One mandarin orange

I bought a new laptop at a lower price than I had paid for the previous one. The new one works faster than the older one. How laptops have advanced symbolizes and provides a window into what humans will be required to prove over time. Work efficiency will improve while labor will be depreciated in the workplace. Busyness is already part of modern society but we are soon to be super-busy. 　

It is a mistake to identify humans with the latest laptop. It is unnatural to get more tasks done faster. Occasionally, it may be a healthy way of thinking that just a small success a day makes you proud and enables you to get going on the next morning. You are entitled to full credit for your doings. You deserve to be happy and proud of yourself. No one else but you should be the first one who compliments your achievements. Life is full of meanings. It is you who defines what meanings you seek for and changes how you navigate your life journey.

You can find meaning only when you try to. Discover a surprise treasure in an insignificant object around you. In that sense, Park Kyung-yong’s poem “A Mandarin Orange” shows a great example. The poet describes the hidden value of a mandarin orange in his hands. It is a reminder of lovely days in summer and fall of Jeju Island. A farmer and a mandarin orange tree love and take much care of it. Soil, sun shines and winds grow and nurture it. The poet finds that just a little mandarin orange holds so many meanings that it feels like a humongous creature that fills in a big room.

Remind yourself of "A Mandarin Orange” every time you feel frustrated deeply enough to think that only Chunsu Gwaneum, or a zen god with one thousand hands, could get such a long to-do list cleared up within today. Thinking of what this little fruit holds gives you courage when you feel small and insignificant. Be resolute, get off work and buy a bag of mandarins on your way home.