CHINESE ADVICE TO 50-YEAR OLDS & OLDER
(Translated from Chinese)
Because none of us have many years to live, and we can’t take along anything when we go, so we don’t have to be too thrifty…
Spend the money that should be spent, enjoy what should be enjoyed, donate what you are able to donate, but don’t leave all to your children or grandchildren, for you don’t want them to become parasites who are waiting for the day you will die!!
Don’t worry about what will happen after we are gone, because when we return to dust, we will feel nothing about praises or criticisms. The time to enjoy the worldly life and your hard earned wealth will be over!
Don’t worry too much about your children, for children will have their own destiny and should find their own way. Don’t be your children’s slave. Care for them, love them, give them gifts but also enjoy your money while you can. Life should have more to it than working from the cradle to the grave!!
Don’t expect too much from your children. Caring children, though caring, would be too busy with their jobs and commitments to render much help.
Uncaring children may fight over your assets even when you are still alive, and wish for your early demise so they can inherit your properties and wealth.
Your children take for granted that they are rightful heirs to your wealth; but that you have no claims to their money.
50-year old like you, don’t trade in your health for wealth by working yourself to an early grave anymore… Because your money may not be able to buy back your health…
When to stop making money, and how much is enough (hundred thousands, million, ten million)?
Out of thousand hectares of good farm land, you can consume only three quarts (of rice) daily; out of a thousand mansions, you only need eight square meters of space to rest at night.
So, as long as you have enough food and enough money to spend, that is good enough. You should live happily. Every family has its own problems. Just do not compare with others for fame and social status and see whose children are doing better, etc., but challenge others for happiness, health, enjoyment, quality of life and longevity…
Don’t worry about things that you can’t change because it doesn’t help and it may spoil your health.
You have to create your own well-being and find your own place of happiness. As long as you are in good mood and good health, think about happy things, do happy things daily and have fun in doing, then you will pass your time happily every day.
One day passes without happiness, you will lose one day.
One day passes with happiness, and then you gain one day.
In good spirit, sickness will cure; in a happy spirit, sickness will cure faster; in high and happy spirits; sickness will never come.
With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun, variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life of pleasure.
Above all, learn to cherish the goodness around… and FRIENDS… They all make you feel young and “wanted”… without them you may surely feel lost!!
Wishing you all the best.
(Thanks to Joseph DOliveira for submitting this to the Blog)
— Guyanese Online Post #2240
Comments
Amazing advice! Thanks for sharing.
I’ve given my sons my best productive years and they have been good to me in unexpected ways.
I’m 75.5 now, 15.5 years past over due as life overtime , I hope consideration may prevail for the exemption , I accept the inspirational advices with another more serious hope that the younger folks will also pay attention to this reminder.
Great piece. Wonderful philosophy for a happy and healthy life. Seems to be an extraction from the good book for joyful living.
In essence don’t let anyone steal your joy.
Good advice.
Very good advice…I do not have kids by choice…but I believe we must do the
Right thing by listening to our hearts…and what make US happy by few regrets
Yvonne
superb, my kids are still young but i’ll take the advice ..
To those who have children like me… we might be biting our lips while reading this because we love our children so much that we almost sacrifice everything for them. God gave us our brain to analyze things and come to an answer of things we know that is TRUE or FALSE. Unless we don’t have it.That’s all that makes sense…
life is really very very short ..dont make it more shorter….if everything are on its place….give yourself a chance…make the most of everything to make your stay on this earth lovely..enjoyable..and the chance to witness and see..what have you planted and watch them grow..fruitfully….LEAVE EVERYTHING TO GOD..WHAT FUTURE IT MAY BE… EVERYTHING HAS ITS OWN PURPOSE UNDER HEAVEN
a must for all 50 years old and above ..still working
If a census was taken it would be unanimous endorsement of Joseph Doliveira
article….congratulations and thanks for sharing.
I wanted to retire at 50 but in order to have a more comfortable retirement I
worked until I was 60.
