愛、生活、人生系列

各司其職

「一樣米養百樣人」（台語常作「一樣米飼百樣人」）是一句著名的俗諺，比喻雖然大家吃著相同的主食（米），但每個人的生長背景、個性、價值觀與行為舉止，卻都截然不同，即使是同一對父母所生的，其兄弟姊妹的個性，也是都不一樣的。也就是說，我們人體所需要的營養來源，雖然相仿，但大千世界中，每個人吸收得多少都不一定，也都是獨立且獨特的個體。在職場上，我們看到形形色色的同事，在社會上，發生了各種光怪陸離的事件，同樣是一雙眼睛，有人看到黑暗，有人看到光明；同一張嘴巴，有人口出惡言，有人溫暖良善；同一顆心，卻藏著截然不同的算計與純真，正因為人與人之間如此的不同，世界便非常地異質與多元，於是碰撞出很多豐富且多彩的人類生命與文化。我們身為社會一份子，都有責任與義務，讓各式各樣的人事物，發揮到最大的功能，來促進社會的完好，讓地球更美，更適合人類居住。

      我們都知道，在一個運轉良好的鐘錶內部，有大如發條的齒輪，也有小至肉眼難辨的螺絲，大齒輪推動著巨輪，小螺絲則緊扣著機芯，如果大齒輪去取代螺絲，或者小螺絲擅離職守，那麼，整個鐘錶就會停擺，這正是「各司其職」的具體縮影。當我們每個人都在正確的位置上，發揮專長時，我們才能成就一個完美運作的整體。「各司其職」的第一步，是「自知」。我們每個人都有獨特的天賦與局限，有些人擅長戰略思考，有些人則精於按部就班；有的人具備強大的業務衝勁，有的人則擁有細心的支援能力，將對的人放在對的位置上，我們才能把事情，做到極致，平凡的我們，也才能孕育出不平凡的職人精神。一個團體中，主管要懂得授權，那就是分工；在人體中，眼耳鼻舌「各司其職」，也是分工；在作戰上，「分進合擊」是經由不同的路線，向目標包圍，更是分工。真正的領導力，並非一個人做完全部，而是要讓每個人，都能「各司其職」，有足夠的空間，自我實現，做適當的分工，這樣，團體才會健全，人際才能圓融。

      其次，「各司其職」不等於「自掃門前雪」，它是在各自負責的領域裡，給予彼此充分的信任。當我們建立清晰的邊界時，我們便知道自己的極限在哪裡，也相信在那個邊界之外，有夥伴會穩穩地接住，這種各盡其責的默契，能讓團隊在面對風浪時，依然能有條不紊地前進。在社會上，農夫在田間播種，廚師在廚房烹飪，司機在路上奔波，醫護在醫院守護生命，沒有任何一個職業，是孤立存在的，也沒有任何一個角色，是微不足道的，正因為我們每個人，都在自己的崗位上，默默耕耘，各司其職，我們才能在清晨喝到溫熱的豆漿，在夜晚安然地入睡，只要我們能在自己的位子上，盡心盡力、發揮價值，我們就是在這個社會中，不可或缺的「關鍵齒輪」。孔子也說「不在其位，不謀其政」，意思是說，我們處於什麼樣的位置，就要做好自己分內的事，如不在那個職位，我們就別去考慮那個職位所賦予的職責。因此，處事者要各司其事、各司其職，不可越俎代庖，將自己的工作，強加給別人。我們要明確地知道自己的崗位職責，相信自己，也信任別人，一起共同努力，相互合作，才能成就所有事情。

      世間上無論做什麼事，我們都必須要相互合作的。例如，我們的身體，眼睛要看，耳朵要聽，腳要走路，手要拿東西，嘴要說話，雖然功能都不一樣，但是它們都必須要彼此配合與合作無間，才能完成各項動作。同樣地，一根木柴，不容易燒起火，但是，一大把木柴放在一起，就能發出熊熊的火光。地水火風，因緣和合，才能生長萬物，土木瓦石，條件具足，也才能興建房子。音樂表演，要透過合奏、合音和合唱，才能發揮音域的和諧之美。商業經營，也要合股、合資及合夥，並有合作社的組織，才能營利賺錢。全球是一個共同體，是多元共生、相依共存的，乍看之下，好像是每樣東西，都各自在自己的位置上，但其實，它們都是連結在一起的。為了生存，我們要有好多的共鳴與共振，我們要用更謙卑與包容的方式，進行相當多的溝通與協調，才能讓我們的林林種種，有更好的豐收，更善的循環，及更有智慧的互動。小至個人起居，大到國家世界，乃至於宇宙萬物，這一切的一切，大家都是相互合作、共生共榮的，我們要從自己的「自知」做起，每個人都「各司其職」，相信自己，也信任別人，然後，我們還要處處與別人，合作無間，這樣，我們的社會，才會生活無虞，安定繁榮。

尊重自己、期許自己

如果人生是80年，我們可將其分為四個階段，第二階段，亦即21-40歲的時期，應該是我們人生的「黃金歲月」。因為，人生中最重要的二件事：「事業」與「家庭」，都是在這個時期所決定的。第一階段(0-20歲)，是談戀愛、讀書的時期，過程中充滿酸甜苦辣與新奇，但它不會決定我們的人生。第三階段(41-60歲)，是在延續且強化黃金歲月時的家庭與事業。第四階段(61-80歲)，則是退休時期，退休生活，是我們在享受人生的悠閒與樂趣的時期。人們總把我們的青春年華，視為「黃金歲月」，那時，我們擁有烏黑的秀髮，光滑的皮膚，及對未來的幻想。然而，隨著年輪一圈圈地奉獻給工作、家庭與柴米油鹽後，驀然回首，我們便發現，鏡中的自己，染上歲月的風霜，悄悄出現的白髮，透露了年齡。其實，真正的黃金歲月，從來也不是由年齡來定義，而是由心境來決定的。年輕時的我們，如同剛出爐的鐵器，雖然銳利，卻容易受挫，我們總在乎別人的眼光，為迎合社會的標準，活得小心翼翼；我們常常為了一次的失敗，焦慮難眠，也為無緣的感情，痛徹心扉。那時的我們，心靈承載太多的負擔，如同在迷霧中，雖然耀眼，卻也迷茫。而當我們步入成熟，經歷人生的起伏，看遍人情的冷暖後，我們的心智便逐漸沉穩，也學會與自己和解，明白什麼該拿得起，什麼該放得下，這種歷練後的從容與自在，才是真正屬於我們自己的「黃金歲月」。人的一生，從母親懷胎十月，到呱呱墜地，假如能夠活到百歲，當然一生都是黃金歲月，有些人的童年，是黃金歲月，父母慈愛，享受天倫，要吃要玩，都能如願。及至成長，青春年華，談情說愛，讀唱自由，這是青年的黃金歲月。到了壯年，擁有理想，也有事業基礎，隨興所至，稱心如意，是中年的黃金歲月。退休以後，能含飴弄孫，蒔花植草，悠遊林泉，頤養天年，也可稱為老年的黃金歲月。事實上，我們只要自己過得心安理得，時時生活在正念之中，常常擁有宇宙的懷抱，發心濟人利世，縱使無名無財，無權無利，也可過得像黃金歲月，此時的黃金歲月，就是一種「採菊東籬下，悠然見南山」的智慧了。更有甚者，我們如能珍惜當下，眼中有故事，臉上有笑容，心中有慈悲，可好好吃飯，好好睡覺，好好愛自己，不取悅別人，只為成全那最真實、美好的自己，那就是天天都是黃金歲月了。

      每個人，都是在自己的生命中，扮演著主角，經歷戰鬥、挑戰、挫敗，一路突破升級，最終帶著全新的價值觀，成為英雄。然而，在這段旅途中，是否自己常有卡關的地方呢？是的，在現實生活中，許多人會停留在「光想不做」的階段，日復一日地規劃未來，卻始終無法踏出第一步。我們常以為要改變人生，就該先擬定計畫，越詳細越好；但真相是，真正的改變，往往不是從「擬定目標」開始，而是承認自己陷入困境。很多人以為「整頓環境」是整理桌面、丟掉雜物、重寫待辦清單，但真正有效的整頓方式，其實是從自己身體的節奏，開始重整。首先，我們要把睡覺和起床的時間，固定下來。然後，安排每天某段時間，做某些事，允許自己有身心的疲憊，承認自己陷入瓶頸，再慢慢重整。每個人都需要 Me Time，Me Time是指專屬於自己的時間，在這段時間裡，我們要回應自己的需求，面對自己，從五感出發（嗅覺、視覺、味覺、聽覺及觸覺），規劃自己一天的作息，試著讓自己的外在活動，符合內心的設定。例如，透過選擇不同的衣著等，來改變自己的氣質，讓自己喜歡自己、欣賞自己。
      我們是群居的生物，不能離群索居，所以，我們不僅是獨立生活的個體，更是和整個社會互動的生命共同體，因此，我們要看重自己，也要關心別人。在社會上，「尊重」是與人相處，並建立良好關係的基石，尊重不只是禮貌，而是對自己與別人的理解、接納與重視。在日常生活中，我們要專心傾聽自己的聲音，同時，我們也要聆聽別人的聲音；我們要有同理心，願意理解與包容自己和別人，而且，我們更要謙遜、自持，心平氣和的與人溝通。我們每個人都希望能受到尊重，但是，要想別人尊重我們，我們必須自己先尊重自己。《孟子‧離婁》下篇說：「愛人者，人恆愛之；敬人者，人恆敬之。」人與人之間的關係，愛和敬總是相互的，我們先要「心中有愛」，才能隨時給人慈悲關懷、體諒寬容。我們要先有優雅的談吐，及莊重的儀表，自我尊重，才能受人尊重。
      最後，我們要鼓勵自己，保持對生命的熱愛，我們要期許，在未來的日子裡，不為模糊的未知擔憂，只為清清楚楚的現在努力，活出自己喜歡的樣子。我們每個人的一生，都是一場漫長的雕琢，當我們在滿足社會的期待時，要問自己：「這是我真正喜歡的樣子嗎？」我們期許自己，從今天起，要活得像自己最愛的那個人，我們不去追求完美的成功，但要學會接納自己的不完美，我們要愛上脆弱的自己，擁有拒絕的底氣，也有選擇的自由，可以聽喜歡的音樂，也可看想要看的風景。我們要把時間和熱情，留給自己值得的人事物。我們要期許自己的內心，有對生活的熱愛與充盈，對平凡日子裡的一餐一飯、一顰一笑，誠摯滿足。萬物皆是陽光，我們要期許自己，欣賞世界的不同，也享受柴米油鹽的安穩。創造「精緻」的生活，從來和錢無關，人生中美好的事物，也大多是免費的。熱愛生活，是一種態度，是一個人的體面，也是對自己最大的尊重，一個用心熱愛生活的人，不管處於何種境地，都不會嫌棄生活的瑣細麻煩，總會把眼前過出一番詩意來的。我們要期許自己，找到真正屬於自己的那份平實與精緻，學習不受限，我們可以享受「宅在家」，也可以學習「過去沒嘗試過」的課程，如鋼琴、瑜伽、芭蕾及古典舞等，然後，最重要的是，我們要維持健康的身體，注重養生，少量多餐，充分睡眠，重視並關心家人及好友，品嚐美食，生活精簡，常保樂活。期許我們自己，每時每刻的當下，都安穩美好。

刻意練習的難處

「刻意練習」是透過有目標的訓練和練習，來重新塑造大腦和身體。首先，我們來談一談大腦。常常，我們在練習時，其實只是「把熟的部分，再跑一次」而已，然而，真正的學習，往往伴隨著卡住、混亂、甚至有點煩躁，那是因為大腦沒有走舊路，而是在嘗試新的學習。所以，刻意練習需要學的是，我們會卡住的地方，其實，刻意練習是會讓我們不舒服的，我們的大腦，很怕「變化」，最好是安於現狀，不假思索，因此，我們要很清楚地意識到，原來我們自己，還沒有準備好，還沒學好，這時，我們要用更多的大腦，強迫自己離開舒適圈，切實學會。再者，刻意練習也會讓我們的身體不舒服，我們的身體，總會為了維持穩定的狀態，對外來的施壓，產生抗拒。當我們的身體，承受超出平時負荷的訓練時，會僵硬、緊繃及無力，不過，當我們再多用力一點，做「刻意練習」時，我們的努力會衝破難關，達到標準，此時，如果我們的動作，已經變得比較輕鬆，這代表著我們的身體已經適應，變得更強壯或更靈活了。研究顯示，長期且有系統的身體訓練，甚至會改變我們的生理結構（例如心肺功能、肌肉纖維類型、神經反應速度等），創造出我們原本不具備的能力，這就是我們的潛能。換句話說，「刻意練習」並不是要我們「發掘」潛能，而是我們在「打造」自己的潛能，讓以前不可能的事，變得可能。當我們做「刻意練習」，強迫自己的大腦和身體，去適應新的行為和技能時，我們必須要投入百分之百的「專注」，且投入練習的時間，要先重「質」再重「量」，並盡可能地排除一切會分心的事情，讓練習發揮百分之百的功效。想想看，刻意練習是我們「刻意」在進行的，所以，它必須是全神貫注，有意識地行動。我們要遵從老師或教練的指導，然後，我們要專注於自身切實的練習，且適時調整練習的進度及過程，最終，我們才可達到刻意練習的目標。

      「刻意練習」的難處，是我們要「發現弱點，並即時修正」。這時，我們的自尊心，是最害怕遇到真實的打擊的。面對教練、老師或客觀的數據，來指出我們的錯誤時，經常，很多人會選擇開啟防衛機制，退回自我感覺良好的假象中。當我們被指出錯誤時，我們的大腦，會直覺地將「錯誤的行為」與「失敗的自己」畫上等號，這種窘態，來自三個心理機制：

1.     冒牌者症候群爆發：害怕別人因為這個錯誤，看穿自己「其實沒那麼厲害」。

2.     聚光燈效應：誤以為所有的人都在盯著自己的失敗，把尷尬無限放大。

3.     防禦本能：我們的大腦，會把在眾人面前的「糾正」，視為一種攻擊，本能地想要反擊或逃跑。

事實上，完美與自尊心，是完全不相關的兩回事，自尊心強的人，也會犯錯，我們不需要在被糾正錯誤後，才能認同自我，因為，不管我們犯多少錯誤，我們都是可以改正的。在人生的旅途中，我們所能犯下的最嚴重的錯誤，莫過於當病態批判者宣稱這些錯誤，代表著我們是毫無價值的廢物，而我們還能默默地接受他的話，不過，在骨子裏，我們總還能再「重新框架」。「重新框架」(reframing) 指的是，我們可以改變對事情的詮釋角度，例如，在一幅影像或一個事件的旁邊，我們加上新的框架，便可使我們改變看待它們的方式及意義。我們的大腦和身體，是會一併調整，幫我們把「錯誤」，安上新的框架，讓我們把犯錯，視為學習歷程的必然的。這種新的視角，也會讓我們更有勇氣，更靈活地面對自己的錯誤，從中學習，並繼續前進。實際上，我們真的無法不犯任何錯誤，就能學會一項技能，所以，從犯錯中習得經驗，並不斷修正，能讓我們在每次的失誤中，更加進步。重新框架錯誤，我們才能放下錯誤，專注在新技能上，達到刻意學習的功效。

