Never repeat other people's mistakes

 

I went to an old bookstore this morning to look for props for my next video in the series Circle of life by Ming. And guess what, I learned another lesson about running my business.

For what I have always been trying, everything I do in this series is all real so I always I want to prioritize the spirit of experiencing life. There are plenty of things that I have never done before at the age of 26, counted as little things like walking in an old bookstore I have seen several times or simply eating a bowl of pork organ congee. The moment I landed my feet on the ground of the bookstore, there was an unspeakable euphoria of wisdom rising up inside of my soul because I knew, the voice of the creator wanted me to get there today and he had already checked the task saying mission completed on his checklist for me to achieve it.

I like the atmosphere that hung over this old bookstore. What appealing enough was stacks of books embodying classes of generations which were neatly packed into a small space. While lingering in that space, I encountered the souls of many readers from different eras wandering around which reminded me of multiple regretful past generations who mourned over the paths they wish they had taken. The realization that I am still burdened by sufferings of mortal life made me weep for a while because I did pay compassion to our human life that someday no way will we elude the blade of death and that we will return to the dust eventually.

I fiercely felt a strong surge of emotion when I leafed through an old book that caught my attention. The handwriting and signature penned by the previous owner on a page of tea stained paper saying “This is a very rare and special book” from the 90s caused a tingling sensation in my nose along with a staunch surprise of claiming that I am nobody. Thousands and thousands of human lives had lived and left this world before me, then why I’m still here thinking that I’m special? No, the skill of our creator differentiated us by random numbers and events. Yes, we are not the same but simultaneously we are so much alike and that’s how this world functions.

Arriving this old bookstore, I was attracted by a particular corner where those foreign books reside. Russian, French and Dutch I can name some of them. I guess there was a supernatural power urging me to lay my eyes on them because those books had already targeted me as their new owner. The previous owners had commended them to my care and they will offer me priceless wisdom that can sustain me in the long run. From the bottom of my heart, I truly appreciate that.

Recently, I have been thinking a lot about learning from other people’s mistakes. On my last trip to Long An, I had a hard time struggling with adjusting my behavior when I saw one of my friend controlled his bike leading the team to pass a slippery surface under drizzling rain. He almost rode off the road and he had to brace himself for not falling off his bike. I was right after him and after witnessing that incident, I staunchly kept reminding myself that “never repeat other people’s mistakes”.

Everything happens for a reason, nothing is coincidence. Everything you're experiencing is meant to happen exactly how it's happening. Every mistake I’m making today will definitely wear me down in the years to come. We mindlessly forget that thousands of people had gone through the same situation we are encountering at the moment and we also turn a blind eye on how they corrupted from the top of their careers in just a second. We still go down the same path as them, ironically.

Suddenly I felt a chill skip up my spine finishing this line. I thought of the old souls implanted in these books and deep inside of my own  I acknowledged that we are walking on the same path.