I gradually came to understand causality and the way of heaven. I no longer envy those who seem to have everything, because you will eventually understand that there is no perfect ending in this world—all things carry regret.

A person has only two hands. If you wear gold and silver bracelets, you cannot hold a jade scepter—it's impossible to have everything you want. You cannot grasp all of life's wife, wealth, children, status, and longevity. Having one or two is enough.

The law of heaven's operation has never been to give us everything, but rather to help us understand, between gain and loss, what we treasure most. True happiness and longevity are rarely found together—if people prosper, wealth does not; if wealth prospers, people do not; if both people and wealth prosper, life is short. In times of triumph, you see all the flowers of Chang'an in a single day; in times of defeat, you sit desolate with a cup of murky wine. If there truly is a gift from destiny, then something is withdrawn in secret.

For thousands of years, the law by which this world operates has never changed. Flowers do not bloom for a hundred days, people do not have a thousand days of good fortune—three rises and three falls, three times poor and three times rich, this is the true nature of human life. Your life need not be perfect, but it can be whole; wholly possess your own choices, wholly accept your own regrets.