      最後，我們如果沒有好的老師或教練引導，很容易把「練十遍」當成進步的唯一手段（流於天真的練習），而無法獲得精準、有效的客觀回饋。把錢花在學習上，是我們所有消費中最划算，也是最具「複利效果」的一項投資。學習是投資自己最好的方法，學習需要的是知識，而知識是非常昂貴的，它需要我們付出金錢的代價。培養學習的習慣，把錢花在自己的教育上，短期來說，我們會得到知識與能力，每次的學習，都將會回饋在數年後的收益中。長期而言，學習更會讓我們獲得啟發，認識自己，學會技能，受用一生。「價格」是我們在買商品時，所支付的錢；而「價值」則是我們買了商品後，所獲得的實質東西。如果我們想要聰明用錢，就不能只看價格的高低，而是要思索這東西能為我們創造多少價值？平凡如我們，也是可以創造「金錢」的價值的，如果我們能找到自己的「真正興趣」，然後認真投入「興趣」，讓它變成收益，那麼，知識、經驗和技術，就是我們最大的財富了。我們可以選擇付費學習，找一個我們覺得價值觀和我們相近的老師，讓此老師從頭到尾，仔細地教導我們，讓我們在學習上不混亂，而且成效好。

      總而言之，「刻意練習」的難處，是要我們強迫自己的大腦和身體，離開舒適圈，切實學會。「刻意練習」的難處，是我們要「接受錯誤，並即時修正」。「刻意練習」的難處，是要我們找到好老師，「付費學習」，此三項，缺一不可。最終，「刻意練習」是要我們的大腦，有意識的練習，且要我們的身體養成習慣。大腦有意識的練習，我們可隨時隨地，都有學習的心境，不受限於時間與環境，我們的大腦，總都可以憑著想像，無時無刻地在學習。同時，習慣不是一朝一夕就能養成的，我們的身體，必須透過不斷地重覆練習，藉由時間的累積，產生記憶，一旦我們身體的記憶養成了，行動就自然而然成為習慣了。我們學各種技能，真的都需要「刻意練習」，才能達標與成功。

Sincerity of People and Places 誠心誠意的人與地

Having an honest and open heart means possessing a kind and virtuous mind. In our human’s lives, we work and earn income daily to meet our basic needs for food, clothing, and shelter. In doing so, we are much more likely to trust a genuine person because we believe those who are true to themselves are also likely to be truer and more honest with us.Genuine people take time to figure out their own opinions and perspectives about things, and they are not shy about sharing their thoughts with others. Genuine people are comfortable presenting their ideas and exploring their own beliefs, ideals, standards, and expectations because they rely on the answers to these questions to give them directions and purposes in life. Genuine people are probable to recognize their faults and shortcomings, accept them, and take responsibilities for their actions.Genuineness is a word that it describes the level of honesty and truthfulness we have with ourselves. It also means that we are sincere to our own hearts and others. Sincerity is the virtue that allows us to freely express ourselves and treat others without deception. Then, we can act, think, and feel directly without worrying about anything. Sincerely presenting our feelings with kindness and integrity, ultimately, helps us to learn more about ourselves, about the people with whom we interact, and to significantly impact the quality of our lives because life deserves sincerity. When we act with sincerity, we are contented and happy all the time.

      In terms of going to schools, sincerity is the heart of true teaching and learning. A teacher’s genuine care and honesty create an environment where students feel sincere, valued, understood, and inspired to learn. When teachers approach education with authenticity, they build trust, increase motivation, and make learning meaningful. Teachers who embody the values like honesty, respect, and empathy can actually become powerful role models, showing students not just what to learn, but also how to live with integrity. Students are far more likely to internalize values when they see teachers consistently practice values in the classrooms. Besides, sincere teachers, in effect, construct a safe space where students are unafraid to ask questions, make mistakes, and grow. This authenticity fosters deep learning and character development, shaping not only knowledgeable students but also responsible and ethical individuals of society. In the journey of education, sincerity is not just a tool. It is really the foundation to transform the classrooms into a place of trust, motivation, and lifelong learning. A teacher’s sincerity does not just teach; it, indeed, inspires.

Imagine our visiting an old bookshop located in a quiet corner of the small street. The smell of aged paper, the creak of wooden floors, and the personalized recommendations from the owner shape an atmosphere that we can sense intimate and real. This bookshop seems authentic and personal, in contrast to the charmless chain bookstores in a commercial mall, with its standardized layout and mass-produced offerings. It’s the unique essence that makes a place feel sincere, genuine and alive. And we believe that it’s an important part of our life. As a matter of fact, places being rich in sensory environments, such as sights, sounds and smells, do enhance our perception of authenticity and remind of our memorable experiences. Similarly, the authenticity of the classroom is also about its unique essence and characteristics. That is to say, sincere and authentic classrooms maintain and serve teachers and students a sense of belonging, stability and continuity. What’s more, sincerity and authenticity of classrooms could surely express the feeling of being true to teachers and students, and a meaningful connection to the surroundings among them. Martin Heidegger (海德格), a German philosopher,argued that true “dwelling” involves more than just physical habitation; it requires a meaningful connection to our surroundings that fosters a sense of being truly “at home” in the world. At the same time, the concept of topophilia, proposed by the American geographer, Yi-Fu Tuan (段義孚),spoke to the affective bond among people and places, suggesting that environments rich in history, culture and sensory experiences enhance personal wellbeing and identity. He advocated that where we live, work and play can deeply affect our emotional and psychological wellbeing.In other words, by seeking out and creating sincere and authentic places for ourselves, we can enrich our lives with a sense of rootedness and genuine connection. Sincere environments, thus, provide us deep and everlasting ties to our memories, personal experiences, physical and psychological emotions, and social benefits.Take me as an example. I’ve experienced the powerful effects of place authenticity and sincerity firsthand. I often find myself in a small, independent coffee shop, Starbucks Coffeehouse (星巴克咖啡店), near my home, which has the aroma of freshly brewed coffee throughout the shop. It gives me the opportunity to work quietly, and the chance to buy coffee and goods. It’s a place where the waiters welcome me, and where conversations flow easily among strangers. This space also lets me feel sincere and authentic in a way that it’s filled with a unique character and a sense of community that resonate with my own values of connection and creativity. Spending time there has become a ritual to me, and reminded me of who I am beyond the routines of my daily life. Hopefully, our classrooms can be like Starbucks Coffeehouses (星巴克咖啡店), offering and sharing their perfect exclusive senses and sincerity to our teaching and learning, too.

準備好了沒

機會就在前面，你相信嗎？有時，我們會想要讓自己準備好了再出發，可是，好像永遠都沒有真正準備好的一天啊？在這個快節奏，充滿變動的時代，我們常常被生活、工作或學業的洪流推著向前，無論我們是要迎來一場重要的考試，轉職挑戰，還是單純地想要在日常生活中，找到主導權，「做好身心的準備」，都是我們維持高效率與幸福感的關鍵。身與心是相互依附的，只有當身體獲得滋養，心靈找到定錨，我們才能以最佳的狀態，應對未來的挑戰。所以，到底我們要怎樣讓自己保持準備好的狀態呢？首先，是思維上的準備，然後，是實力上的準備，最後，則是心態上的準備。

      在思維的準備上，我們要清楚自己在做什麼，知道自己要追求什麼，我們要隨時檢視自己的目標，看看是否自己正在軌道上，不偏離初心。我們要不斷地嘗試，找到自己真正的熱愛，努力以赴，散發自己真正的價值。世界上所有的現象，都是由我們自己的心念與思考招引過來的。隨著我們內心的狀態，我們的思考，也會有一百八十度的兩極，因此，抱持光明的思考，我們將會有美好的人生，我們要對未來抱持希望，採取積極的行動，以堅強的意念，確信自己可以做到真正喜愛的事。「強力的思維」，能夠滲透我們的潛意識，無論醒著或睡著，我們如能持續去思考，就有可能把我們自己，推向實現願望的方向。

      其次，在實力的準備上，我們要隨時提升自己，朝著目標，不斷學習與成長。身體是實踐理想的載體，我們要有充足且高品質的睡眠，多攝取原型食物，優質蛋白質，與豐富的蔬果，我們要喝適量的水與運動，並將健康的知識，應用在實際的身體行動中，我們要把「愛自己的身體」，當作每天的功課，持續規律的運動，好好吃飯，好好睡覺。我們如能不間斷地努力練習，身體的實力，一定會慢慢養成起來。鍛鍊我們的身體，最實際的例子是，我們要增加自己的肌耐力，因為，增強肌耐力，會使我們在疲勞開始之前，就可以進行較長久的運動，承受較重的負荷，改善肌肉的效能，對骨骼和關節也很有幫助。肌耐力的好處，還包括促進新陳代謝，幫助燃燒卡路里，維持健康的體重或減輕體重。肌耐力指的是，給肌肉在一段時間內持續且重複行使力量的能力。例如，長跑是一項需要肌耐力的運動。在比賽中，馬拉松選手的身體，須一遍又一遍地執行相同的動作和步伐，這需要他們的肌肉具有高強度的耐力。對一般人來說，做「伏地挺身」，一樣能提高肌耐力，我們也可同時練習「深蹲」，「平板支撐」和「前跨弓箭步」，來增加我們的肌耐力。做「深蹲」時，我們先將腳直立，與肩同寬，腳尖朝前，然後，彎曲雙腿，將臀部放低至膝蓋的高度。做「平板支撐」時，我們以手肘和腳尖作為支撐點，手肘打開，與肩同寬，處於身體正下方，腹部收緊，臀部、上背部和頭部在同一水平線上，支撐時，收緊臀部，身體保持挺直。做「前跨弓箭步」時，我們挺身站立，雙腳打開，與肩同寬，手臂放在腰兩側，當往前跨出一隻腳時，核心出力，將重量放在前腿，保持挺胸，後腿只需維持平衡即可。整體來說，做「伏地挺身」，「深蹲」，「平板支撐」和「前跨弓箭步」，都是需要全身上下不同肌肉的運動的，對於訓練肌肉的協調，及增強全肌肉的強度，都很有幫助。我們透過養成每天的運動，提高自己的肌耐力，逐步完成整體身體健康的準備。

      最後，在心態上的準備，我們要有自信，有勇氣，願意勇敢跨出每一步、接受未知的挑戰，把握當下與每一個機會。我們要相信自己，美好的前途，是來自於我們的自強、自立與自信的，當我們有勇氣去面對恐懼和不確定性時，我們會突破重圍，看到自己更大的潛能。勇氣能使我們挑戰困難，超越自我，當我們敢於冒險，踏出舒適圈時，我們將會遇到許多新奇的事物，結識各種不同的人，體驗到生活的多彩。勇氣是一種心態，它是對自己的承諾，當我們活出有勇氣的人生時，我們生命中的每一天，都會充滿無限的可能。擁有勇氣，並不是一蹴即成的，它需要時間和努力，我們要試著將長遠的大目標，拆解成每天可執行的「微小步驟」，每完成一個小步驟，我們就要給自己一點肯定與鼓勵。我們要勇於嘗試，無所畏懼，保持飢餓，飢餓於機會、目標，與自我的價值，飢餓於自己的學習與成長，專注地往上爬，挑戰自己的侷限，嘗試新鮮的事物。那麼，我們就會有成就感，更有自信與勇氣。

      做好身心的準備，並不是我們就隨時處於「完美無瑕」的狀態，而是我們會傾聽自己身體的訊號，理解內心的情緒，並給予自己應有的照顧與包容。當有困難時，我們也不必無懈可擊，只要好好愛護自己，調適自己的身心狀態，知道自己是有準備的就好。機會是屬於「準備好的人」的，對登山者來說，眼前就是一片無法抓握的山壁，唯一能做的，就是往上爬。我們若不能按圖索驥，就須創造出屬於我們自己的指南書，根據自身的準備，按部就班，身體力行。機會僅存在於看得到的人的眼裡，並不是每個人都能看見機會的，我們要時時養精蓄銳、候機待發。遇到事情時，我們要做正面的評估，逆向思考，讓身心能平靜、安定，盡自己最大的力量，努力去做。人生的每個方向，都是一種未來，即便是條條大路通羅馬，其沿路的風景，也都各不相同。機會是不等人的，稍縱即逝，但準備是可以主動出擊的，與其等待機會，我們倒不如早做準備，給自己多一點時間安排，這樣，我們的人生，才會安穩妥當，信心滿滿。

自信這件事

自信指的是「相信自己可以把事情做得符合預期」的心理感受，它同時也包含「自己能否把事情做得好」，及「自己能否在人群中，感到安全」等。有自信的人，知道自己「要」什麼、自己「有」什麼，並對「自己的存在」，感到安全與自在。自信是一種技能，它不是天生的，而是可以透過不斷的努力、練習，來加以提升的。事實上，自信是一種「不論在什麼樣的困境下，都相信自己可以完成任務」的能力。努力，努力，再努力，還是要努力，提升自信最簡單的辦法，就是努力再努力，練習再練習，別無他法，沒有什麼神秘的魔法，能夠馬上提升自信，也沒有其他更快速，或更有效的方法，可以立刻產生自信，其實，有自信最直接的行為，就是練習。練習可以從設定小而可達成的目標開始，完成後，給自己鼓勵與肯定。除非我們能對自己要做的事情，相當的熟悉，非常的精準，否則我們不會對自己產生自信。因此，培養自信最重要的方法，就是「勇敢出發，不要被失敗和挫折所打敗，堅持下去！」我們要向自己精神喊話，自我肯定。我們要時時鼓勵自己、肯定自己：「我是自己生命的主人，我的生命，掌握在我自己的手中」，如果我們連自己都不願意相信自己，別人又怎麼會相信我們呢？最重要的是，我們在達成每一個小目標時，一定要記得獎勵自己、肯定自己，讓自己透過小目標的完成，建立自信，累積成就感。

       再者，「喜歡自己」也是產生自信的核心要素，我們要能夠清楚地感受到自己的想法及感覺，並知道自己的各種面向。我們要知道自己喜歡什麼，也要知道自己討厭的事情；我們要知道自己有害怕的事物，也要知道自己有想要勇敢的時候；我們知道自己有喜歡跟別人在一起的需求，但也容許自己有想要獨處的空間；我們知道自己有耳根軟的時候，但也知道自己有不想理會別人的時候。我們自在地讓自己的感受跟想法，在腦中自然發生，沒有對錯，然後，我們再藉由自己身體力行的表現，來充實自己的自信。我們要持續地掌握自己能做的事，讓「正確地預期後果」，及「耐著性子做完對自己的要求」在心中萌芽，並表現出來。真正的自信，並非只是外表挺拔、語調堅定就夠了，而是我們要在和自己獨處的時候，仍然相信自己的選擇與價值。心理學家指出，自信是對自己能力與判斷的信任，這份信任，不是憑空而來，而是透過日常，一點一滴累積出來的。自信的人，並不總是完美，而是願意在不完美中，仍能喜歡自己，尊重自己，相信自己是值得被愛的。

      再來，我們除了喜歡自己外，還要接納自己。我們不是不夠努力，我們現在的自己，是「已經盡了最大努力的自己了」。「接受原本的自己」，就是認同「到目前為止，我們在經歷各種事情後，已經是最好的自己了」。我們接受了自己的現狀，也意味著，以後我們仍然有進步的空間的。自信是靠我們自己贏來的，我們每天都要是很努力的，而且，我們要讓「接納自己」，成為生活中的一種習慣。我們很知道自己的局限，但也很願意持續加油，努力以赴。我們要心存感激，不跟別人比較，因為我們每個人，都有獨特的優點和才華，無須和別人較量的，我們只願接受真實的自己，挑戰自己，期待一天比一天更好。還有，別忘了，我們也要在努力行動的過程中，好好照顧自己，給自己休息、放鬆的時間，這才能讓我們的情緒更愉快，更能一直保持著活力。最後，「接納自己」，我們才會有勇氣，也才會反過來更喜歡自己，肯定自己，活出自信，並在我們自己能力所及的範圍內，去嘗試一些自己好奇的新事物。當我們充滿信心地相信自己時，我們就會有勇氣，開啟心靈的門扉，發現更多的可能性。李白說：「天生我材必有用。」我們每個人，都有自己的特點和長處，我們透過努力，持續練習和感恩，保持正向積極、不放棄，我們便有自信，有勇氣，能不斷地嘗試與成長，逐步展現內在潛能，最終達到自我突破。

