France: Balancing Family Life, Work Life And Cultivation Through The 2023 Shen Yun Promotion

Good morning Compassionate Master,
Hello fellow cultivators,

I am a practitioner who obtained the Fa in the spring of 2019. My first 3 years of cultivation were relatively serene. I participated in truth-clarification projects at my own pace while improving my xinxing and eliminating many human attachments.

I actively engaged in many practitioners' projects to accomplish what Master requires, to do the three things well every day, and to follow the Fa-rectification progress of Master. My greatest difficulty then was to find the balance between daily life, family life and life as a practitioner. I would like to share with you my process of finding this balance and maintaining it over the past year.

1, ELIMINATING THE ATTACHMENT TO DRIVING

In 2022, I started to participate in promoting Shen Yun. At that time, the practitioners around me were very active, traveling to different cities in France to distribute Shen Yun flyers. I was still caught up with family problems that prevented me from being away from home, so I participated in it very timidly. 

For the 2023 Shen Yun season, I gave some suggestions to improve Shen Yun distribution of flyers in France. They then asked me to implement these suggestions. Without thinking, I accepted this mission despite my lack of experience.

At the beginning of the 2023 season, the group of active practitioners from last year no longer existed : everyone was affected by various situations in their lives.

I organized Shen Yun promotional trips to the cities that need reinforcement, either because there are no or very few practitioners in those cities, or because the ticket sales are too slow there.

To do this, the first test to pass was driving a car. I have had a driver's license for 27 years but have always driven short distances. When I find myself on fast roads or close to big trucks, my heart pounds, I can not breathe any more and am thus not able to drive any more. In addition, I have a great difficulty in parking: my small car is all dented.

Now, going as a team to distant cities will require a big car and the ability to drive it over long distances.

Guided by the need for the project and the mission to promote Shen Yun, I went to buy a 7-seat car. In the middle of winter, it was dark and damp. Alone, I looked at the big car in front of me then without any hesitation, I got in and drove it home. On the road, I had the feeling that it was driving by itself, it was so familiar to me. It quietly dropped me off at my house. The parking had gone very well, the wide and long frame of the car gave me no problem.

The following weeks, I drove the practitioners to the city located 250 km from Paris, back and forth during the day. On the fast road, looking at the big trucks driving by, I realized that my heart felt nothing, no more fear came to my mind.

The clumsiness in parking as well as the fear of speed and big trucks on the road disappeared instantly the moment I accepted this responsibility without any hesitation.

It is as Master said in HONG YIN 2, The Master-Disciple Bond,:

“When disciples have ample righteous thoughts,  Master has the power to turn the tide”

2, FINDING AND MAINTAINING THE BALANCE BETWEEN FAMILY LIFE, WORK LIFE AND CULTIVATION

Of course, I am aware at every moment in my life that I am a Dafa practitioner. Personal cultivation is very important to me, especially as a new practitioner. I must ensure the constant and stable rhythm of cultivation: study the Fa, practice the exercises, send forth righteous thoughts in parallel with the projects.

I am also aware that I must maintain myself in the face-to-face group Fa study organized by the Dafa Association. Regular travel should not affect my participation in the study group which meets every Sunday afternoon.

Another difficulty to overcome was my family. I live with my spouse and my children who are not practitioners. My absence at the evening meal each time I distributed flyers at the entrance of Paris theaters or when I go to the provinces creates misunderstandings for the family. Indeed, the evening meal is a precious moment when all the family members meet, discuss, and the education of children happens. I wondered how to maintain family balance while participating in the promotion of Shen Yun ?

In addition, I am the manager of 2 companies in my ordinary life. I own some properties. This involves a heavy workload with various tasks ranging from managing the tenants, repairing and maintaining the houses, and the tax administration.

Moreover, I am part of some projects of Dafa practitioners: I translate for NTD News twice a week and I set up Zhen Shan Ren's art gallery called "The Gate to Heaven" in the center of Paris at the beginning of 2022. There are still so many things to do to develop this project.

Faced with all these demands, I learn how to find the balance step by step throughout the 2023 Shen Yun season.

