Are you happy?
By Janet Shin
“Are you happy?” is the most important theme when I read a saju or give lectures. It is also one of the most important questions we ask ourselves. When we are at a turning point in our lives or when we have to make an important decision, we look back on our lives to see how we have lived and what will make our lives happy going forward.
Some may find their lives satisfactory but even those who figured they are happy also said they feel emptiness sometimes.
There was a report that people feel most unhappy when they are 45 years old. The feeling of satisfaction decreases after the age of 20, to hit the lowest point at 45. At 20, people have more hopes than worries for the future. However as they get older and reach middle age, their frustration is being accumulated. Their misfortune is sometimes as deep as they experience being laid off, or lose a loved one. It continues until they reach 50 when they learn to accept life as it is and learn how to be content.
Simply, we may assume the golden days are in our 20s but it cannot be compared to the happiness when we are content with our lots in our 60s. Owing to a longer life span, we may have to be prepared for the later arrival of our true happiness in life.
Then how is this related with saju, the four pillars of destiny? Before I start, I need to reiterate that the way saju sees one’s life is quite subjective. The bigger picture of life can be seen by saju, such as whether one pursues a wealthy life or authority and whether one’s life is defined as an intellectual or expressive one, etc. It is even read whether one is suitable for an employed worker or self-owner. And it is also feasible to give hints about when life goals are achieved. However it is not appropriate to advise how much money they can accumulate during their lifetime. On top of that, whether they are happy does not exactly coincide with what they achieve.
According to the saju format, which some of you may now be familiar with, each pillar of year, month, day and time represents specific age brackets. For example, the month pillar, representing ages between 15 and 30 years old, suggests how one cultivates one’s fortune for life. So it can be a period of turbulence, but one seldom feels frustration as one has a vision of the future during this period. It ultimately affects the condition of the day and time pillars. The day pillar, representing married life, and the age from 30 to 45 years reveals one’s agony physically and psychologically. After this period, people start to learn how to accept their life, while having gone through all the agonies and turbulences.
During the time pillar period, representing the latter years or one’s children’s fortune, people try to seek more security rather than take on a new challenge.
This saju analysis provides grounds for why research says people feel misfortune at 45.
For people in their 20s, the condition of the month pillar matters more, but for people in their 40s, it is the condition of the day pillar that predicts their destiny. When a fortunate star is located in one’s time pillar, I may be able to advise a bright future even though one has been through or is in a desperate situation.
However, it is still the month pillar that makes a great contribution throughout one’s life.
Just like our life path is mostly determined by what and how we do until our 30s. Most successful people, whether politically or financially, have a healthy and beneficial month pillar in their saju.
Info: Are you interested in learning more about the ancient Chinese teaching about the “Four Pillars of Destiny”? Saju (Ancient Chinese Teaching ― Four Pillars of Destiny) or face reading Workshop is held at Itaewon, Seoul.
For further information, contact Janet at 010-5414-7461 or email janetshin@hotmail.com.
The writer is the president of the Heavenly Garden, a saju research center in Korea, and the author of “Learning Four Pillars” For more information, visit her website at www.fourpillarskorea.com