Sixty and Going Strong

A very wise Chinese philosophy of life and wealth.

 

Sixty and Going Strong

(Translated from the original in Chinese below)

“There are 1000-year old trees in the mountain, but not many 100 year-old people”

At the most, you live until 100 years old (only 1 in 100,000).

If you live until 90, you only have 30 years.

If you live until 80, you only have 20 years.

Because you don’t have many years to live, and you can’t bring along things when you go, you don’t have to be too thrifty. 

Spend the money that should be spent, enjoy what should be enjoyed, donate what you are able to donate, but don’t leave all  to your children or grandchildren, for you don’t want them to become “parasites”.

Don’t worry about what will happen after you are gone, because when you return to dust,  you will feel nothing about praises or criticisms.

Don’t worry too much about your children for “children will have their own destiny and find their own way. Don’t be your children’s slave”

Don’t expect too much from your children. Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render any help.

Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive, and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties.

Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but you have no claims to their money.

60-year-olds like you, don’t trade in your health for wealth anymore;

Because your money may not be able to buy your health.

When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred thousands, million, ten million)? “Out of thousand hectares of good farm land, 

you can only consume three quarts (of rice) daily; out of a thousand of mansions, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night”. 

So as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough.

So you should live happily. Every family has its own problems. Just do not compare with others for fame and social status and see whose children are doing better, etc. but challenge others for happiness, health and longevity.

Don’t worry about things that you can’t change because it doesn’t help and it may spoil your health.

You have to create your own well-being and find your own happiness;

As long as you are in good mood, think about happy things, do happy things daily and have fun in doing, then you will pass your time happily every day.

One day passes, you will lose one day;

One day passes with happiness, and then you gain one day.

In good spirit, sickness will cure; in good spirit, sickness will cure fast; in good spirit; sickness will never come.

With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun, variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin 

and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years healthy life.

六十而不惑..

“山中也有千年樹，世上難逢百歲人。” 最大限度，你也只活到百多歲（十萬人中才有一個）。 能活到九十歲，只有三十年； 能活到八十歲，只有二十年。 因為剩下的日子不多，你臨走時什麼都帶不走，你不必太節省。  該花的錢要花，該享受的要享受，該捐助的要捐助；惟獨不能留這筆錢給兒孫，把他（她）變 成 “寄生蟲”! 。 不必對死後的事考慮太多，因為變成灰的你，對表揚與批評已無感覺。 不必對兒女的事考慮太多，“兒孫自有兒孫福，休為兒孫做馬牛”。 不要對兒女幻想太多，孝順的兒女有孝心，但工作太忙，幫不了你！ 不孝的兒女也許（在你活著時就搶奪）盼著你早死，好早日繼承你的財產。 你的錢財，兒女認為給他們是天經地義； 兒女的錢，卻不是你的錢，你想要卻十分困難。 六十歲的你，再也不要用健康去換取身外之物， 因為此時，你用金錢已未必能買到健康。 錢掙到何時、何數（十萬，百萬，千萬……）才算夠？“良田萬頃，日食三升 ；大廈千間，夜眠八尺”，夠吃夠用就行了。 你要愉快地活著，雖然家家都有一本難念的經，你不要再和別人比名利地位、兒孫如何有出息……等等，而要比誰活得更愉快、健康、長壽！ 你無力改變的事，就不必太操心，因為操心也無用，反而影響了自己的健康。 幸福靠自己努力創造，快樂要千方百計去尋找， 只要心境好，每天想愉快的事，做愉快的事，自己找樂趣，就能天天都過得高興。 過一天，少一天； 過一天，樂一天；樂一天，賺一天。 精神好，病能好；精神好，病早好；精神好，病不倒。 心情愉快，適當運動，常見陽光，食物多樣化， 保證多種維生素和微量元素的合理（適度而不超量）吸收，盼能健康地再活二、三十年。