Chapter 116 gooseberry taste

That day I met an old acquaintance on the street and asked each other "Where are we going?"Naturally, it was all just "walking around", but after he said a few words to me, he hurried to the public newspaper board.I'm a little curious, there are a lot of newspapers given to him at home, why bother to read newspapers on the street?Inevitably, he went to the newspaper column to browse, only to find that an article of his had been published in that newspaper.No need to ask, I understand that this newspaper is generally not given away, and there is no retail sale at newsstands. Probably the editor informed him that it will be published on this day, but the sample newspaper will not be sent until some days later, so he came to see it first.He is also considered a man of his life, and his newly published article is still full of the joy of winning a child's game, and his face is full of ripples of happiness, which surprised me at first, and then moved me.

I was moved because I suddenly realized that happiness is one. Of course, this perception is also a collection of other old things and new examples that come to mind.Once a friend of the same age called and said that he was very happy-an old book he had wanted to find for a long time finally "surfaced" from his collection of thousands of volumes just for this one thing , he is so happy that he must call his friends to announce the good news.There is also an elder sister who sent me a piece of calligraphy with only a traditional Chinese character "Fei" on it. The attached letter said that she was extremely proud because she finally wrote such a good character and asked me to share happiness and happiness with her. .The children once expressed to me that they were deeply happy for a small thing on the day, such as troubleshooting the computer failure with the most simple and ingenious method; unexpectedly arriving at the destination ahead of time on the time and route that was supposed to be a big traffic jam On my birthday, I received a small homemade handicraft from a colleague who was the most difficult to get along with; on the plane on a business trip, there happened to be a New Zealand lady next to me, and the two chatted in English to forget the tiredness...

Lock the feeling of happiness on one thing in a day, if there is no big event, lock small things, even if there are no small things, then lock it in a beautiful glimpse, it is indeed a wonderful way to maintain a good mood.It has become a fashion in writing and reading to provide symptomatic chicken soup for the soul in response to people's anxiety-prone and often impetuous mental state.Just from the encounter with an old acquaintance near the newspaper column, think about it, can't I also cook a pot of chicken soup for the soul? Isn't "Happiness is One" an excellent title?Think about it too, if you always set the goal of happiness in the future and set it very grandly, it seems that only when "10,000" or even "100 million" is achieved in the distant future can happiness be generated, then Don't you soak yourself in the heaviness and depression that will never fade away?

It is the custom of well-off people to drink chicken soup often, whether it is for the stomach or the soul.The anxiety of well-to-do people is mostly due to "insufficiency in comparison", as well as pressure from loan repayment, interpersonal relationship, family construction, children's education investment and expectations, as well as emotional dissatisfaction or uncertainty, reminding them that "happiness is "One", grasp at least one happy thing every day, based on the current situation at this moment, look to the future, and be full of colorful clouds. It is indeed a very delicious pot of chicken soup for the soul.

But I suddenly remembered Anton Chekhov's "Gooseberry", so I asked to re-read it.Chekhov does not stew chicken soup. What he gives our soul is not the nutrient solution of the floating oil star, but the spur to improve in horror.This novel describes a well-off person in the society at that time. He had his own cozy little nest, a fat cook, a big fat dog, and a big garden. What made him most proud was that he lived in the garden. The planted gooseberries finally had their first stubble fruit. "Happiness is one", his "one" is that gooseberry, facing the plate of gooseberries presented to him by the cook, he "smiled" and stared silently at those gooseberries for a minute, with eyes full of joy. With a burst of tears", when sending the fruits to his mouth one by one, he couldn't help sighing: "Ah! How delicious!" Chekhov criticized through another character in the novel: "I saw a happy fruit. A person who has attained the purpose of life that he has always dreamed of, has obtained what he needs, and is satisfied with his lot and himself. For some reason, when I usually think of human happiness, I can't help feeling a kind of sadness. This time, seeing a happy person with my own eyes gave me a heavy feeling that is close to despair." This novel was written in 1898.Seven years later, the St. Petersburg Workers' Congress petitioned the tsar to order the suppression, which was called "Black Sunday" in history. After 19 years, the "February Revolution" and the "October Revolution" broke out one after another. What kind of situation should people face?Chekhov died in 1904 on the eve of the series of social upheavals and overthrows. He really "listened to the thunder in the silent place" and used such works to warn people, especially "a plate of gooseberries" who are addicted to the small world. "The moderately well-off people: Happiness cannot be just one of their own. A well-off person who has enough food and clothing or is already overfed should have social care.In his later works such as "The Bride", he pointed out the direction of life for the well-off people to invest in transforming society so that it can reach a fair and reasonable historical trend.Chekhov was not a revolutionary, nor was his thought a radical revolutionary view, but his humane sentiments, which called on people to break away from the "self" view of happiness and seek the group's "all blessings", are still shining with divine light. That is beyond the reach of any chicken soup.

Thanks to Chekhov, the anti-vulgar theme that runs through all his works, like love and death, is an eternal theme of literature and art. We have experienced a period of severe repression and even tried to eliminate self-awareness. Under the impact of the ultra-left trend of thought at that stage, any sense of happiness of "self" can only be a sense of guilt. It seems that I drank here A bowl of chicken soup will immediately delay the liberation of the working people living in dire straits in Africa, for example.The reform and opening up to a well-off society has liberated us physically and mentally from the shackles of the extreme left. The various "self-one" feelings of happiness quoted at the beginning of this article are all healthy psychological flowers born of the progress of the times.Confidently drink chicken soup that nourishes body and soul.But we should integrate the consciousness of "happiness is one" and "happiness is ten thousand". "Happiness is ten thousand" means that there should be social concern. If you get rich first, don't forget those who are still waiting for the next step to become rich. After reaching the standard of well-off, you must understand that if the well-off group is just a thin line between the rich and the poor. If the connecting neck is thin and fragile, then it may break one day.Constructing a concept of happiness that unifies "Jiyi" and "Wanfu" may not be as convenient as drinking chicken soup, but we should all work hard.And in this effort, it is refreshing to remember Chekhov’s gooseberry taste, so selfishly vulgar: “Those gooseberries are hard and sour.”