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.
It’s Time to Give Love to Elderly Parents
To a little child, his parents are like a huge tree that stands strong even in the heavy rain or strong winds. The child eats fruit from the tree, avoids rain and winds, runs around to his heart’s content, and sleeps peacefully under the tree. And when he grows up, he leaves the tree and lives independently. The tree that seemed to be green and strong forever is only left with thin branches after giving everything to the child. Humans, unlike animals, need their parents’ help for a long time until they can live independently. It takes humans about a year to barely start walking, and three years to be potty trained fully. It takes them some twenty years to…
Take Care of Your Emotions and Your Family’s
Feeling satisfied from eating delicious food; feeling awkward when encountering a person you are uncomfortable with in a narrow corridor; feeling confident when solving a difficult problem; feeling sad when breaking up with your loved one; feeling sorry when you are late for an appointment; feeling scary when walking a dark night street, and so on. Emotions lie in everything that we experience in our lives. An emotion is a feeling caused by the situation that you are in or the people you are with. But emotions don’t just end in the mind. Not only does the corresponding expression appear on the face such as laughing or frowning, but also the body reacts such as stiff neck and shoulders when…
When You Open Your Ears, Your Mind Opens
Everything has its partner: teachers and students, patients and doctors, sellers and buyers, and leaders and followers. The same is true for conversations—speakers and listeners. A conversation consists of speaking and listening; a speaker and a listener exchange words with each other, which is called communication. However, most people misunderstand that a communication centers on speaking and pay less attention to listening. A unilateral speaking is not a conversation, but a declaration or a push. If you don’t listen to the other person but only pour out your words, you may feel good for the moment, but you will eventually lose communication with the people around you. If you don’t pay attention to the other person or are distracted, the…
Different and Wrong
In Korea, crows are considered birds of bad luck, but in England they are considered auspicious. In Japan, people hold their rice bowl with their hands while eating, but in many other countries people put them on the table. In some countries vehicles drive on the left side of the road and in other countries they do on the right side. Some countries use knives and forks when eating, while others use chopsticks or eat with bare hands. Countries have different languages, climates, geographic characteristics, historical backgrounds, and foods. In the same way, cultures vary from one county to another. You cannot say that a certain side is wrong. Likewise, people are all different. However, the difference often becomes the…
Love Is Not Easily Angered
You may get angry when the situation does not work out the way you want: if you get stuck in traffic when your appointment time is near, or if it rains when you put on new shoes. However, anger is mostly caused from human relationships. When you get angry, your blood vessels swell, your face turns purple with rage, your eyes are opened wide, your breathing becomes faster, and your blood pressure increases. You may easily spit out remarks that hurt or ignore the other person you want to attack. Obsessed with your prejudice, you cannot figure out the situation and even your ability to solve problems declines. Anger is not only harmful to your health physically and mentally, but…
Exercise Keeps Family Happy
In our modern lives, we can receive the items we want at home without going to the market, and we can get documents without going to a government office. We can go anywhere by various means of transportation like car. Thus, the development of civilization has brought convenience and leisure to our lives, but this reduced the chance to move our bodies. Even the most basic exercise, walking, is not done properly. Lack of exercise leads to obesity as well as various diseases such as metabolic syndrome and chronic illnesses. Medicine is developing, but the number of patients with heart disease, high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, and cancer is increasing; this is because of lack of exercise. The diseases caused…
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…