Firstly, for personal cultivation, I joined a morning group practice. I get up at 3:30 a.m. to go to the practice site. When I returned from Shen Yun promotion trips, I would go to bed at around 1:30 a.m. I slept for a few hours and then got up as usual at 3:30 a.m. to ensure a regular and stable rhythm for the practice. After practice, on my way home, I listen to Radio Ming Hui. Listening to it, I look inside wondering why I heard this sharing today, what are the attachments to let go, what I would do if I was in the position of the practitioner writing the sharing. Thus, every morning and night, I maintain myself in a state as Master describes in “Solid Cultivation” HONG YIN 1: “Study the Fa and gain the Fa, focus on how you study and cultivate.”

I devote the utmost importance to improving my xinxing as Master asks. I attend a group Fa study on Sonant in the morning. When I have to leave for work early, I ensure that I can study alone. In order to attend the face-to-face Fa study organized by the Association, I arrange not to travel far on the day of the study. Thus, I always feel close to fellow cultivators. This greatly strengthens my belonging to Dafa and my righteous thoughts.

3, DAFA HARMONIZING EVERYTHING

Regarding my family, all the members in my family have seen Shen Yun several times. Everyone enjoyed the show. My children have become independent this year, each continues their higher education with good marks, and above all with good moral conduct. At 20 and 22 years old respectively, my daughters have a salary while pursuing their studies. With their first salary, the eldest bought herself Shen Yun tickets twice to see it in Ottawa and Montreal, and the youngest bought 2 Shen Yun tickets, for me and for her, as a gift on Mother's Day. Master helps my children to be so wise and successful so that I can focus on other things. My youngest daughter suffered from a form of autism and was saved by Master from the beginning of my cultivation 4 years ago.

I asked everybody in my family to consider me as an employee traveling on business every week. Thus, my regular absence from home is easily accepted. When I am at home, I am attentive to the needs of all family members. Joyfully, I tell them the stories of the days spent on the move and the encounters with sentient beings. Every time I get home, often late after midnight, I see the big pile of laundry washed, dried and carefully folded by my spouse. It saves me hours of ordinary work. Thus, I found a family balance with the great help of Master.

As for ordinary work, I eliminated the attachment to the boredom of doing paperwork. Every month, I try to take care of the administrative elements to streamline their management. In addition, I called on my brother to help me with rental management. During the year, I was able to eliminate the attachment of resentment against him. As a result, he was able to enter Dafa a few months ago. He finished reading the book Zhuan Falun for the first time on May 13 this year. On the anniversary of Dafa’s teachings and Master’s birthday, he opened Master's photo page in Zhuan Falun, looked at Him respectfully, and wished Him Happy Birthday before starting to read It for the 2nd time. 

Concerning the Dafa projects in which I have already participated, for NTD News, I avoid being absent to ensure the translation. If I am still in the provinces, I take the computer with me and work on it in the evening after the distribution. I was therefore able to assume my responsibility within the translation team without any problem.

Regarding the newly born "The Gate to Heaven" gallery, I have to ask Master for help, because if I take care of it regularly, I cannot go out to do Shen Yun promotion. On the other hand, I feel responsible for the development and stability of the gallery because I was the one who took the initiative for this project.

Master has arranged everything for me. Some practitioners come to participate in the gallery. Every time I return from the promotion tour, I look forward to coming to the gallery. I look at the portrait of Master, his compassionate smile covers me slowly, an electric current runs throughout my body. I am bathed in the ocean of Dafa's compassion, I am refreshed during the whole season like that. I am less present at the gallery but each time I go there, many sentient beings come, perhaps as many as if I was present there often. I understand that my absence from the gallery has no impact on the reception of the sentient beings who wait for me, because Master arranges everything.

CONCLUSION 

Participating in the promotion of Shen Yun is like obtaining the master key that opens the door wider and wider to other truth-clarification projects. This participation occupies the majority of my daily time, but all my duties, whether in ordinary life or in the life of a practitioner, are miraculously fulfilled in happiness.

Dafa has put me into the cultivation orbit. I talk to myself every morning before practicing the exercises that I am here on earth to receive the sacred gift of Dafa and to fulfill my historic mission.

Thank you, compassionate Master.
Thank you, fellow cultivators.

 

(Selected article for the European Fa-conference 2023 in Paris)