May 8th, 2024.
In Vientiane again. I like this capital, small enough to explore by foot, but a variety of places, restaurants, and cafés to discover. Today is Vietnamese for lunch. I’m on my lasts days in South-east Asia, and I intend to try the best of the region. Naturally, Vietnamese is on top of the list.
I stop by PhoZap, a family business running since 1958 and serving delicious Phở. I try the Beef Phở, and… oh wow. Light, deep, distinct flavors. Long thin noodles. It’s probably one of the best Phởs I’ve had in this trip, including Vietnam. The restaurant is embedded in what looks like the family’s home. What a great way to keep a familiar feel of a business. It’s always a family business if it’s at home.
I see many family businesses walking Vientiane. Small business, families running the operation, wives and husbands. They live the day to day through their business. I admire them for this. Sharing family, work, and purpose on a small scale.
I’ve been conditioned to think that things are only worth doing if they can be huge successes. But what about modest success? What about purpose and enjoyment over large monetary returns?
These things we chase, validation, acceptance, riches, luxuries, are just fabrications of society. Social media, or any media for that matter, are the way in which these fabrications are best delivered. I mean, stay two weeks off of media, see how foreign some concepts are once you get back to it. The possessions, the fears, the indoctrination, external ideas that strive to not let you think for yourself. It’s all consuming, telling you what to do or believe. It always wants more. More attention, more likes, more shares. More equals money. More equals power. How do we measure ourselves? By how much money we’ve got?
To enjoy and appreciate the little things, that’s where happiness and freedom lies. To be in Rome, to be in Mumbai, to be in a big city or a small town, what difference does it make to someone that appreciate the little things. A breeze, a conversation, a hello, a coffee.