I now enjoy three pensions.
1. military (ex royal air force)
2. Post Office Pension (ex royal mail)
3. UK state pension….(old age pension payable at 65)
On retirement I purchased 10.000M2 land in Andalucia southern spain.
with 50 orange 50 almond and 50 olive trees.
I have also planted 50 fruit trees of different varities and fruiting periods.
My objective was to be as self sufficient as is possible.
My water is from river next to land…potable water.
My electricity is solar powered..
My tellephone is a mobile with “pay as you go” facility.
I cook with firewood in a firewood oven that also generates heath in the winter.
There are no electrical or mechanical machines used on the land.
All manual tools for my “keep fit” daily excercise.
My TV is ET all satalite digital free channels.
My internet connection is wireless so I can visit my local village and share their
facility for free on my GOOGLE Nexus 7 IPAD (160pounds)
I recycle most of what I produce and shop at my local supermarket in UGIJAR
my nearest town of 2500 souls.
I live a frugal lifestyle save my pennies then traverse the globe…
UK EUROPE Canada (not USA until the gun laws change) and Latin America which includes GUYANA BRAZIL VENEZUELA….
I hope to duplicate my SPANISH experience in or near BON FIN on the borders with GUY VEN BRZ…..
I will try to avoid purchasing land there as my beliefs do not comply to private land ownership.
The world needs to seriously consider land reformation….similar to the
religious reformation of HENRY VIII of ENGLAND but for a different reason.
The king wished to remarry but ROME said he could not.
Christianity was divided.
LAND should be leased not sold…..leasehold not freehold….with the government having the power to repossess if it is not used for the purpose of the lease. USE it or LOSE it.
I can go on and on but feel compelled to allow other to share their ideas experiences vision for the future.
thank you if you managed to read this far and hope I can learn from others who disagree with my vision for the future of our wonderful world.
thank you
kamptan in sunny but cold UK
Good luck to you for being a wise and sensible life planner! 50 more years to your life.
Compton de Castro… wow! you are a great man for me. I like your way of living hope you are doing well.. thanks was fantastic idea keep it up take care…..
a great planner indeed! for me, everyday life is a challenge, a learning process, live as the life goes by….be happy and a blessing
to others!
Thanks for sharing your story.
My word of advice to all young once…..Just do things that you enjoy doing….If you love shopping,,,dancing,,traveling,,dining out,reading, golffing, socializing etc by all means do it……but for those people who still love to work….. love earninng money..go for it……..for others who think retiring from work makes them feel sick……so be it….. work …..and be H A P P Y…
HAPPINESS is a state of mind…..JUST MAKE SURE YOU KEEP YOURSELF HEALTHY AND FIT…….GOOD LUCK FRIENDS ………………
a bit too selfish and irresponsible for my taste…
“Don’t worry about things that you can’t change because it doesn’t help and it may spoil your health.” How do we know for sure that we can’t change things? A lot of our thinking is conditioned by our environment. Do we simply accept that the way things are the way things are? That’s defeatist and unhealthy.
“With good mood, suitable amount of exercise, always in the sun, variety of foods, reasonable amount of vitamin and mineral intake, hopefully you will live another 20 or 30 years of healthy life of pleasure.” So the key is to live for as long as possible without meaningfully contribution… after all it does say not to worry, ignore suffering, and just make life all about ME and what pleases ME because MY life is all about ME and to hell with everyone else…sheesh…selfish much?
gigi, loosen up! if you like humor like I do, you’ll see the message more clearer
Unwillingly, I find myself in part agreeing with gigi. Happiness is a feeling. I think it could be induced. I read that if you could do a good job at pretending happiness it could bring about the chemicals in your brain that give the feeling. I live in a warm home, I eat three meals daily, fairly healthy and could afford what I need, which is not much. In a way I feel at peace with myself.
But no man is an island unto himself. If one is sensitive to social and global affairs, it becomes difficult to find that happy state of mind in the midst of the sadness, injustices and cruelty that surround us.