我最想做的事：自我價值

我們發現，在生活或工作中，有許多人，對自己的自我價值，常常感到懷疑：「我真的有價值嗎？」「如果有，那我要怎麼讓別人看見呢？」有些人會不斷地向外尋找，不斷地證明，甚至在無意識中，透過各種方法和手段，想要獲得被看見的感覺，這是一個很真實、也很普遍的疑惑。因為，我們一方面渴望被看見，另一方面，我們卻又害怕自己沒有足夠的價值，值得被肯定。這種矛盾的心情，常常讓人陷入深深地自我懷疑。有時，在工作、在家庭，或在人際關係裡，我們總是會想：「我做的事情，是不是非要我來做不可？如果有一天，我不在了，別人是不是不會做？」我們真的有這麼重要嗎？「自我價值」是別人給我們的，還是我們自己說了算？

       在我們的成長過程裡，我們常常被外在的評價框住，例如，如果成績好，我們就有價值，表現若亮眼，我們就會被看見。我們的努力，如果沒有人讚美，我們便開始懷疑自己，當沒有掌聲時，我們也會陷入自我否定的情緒中。但是，「自我價值」，並不能只依賴別人的眼光啊！我們想要被看見，不光只是來自外在的掌聲，而是要源自我們自己願意承認，並擁抱的那份力量，即使沒有外在的評分，我們仍然有存在的價值：「我盡力了嗎？如果我盡力了，儘管結果不如預期，我們也可以允許，現在就是這樣，相信此時此刻的我，已是最完美的時候了」。

       價值不是空談。很多時候，我們會停留在畫大餅、做白日夢的階段，看起來很熱血，但卻缺乏現實感的狀態，其實，真正困難的，往往不是我們怎麼想，而是我們的「行動力」。「自我價值」，是可以在我們一次次的小行動中，被累積出來的。譬如，每天堅持養成某種好習慣，持之以恆，我們就會在這些看似微小，卻是很有意識、刻意的行動中，創造價值。價值，不在於大小，而在於真實的存在，當我們一直看見，並實踐這些小價值時，我們生命的厚度與意義，就會慢慢被編織出來。也就是說，我們的價值，早已存在於日常生活當中了，它只是需要被我們看見而已。試想看看，我們的專業技能：我們在學習與工作中，所累積的能力；我們的生命經驗：我們走過的路、承受過的傷痛與收穫，那是別人無法複製的資源；以及，我們個人的特質與故事：我們的性格、態度與人生歷練，這些都是我們獨一無二的自我價值。只要我們內心承認「我們本來就值得」，我們就會看見自己的自我肯定，與自我價值。

       再者，價值也從來不是一個人關起門來定義就算，而是要在與別人的交流中，被感受到與被放大。在日常生活裡，服務別人，與貢獻別人，真的不需要驚天動地，我們只要做到細微但真實的行動即可。回顧自己的生活經驗，我們會發現，好像我們總是很認真地在面對每一件事，用心且全面地在理解別人，處處磨練自己、累積專業能力，認清自己的角色，專心傾聽別人的需要等等···，我們每一個小小的行動，都有可能是別人生命中的轉折點啊！因此，真正的自我價值，是在與別人共同前進的過程中，被創造出來的。因為，自我價值不是只停留在「我覺得自己有意義」就好，而是要透過「我願意去貢獻」被體現出來的。在人際關係裡，當我們選擇真誠地給予與支持時，我們不僅幫助了別人，也深化了自己的存在感，這就是「自我價值」在互動中不斷地被創造、被確認的過程。我們可以從以下三個簡單的方法，來問自己是否有「自我價值」：

 1. 每日記錄「自我價值」的時刻：問自己，今天我在哪裡創造了價值？

 2. 練習自我肯定：將注意力放在「我做了什麼」，而不是「別人怎麼評價我」。

 3. 持續小行動：不必等待重大成就，每一次微小卻真誠的付出，都是價值的累積。

當我們選擇用自我反省的態度來生活時，我們的「自我價值」，會逐漸被創造出來。在我們的生活中，有43%的行動，是出自於習慣，習慣是適合自動進行的，簡單又孜孜不倦的動作，不需要花太多時間去思考，做就對了。目的和獎勵，對於要開始持續做某件事是很重要的，它們幫助了我們在一開始的時候，就養成有益的習慣。如果我們的目的很明確，而且做了有好處，我們肯定會不假思索，馬上去做的，這就是習慣，並且，我們的情境，也會觸發行動。因此，隨時隨地，我們都要營造情境，清楚自己的目的，並給予自己適當的獎勵，那麼，我們就會養成做重複動作的好習慣，日積月累，成效一定驚人，其價值也一定可以展現出來的。

       我們這一生，從表面上看來，也許是一事無成，沒有什麼大的成就，也沒什麼大富大貴，平淡無奇，但是，對自己的生命，我們每一個人的心中，都有一把尺，滿不滿意，自己心裡都很明白，那是一種感受與感覺，自己的最愛，其實就是我們最想做的事，也是自我最大的價值。當我們只是很專注地投入在那個當下我們最想選擇要做的事時，這樣的體驗，已經足夠是我們人生最大的價值了。在看見自己的過程中，我們難免跌跌撞撞，曾做過很多荒唐的事情，也曾面對生命中的失落。平時，我們總是循規蹈矩的，常常無意識的揹負著許多不必要的框架、信念與自我譴責，也很有意識地接納那些父母、社會加諸給我們的期許和責任，在社會的標準下，企圖尋求認同。於是，在如此的人生過程中，如果我們還能堅持自己最想要做的事，那麼，我們對自己的存在感與認同感，就是任何外在的成就與肯定，都無法比擬的，那也是我們之所以成為「我們自己」最重要的原因。而當我們充分接納與熱愛這樣的自己時，我們也就沒有理由，為了任何外在的名與利，去放棄自己了。我們為自己的生命，做出選擇，並負起責任，那就是我們一生中最大的價值了。生命本然就該讓心中的熱情，引領著我們，帶著我們，實現自己，即使那是別人最不起眼的，也都是值得我們看重與光耀的。

Getting Back into Study Mode 收心操

Summer holidays are every student’s favorite time of the year. Late mornings, vacations, family outings, endless screen time, and a break from homework, etc. make a summer season enjoyable for everyone. But once the schools reopen, many students struggle to switch back into “study mode.”For example, waking up early feels difficult, concentration becomes weaker, and studying suddenly feels stressful again. This transition is completely normal. After two months of relaxed routines, our brains and bodies really need time to adjust back to structured learning. The good news is that with the right habits and positive mindset, teachers and students can smoothly return to academic learning without feeling stress. In fact, the new term is a fresh opportunity for us to return back to schools to get knowledge, grow, and improve on past academic performances. We should be happy and welcome the chance.

One of the biggest challenges after the summer vacation is adjusting to school timings again. During holidays, teachers and students often sleep late and wake up late. Therefore, first of all, it is better that before the schools reopen, teachers and students should begin resetting their sleep schedule gradually. Sleeping earlier and waking up earlier helps our bodies adapt naturally. Having a proper morning routine also improves mental alertness throughout the day.Thus, simple activities like morning walks, stretching, reading, or reviewing notes for 15–20 minutes would always help teachers and students mentally prepare for academic training.

Secondly, a bright and organized environment, either at home or at schools, creates a positive mindset for studying. Before reopening, teachers can go to school to check the classrooms and equipment in advance, and students may arrange their textbooks, notebooks, stationery, bags, and study space properly at home.Cleaning and organizing study space and materials gives us a sense of readiness to prepare for the school works. Moreover, teachers have to make plans for the lessons and students could begin with small and achievable goals, such as reading extracurricular books for 30 minutes in order to train their concentration.A timetable helps teachers and students bring discipline back into their daily routines. With consistency and time, discipline would become more automatic without effort.

Thirdly, after summer holidays,maintaining healthy habits becomes essential. Physical activity improves memory, concentration, and mood. Even simple activities like cycling, walking, or playing indoor/outdoor games can refresh the mind.Many students might wait until tests or assignments begin before taking studies seriously. However, the best way to avoid academic pressure is by staying consistent from the beginning of the school year. Actually, going to the library daily, listening carefully in class, and completing homework on time helps students stay confident throughout the year.So, we do have the mindset to take action of taking activities and go to school every day. Furthermore, transitioning back to academic life is much easier when students are doing together on campus. They can reach out to classmates, friends, or study groups to catch up and share the studies. When they surround themselves with motivated peers, it helps them back into study mode easily through shared experiences.

At last, getting back into study mode after summer vacation, indeed, is not about suddenly becoming perfect or studying for long hours. It is about slowly rebuilding discipline, focus, and confidence through simple daily healthy habits.As a matter of fact, teachers and students truly need time to adjust after a break, and that is completely OK. With proper planning, positive thinking, healthy routines, and consistent effort, teachers and students can successfully transition into the new academic year without stress. A new academic year is not just about scores and exams, it is an opportunity to learn, grow, explore, and become better day after day. The good and right start is very important for teachers and students. It surely can make the entire academic year more productive, balanced, and successful.

感恩月、吉祥月和孝親月

農曆七月，在民間被稱為「鬼月」，但是，在佛教中的七月，是祈福修善，孝親報恩的「感恩月」、「吉祥月」和「孝親月」。從古到今，每逢農曆七月十五日，佛教寺院會舉辦「盂蘭盆法會」，那是感恩，吉祥和孝親的法會，也就是說，農曆七月，其實是感恩月、吉祥月和孝親月。首先，農曆七月，是感恩月。父母的養育之恩，長輩的疼愛照顧，及生命中每一份曾經幫助過我們的善緣，我們都要放在心上，時時感念，常懷感恩。換句話說，我們要感恩父母、感恩師長、感恩天地，也要感恩一路上曾經給予我們幫助的人。雖然，我們每天穿著衣服，但是，我們不知道做衣服的人是誰；我們住在房子裡，但蓋房子的人是誰，我們也不知道；我們每天走在路上，對於造馬路的工人，我們也不認識，然而，這一切人都對我們有真實的恩德。我們生活在大地上，大地能夠承載一切，也能承載我們的生命及家園，我們真的要常常懷抱著感恩的心，對待我們身邊的一切人事物。生老病死，是我們人人都必須面對的過程，我們若能培養良好的信仰，多多行善、布施、持戒，對我們的現世與來世，都有好處，我們不僅要慎終追遠，更要廣結善緣，行善積德，讓善的力量，不斷延續。不只是佛教，在基督教中，耶穌的救贖與應許，也要我們以祂的恩典和慈愛，來庇護一切，積善造福。我們要用智慧，日日虔誠，時時感恩，感恩的行動，能幫助我們關注身邊的美好事物，也會讓我們自己覺得滿足和幸福。常懷感恩的人，即便在困難的處境中，也能學習耐心，保持平靜。感恩不只是一種情感，也是我們用時間積累，培養出來的能力。當我們對自己和別人表達感恩時，無論是口頭或書面，都可以讓我們及對方，感受到快樂。有了感恩，我們的心靈，就會充滿希望和感動，我們的日子，也會天天歡喜、快樂。

      其次，農曆七月，是吉祥月。人生最美好的狀態，莫過於「吉祥如意，福氣安康」。真正的吉祥，不是遠離風浪，而是在風雨中，擁有一顆寧靜安詳的心。當我們懂得感恩，知足常樂時，我們的內心，會有溫暖，我們就能把生活中的壞事變好，好事加倍。吉祥心是歡喜，它來自於我們內在的覺悟、與生命的成熟，當我們自得其樂，並助人為樂時，心中會是滿滿地自在、安然與幸福，我們便自然而然地多說好話、多做好事、多存善念。對信仰上帝的人來說，農曆七月，更是充滿平安的「平安月」，因為真正的平安，來自神的同在，「每天有神，日日是好日。」神的保守，勝過一切忌諱與迷信，上帝是賜平安的神，每一步有祂的看顧，我們都可以安然度過每一天。在佛教中，農曆七月十五日是「佛歡喜日」。早在佛陀時代，印度夏天的雨季，長達三個月，又濕又熱，蚊蟲鼠蟻繁生，於是，佛陀規定，僧眾須安住一處，不必外出托缽，由在家居士供養，因此，僧眾便可安心聆聽佛法，精進修行，因而，有很多人於此時開悟覺性，佛陀心生歡喜，便稱七月為歡喜月，因成就了很多人來修道，所以也稱為吉祥月。
      最後，農曆七月，是孝親月。父母在世時，做子女的，就該多關心父母，孝順父母。百善孝為先，孝順不只是一句口號，我們更要落實在日常生活中，一聲溫暖的問候，一頓陪伴父母的飯，都是最珍貴的孝心。農曆七月十五日，佛教寺廟，都會舉辦「盂蘭盆法會」。據《盂蘭盆經》記載，佛陀在世的時候，他的弟子，目犍連尊者，看到亡母墮在餓鬼道中，痛苦萬分，他用缽碗盛滿飯，請他母親吃，但是，當母親把飯送到嘴邊時，立刻變成火炭，不得下咽。目犍連見此，悲哀涕泣，回去告訴佛陀。佛陀說，目犍連的母親，因有罪業，墮在餓鬼道中，雖然目犍連已修成阿羅漢果，但不能救拔母親的苦難。於是，佛陀請目犍連在農曆七月十五日這天，準備百味五果，置於盆中，供養佛僧，仗此功德，可令已故的父母，解脫餓鬼之苦，生人天中，福樂無極。人生在世，我們要恪盡贍養父母的義務，父母亡故，我們也要慎終追遠，祈求安居樂業。另外，在佛教中，農曆的七月三十日，是地藏王菩薩的聖誕。地藏王菩薩，過去世曾為婆羅門女，及光目女，以供養三寶的功德，使生前作惡的母親，得以超拔惡趣。他發願要度脫一切眾生，悉皆成佛後，自己才能成就正覺。地藏王菩薩的成道與證悟，即是孝順的最佳實例。自古以來，中國人講究以孝立國，以孝治天下，孝親是非常重要的。試想，子女幼小時，做父母者，無不盡力滿足所需，扶養長大。等兒女成年後，有能力回報時，我們對於父母所需的飲食、生活等基本物資，也必須要能供應，讓父母歡喜、安心。農曆七月，是體現孝親月最好的月份，我們要特別感念孝道，回饋報恩，身體力行，發揚光大。農曆七月是吉月，是我們祭拜祖先，在家好好孝順父母的日子。農曆七月，我們特別要用感恩、虔誠的心，祈求普天下眾生，不論信仰何種宗教，都能日日靜思反省，天天歡喜快樂。

自娛娛人

人生就像一場漫長的自娛娛人，討別人歡心，是小聰明，每天都能討到自己開心，才是大智慧。「自娛」是一場與自己的心靈對話，不需要華麗的詞藻，也不用在意別人的眼光，當我們開口唱歌，手足舞蹈，用聲音廣播，或出門走走時，我們單純是為了記錄當下的感動，釋放內心的情緒，讓自己會心一笑，那是最純粹的快樂。當然，自己快樂了，再討別人歡心，更是皆大歡喜。

