Journal — Tong Wang

Again, what is a Chinese restaurant?
All this variety of food, flavours, textures, nostalgic tastes, the traditional ‘tacky’ outdated decor. The ‘cheapness’. In that ‘cheapness’, all the warmth and comfort and endearment of what? Home, house, building a house, a life, a survival.

To feed people.
With a grin. Eyes squinting. Rushing back and forth.
Welcomed. Respected. Really, anyone can come. Come in. Welcome.
It’s a kind of safe haven. That you’ve created.

Theres a sublime, beautiful honour in that. A kind of quiet, understated, undervalued heroism of mothers, of immigrants, of warriors. People on the margins. We protect and feed each other.

Tong WangFebruary 21, 2023Comment

The Dutch House

One week, 7 days, of time passing at precisely the right speed: a beloved speed, a rhythm, pulse of being fully felt, savoured, honoured, enjoyed, treasured, explored, remembered. Hours were not counted, but felt. Felt with ample space in between to process, reflect, rest, recharge. And - felt as some version of ourselves we sincerely, honestly love being, are proud of, are seen, are heard, are ‘real’.

Tong WangFebruary 13, 2023Comment

Curiouser and curiouser ... 🐰

Simple things need reminders.

Write down things I love. Repeat them. Do them. Re-read, re-write. Muse at your scribbles. Discover that person, the puzzles and secrets they tuck in the most unexpected corners. Tell a story to someone who truly matters to you. Send a letter, make a call. Cook for someone. Listen to poetry. Read Chinese. Start the day always with eggs toast avocado coffee and the infinite possibilities of creativity in the alchemy of a stack of pancakes.

Laugh at how a greeting with a stranger suddenly moves you to tears.

Tong WangFebruary 6, 2023Comment

January Dumpling Thoughts

There have been the countless inner discoveries and rediscoveries. Wandering into deep reflection. Fishing for ideas. Asking brave and beautiful questions. Asking random and silly questions. Repeating mantras. Repeating that which brings joy, truthful joy. Building rituals. Practicing rituals through repetition, practicing memory, honouring my own values and promises through each small act. Taking tiny steps. All these moments that have blessed me with much deeper peace and contentment than I have felt in a long time.

The growth isn’t linear. There are good days and bad days and a call for immense patience with oneself to keep at it.

But trust. Remind myself. Write things down. Remember. It’s okay to forget, it’s a practice. Review, repeat, re-practice. Keep at it. Trust in the rhythm of each moment. Dear dear.

reflectionsTong WangJanuary 22, 2023Comment

A Year in Review: Blessings of 2022

It’s stunning when we look back, retrace the steps, dig through the unprocessed photos - especially those unflattering candid ones. To rediscover what we thought we have forgotten, and to experience that exhiliration of being there again, as if for the first time yet with an out-of-body curious perspective, remembering, hey - I was there, I was with these incredible people, or trees, or tastes, sounds, smells, warmth of sunlight, chill of winter wind, silence of the snow, laughter, solitude, tears, wanderings, bites, feasts, small moments, xD faces again and again.

reflectionsTong WangJanuary 20, 2023Comment