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- Salam sejahtera, beautiful souls! (A lovely Malay greeting wishing you peace and well-being.) Welcome to your Good Soul Daily for Monday, October 19th, 2026. I hope life is treating you wonderfully, that you're surrounded by people who bring out the best in you, and that you trust you're exactly where you need to be. Yesterday, I introduced you to Lee from the Netflix series East of Eden, and apparently I'm not quite finished talking about him! I've watched the entire series twice, and I have to tell you, I am absolutely smitten with this man. Not in the handsome leading-man, sweep-me-off-my-feet kind of way, although I suppose wisdom is pretty darn attractive. I'm talking about the kind of admiration that makes you want to become a better human being. Lee, beautifully portrayed by Hoon Lee, is a Chinese American man who helps raise the Trask children, but he is so much more than his position in the household. He is intelligent, observant, humble, patient, fiercely loyal, and compassionate beyond measure. He has experienced prejudice, disappointment, and heartache, yet somehow manages to remain a source of goodness in a world that hasn't always been good to him. And I kept finding myself thinking, I want to be awesome like Lee. What I love most about Lee is that he understands people without needing to judge them. He sees their weaknesses, recognizes their pain, and understands that sometimes the people who are hardest to love are the ones who have spent their lives feeling unloved. At one point, he speaks about a child's terrible fear of not being loved, and how rejection can turn into anger and resentment. What a profound reminder that we rarely know the whole story behind someone's behavior. Lee doesn't confuse compassion with pretending people haven't made mistakes. He simply refuses to reduce an entire human being to those mistakes. And isn't that something we could all practice a little more? Imagine approaching a difficult person with curiosity instead of immediately forming an opinion. Imagine listening more than we speak, offering wisdom without needing credit for it, and helping someone become stronger rather than making them dependent on us. Lee has a remarkable ability to be both gentle and strong. He doesn't need to dominate a room to be its wisest person. He doesn't need applause to do the right thing. His goodness is simply woven into the way he lives. And perhaps the thing I admire most is how much love Lee puts into action. He shows up. He pays attention. He cares for people who don't always know how to care for themselves or each other. He becomes a steady, loving presence in a family filled with complicated relationships and imperfect people. He also reminds us not to confuse someone's outward appearance, background, or circumstances with the depth of their character. There's a beautiful lesson in the way he reveals his intelligence to Samuel Hamilton, who recognizes the man beyond the assumptions others have made about him. Lee is not perfect, and that's part of what makes him so wonderful. He's thoughtful, sometimes conflicted, and fully human. But he keeps choosing to be decent. And I think that's what I want to take away from this extraordinary character. Not that we should all become endlessly patient saints who never lose our tempers or say something foolish. Goodness isn't a performance, and none of us needs to be perfect to practice it. But we can be more curious, more compassionate, more dependable, and more willing to see the humanity in someone who is struggling. We can become the person who makes others feel understood, protected, and loved. Imagine what a beautiful world we'd create if we all tried to be just a little more like Lee. Today's Inspo: Think about the people, real or fictional, whose character you admire most. What is it about them that makes you want to be better? Maybe it's their patience, their courage, their kindness, or their ability to love without judgment. Choose one of those qualities and bring a little more of it into the world today. We may not all be as wise as Lee, but we can certainly become the kind of people who make life a little better for everyone around us. And what a magnificent thing to aspire to. 🧡✨
3 min read
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