      唱歌是一件很快樂的事，它能帶給我們無比的喜悅與滿足。在忙碌的生活中，我們如能唱起歌來，身心會變得輕鬆，煩惱亦會隨著音樂的節奏而消散，這是一種讓我們可以自娛娛人的樂趣。其實，當我們在睡覺時，全身肌肉都是放鬆的，呼吸道會變窄，我們如能經常唱歌，可以訓練到口腔和喉嚨。當我們專注於清楚地唱出每一個音與每一個字時，我們會發出強而有力的聲音，那可使我們的肌肉，有活力與彈性。唱歌同時也是增強記憶力的方式，每當我們開口唱歌時，我們會從腦海中數以億計的信息裡，找到歌曲的相關內容，我們會集中精力，心情舒暢，此時，記憶力最強。再者，經常唱歌，可使我們臉部的皮膚，保持緊緻，我們的肢體動作，也會消耗熱量，練到我們的「深層肌肉」，喜歡唱快歌的人，一邊唱，一邊舞動身體，我們還能達到很好的燃脂效果。歌唱是一種比說話更能表達情緒的語言，當我們有負面情緒時，透過唱歌來抒發，是一種釋放與舒解。心理學家也認為，大聲歌唱，對強迫症、抑鬱症等精神疾病的治療，都有一定的幫助。而且，當我們和朋友相聚，唱卡拉OK時，這不僅是很好的休閒消遣，也可增進友誼的交流與互動，鍛煉自己的膽量與信心，建立穩健的台風，真是一舉數得。

     此外，跳舞不只是專業表演，也能讓我們完全地自娛自樂，隨性起舞，放鬆身心。我們可拋開舞步對錯，與外界的眼光，跟隨音樂，自由擺動，找回純粹的喜悅。當我們的身體，隨著節奏搖擺時，舞技的好壞不重要，我們可找回自信，享受律動的活力。我們可以在自己的房間裡，關掉燈光，放一首自己喜歡的歌，不看鏡子，忘記姿勢美不美，只去感受自己的身體，跟著音樂時的流動，這可讓我們緊繃的筋脈，軟化開來。舞蹈是力和美的表現，每一天的日常，行住坐臥，都是一支舞，我們都能跳出屬於自己美麗而優雅的舞蹈，如此的輕鬆自在，就足夠自娛娛人了。

     再者，我們如能把做Podcast (播客)當成自我娛樂，不管流量、不看數據，純粹享受說話和抒發樂趣，我們也是可以隨心所欲地錄下自己的奇思妙想、生活牢騷或有趣的故事的。做Podcast (播客)真的可以自娛娛人，因為，我們把腦中的想法，變成聲音，多年後回聽，一定會覺得很好玩。我們在輕鬆的心情下，自然而然地訓練自己的口條和邏輯，不用買昂貴的麥克風，用手機直接開錄就好。我們想說什麼，就說什麼，不用擔心聽眾有多少，我們就是自己的頭號粉絲，如果嫌麻煩，我們甚至可以不剪音檔，錄完後直接播出，存檔留作紀念。做播客真的很快樂，因為，我們的聲音，是能拉近人與人的距離的，透過播放，我們可以自由分享想法，記錄生活點滴，還能強迫自己，主動學習新知，是一場很有趣的個人冒險，與共享經驗。

     最後，健走也是一種自娛娛人的活動。健走，看似簡單，卻是很容易融入日常生活，同時帶來全方位益處的運動之一。健走，不需要器材、不挑場地，只要一雙鞋、一段時間，就能開啟自己的運動節奏。從早晨的公園、午休的散步，到假日的城市步道，健走能幫助我們放鬆心情，提升身體活動量，讓生活更有節奏。健走之所以能成為全民運動，不只是因為容易上手，更是因為它帶來的好處，橫跨健康、心理與社交層面。健走能有效地促進血液循環和心肺功能，就算每天只有30分鐘，健走也能讓代謝更順、整個人變得有精神。規律健走，可使我們身體的肌肉，協調運作，步行的節奏，就像一種溫和的冥想，當我們邊走邊呼吸時，身體會逐漸放鬆，大腦也會釋放讓情緒穩定的物質。如果我們常覺得晚上不好睡，試著在白天或傍晚時，出門健走一段，持續一些時間後，我們會發現睡得更沉、更安穩。而且，健走不只是個人的活動，我們和家人、親朋好友一起散步，更能拉近彼此的關係，更有持續的動力。健走的好處，在於它不需要額外的時間，只要把走路變成生活的一部分即可，我們可以每天走10～15分鐘就好，等身體逐漸適應了，再慢慢延長到30分鐘以上。我們可選擇在早上工作前、午休後、或晚餐後半小時，出門走走，當健走成為日常儀式時，身體就會自然地進入要動一動的狀態，久而久之，它就不容易中斷，我們不需要完美，能走就好。健走的魅力，還在於不分年齡、不論體能，都能從中找到適合自己的節奏。健走的技巧，是要我們保持自然站姿，抬頭挺胸，視線看向前方，肩膀放鬆、手臂自然擺動。健走時，我們讓腳跟先著地，再平滑滾動到腳掌中段，最後由腳尖輕推離地。我們不需要追求步數破萬，只要記錄「持續時間」與「距離」就好。每天多走一點，呼吸新鮮空氣，身心都很舒暢。當健走成為我們生活的一部分時，我們會發現，不僅我們的體力變好，心情更穩定，還會開心地呼朋引友，一起活動，生活更多彩多姿了。自娛娛人，真好。

Taboos in Relationships

When we think of taboos, there are two main areas, i.e., traditional or cultural taboos and the personal taboos. Traditional or cultural taboos have always defined human beings’ collective ways of life, but they also have silenced many voices, killed many dreams, and destroyed many lives. It is true that human beings find a sense of belongingness in their cultural beliefs and practices. Year after year, it, thus, forms their certain behavior and, gradually, shapes how they eat, talk, and even think. Of course, through many years, they won’t allow the actions or opinions to violate their convictions and taboos. Therefore, in society, taboos exist as hidden codes for people to fight against oppositions. It’s much better for us to understand the taboos around the world in order to live peacefully by ourselves and with others.

      As for the personal taboos, they are the deep conceptions that we carry about ourselves to deal with other people and live in the world. They are formed in our childhood through families, cultures and experiences, and they can quietly shape our decisions, relationships, and sense of purpose throughout our lives. Understanding our personal beliefs and taboos is one of the most powerful things that we can do for our self-awareness because what we believe determines how we live. Family is our first primary teacher. Our parents, grandparents and caregivers teach us a set of basic principles about how the world works. Then, we learn skills and abilities from education, peer groups, communities and works. Actually, our personal beliefs directly influence our career choices, perceptions, decisions, relationships, and behavior. They operate as mental frameworks that filter how we interpret our life experiences.As the matter of fact, we are not perfect, and we might have our own taboos due to our personal preferences which are different from others. No matter what kinds of relationships in our lives, for example, family members, relatives and friends, navigating people with strong personal beliefs and opinions can really be a challenge.We have to be very careful not to touch the main points of their taboos in order to keep the harmonious conversations and discussions. Stubborn and opinionated people with their taboos often hold firmly to their perspectives, are persistent about promoting their viewpoints when faced with opposite information, and are resistant to changing their views. They rarely admit their biases, but yet, on the contrary, they reveal their blind spots. We should say that people consistently cling to their positions because they believe deeply in them. In this case, it is crucial that, at first, we won’t object them. There would be real value in actively listening, even though we might disagree with them. Perhaps, by asking follow-up questions or clarifying their perspectives, we could demonstrate our genuine curiosity about their viewpoints, showing them that their voice is heard. When we stay mindful of our reactions, at least, we can better guide the dialogues and avoid unnecessary conflicts.

Despite our good intentions without knowing the personal taboos, it is still unfair for us to receive criticism and judgment from stubborn and opinionated people. In terms of the personal taboos, it is clear that they won’t change the attitudes, and it’s not the question of right and wrong. We might try to express our kindness to them and the issues. And then, maybe, we can look for the validation and acceptance somewhere else. Instead of retaliating in anger, we could acknowledge the opinions, but don’t engage further in discussions. That is the wise way to handle the personal taboos in our relationships.We are humans, after all, and we would confront lots of difficulties all the time in our lives. However,best of all, we could have complete confidence to show good responses, and are fully in charge of favorable situations.

Open-mindedness

Open-mindedness is the willingness to actively listen to, consider, and value new ideas, beliefs, and opinions that differ from our own. It involves putting aside personal biases, tolerating the discomfort of uncertainty, and being ready to change our perspectives when given new evidence. Human beings are intrinsically attracted to their existing beliefs. When they consistently engage with their similar sources, they create echo chambers that reinforce their beliefs and narrow their understanding of others. Open-mindedness does not require agreement with every viewpoint. However, it demands that we have the ability to comprehend the ideas that are different from our own. In terms of open-mindedness, there are three beneficial characteristics, i.e., curiosity and humility and empathy for us to become better persons.

First of all, curiosity plays a crucial role in breaking our dogmatic thinking. Being open is to be respectful when others offer to share ideas with us. We might search for information, ask questions and seek out new points of view. We, then, have the judgement to choose the right ways, and allow to listen to others’ suggestions seriously.Being open-minded does not mean that we should take every suggestion given to us, but we would never belittle or insult any ideas from others. When others’ notions challenge our old ways of thinking and doing things, we seize the chance to cultivate our good manners not only to be tolerant of opposing ideas, but also to stay curious and adaptable to gracefully manage relationships, make accurate decisions, and learn new things.

   Besides, we ought to admit that we do not know everything and accept being wrong. Open-mindedness can be the strength rooted in humility that no one has all the answers, and that every perspective has something to teach us. When we think that we are an authority on a topic or we already know all, we are less willing to accept information and entertain new ideas. This not only limits our learning potential, but also can be the bias, making us blind to our own ignorance. True experts tend to be humble about their knowledge because they know that there is always more to learn.

Lastly, one of the most effective ways to cultivate open-mindedness is through empathy.When we imagine how someone else experiences the world totally outside our conceptions, we ought to appreciate the contexts behind their views. By doing so, we can soften our rigid positions and promote a willingness to listen.We, thus, understand how and why others feel differently.

Being open-minded and challenging our existing beliefs can give us fresh insights, and teach us new things. It also inspires more optimistic attitudes toward our lives and the future.If we are not open to other ideas and perspectives, it is difficult to see all the factors contributing to problems or effective solutions.In an increasingly sophisticated world, stepping outside our comfort zones and considering other perspectives and ideas is important.It isn’t about changing what we believe. It, in fact, is the way to understand our own standpoints more clearly, and to perceive how others might arrive at different ones. That is to say, for nearly every belief we hold, there are others who see things differently, including people who are thoughtful and well-informed. The truth is, our beliefs are strongly influenced by the environments we grow up in, the people we spend time with, and the information that is available to us. With different experiences or backgrounds, some of our aspects might have developed differently, too. This openness inside our minds makes space for curiosity, humility and empathy, and allows us accept new information without needing to defend our existing beliefs.

Once we have acknowledged our own strengths, flaws, and biases, we can reflect on these with a sense of gratitude. Gratitude helps us know the situations where others are being helpful.Learning to appreciate and acknowledge the skills of others opens the door for us to accept their feedback in a positive, productive way. We are creatures of habits. We often eat the same breakfast, take the same routes to work, read the same news sources, and closely stick to our routines each day. While this is a natural inclination, restricting ourselves to the same social and physical environments every day limits our exposure to new situations. The easy way to become more open-minded is to change some of our routines. We could try to meet new people, visit new places and research new information or ideas. It may initially be difficult to acknowledge things we aren’t used to, but the reward is worthwhile. We would make the world a more empathetic place through, at first, opening ourselves to accepting others’ perspectives.If we start to be more open-minded persons, it might encourage those around us to do the same. Our earth is an expansive place with many different personalities and cultures. By opening our minds, we, certainly, help to make the world a much accepting, empathetic, and interesting place to live in.

基礎代謝率 (Basal Metabolic Rate, BMR)

基礎代謝率(Basal Metabolic Rate, BMR)，是指在自然溫度環境中，恆溫動物(例如人)的身體，在非劇烈活動的狀態下，處於非消化狀態，維持生命所需消耗的最低能量。這些能量，主要用於保持各器官的機能，如呼吸(肺)、心跳 (心臟)、腺體分泌(腦及神經系統)、過濾排泄(腎臟)、解毒(肝臟)、肌肉活動等。基礎代謝率，會隨著年齡增加，或體重減輕而降低，也會隨著肌肉增加而增加。疾病、進食、溫度、壓力，都會改變人體的能量消耗，從而影響基礎代謝率。基礎代謝率的測量，需要在嚴格的條件下進行，受測者須處於清醒且完全靜止狀態，同時其交感神經系統，需要保持非激活狀態。還有，每日消耗總熱量(Total Daily Energy Expenditure, TDEE)，是指人體每天日常活動，所消耗的熱量，簡單來說，BMR+ TDEE即是我們一天需要的熱量。每個人會因年齡、性別、身高、體重、肌肉量、活動量的不同，而有差異。

基礎代謝率( BMR )的計算公式:

女性BMR=10×體重(kg)+6.25×身高(cm)−5×年齡(歲)−161

男性 BMR=10×體重(kg)+6.25×身高(cm)−5×年齡(歲)+5

每日消耗總熱量(TDEE)的計算公式: BMR x活動量

無活動：1.2 x BMR

輕量活動：1.375 x BMR

中度活動量：1.55 x BMR

高度活動量：1.725 x BMR

      如果我們想要讓自己的身體代謝好、減脂有效，蛋白質真的很重要！它不但能幫助維持肌肉，還能讓身體在消化時，多燃燒熱量。像是雞胸肉、瘦肉、魚類、豆腐、豆類和乳製品、蛋、堅果、優格等，都是很好的攝取選擇。每天吃得夠、吃得對，尤其要補充足夠蛋白質，才能讓身體有力氣運作，不容易因節食而代謝變慢。此外，辣椒裡的辣椒素、綠茶裡的兒茶素和咖啡因，都有助於燃燒脂肪，增加熱量消耗。喝黑咖啡，純黑、不加糖及奶精，也能幫助促進新陳代謝，每天咖啡因的攝取量，控制在300毫克以下，是可以安心又聰明地降低基礎代謝率。綠果昔由深綠色蔬菜調製，富含膳食纖維，微量營養素與植化素，深綠色蔬菜中的花青素，有助於維持生理機能，促進腸道蠕動，提升基礎代謝率。代謝是身體維持能量平衡的好幫手，一天吃三餐、每餐都先吃蛋白質，間隔大約五小時，並在晚上九點前吃完三餐，可穩定能量，均衡代謝。

      另外，規律的作息，與良好的睡眠品質，直接影響代謝效率。專家建議，每天固定睡眠時間為7～9小時，充足的睡眠，讓荷爾蒙穩定，身體可恢復正常節奏，代謝自然也會越來越有感。然後，我們可以固定每週安排2～3天的肌力訓練，像是走樓梯代替電梯，下班多走幾站，去跑步或騎腳踏車，常提重物，刺激肌肉生長，身體越常動，燃燒的能量越多，代謝也會跟著升溫。而且，我們如能安全地進行「高強度運動」，即可直接加速新陳代謝，幫助燃燒脂肪並增強肌肉。

