Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy

Happiness is simple when we are getting together

Similar to Chinese year-end banquet, in the Netherlands, companies also hold a Christmas party to reward the hard work of the staff over the past year. As one of the Welfare Committee members, I organized the party this year. I was quite busy before the event with the endless stream of challenges in sales, marketing and personnel. In the end of the year, we were required to do reviews and plans, so everyone was stressed.

Although I was busy like a bee, I was still very grateful for having the chance to arrange a wonderful party. So, no matter what pressure I was under, I kept reminding myself that the most important thing was to have fun and enjoy the preparation. After all, the meaning of this event was to make my colleagues happy together.

Each year, in addition to the delicious food, the company prepares gifts for everyone to draw lots. This year, our company marked its 30th anniversary, so the boss was very generous. He prepared the most popular electronic products for all employees. However, they all had the same presents, so it became a problem that how to create the climax of this activity, and even make people touched and surprised. First of all, the gifts should be confidential, and with the assistance of colleagues, the gifts should be packed in different shapes, so no one would know what was inside.

Then, simply drawing a number card and taking the presents is quite boring. So, I began to think about what we needed the most as an employee attending a party. I thought that besides delicacy and gifts, we needed to know more about each other, to be grateful for others and get positive energy. We also needed to know what difficult situations others have been in, so that we would be closer and our teamwork would be better. Therefore, at the party, I prepared two sets of lots, one with numbers on it and the other with the colleagues’ names. When A drew the lot with B’s name on it, A had to compliment or give wishes to B. And then, B had to choose a gift from the pile of gifts for A.

When the game began, laughter and handclapping were all around the party. Amazingly, we heard so many heart-touching stories which happened among our colleagues. Some of them didn’t interact with each other often, but they did have some sweet moments. The sharing and encouragement helped us get rid of the nervousness at work, and we were so happy with smiles on our faces.

To me, seeing their genuine smiles was the best gift to myself. We replaced complaint with gratitude and cherished the time we work together. This party was well-received by many colleagues. It was full of laughter, touching moments and surprises. I could make this happen because I have learned wisdom in Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy.

In Tai Ji Men, Shifu told us when we can understand other’s difficulties, we will be close to each other. We have been taught to speak good words naturally and to see things with gratitude. When we need to cooperate with our brothers and sisters who come from different backgrounds, we have to tolerate others and work together with joy. Even though we may encounter some difficulties and challenges, we will pull together to overcome them. During the process, all we have in mind is to bring more positive energy to the world, and to help ourselves and others.

I realize that the ups and downs at work will be gone. What matters the most is how to create positive relations with the people in our lives.