Taiwan’s winter has just begun, and I’m finding it to be surprisingly cold. Perhaps it’s because I’ve never experienced such cold weather since I was young. People often say the climate here is similar to northern Vietnam, but I’m not sure, as I was born and raised in the South.
As I write these lines, the temperature is 8 degrees Celsius. Yet, my phone says it feels like 2 degrees Celsius, meaning it’s almost snowing. It’s a pity that Taiwan rarely gets snow. Not that it never snows, but it depends on the area, the year, and the time.
The winter days in Taiwan bring me a sense of strangeness, but also excitement. With such cold weather, after finishing my tasks, I immediately burrow into my warm blanket.
And that’s happiness.
For me, happiness comes from small things.
Waking up in the morning, realizing I’ve had a good night’s sleep, curled up in a warm blanket, even though it’s freezing outside and the sun hasn’t risen yet, I feel very happy.
That’s the first positive energy I create for myself. The energy to start a new day.
After getting up, I brush my teeth and wash my face. The cold winter weather makes my skin very dry. So every morning and night, I massage my skin with rice bran oil – I feel my skin is brighter and more moisturized. This is also a “pleasure” of mine every morning.
Brewing coffee. I’m not addicted to coffee. But I’m addicted to the “smell” of coffee. I feel that every cold morning, having a hot cup of coffee steaming, is also a wonderful feeling.
Next is exercise. I choose some exercises on YouTube, save them as a playlist of about 30-40 minutes. I exercise every day. This helps my body become firmer and more flexible, and also gives me more positive energy.
If I go to school in the morning, I’ll cook white rice before exercising. Just put the washed rice in the pot, press the button, then go exercise, and when I’m done exercising, I’ll have a bowl of fragrant white rice.
Isn’t it great?
After exercising, I’ll take a shower. Then choose a beautiful outfit that suits my mood for the day. Dress up a little, and I’m ready to go out.
I love the feeling of the biting cold, the wind blowing in my face. The winter wind makes my cheeks rosy. It feels very cold – but also very wonderful.
I like looking at the sky, looking at the trees, looking at people coming and going. Everyone has their own work. The sky is busy being blue, the flowers are busy blooming, people are busy working. What am I busy with?
I feel like I have a lot of free time,
so maybe I’m busy looking at the world?
Oh, and there’s one more wonderful thing, and that’s about the peach blossom trees. In my neighborhood, there are many peach trees, but they haven’t bloomed yet, there are only small buds.
I heard that around February or March, the peach blossoms will bloom.
It’s not the season yet, so the flowers are still nestled in the buds, gathering strength, waiting for the day to bloom.
Is this life like that too? Sometimes we have to withdraw, to wait, to accumulate, just to wait for a day to bloom?