This artwork was created during the Lunar New Year of 2025. As someone who grew up in Shanghai, the tradition of celebrating the Spring Festival has always meant gathering with family, sharing meals, chatting, and exchanging well wishes. When visiting relatives and friends, people commonly bless each other with wishes for wealth, career success, and good fortune in the coming year. It is also a tradition to visit temples to pray for luck in the new year.

I’m not saying whether these customs are right or wrong, but through my experiences, I’ve come to believe more and more that fate—including what people call “good luck”—is in our own hands. Constantly seeking luck or blessings from external sources is still a form of external dependence. But once you truly understand the essence of life, you’ll realize that everything starts from within. This painting serves as my New Year’s message: look inward. Good fortune doesn’t necessarily come from the outside world—your thoughts and actions are what create your own luck.