Father's Letter

Have a nice birthday tomorrow, Bách. 

1. Find reasons to live for, my son. 

2. Life, in essence, is a game with simple but hard to follow rules, but one has to follow them if one is to be happy and to be a winner.

3.  No matter how unenlightened folks treat us, we must not be like them. Stay away from them is the best policy. Practice the Golden Rule with a twist, i.e., no retaliation, only avoidance because if we retaliate, we incur lasting enmities and we must subsequently watch our backs forever. That's not a fun way to live. Forgive if we can, otherwise just forget and avoid. 

4. Know the difference between Ego and True Pride. Ego usually is associated with Anger and Revenge. Pride involves true self-respect and dignity. Pride forces us to improve ourselves from our mistakes. Ego is just empty talks and no actions for improvement.

5. Read and meditate on the words of Desiderata on a daily basis.

6. Keep on exercising everyday. It's a great stress-reliever. It's also a good way to combat Anger.

7. Please drive safely. Value your life.

I am not preaching to you. I just want to share my hard-earned life lessons with you because I care about you and you are my flesh and blood. I want you to be happy and wise. Don't let one SECOND of Anger ruin your life. Some mistakes are irreversible and change our lives for the worse forever.

Remember, you are my only child and you can count on me, I promise. 

I love you, Bách.