Happiness No. 0

Not long ago, a video clip of actor Truong Giang's speech at Puka and Gin Tuan Kiet's wedding went viral on social media. He said:"Many people think happiness means having a house, a car, money, fame... But for me, happiness lies in words."Are not”.That is, without disaster, without noise, without illness, without quarreling, without pain. The self."c"O"It's just for people to look at, not the text."Are not”Only then will it truly belong to you. Truong Giang and many other married people sitting here, there are only three things to maintain family happiness: listening, sharing, and forgiving."

Truong Giang's statement received widespread agreement from netizens. In the comments section of online forums, some expressed their appreciation for the artist's concept of happiness, saying that not only Puka and Gin Tuan Kiet but anyone who hears this will find every word resonant.

Happiness lies in the word "nothing," sounding as light as a feather, but maintaining that belief and practicing it is not easy. Throughout my youth, I worked tirelessly, both my main job and side jobs, to earn money. My motivation and goal, which kept me awake all night, even in the hospital receiving IV fluids with one hand holding the needle and the other typing, was to become wealthy. I believed that when you have money, lots of money, you can have anything you want, own everything you desire, live a carefree life, and not depend on anyone. I worked like that for nearly a decade, but the numbers in my bank account, a house, and a car still weren't enough to give me peace of mind. I always felt it was still too little, still lacking, needing more, much more. But how much more is enough?

One day I realized that the desire to possess is an endless balloon; we inflate it with so much envy and greed in life, only to find ourselves empty-handed in the end. The house, the car, are registered in our names, but when we die, they belong to someone else; money cannot be taken with us on the long journey to the other side of life. We think we own them, but in reality, we don't. What we truly possess is only the feeling of owning them, but that feeling is fleeting and illusory. We have them, yet we lose them. Ultimately, what we truly possess are intangible things, things we cannot touch or grasp, yet they remain most firmly within us. These are the spiritual experiences in every moment of our lives: love, hate, anger, resentment, tolerance, forgiveness, happiness, gratitude…

Truong Giang is right. Happiness is "without calamities, without noise, without illness, without arguments, without pain. What we 'have' is for others to see, but what we 'don't' truly belong to us." What we "have" is external, something mainly displayed for others to admire; but what we "don't" is what is truly essential for our lives.

This doesn't mean living without money; on the contrary, we need it very much. However, this need is balanced by the concept of contentment, preventing greed from consuming our entire being. We are not slaves to money, but its masters. As masters, we don't suffer from resentment or inferiority complex because we have less money than others; nor do we frantically try to hoard money, but know how to use just enough to live comfortably, accepting occasional hardships and shortages, because how much is truly enough?

Some people live their whole lives struggling to understand the difference between "having" and "not having." Often, "having" becomes "not having" effortlessly, and "not having" suddenly and unexpectedly becomes "having." Money is closely linked to wealth; our ancestors taught us this. No matter how much money you have, if you don't know how to manage it, misfortune and bad luck will strike. Having money, lots of money, is certainly appealing, but it can easily lead you astray. You think you possess it, but in reality, it possesses you, controls you, and you become completely dependent on it. You experience joy and sorrow because of money, misery and hardship because of money, and you lose yourself and your family because of it. Therefore, "having" is necessary, but "not having" is even more important – as Trường Giang's perspective suggests, which, upon reflection, holds much wisdom.