Family Love & Communication
When we understand and consider each other, family love gets stronger. Learn the way of communication to add more happiness to your family.
Focus on Good Points of Your Family
“He’s too distracted and lacking in concentration.” “I’m worried that my child is indecisive.” “My wife is perfect in everything, but too strongly insists on her own way.” “I wish my husband will change his hot temper,” “My younger brother is so greedy.” . . . When we talk about our family, we might often point out their shortcomings or what we are dissatisfied with rather than their strong points. In the world, there is not a single person who has merits or demerits alone. All people are imperfect with advantages and disadvantages. However, the human brain tends to look at negative qualities more than positive ones, so that you may make the error of clinging to one disadvantage more…
Difference Between “Interest” and “Interference”
“Honey, which one do you think is better for my homecoming?” “Let’s see. The dress looks a little gorgeous and the suit looks too formal.” “There is nothing to wear except these.” “What about this jacket? Neither distinctive nor heavy. This looks perfect!” “But I have no suitable skirt for it.” “You have this checkered skirt!” “Oh, the color doesn’t match.” “What about these pants, then?” “I don’t like it.” “You say, ‘I don’t like this, I don’t like that.’ What should I do?” “Just forget it. I’ll take care of it.” “You were sorry for me not to have interest in you last time, but now are you troubled by my interest?” Both husband and wife became displeased. This…
Happy Play for Both Parents and Child
Dr. Garry L. Landreth, a master of play therapy and neuroscientist, said: “Birds fly, fish swim, and children play.” For growing children, play is their everyday life and everything. The reason they do not stay still even for a moment but move constantly is because they want to play. However, experts say that children’s happiness depends on who they play with rather than what they do. In 2014, according to a study by the Korea Institute of Child Care and Education, Korean children pointed out their parents most when asked, “Who was with you at the happiest moment?” Parents were also at the top for the question who they want to play with. Thus, playtime with parents is more valuable…
If You Can’t Stop Time, Enjoy It!
Whenever the end of the year comes, we hear people grumble, “I’m going to get another year older.” Everybody wants to live long, but doesn’t want to get old. It is not a pleasant thing to get old, because getting old means losing physical strength and having less time to live. As 365 days—the time takes for the earth to revolve around the sun once—pass, we become a year older and our bodies get older. We are just riding on the earth that revolves like a spinning top, but our bodies get older, which is something interesting in a way. There are many theories on the cause of aging. The Wear and Tear Theory of Aging proposes that some of…
Complaint, the Antonym of Happiness
A family went on a journey for a change. The whole family members were excited about their first overseas trip. On the day of their departure, the wife frowned as it rained in the morning. “It’s raining! Why today of all days?” On the way to the airport, the wife again grumbled. “We don’t have time, but the traffic jam is terrible! What’s wrong with this car? Why is it so slow? It’s frustrating!” When they arrived at their destination, the wife’s complaints continued. “I don’t like this hotel,” “I don’t like food here,” “My legs hurt because of a long walk,” . . . The husband got angry with her constant complaints. As a result, the family ruined their…
Right Words and Considerate Words
“Honey, isn’t this coffee cup so pretty? I bought a set of cups on sale today.” “How many cups do we already have? I think you’re spending too much.” “We have several cups, but not with this design. Don’t be so stingy with inexpensive things!” “Whether it’s expensive or not, there’s no reason to buy them.” “If others hear you say that, they will think I am a big spender.” “I don’t mean it.” “That’s enough. Stop please!” The wife was making great efforts to save money as much as she could. Usually, she is meticulous in buying things that are even at a discount. So she was happy to buy the coffee cups that she wanted to buy at…
Misunderstanding Is Bitter, and Understanding Is Sweet
In The Little Prince, a novella by Antoine de Saint-Exupery, the fox says to the little prince, “You will say nothing. Words are the source of misunderstanding,” and the fox continues to talk. This scene is very contradictory, but it shows that words are a very important means to communicate and understand each other’s thoughts. Misunderstanding can be produced not only by words but also by actions. Many times, there can be a coincidence that two events happen at the same time and cause a misunderstanding. Even though one had no other intention, his action can look like he intended in others’ eyes. It is very unfair to be misunderstood, but such a thing happens all the time. No one…
Families of Great Men
There are people who inspire many people of the world: Those who left great achievements, those who realized their dreams after overcoming difficulties, and those who constantly researched and became successful in their fields. Their words and life stories about overcoming trials are passed down from generation to generation and sometimes become the role models for others. These great men could make such great achievements because they too were positively influenced by some others like their respected teachers and close friends. But most of all, their family members trusted and supported them to the end. As Mahatma Gandhi said, “There is no school equal to a decent home and no teacher equal to a virtuous parent,” it is no exaggeration…
What Facial Expression Will You Make?
The face is the most visible part of the body. There are four of five sense organs on the face, which are responsible for sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Not only do these sense organs accept external stimuli, they also perform the basic functions necessary for a person to live, such as eating, drinking, breathing, and speaking. The eyes, nose, and mouth on the face take on their respective roles, and also work together to create a variety of expressions. Animals and insects, too, have faces, but only humans can make various facial expressions. It’s because humans have particularly developed facial muscles. There are about 43 to 80 muscles on the human face, and there are more than 10,000 facial…
“It’s Okay Because We Are Family”?
A family is the first group that a person belongs to after he was born, where the members’ gender and age are different. If the members don’t make efforts to take care of each other with sincerity, their relationship faces difficulty. Most people have a wrong idea about their family that they can keep the family relationship even though they don’t make efforts. They believe that they don’t need to try to look good to the family members or be nice to one another because they are family. However, we can see that big and small disputes that separate family members are from being inconsiderate of and feeling too comfortable with each other. This month, let us think about some…
Protect Your Family from Smartphones!
