Awaken by Lan Xin

Internationally renowned writer, poet and translator, member of the Chinese Writers Association. The only female inheritor of UNESCO-listed Dongba Culture, International Disseminator of Dongba Culture and practitioner of Chinese culture's global outreach. Winner of the Italian Francesco Giampietri International Literary Award, President of Lanxin Samei Academy and Dean of Yulong Wenbi Dongba Culture Academy.

No one wants

to face hard times and troubles

But human weaknesses

often make us careless and overconfident

forgetting our limits, filled with pride

So life

uses difficult moments

to wake us up, remind us, push us, and shock us

so we can see ourselves clearly

and see the world as it is

Not appreciating the good things we have

• a common human flaw

Sometimes life will take away

precious people, things, love, and chances on purpose

Those who don’t value what they have

lose it forever

and can never get it back

But a few rare people

wake up after deep reflection

When what was lost is found again

• is a great and unexpected gift

a gentle reward from life for those who learn to think

• teaches us to cherish what we have after we lose it

All the bad things that happen in life

are life’s way of gently telling us

to wake up sooner

If you can wake up by learning from your mistakes

you turn bad luck into good, and gain more than you lose

If you can wake up by being aware

the wisdom you find

will help you for your whole life

Truly

no amount of money can buy your awakening

All the lessons we learn

are meant to make us wake up