幸福

When I listen to 最幸 by梁文音, I tried to think of a English word that share the same meaning as 幸福. Perhaps as a result of my limited vocabulary, the closest word I could come up with is happiness. Yet I can’t help feeling that there is a great deal of inadequacy of the word ‘happiness’. Maybe ‘happiness’ is too general and too vague a term. But on the other hand, maybe幸福 is really indescribable. It represents an ideal, a dream that we are all seeking. Yet no matter how hard we try, how much effort and dedication we poured in, we always fall short.

Recently, I completed a Taiwanese serial, 光辉的故事, probably one of the best the country ever produced. (For one, it really changed my view towards Taiwanese dramas.) I went back to it countless times. Maybe it’s because I can relate to it very well. It’s about growing up, about the shouldering the inevitable, increasing responsibilities, dealing with both practical issues of life and the silliness of infatuations and crushes. But more significantly, in my opinion, it is the story about how the characters persevere in seeking and finding this happiness that not only touches me, but motivates me to move along step by step in my own life. It’s how the drama painted a happily-ever-after ending and a village of honest and simple people who shared a common love for one another that makes me desire for it too.

And when I step back into reality, I definitely know that this is by no means no real. But in that minutes of the show, I knew I was really satisfied and joyful chasing after the wind. In reality, despite that millions of people around the world desire for the same thing, that幸福 that I found no English word is forever elusive and never really attainable.