[One Thousand Characters a Day] Life Lessons Starting Again <4>

Editor's NoteBirth, aging, sickness, and death are laws that apply equally to all humans. However, the basic attitude of loving and respecting oneself is to continuously strive and sweat to fill the given time of life with valuable and meaningful moments. Lee Soon-guk, former chairman of Shin Ho Group and author of ＜Life Lessons to Start Again＞, says, "No matter where you are born or what environment you live in, when the time comes, blooming your own unique flower is your identity." Life is not about chasing rainbows. It is simply about living each precious day given to me to the fullest. Word count: 993 characters.

Among English expressions meaning 'job,' there are words like 'calling' or 'vocation.' They mean 'a divine calling' or 'one's true profession.' Having a job is a means of livelihood, but it is also about finding a calling and vocation that match one's identity.

Whatever job you have, if it follows your calling and vocation, it holds a precious value that cannot be simply compared with other jobs. It is not desirable to distinguish good jobs from bad jobs based on differences in salary or income. Earning a little more or less money is not important.

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To properly find and maintain my identity, I must not compare myself with others. The reason for constantly glancing sideways and comparing is due to not knowing one's identity and having low self-esteem. My life is something I pioneer myself. The moment you compare, you become frustrated, and there will always be someone to compare with. After comparing with A, soon you compare with B.

Who am I? I am just me. I have my own authority and my own unique number. This is what Buddha called 'Cheonsang Cheonha Yu A Dokjon (天上天下唯我獨尊),' meaning 'In heaven and on earth, I alone am honored.' Recognizing and respecting one's identity is self-esteem. From the moment of birth, firmly recognizing the identity created and living according to it is all one needs to do.

Every time I climb a mountain, I admire the beautiful flowers. Some flowers bloom on precarious cliffs, some bloom by the valley waters, and some burst their buds along hiking trails where people pass by.

They are the same flowers, but some grow in wealthy gardens, some grow on stairs in poor mountain villages, and some grow on piles of garbage. Wherever they grow, when the time comes, the flower seed puts all its strength into blooming its one and only unique flower in the world.

That beauty is not a subject of comparison. Some flowers bloom too early, and some bloom a little late. Though the place they grow and the time they bloom differ, no flower ever stops its blossoming.

They neither self-harm, give up, nor resign. One flower is complete and fulfilled as that one flower itself.

- Lee Soon-guk, ＜Life Lessons to Start Again＞, Dongyang Books, 17,000 KRW