“Hello, It’s Mali and I’m a DJ. “ Radio holds a special place in my heart and it is a mutual memory of generations of youth.
Recalling the old days of turning the radio on and waiting for the programmer to start, it is probably one of those little joyful moments that accumulated in life.
With her newly-dyed bright pink hair, we sat down with Mali and talk about her idea of happiness.
From 1 to 10, Mali thinks her happiness index is between 7 to 8 at the moment. “ Even though the world seems a bit off-tune these days, I feel like I can manage my schedule and passion projects with more ease recently and that’s why my happiness index is pretty high right now.” She also explained that she is quite a sensitive person that her state of mind is often affected by her surroundings — whether if the sky is clear and blue, the people that she meet lately, or their attitudes…etc. these are potential factors that decide if she is a happy person or not.
Moreover, Mali pointed out that Honkongers can be very impatient and grumpy even on the most insignificant things. For example, if you are going to a parking lot, the security at the entrance would say something like “ This is not your place, just go away!” And I would be so confused as it is not something worth to be so upset about. It bothers her a lot when the human nature unseeingly decides to be happy or upset, polite or ruthless. At the same time, there are 3 things that make her smile the most: animals (especially puppies), carefree playtime and learning new things.
Make a “Simple Pleasure Wishlist”
In terms of happiness, Mali sees it as doing whatever you want and those could be the simplest things such as a magazine comes in your mind so you leave the house and get it without fail and that is a form of satisfaction too. “ Usually when I feel blue, the smallest things can cheer me up. Let’s say having the food that I have been craving for and I will recover about 60-70% and then if I go home and cuddle and play with my pet for a while, it will boost my mood even more.” People always say that those who are leaning more toward to the emotional side are easily trapped in their own emotions but on the other hand, they are also more likely to feel joyful for the smallest things in their daily lives. If you are feeling down these days, why not try making yourself a “Simple Pleasure Wishlist” and discover all the little joy in your life all over again.
Hub for animal adoption
Speaking of sense of purpose, there is one thing that Mali thinks she is born to do — spreading knowledge. “ Sharing is a huge passion for me. In the past few years, I found that when I learnt something new or a realization came to me, I want other people to acknowledge and experience that too.” The purpose of HAPi is spreading happiness and that is also where the concept of a pet-friendly shop came from. Coincidentally, Mali’s idea of an ideal life is also about paw friends.
“It is a country house, the first and second floors are the living space and the ground floor can be a shop or a cafe but its operation has to aim at helping the stray animals.” Even though she doesn’t run an adoption shelter, she frequently meets people who saved stray animals and asked for her help somehow (Apart from cats and dogs, turtles, bunnies, birds, snakes are on request too) and her sense of purpose has driven her to help but she can’t always bring the stray animals to her home and that’s why she has this idea. “I don’t want to run a non-profit shop that only asks for donations so I want it to be self-sufficient. In that way, I can run a business and help the animals at the same time and the stray cats and dogs can stay there temporarily. This is my dram place.
Life is not granted
“This is what I have been thinking a lot. Life is not granted as it is possible to end today. ” She continued to say that how one chooses to live his life should be based on his own will, not the others. And if there is an apocalypse, she imagined that she would choose to spend the last day on earth with her puppy on a meadow near the sea — lie down on the grass, feel the breeze, dip her toes into the water, reflect her life and think about what needs to be said to the god before leaving. And for the unfinished missions? Just let them be. “I can’t think of any place like this in Hong Kong though” she added with laughter.
The highest form of inner peace
“Happiness is related to inner peace, satisfaction and sense of security because there is no better feeling than having a spotless mind.” She talked about a movie that she watched lately and there was a wonderful metaphor — when you feel your lung’s temperature is synced with the external environment, it is like blending into the surroundings and eventually everything will become one unit and that is the highest form of inner peace. Mali thinks this is how happiness should feel like, there is no you and me or all kinds of conflicts, competitions, disagreeing with each other and then part their ways. “ That kind of feeling is broad and infinite and I think that is the definition of true happiness.”
text / Jay Chow
