By Wang Tuan-cheng
Translated by Wu Hsiao-ting
Photo by Hsiao Yiu-hwa
A philosopher named Abdullah was known to have been cheerful all his life. No one had ever seen him unhappy. He was always smiling, always upbeat, as if joy was the only thing he knew.
Day after day, year after year, he lived like that.
Eventually he became very old. He grew weaker and weaker. It was obvious his days were numbered. Even on his deathbed, however, he didn’t show any sorrow or sadness. He still smiled contentedly.
His behavior made his disciples curious. They asked him, “You’re dying soon. We’re all very sad for that, and yet you are still smiling. Why are you so happy? Why do you smile all the time? You have never looked sad. Even now, facing death, you look cheerful. How do you do it?”
Abdullah said to his disciples, “I asked my teacher the same question. I was 17 years old at the time, and I felt miserable every day. My teacher was 70. One day I saw him sitting alone under a tree, laughing jovially. Nothing seemed to have happened to elicit such glee from him, and yet there he was, roaring heartily with laughter. I asked him, ‘What’s the matter? Why are you laughing like this for no reason at all? Have you gone mad?’ My teacher replied, ‘My child, I once was unhappy and miserable like you. But then I realized that we can choose to be unhappy, or we can choose to be happy. Once I realized that, I decided to choose laughter and happiness. This is my life; I can decide how I want to live it.’”
Abdullah continued, “After that conversation, every morning when I woke up, I asked myself, ‘Abdullah, what will you choose today? Misery? Joy?’ Without fail, I chose the latter.”
He went on, “Now I’ve told you the secret of my happiness, just like my teacher shared with me. How about you? What will you choose? It’s all up to you.”
Abdullah was right, and his story should give you some food for thought. Life is a stage, and you are your own playwright. You can write a tragedy or a comedy—it’s your choice. So how will you write it? Will your story be one of happiness, misery, joy, or sorrow? The pen is poised in your hand.
