I’ve been watching the TV series “Blossoms Shanghai,” adapted from the original work by Jin Yucheng.

There was a particularly touching scene where A Bao and Lingzi met in Tokyo. Lingzi gave A Bao, who needed luck at that time, a “great fortune” slip she had obtained from a shrine in Tokyo. She said this luck was granted by sincerity, and she wanted to give it to A Bao, hoping everything would go smoothly for him. Sure enough, things went well for A Bao afterward, though he was also a very hardworking person, as you’ll see in the series.

Regarding luck, whether you believe it or not, I do believe in it.

Instead of calling it luck, it’s about connecting with the heavens and sending good wishes to them.

Speaking of connecting with the heavens, I once asked Teacher Meher: Nowadays, women, especially those with children and jobs, have to juggle both and often feel some level of anxiety in their lives. How can this anxiety be alleviated?

Teacher Meher replied:

“It depends on whether the anxiety is due to unsatisfactory real-life situations or psychological insecurity.

For work, it’s very important to do ‘something you like.’ This internal drive can be described in French as ‘En Vie,’ which literally means to truly feel this life, to be aware of this life, and to happily live this life.”

I told Teacher Meher about the current situation of Chinese women:

Women in the middle class and above might not need a practical job to support their families, especially in big cities where their partners can provide relatively stable financial conditions. However, many of these women are highly educated, and even after becoming mothers, they still have a desire to express their value in society. So, besides being mothers, many of them are willing to continue working instead of staying at home as full-time housewives.

Teacher Meher herself could have been a full-time housewife, as her husband’s income was sufficient to support the family well. However, she always chose to find work she loved and could fully invest in at each stage of her life.

Teacher Meher said work for many women falls into two categories:

“One is work outside the family that makes them feel fulfilled, allowing them to stay connected with society and reflect their value; the other is work they do to earn money for daily living, which can be more challenging.

These two situations are fundamentally different: one is a practical issue, related to survival—if you don’t work, it will affect family income, which is a necessity. The other is about self-worth and security, a matter of doing something that isn’t essential but still hard to let go of.”

Most anxiety often arises from the second type. The first type of anxiety is more about survival (if I had no food to eat, I would be anxious too). The second type comes from doing something that feels draining, which isn’t essential but hard to give up.

Teacher Meher said:

“Work can be a pleasure, a hobby, or an unenjoyable duty. If it’s a pleasure, then it’s no longer work (Confucius said: ‘He who loves something finds it beautiful, and he who finds it beautiful finds joy in it’). If it’s a duty, how can we transform it into something acceptable? This is what we need to think about.”

Reflecting on this, I wonder why most of us cannot become “those who find joy.” What are we lacking? The answer I feel is: connection with the heavens. It’s a deep inner energy, a profound love and warmth. Whether in any job, confirming that it’s something we truly want to do, the satisfaction, strength, and recognition we receive are nourishing. Conversely, it can be draining.

She told me an interesting story about a friend:

A woman married blindly and, due to marital issues, left her country with a one-year-old child. After the divorce, her situation was dire.

She needed to face practical survival problems. She had to take care of her child while working and finding a place to live. In France, to rent a house, you need a bank account, meaning she had to find a source of income again. When she felt hopeless, she thought, “Heavens, if I can find five francs on the ground, it means my new life is about to begin. Please give me a sign.”

After walking a few steps, she actually found five francs on the ground!

The story’s end: She found a job and a place to live, and now lives well with a new partner, happily ever after…

You see, even in a seemingly hopeless situation, this woman still trusted life. She knew what she wanted, and when you genuinely set such an intention, the heavens will help you. The entire universe will help you.

Finding one’s inner intention is the most important. I believe most of our friends will not be in such dire situations. When we make up our minds and place an order with the heavens, the results are often wonderful. Remember the word “En Vie.”

Another story happened to me recently:

One afternoon, Teacher Meher and I decided to go hiking in the mountains. We parked the car in a remote spot and walked from the foot of the mountain. When we finished our hike and returned to the car at dusk, we found the car key was missing.

We stood by the car retracing our steps, wondering where the key was. With the sky darkening and few cars passing by, we had no choice but to retrace our steps slowly, searching for the key step by step. We estimated that the key must have fallen out when Teacher Meher took her hat from her bag.

The forest floor was covered with leaves and chestnuts, making it difficult to find the small key—like looking for a needle in a haystack.

So we searched slowly… Honestly, I was still confident we would find the key, my usual “mysterious confidence.” Trust, really trust: “Trust.”

I was seriously sending out signals to the universe, asking my archangel to help find the key.

After searching for half an hour, we finally found the key under a chestnut tree. I was very grateful, mentally shouting: The power of the universe is real, hahaha. Interestingly, Teacher Meher was also asking her guardian angel for help at that moment. Whether it was her angel, my angel, or both, we thanked them together once we got in the car.

(To be continued in Part 3)

Hu Xiaoxian

Written in Dali, during the cold mornings, warm afternoons, and cool evenings after New Year’s

Postscript:

After writing this, I realized it’s more about our relationship with the divine rather than human relationships. However, since this was part of my discussion with Teacher Meher about relationships, I’ll leave it as is. At this age, I’m still this willful, so I won’t correct it. I ask for the readers’ understanding.