmm I understand why a lot of people began to do gardening now. Because it costs too much for the vegetables. Better do it yourself, from garden to table directly.”
José smiled, “Again …”
Yes. Again… Just like for so many times of things I said I wanted to have, like a dog.
But until today, I still could not make the decision …
José said, “You know, you need to understand that a garden needs a lot of work. For some small pleasures, it is Ok. But if you want to have a really productive garden, it take at least 3 years of continuous work. Do you have the energy and determination to do this work ?”
“You know, my suggestion is that before everything, you try to balance your obligations and your pleasure. If the gardening brings you more pleasure than the hard work it would take you to commit, and if you feel happy in gardening, it is ok. And yes, I encourage you to do that. “
“But if your purpose is only about the economic reasons, because you want to save money ? No, I don’t encourage you to do that. Because sooner or later, you will find that all of the time, the money, the energy you will have to invest in gardening will cost you more than the money you would spend in the supermarket. And if you don’t find the pleasure in it, you will soon get tired and frustrated with those obligations.”
Jose continued, “Same thing with the dog.”
“I know you love dogs. You are happy with dogs. But having a dog comes with obligations also. Which means you need to take care of the dog, for example, walk the dog twice a day, summer or winter, rain or shine, are you willing to make that commitment ?”
“Hmmmmmm”
“But I have the impression that you will be much happier with a dog than what you can imagine now. ” he said.
“But walking the dog twice a day, is a challenge.” I sighed.
José joined his hands ; closed his eyes thinking deeply and said, “Listen, Chinese people have a tendency to keep themselves very busy, because they are afraid of somehow loosing time. But now you live in Canada, and I hope that you can enjoy a little bit our way of living. Which means that working is not everything in life.”
“It is Ok to have some free time, some time dedicated only for yourself, for your pleasure. There is no need to feel guilty ; not need to rush everywhere to fulfill obligations everyday. Like you have to do this… or you have to do that..”
“If something brings you more pleasure than your obligations, yes, I encourage you to do that ; if not, I suggest that you enjoy your freedom, your lightness in life. Because you earned it.”
He continued, “I hope you can understand one thing, which is that if you don’t do anything for one day, it doesn’t mean that you wasted that day, it can simply mean that you spent a very nice day. “
“It is not a lesson, but my humble suggestion for you.”
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