[A Sip of Books] "Life is so hard. How on earth should I live?"

Some sentences encapsulate the entire content of a book, while others instantly reach the reader's heart, creating a connection with the book. We introduce such meaningful sentences excerpted from books. - Editor's note

This essay by author Jeong Yeoul gathers the warmest and most beautiful moments of hospitality she has encountered in her life, as well as the warmth and kindness of people who lift up and heal broken hearts. Recently, the author has received many questions like, "Writer, life is so hard. How on earth should I live?" To them, the author recommends "a world of kindness and hospitality where no one feels intimidated and no one feels shabby."

The beauty of embracing shadows begins with "humility that does not take light for granted." When a Broadway theater in New York finally started its first performance in two years after the long tunnel of the pandemic, an actor said this:

"I will no longer take this stage for granted."

That very stage, which they could perform on every day before, sometimes felt tedious, but the two years during which they could not step on stage no matter how much they wanted to taught them the preciousness of the stage. Our happiness is never to be taken for granted. Only those who have overcome shadows fully embrace the value of light. Sometimes your shadow may seem to threaten you. Your complexes, traumas, and sad memories may feel like they are holding your life back.

But ultimately, what makes our lives beautiful is the courage to embrace shadows, the hope to overcome them, and the love that shines even more brilliantly because of those shadows. (p.148, from "Light Made More Beautiful by Shadows")

When sadness and anger boil up like magma from the very bottom of my heart, there is a sentence I recall.

"Be kind. For everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle."

Though attributed to Plato, its exact source is uncertain. Especially when I am so angry that I lose all capacity to smile at others, I quietly repeat this sentence to comfort myself. The very person who hurt me must also be fighting their own hard battle today, or perhaps their entire life without rest. Whenever I meet someone who criticizes, neglects, or hates me, I adapt this sentence in my own way to soothe myself. Nevertheless,

let us be kind. Those who make me sad have probably endured a thousand times more bitter, hidden pain than the hostility they show me. I found a sentence very similar to this twin phrase at Shakespeare and Company bookstore in Paris.

"Be not inhospitable to strangers, lest they be angels in disguise."

Even if the whole world is filled with hatred and prejudice, may we never lose the warm smile that welcomes others unconditionally. (pp.41-42, from "To You Who Are Never Kind to Me")

The Best I Can Give You | Written by Jeong Yeoul | Photos by Lee Seungwon | Iyagi Jangsu | 340 pages | 16,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.