“My one and only life spoke quietly to me.”

This book is a healing essay compiled by author Kim Seon-ok, who lived a life of “saving people through words and writing” while teaching students as a middle school Korean language teacher for 34 years, and who has gathered the wisdom of life whispered from the depths of her heart after retirement.
The book quietly reminds us that if we make it a habit to be grateful for everything, even the smallest moments of our daily lives can become "flower gardens of the soul" that revive us.

“Life doesn’t ask you to be the best.
But when we try our best, we often find treasures far greater than we ever hoped for.”
? From the text

The message is that what is more important than success is a life of cultivating one's own soul, a life of planting one's own flowers.
Instead of waiting for someone to bring flowers, the author says that only when we cultivate the flower garden of our lives ourselves will we see flowers that do not wither for a long time, and we will have a beautiful time cultivating our own soul. These words leave a gentle resonance in the reader's heart.
With this conviction, author Kim Seon-ok, after leaving the teaching profession to which she had devoted 34 years, took on the path of a writer, a path she had thought had no connection to her, and began a second life, meeting new people and broadening her horizons.
The author also confesses his deep love for his mother, who lived a life of constant sacrifice and effort for her family, and says that life exists to learn how to love and how to say goodbye.
The best way to live a life without regrets is to live a life of constant love, challenge, and above all, gratitude for everything that surrounds me.

“You only live once, so live happily.” (From the epilogue)

In other words, the conclusion of this book is that we only live once and should live happily.
No one can live for me, so when I feel depressed, I must quickly change my mindset to a positive one and find happiness.
Happiness is not something you wait for, it's something you create.
And the book speaks.

“Life can begin again.
“Right here, right now.”

Author Kim Seon-ok graduated from Cheonan Girls' High School and Dankook University's Department of Korean Language and Literature. After 34 years as a Korean language teacher, she is now a writer who is blossoming into another flower of life.
I am a columnist for the Hongju Shinmun, the representative of the Terraphone Book Writing Academy, and a writing coach. Around the time I retired, I woke up at 4 a.m. and wrote my first book, “Your Life Is Already a Bestseller,” in front of my laptop for three months. After that, my second and third books were published in succession and became bestsellers on Yes24.
The author is also a writing coach who has already produced five new writers.

Happiness belongs to those who are grateful
When was the saddest moment of my life? Looking back, it was when my cousin, whom my mother barely managed to keep alive by breastfeeding her newborn, passed away from a chronic illness at the young age of twenty-five.
Every day while washing rice, I hid my tears in the sound of running water, and while mopping the room, I swallowed my tears.
I was so deeply saddened that I didn't even realize that freckles were starting to appear on my face.
One day, I was startled when I saw my face covered in freckles in front of the mirror.

But how did I overcome that great sorrow? I changed my mind.
My cousin, who had a weak immune system, would get poison ivy every time the back of his hand brushed against a poison ivy tree, and he no longer had to suffer the excruciating pain of oozing pus or itching all over his arm.
Because my lips were white, I didn't have to go to the hospital and get a blood transfusion for three or four hours.
Moreover, I was thankful that he left this world believing in Jesus.
By changing my thinking in this way and gaining a deeper understanding of my cousin's life, I was able to overcome my grief.
If I hadn't changed my mind then, I probably wouldn't have been able to get up due to severe depression.
There is a saying that 'life is multiplication'.
It means that if you live with positive thoughts in any situation, the results will be multiplied.
No matter how depressing the situation, no matter how much sadness you experience, positive thinking will ultimately help you overcome any situation.
The Talmud says that the happiest person in the world is “the one who lives with gratitude for what is, just as it is.”
Philosopher Aristotle also said, “Happiness belongs to those who are grateful.”
Positive thinking makes us grateful, and people who live with gratitude are happy people.
In any situation, when gratitude disappears, complaints sprout and relationships become strained.


You only live once! Live with a positive mindset.
At crossroads in life, we walk down that path thinking it was the best choice, but looking back, there are bound to be things we regret.
But let us take comfort in the words of poet Kim Jung-sik, “There is no life without regrets, only a life with fewer regrets.” Let us live each day with more passion.
There is no life where everything you do is successful and everything you accomplish is satisfying, so let's live each day with gratitude.
In his book, “You Are Always Alright,” author Lee Hyeon-su writes, “Gratitude changes the filter through which we view the world, changing our perspective that ‘life is insufficient.’
Rather than struggling and struggling among the things I don't have, I come to enjoy what I have, and I see that every corner of 'my world' is filled with abundance. It gives me a mature and bold perspective that allows me to calmly wait for something that may seem empty for a moment, thinking that it has another meaning.” Gratitude is the wisdom of life.

This fourth book is about 'You Only Live Once'.
Life is only once, so it wasn't written with that much weight.
It required deep thought and reflection.
I wrote this while pondering what wisdom there is to living in this chaotic age.
I would like to dedicate this book to those who are wondering how to live a life of gratitude and happiness, and to those who take time out of their busy schedules to serve their neighbors.
I would like to thank all the characters in this book.


November 2025
Kim Seon-ok

--- From the text