{"id":25812,"date":"2026-07-28T10:57:26","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T03:57:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/?p=25812"},"modified":"2026-07-28T11:04:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-28T04:04:18","slug":"an-ordinary-day-in-tay-con-linh","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/an-ordinary-day-in-tay-con-linh\/","title":{"rendered":"An Ordinary Day in Tay Con Linh"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Some days in Khuoi My, I do not accomplish much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wake up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Brew a pot of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walk out to the porch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Look at the mountains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then sit there for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If anyone asked what I did that day, I would find it a little hard to answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did not write many lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did not make many phone calls.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did not think of any grand plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Did not resolve many things waiting to be done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Only sat watching clouds drift past the Rang Cua ridge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days the clouds moved fast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days they stood still, as if they did not want to leave the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days the sky opened up beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days by late morning the whole valley was still thick with mist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In the past, I used to be impatient with days like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now less so.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I am beginning to understand that not every day needs to produce a great deal.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scenic
Scenic pond view by the wooden hut<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The mountain does not need me to hurry<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

In the city, a day is usually measured by how much you have finished.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many appointments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many messages answered.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many problems resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How many items crossed off the list.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Up here, the mountain does not measure that way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mountain still stands.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mist still comes and goes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The forest still slowly grows a little at a time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An ancient tea tree does not worry that this season has fewer buds than the last.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A stream does not flow faster just because I have many things to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A misty morning does not clear any sooner just because I wish it would.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes I look at all of this and laugh at myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nature is never in a hurry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So why am I always rushing?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Scenic
The mountain does not need me to hurry<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Some things can only be understood by sitting still<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I used to think running a business meant always moving.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always thinking.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Meeting this person.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Replying to that one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finding ways to sell more, do better, go faster.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those things are still needed, of course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without doing them, there is nothing to live on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if only running, pushing, straining and calculating \u2014 I think I would very easily forget why I began.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some things do not come when you force yourself to think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They only come when you sit still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at a very ordinary morning.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening to birds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening to water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Listening to your own breathing.Then suddenly remembering: oh \u2014 I did not build this place just to have one more tourism company.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I built it because I wanted to preserve a certain way of living.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A way of living slower.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

More honest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Less noisy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And perhaps also kinder to this land.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Stunning
Some things can only be understood by sitting still<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Not every silence is a dead end<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There are periods when I am silent for a long time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not because there is nothing to say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But because there is too much in my head, and when I try to speak it I don’t know where to start.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Debt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Guests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Low season.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The rainy months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very real things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very ordinary things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sometimes sitting before the mountain with nothing settled inside at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The mist outside drifting beautifully.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Inside, tangled like a reel of wire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I think anyone who has built something alone for long enough will know that feeling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But then \u2014 it is precisely those long quiet sittings that kept me from being carried too far off course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I am confused, I can admit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If I am tired, I can admit it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not every day requires showing strength.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not every moment requires saying everything is fine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days it is enough to still be sitting there, still looking at the mountain, still able to make a pot of tea, still wanting to carry on a little longer\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is already good.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We grew up from very slow days<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Many people look at a place and think it was built by big decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is not quite right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We grew from many small days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day fixing one part of a trail.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day planting a few trees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day sitting to talk with someone in the village.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day learning a new route.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day trying a dish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day welcoming a decent visitor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day having to apologize because something was not done well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A day too rainy to do anything but wait.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those days were not impressive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nothing to show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But added together, they made a place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps life is also like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not every important thing appears in the form of a big achievement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, it is just the act of continuing to tend to a place, little by little, through many days that seemed to hold nothing special.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"ha
We grew up from very slow days<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I do not want this place to always need something to tell<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

There is one thing I am increasingly afraid of in tourism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is: everything must become an experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even a meal must have a story.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even a morning must have an activity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even a path must have a highlight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Even a moment of quiet must be given a beautiful name.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But real life is not like that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some mornings are just mornings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some rains are just rain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days nothing happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And precisely because nothing happens, you have the chance to look more carefully at very ordinary things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A wet leaf.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A dog sleeping under the porch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Someone walking past, wearing a hat, saying nothing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A curl of kitchen smoke rising very slowly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bowl of hot rice on a cold day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Those things are small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But living here long enough, I find they are no longer small.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What we can still hold onto<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

We cannot promise visitors that every day here will bring something memorable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days the sky is beautiful.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days it rains.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days the mist is thick.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days the paths are slippery.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days you cannot see the mountains at all.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days sitting through an entire afternoon and nothing special happens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But perhaps there is one thing we can keep.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keeping this place from being filled with too much noise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not turning every moment into a program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not trying to make these mountains always appealing in the way people usually expect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days the kindest thing we can do for a visitor is to let them sit still.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without rushing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without over-explaining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Without trying to manufacture emotion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just let them be there.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the mountain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With the mist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a cup of tea.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And with themselves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days where nothing much got done are not meaningless days<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Now I am less hard on myself on slow days.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I still have many things to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still have to worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still have to plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Still have to keep going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if one morning I manage to just sit looking at the mountain for a long time, I no longer see that as a wasted day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps that day I did not accomplish much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But I was present with this place for one more day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looked at it a little more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understood it a little more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And understood myself a little more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Often, that is already enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not every day needs a clear result.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days, all you need is to not give up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some days, all you need is to still want to brew a pot of tea, sit on the porch, look toward the Rang Cua ridge and remind yourself:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes. I am still here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That is enough.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\n 5\/5 - (98 votes) <\/div>\n <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Some days in Khuoi My, I do not accomplish much. Wake up. Brew a pot of tea. Walk out to the porch. Look at the mountains. Then sit there for a long time. If anyone asked what I did that day, I would find it a little hard to answer. Did not write many lines. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":22668,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1183],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25812","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-journal"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25812"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25812\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25816,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25812\/revisions\/25816"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tvpalm.com\/fr\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}