Ah, I didn’t realize I was missing this

There was a very important presidential speech draft that had to be written within three hours. In a state of extreme tension, I wrote the speech and, upon standing up, collapsed on the spot. I felt, “Ah, so this is how a person can die.” It was burnout. How much time had passed? When I regained consciousness, the first sound I heard was the chirping of birds and the rustling of leaves from the garden of the Blue House (the Korean presidential residence). Until that moment, I had never heard the sound of birds or the wind at the Blue House. “Ah, I didn’t realize I was missing this” Tears flowed uncontrollably.

We miss so much in life. We are so busy running around that we don’t even hear the birds singing or the wind blowing. The noise of the material world and the noise in our hearts are too loud. Someday, we may become beings who can’t hear the sounds of birds and the wind. While we are alive, before we burn out, it’s good to pause for a moment and reflect on what we are missing in life.