The days are long, but the years are short.長日漫漫，歲月如梭。
DEAR FÊTE CHINOISE FAMILY,
Time is the greatest currency we have in life, which is what I discovered at the start of my career coming off many personal challenges and loss. In November of 2019, our team sat down together to begin the brainstorming of this 6th edition of our annual, which you are now holding in your hands. We felt pulled towards the themes of time and pace in our society: the everyday felt so rushed, yet the quality of products, narratives and experiences we consumed felt limited by the speed at which productivity was pegged.
Frozen in Time. After our Signature Event on February 1st of 2020, the pandemic hit. Covid-19 became the greatest shock to the pace that the world had relentlessly maintained, be it rather meaninglessly. Our country was shut down in mid-March, with borders closed and all non-essential businesses ordered to stop in the government’s effort to control the spread of the virus. The majority of the population had stay-athome orders and we began what I like to call, our collective pause.
Reacquainting with Time. During the months in which we stayed home, the world began to change to adapt a new lifestyle. Work from home became an instant and successful social experiment for many companies. Homecooked meals filled a yearning for family connection; quality time in our dwellings brought our attention back into home improvement projects; many of our readers picked up a pen or brush and attempted some Chinese calligraphy at home; and we were genuinely curious about what others were doing because we took time to care and be thoughtful again. During this period, we finally felt time again — we thought about it, we enjoyed it, we appreciated the moments that normally were missed in the rush of tasks, we negotiated time, we contemplated the future and what would come of it. We were like when we were kids again in the way we met with time.
Time can also bear witness — we experienced a déjà vu of racism towards our cultural community which opened our eyes to many differences you and I still have yet to make in our world. Time is also a healer: the passage of time washes over wounds and allows us to take corrective action against wrongs; and time spent with loved ones to resolve matters brings sweetness to our hearts. Time is precious. Like many new mothers, I am so grateful for this summer, when we welcomed our dearest baby girl. The slowing down of time allowed us to spend more unforgettable moments together.
Time shows us patterns. In the slowing down of our pace, we maximized our time. Time was like a piece of dough that we could mold again. It allowed us a moment to ask ourselves, if we were to choose again, is what you are doing now what you would do with your time in the future? For the memories of tomorrow, how will you guard, cherish, use, and embrace your time?
May you make each second worth remembering,