      通過計算基礎代謝率，我們可以確定身體在靜止狀態下，所需的最低熱量，並根據活動量，調整每日總熱量需求，這不僅有助於我們達到減重、增重或維持體重的目標，還能確保熱量攝取合理，保持整體健康。結合攝取充足的蛋白質、充分睡眠和適量運動，我們可有效地提升基礎代謝率。我們可以擬定飲食計畫，增加纖維和優質蛋白質的攝取，再多吃蔬菜與高纖食物，搭配規律運動，定期做有氧與核心、背部肌群的訓練，再保持良好作息，充足睡眠，有吃、有動、有睡，我們才能永遠青春長壽健康。

驕傲生輕慢 (Pride Breeds Contempt)

  有能力的人自然會驕傲。我們有能力，有自信，比別人做得好，於是常常會很驕傲，驕傲的我們，也會看不起能力比我們差的人。「驕傲」是一體兩面的詞彙，正面指的是「自豪」或「光榮」，因個人成就或認同而感到滿足；負面則是指「傲慢自大」，因自視甚高而輕視別人。「驕傲」是與生俱來的情緒，並非社會化的產物，我們的「驕傲」有兩種，分別是「真實驕傲」及「自大驕傲」。「真實驕傲」指的是我們能夠有所成就，對環境具有適應力，聰明能幹，在人群中表現突出，做事與練習都很努力，反應快，行動敏捷迅速，熱情有活力，持續求進步等。相反地，「自大驕傲」是指我們透過貶低別人的方式，表現出自己比別人優秀，自命不凡，態度輕蔑，言行舉止傲慢無禮，且趾高氣揚，盛氣凌人。我們的才能，是可以引以為傲的，我們的才華與努力，所獲得的知識，更可以讓我們驕傲，甚至我們的善言德行，都可以炫耀一番。但是，自大驕傲的人，常常只看見自己的優點，卻看不見自己的缺點，而且很容易自高輕慢。

      「輕慢」指的是對人輕忽、怠慢或態度傲慢，缺乏應有的尊重，且在人際互動中，表現出態度冷淡，舉止不禮貌。我們因為有能力，很驕傲，所以十分容易輕狂自大，一不小心，就迷失方向，失去辨別力。我們常以為自己做的比別人好，就只會看別人的弱點，挑別人的瘡疤及隱私，批評指責。對於自己的強項，我們會曬、炫、顯、吹，自誇，看不起人；同時，對於別人的弱處，就笑話、挖苦、妒嫉及鄙視，我們會把別人的差勁，一一羅列出來，指點、批判，自己就好像可以高人一等一樣。其實，面對任何人，與任何表現，我們都要嚴守心性，不可驕傲輕慢，要守住謙卑，虛心受教，才是生命的智慧。

      人之所以會驕傲、輕慢，是因為「自我中心」在作祟，其背後的心理，是想要證明自己的強大與優秀。「自我」總是自命不凡，喜歡炫耀自己，誇大自己的優點，並放大別人的缺點，來凸顯出自己的才能。「自我」會堅持自己的立場，表達自己的意見，但完全不在乎別人的感受，缺乏同理心。「自我」愛和別人比較，什麼事都比，連微不足道的小事，都要引以自豪。尤有甚者，自我還會過度膨脹，企圖操控別人。「自我」最在意的是自己，心中沒有別人，常常以高標準要求別人，卻忽略自己根本做不到。然而，人外有人，天外有天，每個人都有其優缺點，比上不足，比下有餘，沒完沒了，何苦來哉？聰明反被聰明誤，驕傲固然代表能力好，有自信，但也不可對別人心生輕慢，炫耀、批判，否則就是自作聰明。我們惟有恪守本分、謙虛淳樸，才是對自己最好的心態與作為。

      英國哲學家斯賓塞説：「成功的第一個條件，是真正的虛心。」也就是說，取得成功的關鍵，在於有沒有謙虛的心。謙虛，是中國文化的傳統美德。謙虛，指的是我們能誠懇接受別人的意見和建議，且能放下自己的身段，虛心向別人請教。首先，學會謙虛，我們才會不斷地進步，獲得更大的成就。唐朝的明君李世民，讓朝臣們向他提出自己施政的意見，他能夠抱着謙虛的心，接納朝臣的進諫，最終，成為舉世聞名的君主。蜀漢的國王劉備，為了請諸葛亮幫忙，竟然拋下自己的身份，三顧茅廬，終於感動諸葛亮，輔王抗敵。俄國詩人羅蒙諾索夫，在二十歲時，才開始學拉丁文，他專心聽講，虛心求教，接納老師的指點，後來變成著名的詩人。由此可見，虛心接受別人的意見，我們才能進步和有成就。其次，謙虛可使我們明白和接受自己的不足與錯誤。古希臘哲學家蘇格拉底說：「我唯一知道的，就是自己的無知。」物理學家愛因斯坦認為宇宙是靜態的，但是，他的理論被美國天文學家哈勃推翻了，他接受了自己的過失，還說這是他一生中最大的錯誤。我國古代著名的醫生扁鵲，被問到他家兄弟三人中，誰的醫術最好，扁鵲說自己是最差的，因為他大哥在病人發病前，就已經將病因鏟除；而二哥於病人的病情開始發作時，就將病治好；自己則是在病人病情嚴峻時，才將病治好，所以不及大哥和二哥。從這些例子中，我們能看到，在社會中有建樹的人，都能謙虛接受自己的不足與錯誤，古今中外皆然。最後，謙虛使我們不會為所欲為，故步自封。化學家居禮夫人，雖然因發現「鐳」而獲諾貝爾物理學獎，但她因為謙虛，仍繼續在實驗室努力研究，最後成為名流千古的偉大人物。相反地，法國軍事家拿破崙，帶領法軍稱霸歐洲，他因自滿，不自量力，自封為皇帝，於是失去人民的支持和愛戴，最後，因戰敗而告終。謙虛防止我們變得驕傲自大，「驕兵必敗」，即是此道理。總括來說，謙虛是打開成功之門的鑰匙，只有謙虛的人，才能知道得更多，變得更好，成為受人尊敬、愛戴的君子。謙虛使我們進步，驕傲卻讓我們落後。聖經《箴言》提到：「人的高傲，必使他卑下；心裏謙遜的，必得尊榮。」謙虛的人，是「真實驕傲」的人，是有能力，努力不懈，行動敏捷，熱情有活力的人，所以才會不斷地求進步，獲得成功。

打從心裡的好感 (Heartfelt Feelings)

  The feelings are sensory, affective, and intuitive experiences. They let us use our five senses of smell, touch, taste, hearing, and sight to interpret and describe people, things, and situations. Feelings can explain an event’s affective experience, for instance, love, peace, serenity, fear, anger, pain, joy, inspiration, exhilaration, cold, heat, thirst, and hunger. When we crave, yearn, relish, and desire, we create feelings. Feelings play a pivotal role in affection, inspiration, curiosity, and creativity because feelings are the heart and soul of our life’s journey. Feelings remind us of what matters in life, or who and what is important for us. Feelings let us find expressions in arts, including poetry, music, visual arts, architecture, painting, and dance, too. Upbeat feelings are associated with productivity, well-being, civic service, and resilience.Notwithstanding feeling good, we still have the dark side of feelings, such as lust, envy, depression, despair, and hate. Negative feelings show the conditions of dissatisfaction and despair in various aspects of life. We, actually, have to be aware of and understand our both positive and negative feelings in order to transform the challenges we encounter into opportunities for growth and meaningful purposes. We, therefore, should promote what feels good by doing excellent things, or following the joyful paths in our lives.

要有打從心裡的好感，我們要常常覺察與發現生活中的美好。有時候，我們會感覺自己的生活，被壓力給填滿了，這些壓力可能是感情、人際關係、課業考試、未來生涯、家人相處…等等，然而，主觀來看，那都是我們內心的感受，感覺好與不好，常常只存在於我們心裡的一念之間。我們生活中的小片段，可能是小小地美好時刻，好棒的小確幸，但也可能是我們想太多了，把自己搞得不開心。看見及感受我們生活中的美好與幸福，是可以練習的。生活的周遭，確實有多種樣貌，我們如能把心靜下來，在心裡仔細地回想，好好地問自己，我們感到打從心裡的快樂，是在什麼時候呢？我們到底是做了什麼，讓自己覺得自在、平靜、安定呢？當我們深刻投入在某項活動中，我們是否彷彿進入心流，達到忘我的境界呢？隨時提醒自己，覺察與發現生活中的美好，我們就能打從心裡地感覺良好。我們可以翻開手機相簿，開啟回憶，感受相片裡的故事，讓自己感到幸福快樂、有意義，及有成就感，我們的生活，本來就該活得歡喜的。喜歡的店，我們就可一直去；喜歡的事，我們就要一直做；喜歡的人，我們就會一直喜歡；喜歡的東西，就值得我們好好珍藏。生活是用來喜歡的，過自己喜歡的日子，我們就會活成自己喜歡的樣子。

      再者，我們若想要有打從心裡的好感，就要保持自己的生活節奏。每天早上起床，我們要做什麼事，該完成什麼，都是有規劃，可預期的。我們有意識地維護自己的生活節奏，便可很從容地掌握生活的細節，心情自然平靜許多。人生要過得細水長流，鬆緊有致，規律平衡，貼近自我，相信五感與直覺。我們生活中的喜怒好惡，舒服彆扭，是主觀的感受，每個人的心情，都不盡相同。我們可透過人、事、物的體驗，經常注意到自己內心的感受，來尋求自己的喜好，讓我們的感覺愉快且開心。生活節奏中的愛與被愛，是我們打從心裡，最深刻的好感。愛與被愛讓我們在這個世界上，有歸屬感和幸福。親情源自於我們與家人之間的血脈相連，是無條件、純粹的愛。在家人的懷抱中，我們有安全感與依靠，充滿溫暖和支持。朋友是我們生命中的知音和伴侶，它分享著我們的喜悅，也在孤獨時，陪伴著我們。而愛情，則是生命中最浪漫、最動人的情感，它讓我們感受到心跳的振動，能為對方歡笑或心痛。它讓我們願意為對方付出一切，體會生命的真正意義。愛與被愛，相互交織，彼此照耀，共同構成我們打從心裡最美好的感受。過日子時，我們不是只有該做的事，而是要把時間拿來愛與被愛，讓自己快樂。我們是可以從日常平凡的小事中，發現自己的快感，即使洗碗、掃地、曬衣服，都覺得開心。

      最後，打從心裡的好感，不是遙不可及的，它是隱藏在我們日常生活中的視覺、聽覺、嗅覺、味覺與觸覺中。當我們學會以更敏銳、更有意識的方式去感受生活時，美好的感覺，便不是抽象，而是真實可觸的日常情趣。視覺，不只是捕捉光線與色彩，它是大腦接收外界最主要的管道。我們眼睛所見的環境，會深刻影響著我們的情緒與感覺。透過有意識地觀察周遭的美好，例如晨光灑落的園林、夕陽餘暉的天空等，我們會感到十分開心。聲音是情感的語言，柔和的音樂、自然的鳥鳴、甚至是一段熟悉、親切的對話，都能讓我們的內心產生共鳴。當我們有感覺地聆聽生活中的聲音，比如雨滴落在窗台的滴答聲、風穿過樹梢的窸窣聲等時，我們會提升自己的愉悅感，理解生命的感動。氣味能快速喚醒記憶，嗅覺被譽為與情感連結最深的感官之一。花香、茶香、飯菜香，乃至於家中熟悉的炊煙味等，皆能讓我們沉浸在溫飽的懷抱中，產生幸福感。美味不僅是味蕾的享受，更是心靈的饗宴。我們因著品嚐美食，釋放多巴胺，內心便能感受到歡愉和滿足。觸覺是讓我們身體接近世界最直接的方式。從柔軟的衣物，到手指輕觸花草的細膩感，每一次的觸碰，我們都能傳遞到溫度，感受到友善與親密。五種感官與我們的生活，息息相關。當我們同時用眼睛欣賞自然景致、用耳朵聆聽風聲、用鼻子嗅聞泥土氣味、用舌尖品味美食、用手觸摸大地時，開心的感受，自然會從內心湧現，讓我們在每個角落，每時每刻，都能流淌出打從心裡的好感。

小班教學 (Small-class Teaching)

在小班教學中，老師可以創造很好的學習環境，學習本身，會因著周遭的氛圍，及老師和學生的感覺而改變。在小班教學中，老師可以引導學生主動思考、表達觀點，學生也有較多的機會，參與課堂討論，發表自己的看法，向老師提問，老師同時亦能很精準的即時給學生回饋。其實，每位學生的理解速度、學習風格（視覺、聽覺或動覺）等，都各不相同。小班教學讓老師有足夠的精力，實施「差異化教學」。老師可以針對理解較慢的孩子放緩節奏，提供額外輔導；對學有餘力的孩子，則設計進階挑戰，真正做到因材施教。如此，老師可深入了解學生的學習需求，依每位學生的狀況，進行調整和教誨，讓每位學生都能在最佳的狀態下學習。在小班教學中，老師和學生的關係如果很融洽，彼此可以建立深厚的信任感。親密的師生關係，與和諧的同儕氛圍，能讓學生不會害怕因為說錯話而被嘲笑，反而願意踏出舒適圈，嘗試解決難題，渴望聲音被聽見，努力被看見，從「要我學」扭轉為「我要學」。

      小班教學很適合導入「合作學習法」(Cooperative Learning)與「同儕互教法」(Peer Tutoring)，在3至5人的小組中，學生必須學會聆聽別人的意見、談判、妥協與分工合作。而且，當學生需要「把觀念教會給其他同學」時，他們自己還要先對知識有百分之百的掌握，這種同儕間的緊密互動，不僅內化了學科知識，更培養了「溝通力」與「團隊協作力」。在小班教學中，學生能夠進行更多的自主學習，他們可以獨立思考和探究，培養批判性思維和問題解決的能力。再者，小班制教學，也可允許老師使用靈活多樣的教學策略，設計不同的教學活動，例如小組討論、角色扮演和實驗操作等，讓學習變得更有趣且有效。

      好的老師，能準時上課和富有專業。老師有負責任且學養豐富的態度，能帶給學生事半功倍的學習效果。好的老師，要有專業技能，具備深厚的學科素養，能深入淺出地將知識傳遞給學生，也對教學充滿熱情。好的老師，會準時上下課，確保學習進度順暢，會觀察學生的需求，運用啟發的方式引導學生，讓學習不再枯燥。會將知識變成可親近性，引起學生的學習動機，達到教學目標。好的老師，不區分好學生與壞學生，可接納各個種類的學生，因材施教。好的老師，有好奇心，願意帶領學生「探索」，而不只是「教學」。好的老師，有信任、真誠、開放、接納及耐心的人格特質，他/她能真誠地對待自己與學生，用開闊的胸襟，有愛心地去理解每位學生的想法，這樣，老師與學生，才能彼此開放地教學與學習。

