A poem by Dr. Hoa Nguyen
1. One day in the future we will realize that the deepest rules of a happy life are not only receiving, but also giving. Receiving satisfies the brain, giving satisfies the heart.
2. One day in the future, we may feel that we are full of happiness. It is not because we have picked up something from the river, but that we have thrown something into the river and let it flow away.
3. One day in the future, we will truly understand that joy doesn't come from glory, or at the top of a mountain full of yellow flowers. It is the step by step relaxation to enjoy watching the wildflowers on the side of the road.
4. When we have experienced through a lot of joy and sadness, love and hate, hope and boredom, success and failure; then one day in the future, we will realize that everything in life comes and goes, have and have not, all seem as prestidigitation.
5. One day in the future, we will feel that the theoretical and words are excessive. Instead; we notice a smile, a tender look, or a friendly bow, even though it comes from a passerby, this makes us feel warm and cheerful in life.
6. One day in the future, we might realize that happiness is not far away. It is the satisfaction that we attain in the present moment.
7. One day in the future, we may realize that our youth was full of so many dreams, and our efforts were for a far away future. When we get older we often recall and regret a past which has gone away. In our life, as short as it is, we may have missed out on many miracles of life by not being present.
8. One day in the future, we may realize that the past, the present and the future could make us confused, because if we look back to the past; it means we are walking against the stream of life, if we are waiting for the future; we are dissatisfied with the present. And if we accept the present, then we are just standing still.
9. In life, we are running after money and material things, although we know these things create greed and selfishness. If without money we might live in poverty, however, one day in the future when we encounter misery, we will realize that it is not because we lack money or material things, it is because we lack love and compassion.
10. In life we realize that time has passed too quickly and will never come back, our lives are similar -- we go along with time. Then one day in the future when our life ends, our body and even our soul disappears, but our name might be (immortalized) recognized in life if we have done great things that benefit life and leave behind for future generations.