Working in the Chinatown area of Downtown Vancouver I am surrounded by reminders of faith and belief in chance, luck, fate, fortune and destiny; it seems a very Chinese, and more broadly Asian, philosophy.
The western world and the English language have their own version though, so the idea of being in touch with, in pace with, in tune with, what we should be doing and feeling is not exclusively Asian.
The English word is 'hap'.
The western world and the English language have their own version though, so the idea of being in touch with, in pace with, in tune with, what we should be doing and feeling is not exclusively Asian.
The English word is 'hap'.
It occurs in 'mishap' where something goes wrong - this is not an
accident, but being out of tune with how we should be. 'Hapless' is not
bad fate but the lost feeling of being out of touch with anything to
influence you.
'Happenstance' - literally how your hap is standing - again not simply accidental - how is your destiny influencing you? There is also the related 'happenchance' which deserves a comeback.
'Happening' was turned into a noun by the hippies in the '60's, and doesn't mean something just occurred, but that you are expecting your destiny to be influencing you.
'Perhaps' means far more than maybe. It means 'through hap', almost 'if my fate is willing'. An older version is 'mayhap' which does need explaining.
'Haphazard' is more than just something random. Your hap is creating danger. Hazard comes from az-zahr (زهر) which is a translation of the plural 'dice' and suggests unpredictability.
Finally of course if things are going well, and we are content we say we are 'happy', far more than grinning, it suggests a being in tune with who we are and doing what we should be doing.
I use this in my employment counselling work. It reminds us that we all have a unique destiny and our bodies and minds in turn remind us when we are following the path we should.
'Happenstance' - literally how your hap is standing - again not simply accidental - how is your destiny influencing you? There is also the related 'happenchance' which deserves a comeback.
'Happening' was turned into a noun by the hippies in the '60's, and doesn't mean something just occurred, but that you are expecting your destiny to be influencing you.
'Perhaps' means far more than maybe. It means 'through hap', almost 'if my fate is willing'. An older version is 'mayhap' which does need explaining.
'Haphazard' is more than just something random. Your hap is creating danger. Hazard comes from az-zahr (زهر) which is a translation of the plural 'dice' and suggests unpredictability.
Finally of course if things are going well, and we are content we say we are 'happy', far more than grinning, it suggests a being in tune with who we are and doing what we should be doing.
I use this in my employment counselling work. It reminds us that we all have a unique destiny and our bodies and minds in turn remind us when we are following the path we should.
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