     「開心才願意學，吃苦才學得好」。學生是學習的主體。「快樂」啟動了學生的內在動機，而「適度的吃苦（不適感）」，則是精進與淬鍊的關鍵。當學生剛接觸一個陌生的領域時，可能會有排斥感，此時，老師如能以遊戲的方式，或有趣的方法切入，肯定會讓學生有效地降低抗拒心，建立好感。但是，學習總不能一直都是輕鬆愉快的，若教學一味地討好學生，以「快樂」當作吸引學生注意力的手段，反而容易養成學生遇到困難就退縮、不願認真學習的態度。真正的學習，是需要經歷挑戰與挫折的，克服困難後的成就感，才是更深層、持久的快樂，甚至能轉化為學生的自信與信心。因此，學生的學習心態，應該是從開心開始，因不適感而躍升。「刻意練習」是必要的，學生如能不怕學習過程中的痛苦，而找到正確的方法，克服挑戰，努力精進，其所帶來的「成就感」，才是真正的學習。在小班教學中，好的老師，固然重要，但學生的意願，才是學習的重點。學生如願意主動投入學習，讓學習產生意義，進而學到東西，且學得好，其精神，是值得嘉許的。學習貴在自我挑戰，學生如能懂得原理、原則後，不斷地刻意練習、反覆練習，並利用時間去消化、吸收，定能融會貫通。而且，學生如能培養對挑戰的正向態度，運用適當的學習策略，突破瓶頸，也必能學有所成。心理學中提到的「成長型思維」強調，失敗不是能力不足，而是尚未達成目標的自然歷程。這種心態使學生能不輕言放棄，找到學習的價值，啟發其「內在動機」，樂意學習，並持續精進。學生能有意識地主動學習，是非常重要的。學生要捫心自問，為何學習？理由為何？目的為何？喜不喜歡？開不開心？有沒有必要花時間？花錢？花精神去學習？值不值得？有沒有用？大家都知道，身為家庭的一份子，我們應該為家事盡力；在團體中，我們也應做好自己份內的工作。同樣的，身為學生，我們必須對自己負責任，盡力完成最基本的工作，那就是把書唸好。我們現在之所以能夠有機會安心唸書，是因為有父母在，有親朋好友幫助，有良善的環境就學。以學生目前單薄的力量，是無法回饋我們身邊的人事物的，我們只能盡自己的本分、做自己能做的事，並讓自己變得更好，才對得起我們周遭的一切。以學生來說，為學業負責，認真唸書，盡學生的本分，是當務之急，將來畢業，我們才有能力，養家糊口。試想，我們如果想要擁有好的身材，健康的體魄，那就要自己管住嘴、邁開腿；想要過好日子，就要好好工作，努力賺錢；想要充實自己，就要犧牲娛樂，多看書、多學習、多思考；不喜歡現在的狀態，就要跳出舒適區，大膽去嘗試、去突破。我們每經歷一次痛苦，就是在完成一次的蛻變，遇見更好的自己。趁著現在，我們逼自己主動去吃苦，吃讀書的苦、工作的苦、思考的苦、堅持的苦、失敗的苦等，將來，我們才有機會嚐到「苦盡甘來」的美味。學生的本分是學習，現在，我們有意識地主動學習，將來，我們才能活出最好的自己。

學而優則教

「學而優則教」是從經典名句「學而優則仕」延伸出來的現代教育精神，它代表著知識的傳承與分享。當一個人在專業與學術上累積了豐碩的成果時，行有餘力，可以挺身而出，擔任導師或教育者，將自身的經驗，轉化為提攜後進的力量，創造教育的永續循環，這不僅能實現知識的傳承與共享，更能透過「教學相長」，深化自我理解，促進社會與個人的雙向成長。「學而優則教」是知識生命周期的完美延伸，從吸收、內化、應用，最終回歸到傳授與分享，這是一個專業工作者對自己學術生涯的最高負責，更是推動社會進步的重要基石。

      諾貝爾物理獎得主，理查德費曼(Richard Feynman)，是美國最著名的科學家之一，他曾參與製造原子彈，並建立新的光子模型。他創造了一種學習方法，確保能比別人對事物的瞭解更透徹，這個方法叫費曼學習法(the Feynman technique)。費曼學習法，是要我們先理解知識，然後，學習知識，再將知識的內容內化，教導給別人。教學是最好的內化與驗證，許多研究證實，無論是教導數千人，或是向少數人解釋某件事，我們都能透過講授，教導其專業知識或技能，讓別人有更深入的了解。教別人的時候，我們會問一系列的問題，例如，這個概念是什麼？別人如何理解此概念？這個概念的重點是什麼？可以舉例嗎？。這些問題，會促使我們自身，更精進的學習，同時，透過教導，我們也會以更有意義的方式，去講授內容。此外，把講授當成一種學習形式，我們會考慮到價值與意義、熱情與樂趣，畢竟誰也不希望看到別人沒學到。而且，我們也都知道，教導別人，是一種社會的行為，與情緒的活動，在教學的時候，我們會思考，如何讓教學的內容，更有吸引力，如何讓自己講授的概念及技巧，別人都能聽得懂，並運用自如。如果知道自己要去教別人，我們通常會認真準備，也更願意付出努力，其彼此雙方的學習效果，就更加顯著了。費曼學習法的核心精神是，透過「教學」及「分享」，加速學習，與深度理解。首先，我們要清楚教材的內容，把重要的概念搞懂，用直白的表達方式，讓學習者能很簡單的吸收。其次，在教學的過程中，我們要觀察並傾聽學習者的回饋，那會激發我們更多方向的思考。最後，我們要利用「做中學」，在實作中，不斷地把教材的知識，內化成自己與學習者的東西。學習的目的是應用，而惟有深層學習，並將知識內化，才能融會貫通，舉一反三，並學以致用。費曼學習法的實踐，不僅讓別人能理解，我們也同時在進行深度的學習，也就是說，學習者在進步，我們也在進步。深層學習是建立在「輸出」上，「以教代學」，我們就能將知識解釋清楚，精準直達核心，讓不懂的人能懂，並加以學習、改進，再輸出，形成良好的學習循環，教學相長。

     分享可彼此學習與成長。我們經由分享，透過演講、發表、寫部落格、或與人交流，我們可自我學習，也可跟別人交換意見與回饋。那是因為我們在分享之前，會先搜集資料，吸收相關知識，歸納統整，條理出自己的見解，然後，我們再教導別人，分享出去。我們有辦法分享，就表示我們已經真正理解知識，再者，我們能和別人互動，更可增進我們彼此的學習與成長，就算我們不是老師，如果我們學得好，一樣可以教導別人，因為有很多經驗與洞見，我們不是從書本或學校學來的，而是從生命中萃取而來，獨一無二的。我們可以把自己的專業知識、經驗和思維，透過文章與別人交流，或是親自和別人互動，當我們獲得別人的回饋之後，我們又可以彼此更進一步的學習和成長。其實，在這個資訊取得很容易的時代，知識早就沒有秘密，透過分享，我們可以幫助別人，習得知識，自己又能突破盲點，何樂而不為呢？分享是件快樂的事，也是非常有力量的事，當我們去思考，自己有什麼可以分享給別人時，我們也為自己帶來了價值。樂於分享，是既有趣又有意義的，它會帶給我們意想不到的收穫，如無私的資源、更多的援助等。分享在於給予，而不是獲取，給予是幸福的，付出是快樂的。分享不只是輸出我們的所學，更可以從別人身上，獲得真實的回饋，讓自己看見缺點，擴展認知。故總統蔣經國先生曾說：「天下最難的事有兩件，一是將別人口袋裡的錢，放到自己的口袋；二是將自己的想法理念，塞進別人的腦袋」，可見，要改變他人的想法，有多困難。分享是「既利人、又利己」的，自己沒有損失，又可幫助別人，甚至能贏得別人的認同與信任，強化彼此的友誼。分享是讓自己得到成長最快的方式，當過老師的人都知道，同樣的教材，教第一次的時候，可能不夠熟練，有很多缺點，需要改進。教第二次、第三次以後，就會越來越熟悉，成效也越來越好。「分享」，尤其是發表或自我展演，自己不但沒有損失，反而獲益良多。分享，是成功最快的捷徑，我們的成功，需要別人挹注智慧與能量，有朝一日，當自己學有所成時，我們也要將自己的智慧結晶，分享給別人，讓大家都成為別人生命中的貴人及救生圈，彼此魚幫水、水幫魚，進而經由互惠，達到績效的最大化。因此，我們要經常「學而優則教」，並樂於與別人「分享」，這樣，我們定能獲得成功、贏得友誼，享受我們與別人學習成長的喜悅！

觀念、言語與行為

「觀念」形塑思想，「言語」傳遞意圖，「行為」展現結果。三者相互連動，思想衍生言論，言論化為實踐，共同定義了個人的價值與命運。觀念是我們看待世界、解讀事物的底層邏輯，所有的外在行動，皆源自於內心的信念與價值觀。言語不僅是溝通的工具，也是一種實踐行為，我們說出的話語，都會反映並建構我們的態度，甚至影響我們的行為。行為是觀念與言語的最終落實，也是檢驗一切思想是否具有價值的標準。我們日常中每一個微小的舉動，都在累積我們的人生樣貌，譬如，上學不遲到，不亂丟垃圾，遵守交通規則等。我們的觀念，都有其對應的言語與行為，誠信的觀念，是不說謊話；容忍的觀念，是不以暴力(言語或行為)對待不同意見者；公德心的觀念，是不破壞公共的整潔、秩序或侵佔公物的行為。

      首先，我們來談談什麼是「觀念」？觀念是一種看法、推理，及一種思想；它同時也是一種意願、言說，與一種行動的規範。觀念是一切思考與想法的根本，觀念影響態度，態度影響言語，言語影響行為，行為影響結果。當我們的觀念改變時，行為也就會改變。觀念比背景、教育程度、金錢、環境、天賦、技能都重要，它的影響，小至個人生涯，大至企業與國家。當觀念變成信念時，我們無論遭遇任何的情況，都會找到行動，付諸實踐。而當觀念化為目標時，我們更會快步向前，達成目的。「觀念」是一個人對事物認識之後，所產生的主觀意識。有些觀念，來自於我們的家庭環境與教育水準，也有些觀念，來自於他人對我們的影響，及外界的刺激。縱然「觀念」的來源不同，但它對我們每個人的生活，卻產生極大的作用。一衣一飯、一舉一動，觀念都在我們日常的每刻每秒裡，所以，人一生的成敗，大多取決於自己主觀的觀念。我們人類是無法離群索居的，當我們在分別自己與他人的作為時，觀念的差異，便油然而生。在現實生活裡，我們的觀念，常被教導要懂得待人接物，要誠實、寬容，與體諒，對己應虛心、謹慎及感恩，對他人要仁慈及友愛等，這些都是我們本身的觀念，產生出來的言行舉止。大體上，我們可以發現，一個有謙虛親切的觀念的人，他做事常常是成功且愉快的，他能尊重，並愛護他人，自然也得到他人的尊重與愛護。觀念就是看法，一個人如能凡事往好的方面想，好的地方看，則一切都是好的。相信「豁然達觀」的人，必能充滿喜樂。觀念裡有光明，凡事都是光明；觀念裡相信能成功，則凡事都能成功。

      其次，我們要探討由觀念衍生出來的言語。言語即說話的內容與表情，說話是一種技能，會說話的人，可以把話說得適中，說得恰到好處，讓聽話的人感到溫暖，全身舒暢。說好話更是一種藝術，能說好話，可化干戈為玉帛、化尷尬為幽默，我們在工作、人際、生活上，如能說一口好話，則無往不利。在全世界的國家中，瑞士是公認最會說好話的國家。在瑞士的超市裡，店員一定會熱情的跟顧客打招呼，並在結帳完後說：「祝你有美好的一天！」「祝你有個美好的夜晚！」或「祝你周末愉快！」；在公車上，若遇到有人生病，所有車上的乘客，連同司機在內，都會輪流表達關切。瑞士人習慣互相祝福，培養出善意的觀念，即便是例行公事，也能是大家日常的口頭禪。科學研究也發現，連植物都喜歡聽好話，每天受到讚美與鼓勵的奇異果，長得特別好，果實大又鮮艷。說好話並不難，只要持續練習，久了就能成為生活中的好習慣。一句好話，人人都可脫口而出，無需負擔，無損於己，但卻大大地鼓勵人心，何樂而不為。我們時常說感謝的話，感恩父母、公婆對我們家人及孩子的照顧，讓我們無後顧之憂。開口謝謝另一半的付出，給我們支持與鼓勵，可以讓我們的人生更圓滿。常常感謝公司的老闆與員工，讓我們有機會賺錢與成長。我們說好話，面帶微笑，嘴巴甜，懂得讚美，這個社會就祥和與美好多了。

      最後，我們好的觀念與說好話，直接影響到我們的態度與行為。在日常生活中，我們的每個行為，即可體現出我們的個性與風格。以環保議題來說，正確的觀念對於環境保育的工作，有著密切的關係，如果人人都注重環保，珍惜一草一木，善用自然資源，並身體力行，我們將擁有一個長青、翠綠的地球。現代的人，常有些只求一己的私慾，腦中有錯誤的觀念，捕捉珍禽異獸，破壞山林河海等，造成生態的不平衡，實在很不應該。如果我們人人都能無私的去珍惜大地，用好的觀念與行動，來保護動植物，我們就能創造美麗、豐腴的地球。好的觀念，會帶給我們不畏艱辛，及勇往直前的動力。正確的觀念，也會讓我們辨別是非對錯，有勇氣克服困難，努力以赴。好的觀念，涉及我們正確的價值、選擇、欲望、利益、期望及情感等因素，而我們的行為，也是可以靠反覆練習來養成的。以慷慨為例，我們是要在正當的情況下，付出正當量的正當東西，基於正當理由，給予正當的人。「正當的量」指的是「我們可以負擔的量」，或是「我們可以給予，但不會剝奪別人的量」，而不是要「我們把錢包裡的錢都掏光」，才叫慷慨。我們拒絕被剝削，不是吝嗇，也不是不慷慨。換句話說，慷慨不會要求我們去幫助那些懶骨頭，也不會要我們援助那些揮金如土的人。生活的處境，即生活的材料，能否善用材料，才是決定我們生活品質的關鍵。有好觀念的人，有智慧，有好言好行，可適當地使用生活的材料，做好自己，服務他人。好行為是我們無形的財富，說到做到，我們才能得到別人的信賴。生命中的考驗、挑戰、挫折、失敗，都不見得是壞事，如果我們能用一生來思考，建立好觀念，用言語表達，行動實踐，最終，我們將可贏得一生的成功。

綠的療癒

我不是很喜歡動物，但我很愛植物，尤其是綠色的植物。現代人的生活，節奏急促，面臨不少壓力及焦慮，於是，最天然的醫生，就在我們的身邊，那就是樹木。科學研究顯示，接近大自然，特別是身處在樹林與綠色的空間裡，我們不但可以減輕壓力，還能增強免疫力，對我們的身心，都有不容忽視的幫助。我們如能常常在住家附近的公園綠地，及森林等地散步，無論大樹、小樹，花園林蔭，都可讓我們感受清涼爽快，身心療癒。樹木不僅是大自然之美，更是人們健康的基石，綠色植物有助於消除眼睛的疲勞，讓我們心情放鬆，感覺舒適。喜歡植物的人，會自我紓壓、解鬱，自然亦會延年益壽。多數的人，都喜歡走入山林，吸收綠色的芬多精，趁著假日，漫步於城市的森林公園，真可以享受戶外的綠蔭。當然，我們也可把植物搬進家，讓我們的生活空間美如花。不管是在客廳、陽台，佈置小巧精緻的盆栽，如多肉植物、仙人掌等，或是在家裡的浴室，擺放黃金葛等玻璃植栽，滿室馨香，我們即如同擁有身在大自然的幸福感，居家環境，立刻變得生氣盎然。再者，我們如經常走出戶外，聆聽大自然的聲音，看看天空、聞聞樹香，在綠意盎然的美景中，我們亦能打開五感，放慢腳步，讓陽光灑落滿身，靜心冥想，任由我們的身心，伴著翠綠，我們亦能感受到生命的幽雅清新，不疾不徐。

