In July I was originally planning to give myself a proper summer break. Given the broader trends at play, it seemed wiser to rest and recharge — spend time with family — rather than grinding away. Whether or not I was making money really wasn’t the point right now.
That’s just the reality of the times. We need to respect objective circumstances and not be stubborn about it.
But this afternoon I came across a story about a young woman — an employee at a well-known financial firm who had passed away — and I found I couldn’t hold back. I wanted to write something. Partly out of sorrow for such a beautiful life lost.
And partly because throughout this year, many readers have shared all kinds of dark, pessimistic feelings with me. So I wanted to take this opportunity to say a few things straight from the heart.
I’m just talking casually here. You can listen casually too.
First of all — I genuinely don’t encourage excessive suppression and repression in the environment we’re living in right now. It’s deeply unhealthy.
You have to understand: the vast majority of people are not very willing to let their true emotions show.
We tend to feel that as adults, opening up to the people around us — speaking from the heart — is somehow embarrassingly weak and foolish.
Even when we’re weighed down by serious emotional distress — heavy as a thick clot pressing against the chest — we still refuse to be honest with the family members and partners who care about us.
Instead, we’d rather pack all that negative emotion down hard inside ourselves and quietly bear it alone.
This is actually a very dangerous way to live. Sooner or later, something will break.
We are human beings, which means we have limits — physical and psychological. Push past those limits and serious problems are inevitable.
At the same time, even though we sit at the top of the animal kingdom, we are still fundamentally social creatures. That means we are naturally capable of drawing enormous energy and comfort from the words and care of others.
And when you’re under serious psychological pressure, the best response isn’t to grit your teeth and suffer in silence — it’s to find the right person and open up.
Simply venting won’t solve the underlying problem, but it does an extraordinary job of releasing pressure. It lifts your mood enough to put you in a better state to actually deal with things.
It’s like watching a pressure cooker reach its breaking point. The right move isn’t to hope it can keep holding on forever — it’s to simply open the release valve and let the pressure bleed off gradually.
Speaking from my many years of reading destinies, there are two things I can say with certainty.
First: every single one of us is destined to go through two or three major upheavals in our lives — and no amount of planning or avoidance can change that. They are inevitable.
Second: when those upheavals come, there is no fast way to recover. In the end, it always comes down to time — slowly adjusting, gradually rebuilding the inner strength needed to stand back up.
And through that process, the support and companionship of the people who love you is the finest medicine there is.
This is something I feel deeply: no matter how catastrophic things get — as long as there’s someone beside you who will patiently, warmly give you a hug and say, “This will pass. The sun will come out again” — most people can make it through whatever hardship fate has written for them.
The thing I fear most — the thing that is truly dangerous — is when something happens to you and there is no one to turn to. Not even a parent or relative willing to listen to what’s in your heart.
This is precisely why, over the past couple of years, you may have noticed me sharing warming, encouraging content more and more frequently.
It’s because I know all too well what this environment is doing to people. Every family has its own hard story. Every person is carrying their own private cloud overhead.
And not everyone has someone to talk to. Our parents’ generation, for all their goodness, tends to have real blind spots when it comes to empathy.
So if my words can give you even 1% of warmth, that is meaningful.
Because the distance between 0% and 1% is the distance between nothing and something.
Many of you — brothers and sisters out there — may just need one small word of encouragement to find the courage to keep going.
If that’s what’s needed, then let me be the one who says it for you.
In this current environment, I think we all need to cultivate the habit of keeping each other warm. Make a point of giving the people around you genuine, positive emotional support.
Don’t spend your lowest moments waiting for some powerful figure to reach down and pull you out of your suffering. In real life, you’ll find it’s usually the ordinary, unremarkable people — the ones with kind hearts — who are more willing to give from their own limited means to offer you a little help and care.
Those are your true friends. And friendships like that are precious — worth tending carefully, worth reciprocating in the small acts of daily life.
Finally, a few practical suggestions:
1. No matter how bad things get, don’t lose hope. Don’t fall into the belief that life has no meaning.
Honestly, life doesn’t come loaded with grand meaning in the first place. We show up, we do our best, we eat and drink and enjoy what we can, and eventually we go. That’s it.
And here’s the thing: no matter how large an obstacle seems right now, look back on it five years later and it will barely seem worth mentioning.
So — keep living. Go with the flow. Move with the current.
2. In times like these, offer a little more kindness to the people around you. Don’t tear others down just to feed your own pride or vanity.
Speak words of encouragement, affirmation, and warmth. When it costs you nothing, do someone a small favor.
This is like protecting the natural environment: when you make a habit of giving kindness, you’ll find that others naturally warm to you and hold you in affection — and in the end, you are the one who benefits most.
3. If your heart is heavy, don’t hold it in.
If your family and loved ones are good listeners, tell them openly what’s weighing on you. Don’t try to carry it alone.
And in daily life, give them care and companionship too — build a positive cycle of good energy flowing both ways.
If you truly have no one to talk to, leave a comment and let it out.
Don’t feel shy or embarrassed. None of us are doing that well right now. This is as good a place as any to release a little pressure.