Think Often: One, Two

[PureInsight.org] A friend of
mine bought some paper, a brush and an ink stone, and asked me to write
him an inscription for his new living room. I hesitated, as my
calligraphy was poor, not to mention that I hadn't practiced for many
years.



My friend said, "What are you worrying about? I am proud to hang your
calligraphy in my house. Since I won't even worry about it, why should
you?"



So I unfolded the paper, ground fresh ink and wrote four words: "Think Often One Two."



My friend asked, "What does that mean?"



I said, "It means that my calligraphy was poorly written. When you see
it, please bear with it by thinking a couple of the good things about
me, and you will excuse me."



Seeing my joking manner, my friend said, "Seriously, what does that mean?"



"As the saying goes, 'Unpleasant matters account for eighty to ninety
percent of life.' Life is painful as most of it is unpleasant. But at
least we have ten to twenty percent of pleasant and satisfying things
in life. If one wants to have a happy life, one will have to think
often of the ten to twenty percent of good things. Then one will
appreciate and cherish life, as opposed to being struck in the eighty
to ninety percent of unpleasant things."



My friend was very happy with it and took the calligraphy home with him.



A few months later, he came to visit me and asked for more
calligraphies. He said, "I have been having such a hard time at work.
But as soon as I get home and see your calligraphy 'Think Often One
Two,' I become very relieved. The wall is too big for just one
calligraphy, so please write me some more."



I never say no to my friends, so I wrote another scroll: "Forget About
Eight Nine," and added a horizontal hanging scroll: "As You Wish."
Finally, I drew a free-sketch vase of flowers to go in the middle.



A few months later, unexpectedly, a newspaper covered my second
marriage and precipitated a lot of bizarre gossip and rumors. One day,
my friend called me, telling me that he was sitting right in front of
the calligraphy I wrote for him. He said, "I cannot think of anything
to make you feel better except your own words: 'Think Often One Two,' 'Forget About Eight Nine,' and everything goes '˜As You Wish.'"



I was very touched by his phone call. I always believed that it was
easy to "add more flowers to the brocade" when others are in glory but
very hard to "deliver fuel in snowy weather" when others are in
trouble. I figured the scaling was approximately eight or nine to one
or two. A friend who cannot deliver fuel in snowy weather is not a real
friend, not to mention those who would hit a friend when he is down.
However, a man in his 40's like me has most likely learned to take the
rough with the smooth, and will not care too much about others' "adding
more flowers to the brocade" or "delivering fuel in snowy weather" to
him. That's because we have experienced life's pains and setbacks,
undergone many emotional unions and separations, and have slowly seized
upon a way that is active, positive and cheerful in life, which is
exactly the idea of "Think Often One Two."



The idea of "Think Often One Two" enables us to seek the dawn's light
through the dark clouds, enjoy peaceful moments in the swirling dust of
human vanity, and take a deep breath before suffocating. Life is bitter
enough; if we added up all the unpleasantness, we would certainly find
it hard and rough to live. Sometimes we have no alternatives when our
life and sentiments fall into difficulty, but if our thoughts and mood
also fall into difficulty, then we're asking for trouble and bringing
ourselves additional pain.



Sailing in a raging sea, I learned how to face difficulties a long time
ago. I always tell myself:  "I could seek joy in bitterness while
going through countless sufferings in the past. For this little
difficulty at present, I can certainly smile at my troubles." Since
childhood, I have liked reading great people's biographies and memoirs
and have gradually come up with a formula:

What moves me was not their suffering, because suffering is everywhere.
It's their persistence, optimism and courage that moves me.



It turns out that whether a wish comes true or not is not determined by
one's luck, it depends on one's thoughts at that very moment. The
defining element of a life's quality is not eight or nine, but one or
two.





Translated from:

http://xinsheng.net/xs/articles/gb/2008/3/12/42775.htm