To really live one has to have a passion for life. Try to understand it, which is an immense challenge in itself. Try to find his/her personal purpose for existence. Also try to contribute in some meaningful way, otherwise we are just taking up space.
Having said that though there is a danger. If we go out too far in life, it can become very lonely. Not a place for happiness.
we all want a good,happy,prosperous life.But we should thank god for all the blessings we have,and we should give back a little to help the poor and unfortunate in our society.Giving also brings happiness to your soul.This is just my two cents
Very informative.
Excellent advice !!!
I think its a good advice for us senior citizens… Its very true…
Enjoy your life in the sense that it is always in accordance with Gods Will. We have a lot of good plans in our life but one thing we forgot….. EVERYTHING DEPENDS on GODS WILL if we will stay alive or not… Our life is like a mist now you see … now you don’t. An average life span of any human being according to the bible is 70 up to 80 years old ( Psalm 90:10) We don ‘t even know if one day we wont be awake after a whole night sleep. SO the best attitude is … IF GOD’S WILL …we can do all our plan
.
Perfectly correct and true
While i agree with much of what you wrote, your article could give reason to selfish parents to just think of their own pleasure while their child/children may be struggling so hard to make a niche of their own. Parents must strike a balance between being generous to their kids and being good to oneself.
We all have different perspective in happiness. I do agree with Herrera..it is entirely God’s Will. God has all the right when to take our breath, but for us it is how much we can live for a purpose.
I’ve already have come across advices like this in articles, and e-mails, etc., and we believe that senior citizens MUST follow these. Don’t be too CARING ! Think of taking care of yourself. If you are suffering and in really in terible pain, will they share in your sufferings ? Exactly, they can’t and won”t ! So, enjoy and be HAPPY ! Do all the things that will make you happy, help others, and enjoy their company, join organizations, and make more friends so will be occupied most ofc the time. But, do not forget your better-half, she also needs to enjoy what you are enjoying ! ALWAYS THINK THAT GOD GAVE HER TO YOU TO BE CARED AND LOVED ALWAYS ! Enjoy the happiness with her !
To each his own. I find Desiderata to be more to my liking.
Good advice…
Reblogged this on marinor1964 and commented:
a very thin line exists between health and wealth, which one would you prioritize? such enabling and empowering piece for one’s reading pleasure.
Good Advice. Enjoy life to the fullest with the aid of our Lord!
Yah this is it.
wonderful advice for me as in my late 50’s
Sure do….everything that was written is usually true…thank you for that wonderful advice.
I just turned 61 last December and still working full time. I need to work because I have still a mortgage to pay. I have 3 children ages 23, 21.and 18. The eldest is now working and moved out from our home 4 years ago, the second have just finished Uni last year and the youngest in is 2nd year Uni. I love my kids and enjoy cooking food for them. I am already very happy seeing them at home enjoying the food I cooked and their compliments.I came from a poor large family in a third world country that during my childhood did never have the chance to eat healthy and good food. Can you blame me if at my age I still work and still take care of my children so that they will not experience what I have gone through?
I will share this to my friends who are 50 age
Amazing advice! I’ll push through with my plan this March for the happiness of my one & only daughter. Thank you thank you for the good advice.
Imelda
I now make more than when I am younger without necessarily exerting more effort. This tempts you not to stop working but then again the question is, what drives us doing what we do? If money is the motivation then that doesn’t sound good but if we really enjoy what we are doing , why not.
This should not restraint us from enjoying life. Life’s pleasure and contentment is not an absolute theory for all. Important thing is we enjoy what we are doing, we are beneficial to our environment and thankful for everything.
That makes sense. I’m Happy to read this.
Nice advice…Praise be to God..God only knows everything….
I believe in what you have written and I will share these to all my comrades who are now turning in their fifties as well…. Thanks for sharing amigo
I would do everything for my children unconditionally no matter what and come what may to the best that the strength my God has given me, and continues to give . But yes, i believe to not worry but entrust everything to the Almighty;enjoy what everyday has to offer; savor the blessings and the joys of today. For all we know the simplest things like family joys are just the best in life. Most of all, to keep the grace of God in our daily lives, making peace with God and others. Have a very good day everyone !