      翠綠是大地的恩賜，它象徵著新生、自在、和諧與平靜。在日出前或日落後，太陽會在無雲且視線良好的大氣條件下，非常罕見的出現折射現象，閃爍出如寶石般耀眼的綠色光芒，科學家稱之為綠閃光(Green Flash) ，它代表著「幸福與幸運」的徵兆。綠光（薄荷綠或祖母綠）也常被認為是「心輪」的代表色。看見綠光，我們可被內在療癒、釋放壓力或獲得靈性的能量。綠光的波長適中，與地球和植物相關，看見綠光，我們可感受到喜悅與快樂，身體也會因著綠光，使細胞與器官，恢復青春的活力，綠光亦能讓我們的思想，具創造性，生命因而輕鬆且幽默。

       「綠色飲食生活(Green Eating Lifestyle)」是一種簡單飲食的行為，它提倡「食物應吃得適量，若有剩食，要打包，減少廚餘」、「優先選用在地、當季及天然之食材」、「多吃蔬食、全食材料理」及「自備環保餐具，不過度使用免洗餐盤」等，來達到珍惜食物，減少浪費的目的。當季的水果最鮮甜，「吃在地、食當季」，可以縮短食材運送距離，降低運輸時的碳排放量。吃當季的蔬菜、水果，不僅味道好、營養豐富，而且，我們也能支持在地的農業發展，減少碳足跡，保護環境。知名的英國人類學家與環境保護主義者，珍・古德(Jane Goodall)說：「我們每天有三次機會，可改變世界。」透過早餐、午餐與晚餐，我們從選擇要吃什麼，就可以在微小及持續的行動中，保護地球。「綠色飲食生活」，是對地球與健康的關照，亦是展現美感與意識的生活哲學。從食材的產地，到料理的方式，每一道餐點，不只是健康，更是一種風格、價值，與溫柔而堅定的永續態度。以綠色蔬菜為主的飲食習慣，能為我們的身體，注入最自然的滋養力。羽衣甘藍、菠菜、蘆筍、綠花椰、青豆等綠色蔬菜，富含葉酸、鐵、維生素C與植化素，不僅能淨化體內的組織，提升免疫力，更有助於穩定血糖、改善肌膚。此外，抗氧化的綠藻與抹茶粉，及擁有天然油脂與鉀的酪梨，也都是蔬食生活的必備。我們除了關注吃進身體的東西外，平常，也要透過有意識的行動，將「綠色飲食生活」，落實在消費行為中，我們要讓綠色意識，變成一種自然而然的生活方式，然後，我們再蔓延到自己的選物、旅行、工作，及言談裡。再者，我們在都市巍峨的樓廈中，如可在穿雜其間的公園綠地，及蓊鬱的樹林中走動，也能讓我們的心情，隨之清爽。高入雲霄的老樹群，伸展枝椏，輕風微拂，滿池荷花，正是我們最需要的綠色小天地。在草地上鋪塊布，聽聽音樂或看書，倦了，便小憩片刻，確實是我們生活中的小確幸。

       綠色代表著生命和希望，是人類生生不息的創造力量。綠度母為藏傳佛教中，最易相應的本尊，祂能把人類五毒的行為，如貪、嗔、痴、慢、疑等，轉化成圓滿的智能。西藏人深信，專心祈禱，並修持綠度母密法，能斷生死輪迴，消除一切魔障、業障與病苦。凡有所求，綠度母神祇，無不圓滿，求男得男，求女得女，長壽富饒，皆能成就，功德利益無量。綠度母神祇，全身放射出綠光，莊嚴異常，最是慈悲，祂最容易親近，也最能得到相應。世界上有許多幸福，只要我們誠心誠意，樂善好施，定能像綠度母神祇一樣，閃耀著燦爛的綠光，如青草般翠玉的綠、翡翠般冷豔的綠、青蘋果般酸甜的綠、及熟透檸檬般鮮碧的綠。只要我們用心去觀察、去體會、去行動，幸福的綠蔭，就會在不知不覺中，悄悄溜進我們的心裡，讓我們的心中，滿懷溫暖。綠色令人讚嘆，綠色帶來悠閒與平靜，綠色總是給人安詳與舒適，一切都盡在不言中。

日常生活的哲學

日常生活中有許多再平凡不過的情境，或不斷出現的動作、行為，都可能引發我們無限驚異的哲思。哲學不是一種純粹的理論，它是我們可以從看待事物的獨特態度，及哲人在感情、感知、意象、信仰、權力、思想等的經驗中、汲取靈感的智慧。換句話說，一些微不足道的事件，極小的推進力，做某件事、說某些話，透過夢想，或覺察到自己對某個問題的困惑等，都能引發我們看待事情的不同觀點，因此，日常生活的哲學，便顯得無比重要了。在一天當中，我們常常會經歷各種喜怒哀樂，應該說，打從孩童開始，我們就不斷地用各式各樣的言行舉止，來向周遭的人們，表達自己的意願、計畫、希望、感受、快樂、體貼及喜好等。我們也常常有大哉問，花很多時間，在各種不同的地方、以各樣不同的角度，想找出答案。但是，我們在日常生活中，要如何保持覺知呢？首先，我們的日常生活，有很多不可掌控的變數，如天災人禍、氣候、意外、別人怎麼想、股市漲跌等等，我們只能隨機應變。其次，除了我們控制不了的外在事件外，我們是可以知道自己的思想、心態與行為的。每天24小時，我們可以區分為早中晚，如同我們每天進食三餐一樣，無論是早上、中午及晚上，我們都可以挪出黃金時段，做出自己最想要做的事，然後，在就寢之前，我們也要有一段專心與反省的時刻，好好歸納一整天的言行，讓自己能安穩睡眠，並為明天做好充份的準備。最後，我們每天要做的事，是必須讓我們腦袋，和全身的肌肉，去習慣採取「行動」。因為日子過得很日常，所以，我們往往不能持之以恆。有時，我們甚至會有情緒起伏，更多時候，我們的藉口很多，偷懶怠惰，總無法精進與自律。因此，我們每天要做的事，都要像做運動一樣，持續不斷。試想，如果我們要成為頂級的運動員，是否我們要花好幾年的時間，練習基本動作，反覆操練，鍛鍊體能呢？我們做事，總不能光看一次就上手，或只聽一遍，就懂得應用的啊！我規定自己，每天，我一定要跳芭蕾舞、古典舞及彈鋼琴，如果沒有複習，上課時，我就不會。日常生活的哲學，就是要透過一天天的訓練，一點一滴地實踐，才能累積出成果來。這當然不能急，不能省，要紮紮實實地一步一腳印，我們才能習得事物的知識與技能。

      同時，當我們在日常生活中，遇到困難時，良師益友，就非常地重要囉。我們的正能量，是要集氣的。平常，我們就得多多請教老師，結交好朋友，當我們需要幫忙時，才會得到別人的助益。當然，我們先要對別人好，別人才肯伸出援手，拉我們一把。日常生活的食衣住行，我們不但要對自己好，也要對別人好，我們要寬待自己，也要寬待別人。習慣是一種溫柔卻堅定的力量，在日常生活中，我們要處處養成好習慣，習慣珍惜自己，也習慣樂善好施。在日常生活中，別忘了做自己最快樂的事：晨起沖泡一杯冒著熱氣的咖啡；在空閒的午後，讀一本心愛的小說；空出週末，安排去看一場喜歡的表演或電影等。每一天，我們都習慣把時間花在最熱愛的事物上，和親朋好友相聚，認真體驗生活，人生真的好美。

      在日常生活中，我們的每一天，都是好日子。事實上，我們每天的生活，都是自己的選擇，換句話說，我們可以按照自己喜歡的方式，充分地過好每一天。努力踏實的樣子，就是我們可以展現出來的最美的樣貌，即使平凡，我們也要儘量閃亮。不要吝嗇相信自己，要給自己信心，確信我們每天都在慢慢變好。我們總以為成功來自某次驚天動地的決定，或者某刻靈光乍現的突破，但實際上，真正改變我們人生的，往往不是壯烈的舉動與瞬間，而是那些日復一日、看似平凡的日常生活習慣。每一天，都是我們的好日子。我們不要抱怨，不要比較，努力做人做事，成為習慣，成功，不是偶然，而是必然。很多人之所以遲遲無法前進，不是因為能力不足，而是因為習慣拖累。熬夜、拖延、三分鐘熱度、自我懷疑等，這些看似無傷大雅的小行為，日積月累，就成了生命的阻力。相反地，如果我們每天多讀十分鐘的書，一年下來，可能已經閱讀了十幾本書；每天存下一點錢，幾年後，我們就會發現，自己多了一筆安心的保障；每天，我們為了目標，只前進一步，最終，我們也可以抵達別人仰望的高度。習慣塑造性格，性格決定命運。在每天的日常生活中，我們都用紀律取代懶散，用行動取代空想，用堅持取代放棄，哪怕只是一點點的努力，滴水穿石，看似緩慢，卻終能改變岩石的形狀。當我們把每一天，都當成好日子時，生活就有動力，我們就會充滿熱情，過得踏實。重點是，我們每天的好日子，會幫助我們建立好習慣，讓我們對自己負責，給我們可改變的機會，使我們在平凡的日子裡，累積不平凡的動力，我們就能慢慢通往自己理想的人生。

      活在當下的日常，每天都不會無所事事，浪費時間。我們不會說，等到有時間，再說吧！等到退休後，再說吧！等經濟好一點，再說吧！當然，一等再等，便是毫無期限的延期。本來該做的事、應度的假、安排好跟朋友的聚餐、或者，和家人共遊的計畫等，我們因為永遠有找不完的理由，無法活在當下，總是一次次的跳票。我們的日常生活，就是我們的每一分、每一秒、每一天、每一個呼吸。認真地活在當下，我們才能過好每天的日常生活。想做的事、該做的事、想完成的心願，就是這麼多，為何不趁著現在，立刻去做呢？還要等多久？還再等什麼呢？只有努力做好當下要做的事，我們才沒有遺憾與懊悔啊！我們不看過去，不寄望未來，就是珍惜現在，好好把握當下。活在當下是感恩。懂得感恩的人，心裡便有豐盈的空間，哪怕環境不完美，也能感受到內心的平靜與喜悅。活在當下，我們要接受自己的不完美，我們每個人都有缺陷，都會犯錯，當我們學會在當下接納自己的不完美時，就不會苛責自己，不開心。活在當下是專注。活在當下，我們才能專注地聆聽內心的聲音，及外在的聲響，我們才能好好地品味美食，及專心的欣賞身邊的美景。專注於當下，我們才能仔細地注意周遭細微之美，並感受內心的真實情緒。活在當下是慶生。活在當下，我們要好好慶祝自己，體驗自己的生命，並同理他人。活在當下，最重要的是，我們要抱持有始有終的心態去過活，我們的每一天，都可以當成是生命的最後一天，也都可以此慶祝生命的美好事物。活在當下，我們是追求生命意義的人，縱使生命有終點，活在當下，我們就能自我實現，及時享樂，感受愉悅。活在當下的日常，我們天天都開心、快樂。

Limitless Creativity創意無限

Human beings have always been inherently creative. From the earliest time on earth until now, we have been driven to imagine, innovate, and create. Creativity is an essential part of what makes us humans, allowing us to explore new ideas, push boundaries, and express ourselves in ways that are uniquely our own. Yet, despite its importance, many of us need to tap into our creative potential. Whether it’s a lack of inspiration, self-doubt, or the pressures of daily life, our ability to create can often feel stifled or blocked.Creativity is a life pursuit. Everyone was born with the capacity to create and expand every task into something enjoyable. It is the foundation of innovation. Creativity can also be therapeutic because it helps us cope with stress, anxiety, and other emotional challenges. It is a vital skill for us to express ourselves, improve our emotional well-being, and achieve our professional and personal success. But, how can we find out our creativity and take action?

      In education and other learning environments, creativity is often linked to the ability of a learner to solve problems and approach tasks and projects with flexibility, originality, and novelty. First of all, we should cultivate our creative thinking. In the classrooms, teachers need to establish an environment in which students can explore their ideas, think outside of the box, and approach problems from new perspectives. However, failure might be the natural part of the creative process, and we ought not feel in doubt or afraid to take risks or make mistakes. Instead, we then use creativity and turn failure into opportunities to learn and grow.  Creative thinking welcomes flexibility, such as multiple rounds of thinking, re-thinking, reworking, and adjusting. Failures actually provide new insights for students that can be used in future endeavors. This greatly increases students’ ability to learn from mistakes and challenges, and ultimately lets them become resilient and adaptive learners. Secondly, to foster creativity in students, schools can begin by setting up a supportive environment where students feel safe to make and learn from mistakes. This could be done by building an atmosphere that pays attention to the learning process rather than the products, integrates multidisciplinary approaches, and permits students to express their original ideas.Likewise, collaboration and cooperation in projects may also enhance the exchange of their own ideas, providing students the ability to see the power of teamwork. Last but not least, we can begin by recognizing the power of creativity and novelty in learning new things or turning the old things into brand new designs.

      創意要有彈性。我們可以放下忙碌，從生活出發，藉由「玩」，開啟身體五感，覺察內心，釋放想像力，培養感知力，讓創意無限，探索身體與外界的各種可能性。首先，我們可以到處旅行，環遊世界，沒有目的，不受框架與經驗的拘束，無時無刻，無所不在，盡情玩樂，透過遊覽，我們累積各種問題解決的經驗，從感官到身體，培養感知力，窺探生活的無窮趣味。現代人早已習慣多工，快速且忙碌的生活節奏，積極追求高效率的工作品質。然而，驅動人類不斷向前的原動力，不只是勤奮工作，而是想像力(imagination)。愛因斯坦說：「想像力遠比知識更重要。因為知識有限，想像無限，它推動著進步，是人類進化的源泉。」想像力的開發，並非憑空而來，它是連結我們的生活經驗，多看，多聽，多玩，增加大腦中的資訊和圖庫，才能有助於想像力的開發，玩出各種可能。許多研究顯示，人體感官中最深刻的是視覺，然後是嗅覺，聽覺，味覺與觸覺，例如「秀色可餐」就是視覺對嗅覺，味覺的影響，「聞香下馬」就是嗅覺對味覺的吸引力，這些感官交叉影響，為我們帶來截然不同的感受。打開五感，我們能覺察到生活的周遭，身邊細微的變化，無論是暖暖春陽，或是蟲鳥歡鳴，又或是微風中的青草氣息，都能喚起潛藏在內心的感知。又比方，我們從走路開始，挑一首熟悉，喜歡的歌曲，邊唱邊走，當音樂變快時，我們可以快點走，而當節奏放慢，我們又可慢慢走，在一動與一靜之間，我們感受身體的收與放。又如，我們可以試想「我是一片雲」，藉著用手指頭，輕輕做出「雲是飄動的，是輕嫰、柔軟的」的動作，我們讓身體感受輕與柔，不斷延展，沒有限制，勇敢嘗試。隨時隨地，我們都可以讓自己的想像力，生出無限的可能。