Mr. Kim wakes up at the sound of the alarm on his smartphone in the morning, reads articles on his smartphone, searches good restaurants at his lunch break on the smartphone, and buys things he needs, using his smartphone whenever he has time. He often asks after his acquaintances, using his smartphone, and he has small talks with his acquaintances through it. After work, he either reads a book on the smartphone or searches information of the things he’s interested in, and on the weekends, he searches places to visit on his smartphone and uses his smartphone to find the way there. Now, although there are people who don’t have wire telephones, it is hard to find anyone who doesn’t…
A Family That Can Communicate Is a Happy Family!
Many people say that they are afraid to go abroad or to meet foreigners because they cannot communicate with them. Probably, there is nothing as frustrating as being unable to communicate. Sometimes, people feel distressed from failing to communicate even with someone who speaks the same language. If that person is someone unrelated to you, you can simply avoid them; people naturally get close to someone they can communicate with and far from someone they cannot communicate. However, if that someone you cannot communicate with is in your family, it is a serious problem. Nothing would be more distressful than having to live with someone you cannot communicate with in the same house all your life. Even if someone satisfies…
Apology Brings Home Peace
Everyone makes big and small mistakes. We sometimes step on another person’s foot in a crowded bus, spill water on someone and get their clothes wet, hurt someone’s feelings with too much joke, or make someone angry with actions that lack consideration. Not only the immature children but also the elderly who have abundant experiences of life are constantly experiencing trial and error because they are not perfect. What is important is the attitude to cope with the situation in the positive direction when we make a mistake. It is natural that compensation should be followed if you have done harm to others by careless words and actions. The best compensation you can make in a situation where you have…
Overprotection Makes Children Weak
A young man who had graduated from college visited a psychological counseling center. He was brought by his parents who could no longer stand watching their son sleep during the day and play computer games all night. Their son was old enough to become independent and plan his life, but he had no will to live. Through counseling, the counselor found out that the biggest problem was that he grew up, receiving excessive concern and meddling from his parents. This young man, who is the only child in his family, was under the thorough system his parents made, and got everything he needed even before he asked for it, and he could only hang out with the friends who met…
Empathy, the Capacity to Put Oneself in Another’s Position
In Korea, once the phrase, “Are you hurt? It hurts me, too,” was the talk of the town. This heartwarming phrase of a character in a soap opera, who didn’t just understand the pain of the other person but shared it with her, gave a big resonance to the viewers. Actually, that phrase is not exaggerated. When people see someone else get a shot or fall or skin their knees, they frown as if they were the one in pain. Not only pain but also laughter, yawning, and itching are contagious. Why do we feel others’ emotions as if they were ours? It is because of empathy. Empathy is the capability to understand others’ emotions, opinions, insistence, and so on,…
Positive Words Design Happiness
In 2016, at the 31st Rio de Janeiro Olympics, a men’s fencing individual épée match was being played. South Korea’s Park Sang-young who was competing with Hungary’s Géza Imre was losing 13 to 9 in the final third round. He got a point, but soon lost another point, leaving Imre a chance to win a match point (the final point that decides the victory or defeat in a sports game). It basically meant defeat for him. However, he scored more points one by one and scored four consecutive points, creating a tie at 14-14. And he won a victory like a miracle by winning the last winning point. It was an unbelievable dramatic turnabout. The decisive energy that created the…
Happy Family Does Not Say, “It’s Your Fault!”
While two people were walking in the street, one of them found a wallet on the ground. “Wow, I’m lucky today. I got free money!” said the person who found the wallet. Then the man who was accompanying him flew into a rage and said, “Well, I suggested that we go this way, so half of the money is mine.” Then suddenly the wallet owner appeared. “I got you! You stole my wallet.” The one who found the wallet said as if it was unfair, “I just saw it lying on the ground and picked it up. And I wasn’t going to take all the money. I was going to share it with my friend here.” Then the person next…
What Will You Pass Down?
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Looks, intelligence, body constitution . . . children resemble their father and mother because they inherit biological genes, DNA, from their parents. When people see a child look just like his parents, they say that he is the miniature or spitting image of his parents. All parents want to pass down good things to their children. A pregnant woman listens to good music, enjoys hobbies that give emotional stability, and tries to eat only good foods in order to give good things to the child through prenatal education. However, what influences the child more than the innate DNA is acquired factors. Whether a child is aware or not, he follows his parents’…
Happiness Comes When You Leave Your Worries Behind
Deep in the past, there was a person who was full of worries. He could not even sleep, eat, or go outside the house, worrying that the sky might collapse and the land might fall. Everyone dreams of a worry-free life, but actually lives in many needless worries and fears. It is not an exaggeration to say that a life is a continuation of worries: school grades, health, relationships, employment, marriage, child rearing, supporting aged parents, preparation for their later years, etc. Those who are physically weak worry about their weakness, and the healthy are afraid of losing their health. If they are unhappy, they are anxious about being unhappy; if they are happy, they are afraid that their happiness…
Different Personalities? No Problem!
“Whose personality did she get?” “I can’t understand my co-worker,” “He must be from a different dimensional world,” “We’ve decided to split because of our too different personalities,” . . . The most common and prominent cause that damages the relationship between people is the difference in personality. Some students have a hard time with their relationship with other students at school; some people consider quitting their jobs not because of their work but because of the people they work with; and some people suffer from family discord. Many of these people blame their or other people’s personalities. We experience joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure in our relationships with others, and we even measure the level of satisfaction in the…