Happy by the street in Saigon


Woke up in a grumpy mood. I know why. Simply, I exhausted my dopamine yesterday up until the late night, knocking out around 1:30 am.

So, I chose not to be Zen with her during her anxiousness. Nah. I’ve been pretty Zen throughout the trip, but sometimes it’s okay to open the valve and let out the steam. 

The cause of disagreement: irrelevant! 

And here I am now, sitting at the corner of Thủ Khoa Huân and _____. I am happy. I finished a bánh mì trứng, and sipping my cà phê sữa. 

I couldn’t be happier.

Dirty pants, a regular old t-shirt, and sandles, is what I’m wearing. Flies around me, real locals, and a cute little girl, my daughter’s age (8). 

I could do this. I could be happy alone, with no goals, no pursuits, no ambitions, just simply existing, watching, connecting, reading and philosophizing, writing and making art. For how long? Maybe a couple of days. Maybe a few lifetimes. 

Meanwhile, on the other side of the planet, I have a business… Who’s goal is to earn $100M a year?

I hypothesize, am I only content because I can delight in simplicity now that I have earned more than most, that I have at my will, more than I need? Could I have reached this [happiness and contentment] sooner? 

Yes and no. 

For you see, while I am happy, I’m also happy to know I was able to do it make a shit-ton of money]. I proved to myself that study and hard work pays off. That philosophy and commerce do work. I am in no doubt. While had I achieved this [actualization and internal contentment] before achieving wealth, I could never have truly said: I can make money when and if I want. I choose to live simply; a choice, not a necessity. 

I did not want to be a poor philosopher, one which people can point at and say, “good for him, but what about my rent, my children’s expenses, my future goals and ambitions?! Good for him, but not for me is the life of a poor man, a life of poverty.” But here I am, able to say, I have more than you in wealth and riches, and here I am, more delighted in the simplicity of life (flies around me, sitting by the commoners) than I have been for a long time, surrounded by luxury and pleasures.


Written in Vietnam 

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