The sudden realization of how quickly time has passed, the anticipation, the fulfillment of family bonds, the ever-present threat of swaying emotions... In an email to “Psychological Chat,” author Zhang Tongsheng detailed the complex emotions he experienced at the end of the year. Yang Jing, a certified national level-two psychological counselor, suggested that readers could follow along with Zhang’s article to reflect on and process their own year-end emotions, gradually finding peace, tranquility, and open-mindedness, while simultaneously cultivating a renewed and abundant inner strength.

Expressing emotions in the twelfth lunar month

It seems only when the Spring Festival approaches do we realize how quickly time flies. Our small town just had a snowfall and experienced a period of low temperatures; the coldest days of winter are almost over. Spring is almost here, and I'm still wondering if winter is truly over. These past few days, when I go out, the wind no longer feels cold; it's gentle and warm against my face. The wind has softened, the willow branches have softened-spring is truly just around the corner.

Spring is the season when people's emotions are most complex, and so is the twelfth lunar month. As the twelfth lunar month approaches, the Spring Festival draws ever closer, and spring itself seems even closer, making these emotions even more intense. In the emotions of the twelfth lunar month, I always feel a sense of urgent anticipation. Although everyone's anticipation differs, and even for the same person, what they anticipate will vary at different ages, this fervent anticipation doesn't diminish much. Having a period of time filled with anticipation throughout the year is always a good thing.

In the past year, whether things went well or not, we don't dwell on it too much. We place our hopes on a fresh start, and we cherish the days of "replacing the old door charms with new ones." When we were children, our hopes for the New Year in December were simple: new clothes, delicious food, lucky money; the warmth of visiting relatives; and perhaps even the hope of growing another year older and growing up quickly. These simple hopes, growing with the years, have become less simple and pure, even during the New Year. Those simple, pure times are what we, as adults, cherish most.

Many people are constantly adding things to their lives, but as they reach a certain age, some learn to subtract. The same applies to New Year's wishes. So, what are my wishes now? To continue adding, or have I already begun subtracting? It's hard to say. I always feel that New Year's wishes should be simpler, and it's better not to expect too much. I remember Dong Qiao writing a line in "Remembering Sanbao Cave": "Two words of peace in a three-foot well, ten thousand families' wishes in a single incense burner." I like Dong Qiao's writing, and I also like the simple wishes he expresses. In the twelfth lunar month, my wishes are also very simple: only peace, health, and simple happiness.

In the mood of the twelfth lunar month, there is also a gradual sense of fullness, a feeling of completeness. This feeling is even more tangible in the countryside at that time. As the New Year approaches, the countryside begins to bustle with activity. People who have been away for years begin to return home. It seems that just on a certain morning or evening, those familiar figures and familiar accents suddenly appear before our eyes and in our ears. A few words of greeting, a distant call, are enough to make you feel that warmth and intimacy-a completeness of rural kinship. After a year of labor and busyness, there is a little more leisure now. In this year, everyone and every family has gained something, more or less, and they have new plans for the new year. The harvest is in everyone's heart and on everyone's face-it is the depth of their smiles, the intensity of their laughter, and the overflowing sense of satisfaction. In the countryside during the twelfth lunar month, I often see these smiles of satisfaction with life and the days. It is a natural satisfaction that flows from the countryside during the twelfth lunar month. Their expectations are not high, and their demands on what they get are also less. There are very few times when their wishes are not fulfilled. This kind of thinking is very rural and full of the wisdom of life. I love feeling a sense of easy contentment and fulfillment in the countryside during the twelfth lunar month; it's so honest and genuine that it makes me feel at ease.

Amidst the complex emotions of the twelfth lunar month, some are swayed by its atmosphere and the aromas that permeate the air. I cherish this kind of emotion, one that is constantly swayed, fraught with uncertainty, yet always capable of surprising us. Like the vibrant colors of cured meats drying in front of houses, the aroma of salted fish and cured pork being steamed in the kitchen; the occasional crack of firecrackers, the lingering smell of gunpowder in the air; the villagers chatting in small groups along the village roads, the children running and playing around them; the rising smoke and the various aromas of cooking filling the air; the figures of returning travelers appearing on the village roads-all these become the focus of a village, and all influence people's complex emotions during the twelfth lunar month.

In the mood of the twelfth lunar month, we experience a sense of sensory satisfaction and the fulfillment of each day, which fosters the formation of new wishes, and a new chapter begins. - Zhang Tongsheng

Analysis: Following the author's detailed account of year-end emotions

Time flies, and the year is almost over. Today is the sixth day of the twelfth lunar month, and as the children's rhyme goes, "After the Laba Festival, it's almost New Year's," meaning the Spring Festival is just around the corner. The Spring Festival and the period surrounding it are the most important ceremonies of the year for every Chinese person. In the warmest way, we express our deepest desires for love, freedom, belonging, and self-realization...

