There is not only one solution to a person's life, success/unsuccessful is often just someone else's definition. Life, as long as you have no regrets.
A successful london-based securities broker, Strickland, originally had a bright future, a happy family, a beautiful wife, two healthy and happy children, and lived a middle-class life that everyone envied.
But suddenly one day, he suddenly left for Paris without quitting, and wrote to his wife that he would never come back. Everyone around him thought that he had run away with other women and lived a dashing life outside.
Surprisingly, he left only to be able to paint without distraction, and his life was not dashing, but he lived in a shabby hotel, very embarrassing.
This is the protagonist of Maugham's "The Moon and Sixpence", over 40 years old, and suddenly and without warning, he left for "painting". The people around him didn't understand him at all, and even thought he was crazy, not to mention that he had no foundation in painting at all, and it was simply a fantasy to give up everything to paint.
But he said, "I have to paint." I couldn't control myself. If someone falls into the water, it doesn't matter if he's good at swimming or bad; he either struggles to get out or drowns. ”
In his mouth, painting seemed to him to be a divine arrangement, and he could only have a moment of peace if he immersed himself in painting.
In the book, Strickland's exodus is of course too intense and abrupt in real life, but in this anxious world, whose heart will not suddenly desire a moment to come to a complete exodus.
Maybe it's just a simple trip, maybe it's just a complete relaxation. Temporarily put aside the troubles of survival, do not run for livelihood, do not consider mortgages and car loans, and do not have to be trapped by worldly success, but do whatever you want, let your soul breathe a sigh of relief.
Life is only once, unsuccessful is not necessarily a waste of life, but not having a life you want must be a waste of life.
And, growing up, there are some things we hear too much.
Study hard, get into school, choose a good major; after graduation, find a stable job, work hard to make money, buy a car and buy a house as soon as possible,
When you get old, you have to get married, have children... Step by step, you can see the end of your life as soon as you are born.
That's why we envy those who can see Alaska cod jump out of the water, seagulls in the South Pacific skimming the coast, and the colorful night sky of the Earth's polar circle.
We are in the office building, pursuing the so-called success and fame, returning home, most of the beauty in the world, we have not stopped.
At the end of the book, Strickland wanders around, finally settling in the isolated island of Tahiti, marrying a local indigenous girl, Aita, and having 2 children, until the last few years of his life, he did not stop the brush in his hand.
A few years after his death, his paintings were world-famous and difficult to find. And the last painting he devoted himself to: the painting on the wall of his room, was also burned at his behest.
Strickland's life seems to have gone through a lot of suffering: he was tormented by hunger and illness on the road. Finally settling down, but dying of leprosy, it may make people feel sorry, but no one can deny that his life is complete, a life without regrets.
Because he has painted the work of his heart.
Of course, the ending of the book still falls into the cliché: not pursuing worldly success, but finally using worldly success to prove the correct choice. Maybe this is also to tell others from the side, as long as you stick to the path you choose, time will eventually give you the answer.
In fact, there is no choice between reality and ideals. What is important is that what kind of life you choose to live is only related to yourself, and the person who should be most responsible for your life is yourself.