Chapter 36 Get through yesterday to get through today

I have lived through extreme poverty and suffered from serious illness.When people ask me how I get through tough times, my answer is always this: "Get through yesterday so you can get through today. I don't allow myself to wonder what's going to happen tomorrow." I deeply understand the meaning of struggle, anxiety and disappointment.Looking back on the years that have passed, I feel that life is like a battlefield, full of shattered dreams, shattered hopes and shattered illusions.In such battles, everyone's chances of winning are very low. After every battle, they will be scarred and their hands and feet will be mutilated.

However, I never look at myself because of this, and never shed tears for past troubles.And I don't feel any envy of the lucky ones who haven't suffered, because I'm really living and they're just living.I have drunk the bitter wine of life, and they have only tasted a little froth.Many things I know they will never understand in their lifetime.I've seen things they've never seen, only women whose eyes have been washed with tears, with a broad perspective. In those difficult circumstances I learned many valuable philosophies of life that women in comfortable circumstances would not have learned.I've learned to appreciate each day and not trouble myself with the fear of tomorrow.Fear makes people weak, and I worked hard to drive away the fear in myself.I have learned from experience that when a moment comes that frightens me, there grows within me a certain courage and wisdom to resist it.Small worries have no effect on me.A man who has experienced extreme misfortune does not mind a poor servant, or a cook who spoils a pot of soup.

I've also learned not to expect too much from others, so that whether it's a friend being unfaithful to me or an acquaintance's gossip, I laugh it off and keep in touch with them.In addition, I also learned humor, because there are so many dumbfounding things.When a woman encounters troubles, not only is she not anxious, but she can laugh at herself, then there is no misfortune in the world that can hurt her.I have never regretted the hardships of life, because through them I have come to know every aspect of life thoroughly--and that is worth all the price.