Author Zhang Tongsheng uses tender strokes to depict the emotions of the twelfth lunar month: peace of mind, anticipation, satisfaction, and happiness. Follow the author as we review and reflect on our own year-end emotions.

1. Peace of mind

At the beginning of the year, the children went back to school and we went to work. Although there were weekend breaks, life was like a wound-up toy, seemingly accelerating. As the year draws to a close, the children will have a relaxing winter vacation, and we will enjoy the Spring Festival holiday. Life can finally pause and rest for a while.

In moments of leisure, I can't help but reflect and take stock of the year's achievements and shortcomings, somewhat like a "debriefing" for modern young professionals. In recent years, I've also frequently done this at the end of the year: sitting at my desk, practicing mindfulness meditation, I gradually focus on the key points of the year, writing them down on paper and posting them in a prominent place. The bittersweet experiences of life fill me with gratitude and pride for having lived each day peacefully throughout the year, and a smile involuntarily creeps onto my face.

As the author wrote, "The harvest is in everyone's heart and on everyone's face; it is the depth of the smile, the intensity of the laughter, and the overflowing sense of satisfaction." "That honesty and sincerity makes people feel at ease." Throughout the year, whether the days are complicated or simple, we all strive to move towards our hearts and towards the light, and peace of mind is such an emotion.

2. Expectations

Winter is for hibernation and spring is for growth. The dormancy at the end of the year is for accumulating strength, as if to set a small milestone in our lives to bid farewell to the old and welcome the new, and to become a better version of ourselves. Therefore, "there is always a sense of urgent anticipation."

Going back to my habit of the past few years, after the "review," I "examine" my inner expectations for the new year. These expectations must come from the heart and be what I truly and earnestly desire. Then I write down the keywords on paper and post them in a prominent place.

Whether it's the expectation of adding or subtracting, because it originates from the heart and is frequently seen in a prominent position, "what you keep in mind will surely come to pass." In my experience over the past few years, when I review the year at the end, the expectations I had at the beginning of the year have all come true. I suppose this is what is meant by "self-fulfilling prophecy": it means that people will unconsciously act according to known prophecies, ultimately making the prophecy come true.

So, look forward to it freely! Live consciously in line with the core of your own expectations; this is the most powerful part of year-end emotions.

3. Satisfy

What is satisfaction? "A gradual fullness is perfection." Body, mind, and spirit are gradually being possessed, just as a person can feel "this is especially satisfying" both internally and externally, and that is happiness in the present moment.

At that time, we had the satisfaction of all our senses: eating handmade food with the taste of our mothers, wearing new clothes, seeing the Spring Festival couplets and lanterns specially decorated for the New Year, and hearing the sound of firecrackers; our hearts were filled with strong feelings of family, hometown and friendship, and we had such a strong sense of belonging; so we had no other thoughts in our minds, and could simply relax and immerse ourselves in the present moment.

However, "this feeling was felt more tangibly in the countryside at that time." Back then, we had catchy Lunar New Year rhymes, close interpersonal relationships fostered by visiting relatives and friends, three or four generations living together, grandfathers distributing lucky money, mothers chatting and skillfully cooking delicious food around the steaming stove, and children freely "jumping and running around." Such contentment no longer required learning Lunar New Year rhymes, interpersonal skills, love of life, and cherishing of life from textbooks.

Therefore, we cannot help but reconsider what constitutes satisfaction for contemporary people.

When we feel a lack of inner fulfillment, how can we encourage and guide contemporary young people to appropriately return to, inherit, innovate, and live a diverse life, so that they can once again achieve holistic satisfaction of body and mind? This is a crucial theme we must consider after the year-end emotions subside.

4. Happiness

At the end of the year, "some emotions are influenced by the atmosphere of the twelfth lunar month and the smells that fill the air." As the 2023 bestseller *The Courage to Accept Happiness* argues: live in the "present." If we can live with this attitude, we can unconsciously experience happiness and liberate ourselves. Similarly, author Zhang Tongsheng "likes an emotion that can be influenced at any time; it has uncertainty, but it also surprises us constantly." At the end of the year, enjoy peace of mind in retrospect, feel motivation in anticipation, and savor satisfaction in managing our lives; a book, a trip, the convenience of technology, a heart-to-heart talk with family, the warmth of a winter afternoon sun... no matter what situation we are in, these small moments of happiness are the true happiness.

In this way, by following the author through the process of sorting out the emotions at the end of the year, we gradually become calm, peaceful, and open-minded, and a new and full of inner strength arises.

Life is like a garden where spring blossoms and autumn harvests are in full bloom, and you are the gardener.

Yang Jing