Thank you.God bless everyone.
Thanks for your blog…
All I need is
just a simple & happy life..
We live a simple life, enjoying the all the blessings God has given us. Yes, we are not rich, but we can sleep peacefully at nights when others find it hard to get the sleep they need. If we truly make God as the center and priority in our lives, He will surely fill in what we lack. The best inheritance we can give our children is to bring them up in ways of our Lord, doing their best and trusting in the Lord.
Just need a simple and happy life
It is Really true that we have to enjoy life while there is time. Not worry about our children for they have their own life to live. We gave them education, we house their body,we nourished them with good food from the day they were born until the day they landed their first job without asking anything in return. YES WHY WORRIES about them. We need to feel the freedom to enjoy life until we satisfy our longing up to the last breath of life. When we are gone,we know nothing about them anymore. CONGRATS FOR YOUR ONLINE ADVICE TO 50 AND ABOVE.
Some of us never stop being parents. We took care of our daughters thru college, until they had their jobs and eventually started their own family. When my daughter had her first child, my wife and I took care of our grandchild until she was ready for school. We could not enjoy life wondering whether our grandchild was in save hands.
Mrs Obama remarked how great she felt when away knowing her daughters were safe in the care of her mother.
We (and others in many countries) use to take care of our eldery parents and help with our grands. Guess this modern American thing teaches differently.
I was truly impressed with the words written because I am finding that at 50+ it places you in a interesting position. You are still to young to retire but you also don’t want to stay too much engaged into the corporate world when things are changing with various software aps to tell you how to plan, how to sell, who to hire and where to go. lol The generation behind me is still learning and the one before me have great wisdom in preparing and planning for the day you do retire. So, the words written truly spoke to my spirit because I see myself in this last transition period of making sure I secure what is needed to fulfill the last stages of my life which is an emotional balancing act because it truly informs you that your time left on the clock to finance your last years on earth is counting down to only 15 years if that….to fully be prepare for the last 10 – 15 years. So, I fully agree…preparing is important but finding something every day that will bring your joy is also in my mind the most important thing we can do. I say this because I lost two wives to death at young ages, and the second death while we where in our 40’s was overwhelming because we where on track and both of us were extremely successful in our careers as CEO’s and CFO with a clear plan to the end. I saw my wife work extremely hard each night until she took her last breath. But I also saw her during her last days on earth fail to enjoy life and she made me promise to her that I will not over work myself to death but to find joy, happiness and love and seek to enjoy the fullness of what LIVE offers to us.
Yes all true,us I would say life is what you make it !!!
Don’t let your children become parasites.
I think Gigi didn’t read the title?…
I love it tnx and it is so true enjoy life to the fullest . Thanks ..
This is nice!!
Thank you very much. This message come to me at the right time. Appreciated. Amitabha.
Very well said. U did make real statements. Getting old gracefully. coz when its time fo go its a job well done. But never forget to pray n offer all to God. Amen .
true to life
Life was given by God to enjoy. Enjoy your life on earth, your children, your friends, job and all these have to give in return
What is god? To me it is nature.
It is not like a person. It is more like a mystery, a riddle we cannot unravel. No need to bust your brain over it. It is not our role to solve nature’s mysteries.
THANKS FOR THE REMINDS!
This advice is powerful & “meaty”.. We need reminders and this is it! Thank you for the golden words of wisdom!
Wonderful advice…. only problem is one does not know how long one will continue to live… and the rising cost of living
Nice one ….
From the land of the “opium” traders…
The Silk Road re-incarnate today.
Agree “live for today” as tommorrow is but a dream…dream on it’s “free” and “freedom” is thought provoking.
Our body may die but our thought live on in the minds and hearts of our
children/grandchildren.
Que sera sera