Happy Dreams

by Jia Pingwa

“But how am I supposed to enjoy my meal with so many rules?”

His maxim was that anything could be wasted, but not food.

“If you carry on eating when you’re full, isn’t that wasteful too?” I said.

So many things are overlooked in life. Like, everyone needs to breathe, if you don’t, you die. But did anyone go around counting every breath in and every breath out, as if no one had ever breathed before?

In the city, you knew the time only from a wristwatch.

Human relationships are not about the big things, they’re about the details.

“Enjoy life, don’t spoil it by rushing around,” and “Take a break before going after fame and fortune.”

We got up at dawn. Another day had begun. Every day was the same, there was no difference between the one before and the one after.

“Change what you can change, adapt to what you can’t change, put up with what you can’t adapt to, and let go of what you can’t put up