      其次，創意要有原創性。如果「想像力」是與生俱來的超能力的話，那麼「感知力」就是那個魔法。我們大腦的學習模式，是通過圖像和各種文字及訊息，開啟腦內美麗的風景，把訊息轉化為知識，再把知識消化成見解，最終變成生活的能力。「感知力」所帶來的覺察和思考，可以讓我們舉一反三，觸類旁通。所有的學習，我們都很容易停留在模仿與抄襲的階段，然而，「感知力」會幫助我們消化、吸收，開闢我們自己獨到的創見。「創意」的思維模式，總是用一種我們意想不到的方式出現，它有時候很古怪與奇特，有時候又令人驚奇與不可思議。「創意」仰賴多方向的思考，而非單一，我們從蹦出一個想法，到創造出東西來，需要不斷地構思，繁瑣且複雜，才能具有「新穎」和「價值」。靈感和想法常常就在那一瞬間，不知從哪兒冒了出來，然後，當靈感出現的時候，我們運用的思路，就跟平時完全不同。雖然，有研究指出創意來自右腦，並且我們也知道，創意涉及多項認知過程、腦神經通路，及個人情緒等變因，但其實，具創意的人格特質，是很難理解的，也很複雜，往往不按牌理出牌的。對於一個怪咖藝術家來說，有「創意」不僅僅是旁人對他的刻板印象，他也真的是一個複雜、難理解的人。總之，多多運用我們的感知力，我們便可慢慢培養成有創意的人。

      最後，創意是要創新的。有創意的人，會有不同的做事方式：

1. They daydream. 做白日夢

白日夢是創意的精神糧食，儘管學校老師可能會說，做白日夢不能當飯吃，但是我們很多人從經驗中都知道，我們最好的想法，似乎都出現在白日夢時刻。白日夢可以將許多衝突的事件，互相連接，產生新畫面。做白日夢與運用想像力，和創意的過程，是很相近的。

2. They observe everything. 觀察任何事物

世界對於有創意的人來說，就像是萬花筒，他們看到的可能性，無所不在，看到任何的可能，他們便把它納為創意。所以，我們可以透過觀察，記錄人事物的行為、舉止與故事，來了解外界的複雜樣態。觀察周遭事物，能夠讓我們抓住自己的靈感及想法，即便是主觀的，或不切實際的，也是創意。

3. They let the hours work for us. 懂得讓時間替我們工作
許多偉大的藝術家們都指出，他們喜歡在凌晨或深夜工作，因為那時最能專心。有創意的人通常會知道，什麼時間對他們來說，是靈感泉湧的時刻，並且他們可以運用那些時間，做高度創意的事情。

4. They take time for solitude. 需要時間獨處

為了替創意開門，我們必須要有建設性地運用獨處的能力。藝術家總是獨來獨往。孤獨是生成創意的一大助力，因為孤獨往往能幫助我們，創造出好的作品。我們需要與自己相處，找到內心的聲音與渴望，然後，我們再將它們體現出來。

5.  They seek out new experiences. 找尋新的經驗

有創意的人，喜歡體驗新的事物，感覺和吸收新知。這種開放的心態，有助於創造力的成長跟顯現。例如：好奇心、尋求刺激感、開放的心胸、對未來充滿幻想
等等，都是很強的驅動力，都可以讓我們有行動，去探索外面的世界。

6. They ask the big questions. 提出大哉問

有創意的人，對任何事情，都充滿好奇，他們通常會在日常生活中，保持高度的好奇心，即便日子越來越長，身體越來越老，他們也總是能夠在生活中，提出一些大哉問。無論是激烈地與人交談、辯論，或是自問自答，有創造力的人，總是張大眼睛，看他們周圍的世界，提出問題，並能正確地想問題，回答問題，這也是邁出創新的第一步。
7. They take risks. 敢冒險

從事創意性的工作，某部分來說，就是一場冒險。有創意的人，在從事行動時，也承擔了生活上的風險。例如從事藝術創作，往往難以餬口，但是，他們不向生活妥協，執著於創意，哪怕是冒險。

8. They follow their true passions. 追隨真正的熱情 

有創意的人，往往有強烈的信念及熱誠，當他們寫作、跳舞、繪畫或與自己對話時，他們超越了表面上的意識思考，心無旁騖，找到自己喜歡的東西，看見事物的機會，勇往直前，這就是創新。

To sum up, creativity is truly important in our everyday life. Simply put, it makes life infinitely interesting and fulfilling. Creativity is a way of living that embraces originality and makes unique connections among different ideas. Creativity is also about living life as a journey into seeing and communicating the extra-ordinariness of the simplest. When we are creative, we feel that the world is vibrantly alive. In our routine days, creativity, indeed, expands our perceptions and help us find new ways to live our lives.

Foreseeing the Opportunities預知的商機

Life is a flow of millions of events happening at the same time, and only by working on being attentive and decoding the largest amount possible data, can we grab the meanings of information in our everyday lives. And with information as framework, the ability to timely identify the world’s needs for us is, indeed, an important source of wealth in our modern society. In fact, all the diversity that exists in this world is reflected on very small things, such as clothing, food, schedules, interpretations of manners, habits and gestures every day. Then, if we can use our intrinsic ability of foreseeing (預知) for everything, we could feel valued and loved, as well as feel to genuinely connect with others. Imagine that, if we can understand tomorrow’s economy, perhaps, we will know first that some companies will thrive in the future, certain jobs will be needed in society, and the exact knowledge will be necessary to manage the enormous amount of future products.I should say that the ability of foreseeing cannot be overemphasized. Foreseeing is the ability to predict or anticipate future events using logic, analysis, and data. Far from magic, the ability of foreseeing can help us to prevent risks from mistakes, spot new opportunities, and make better decisions in the present. In cognitive science, foreseeing is the brain’s ability to mentally time-travel into the future. Neuroscience suggests that our brains are fundamentally wired to anticipate sensory and environmental changes in order to survive from the early ages until now. Unlike animals, we can act in complex ways based on future goals, even when we aren’t experiencing the related motivations in the present moments. Right now, some big companies in the world use this ability of foreseeing to forecast multiple plausible futures, which do assist these leaders (CEO) to identify blind spots and acknowledge uncertainty. Research also shows that cultivating the ability of foreseeing, i.e. foresight (遠見), would lead us to improved learning and adapt to unpredictable conditions around us all the time.

Thus, the importance of foresight is unquestionable in many areas of life, whether it concerns career building, financial planning, or personal development. Foresight refers to the ability to predict and plan ahead for the development of events. It helps us handling future challenges and provides the opportunities to achieve our goals more effectively. It involves not only analyzing current situations, but also recognizing future possibilities and risks. The ability to foresee, actually, depends on several factors, including our experiences, knowledge, and critical thinking.As humans, our desires drive us, and we often make decisions based on emotional impulses. However, in order to avoid falling into the trap of our desires, we need some capabilities and disciplines.Developing foresight through training can let us make more conscious decisions that are sustainable in the long run. Furthermore, we all know that each of our decisions can have a ripple effect (the butterfly effect蝴蝶效應). Exact right foresight, surely, aids us to respond to changes in the accurately correct manner, minimizing potential damages. Those who can think ahead often adapt faster and more effectively to new circumstances.If we are able to plan different positive and negative scenarios in advance, and foresee efficient opportunities and probable obstacles, we would be more confident and better prepared for the future. Besides, in terms of finance, foresight is really the tool for us to ensure economic stability. For example, a business leader can only remain competitive if he/she foresees market trends. Therefore, if we can come up with several solutions for an emergency, we could feel less vulnerable in handling our money. Although foresight does not guarantee absolute certainty, it significantly increases the chances of living a more beneficial and effective life.

In order to cultivate foresight, we have to build a foresighted mindset. The foresighted mindset includes critical thinking, our regular self-reflection and personal awareness. As the matter of fact, in this modern society, our technologies, jobs, institutions, even our treasured values and ways of thinking are all shifting radically, making it very difficult to plan ahead, and prepare for future’s mobility and challenges. Certainly, I believe that many people have no notions of what sorts of world they should prepare for. The foresighted mindset informs us that we could train our critical thinking to think ahead, and grow our self-awareness constantly, even in the most turbulent of times.Most of the time, our minds lead to our actions. And our actions have the consequences. Our thoughts arise from what we know (knowledge we possess), the way we feel (our emotional states), our values (what we hold to be true to ourselves) and our needs (the things that we want). In other words, the ways we think about something can become actions in our lives. Our thoughts do influence our choices and actions. Thence, by cultivating a foresighted mindset of critical thinking and self-awareness, we will be able to take control of our lives and create a more fulfilling future.

Again, no doubt, how we perceive/interpret/think about the events in our lives, eventually, generates our actions. So, it is very essential for us to form our critical thinking. Critical thinking is the ability to interpret, evaluate, and analyze facts and information that are available. When we frequently practice our critical thinking, we are quickly able to identify biases. We would always do research and use credible sources and facts to make decisions. And our critical thinking gives rise to open-mindedness in our deep hearts. We, thus, welcome different perspectives, while we might still be insisting on our own unique opinions. We read materials and listen to others’ advice, and yet, at the same time, we would approach problems and solving them in such a systematic and logical manner by our own unique ways. Moreover, the foresighted mindset also asks us to observe ourselves at all times by our self-awareness. Self-awareness is the capacity to question ourselves continuously: what are we doing? what are we feeling? what is happening right now? and what do we think?In fact, self-awareness actively forces us to see things clearly and explicitly. Day after day, we gradually become shrewd and capable. And then, we will predict things precisely in the future. Once we bring critical thinking and self-awareness into our conscious mind, we won’t miss any crucial chances to view the future patterns. Through these two ways of the foresighted mindset, i.e. critical thinking and self-awareness, we could recognize and foresee more correctly about our upcoming trends and opportunities.

Critical thinking 批判性思考

Self-awareness  自我意識

In Good Conscience 憑良心

人活一世，草木一秋。在匆忙的奔波中，我們常問什麼是最好的處世之道？其實，答案很簡單，就兩個字：良心。

1. 良心，是腳踏實地的本分。「憑良心做事」不是空洞的口號，而是實實在在的行動。正如俗話說：「白天不做虧心事，半夜不怕鬼敲門」。當學生，盡本分，努力用功，不缺課、遲到、早退。在工作上，盡心盡力，不偷工減料，不投機取巧，對得起自己的薪水，也對得起信任自己的人。只要秉持善良的初衷，做出的決定，自然經得起時間的考驗。

2. 良心，是為人處世的底線。人可以沒有顯赫的家世，可以沒有豐厚的財富，但不能沒有良心。在紛繁複雜的社會中，利益的誘惑，無處不在。但真正的智者，知道物質的財富，會隨時間流逝，唯有高尚的品格，能流傳久遠。做人做事，如果不憑良心，即使暫時獲得了利益，最終也會因為失去人心、失去信用，而得不償失。

3. 良心，是內心的坦蕩與安寧。這世界，需要我們「各憑良心」。只要我們問心無愧，盡了本份，就不須在意別人的議論。事情做對了，自己最明白；做錯了，內心的譴責，也是最難熬的。只要保持善良，正直坦率，努力精進，即便面對世界的冷暖與是非，我們也能擁有一份獨特的寧靜與坦蕩。別人負我，不要想太多，吃虧就是佔便宜。如果我們辜負了別人，自己良心就過意不去了。「憑良心，盡本份」，是我們心中深處的座右銘，始終不忘初心。
      Our conscience is the inner feeling for what is right and wrong. If we have a guilty conscience about something, we would feel sorry about it. But if we do something “in good conscience,” and we truly believe that it is the correct or the morally right thing to do, we can gain peace and comfort in our hearts. Today, time is moving fast, and the competition is increasing in our stressful lives. We are all looking for ways to live in which we can achieve money and status as soon as possible.However, sometimes, we cannot always follow our practical thoughts to all situations, or keep everything on faith/luck. After realizing it,we need to balance between faith and practicality. Every day, we frequently have to decide about what are the right ways of doing things, or how we should handle different situations. Conscience, in this sense, is the only standard for us to measure the things in our world. In other words, developing a good conscience is all what human beings require. Conscience is something which powers we to do our right duties. Conscience helps us grow and brings us stability in mind. It makes us feel complete and calm, and it always gives us happy. The best part is that all good things comes out from conscience only. The fact is, in this competitive world, while we are all struggling for something or others, we may only focus on results and achievements, even though we are still craving for peace and freedom. We might not keep balance in our livings. Most of the time, in our deep subconscious thoughts and actions, we are lazy, greedy, critical, mean, biased and opinionated. We all know what is good and bad, but it’s really hard to practice and justify them in our everyday lives.Therefore, it is so important for our humans, today, to develop conscience in the personality, and this is how we can eradicate all our problems and make this world a better place.

      In order to practice conscience, we ought to teach humans good disciplines and duties from the very early age. Student life is the most important stage of human life.During this time, a student learns disciplines, good manners, and the values of hard work. We can say that the success of future life largely depends on how sincerely a student performs his or her duties. Thus, every student should be aware of their responsibilities. The primary duty of a student is to study regularly and sincerely. A student should attend classes on time, listen attentively to teachers, and complete homework properly. Reading books beyond the syllabus and revising lessons regularly help students to build strong knowledge. Punctuality and concentration are essential for students to pursue success. Besides, a student must respect and obey parents, teachers, and elders. Parents work hard for their children’s education, so students should honor their sacrifices. Teachers guide students toward knowledge and good character, and their advice should be followed with respect and gratitude. Moreover, students should be the polite, honest, and helpful members of society. They need to follow social rules, keep their surroundings clean, and show kindness to others. Taking part in social service and helping the needy also reflects good character. Thus,a student who performs all duties sincerely becomes a responsible citizen. And by fulfilling these duties, a student can build a bright future and contribute positively to the nation.

Conscience is the peace of mind within our hearts.In these times of increasing uncertainty, there is so much heartache, anguish, and suffering throughout the world. A tranquil conscience invites freedom from anguish, sorrow, guilt, shame, and self-condemnation. It provides a foundation for happiness. Actually, peace of conscience is the essential ingredient to our peace of mind.Without peace of conscience, we can have no real peace of mind. Peace of conscience relates to our inner selves, and is controlled by what we personally do.Peace of conscience can come from our inner instincts through duties and responsibilities. Duties and responsibilities are two integral elements of every person and thing. Duties are moral obligations or commitments that people perform them according to conventions, regulations or moral rules. They are essential parts of every role in our lives. For example, a citizen’s duty is to adhere to his/her country’s constitution. In the workplace, it’s an obligatory task or conduct that emerges out of an employee’s occupation or role at the company. In other words, it defines the necessity to perform certain tasks for our human beings in the world. On the contrary, responsibilities can be specific actions that people voluntarily accept to perform, which makes them conditions of being responsible. Within good conscience, one of the greatest challenges in creating a joyful, peaceful and abundant life for us is to take responsibilities for what we can do and how we do them. Once we take responsibilities for our lives, we stop expecting the others to act back for us. Instead, according to our beliefs and the things happen in the ways which they could be the best for us, we control our feelings and gain the peace of mind comfortably. So, how does one start living life to the fullest? In fact, it starts with the decision to take responsibilities and follow our good conscience.Paired with taking actions, even only small good responsibilities bring us peace of mind and comfortable conscience.

Mind to Matter 心靈化為物質

看完了道森·丘吉(Dawson Church)所著的書，《科學證實你想的會成真: 從心靈到物質的驚人創造力》，心裏非常有感，特別是書中第6章，提及「共時性的神奇(Synchronicity)」，更是讓我大開眼界。道森·丘吉引用20 世紀初瑞士精神醫學家榮格的理論，解釋「共時性的現象(Synchronicity)」為：「兩個或多個事件的有意義巧合，牽涉到的不只是機率。」換句話說，榮格的共時性，是指「在時間上同時或巧合發生，但在因果上，沒有直接關係」的事件。例如，我們正想著一位老朋友，沒過多久，他就打電話來(說曹操，曹操就到)，這種內在心理與外在物質的對應，就是共時性。榮格說的巧合，並非偶然，它是無時不在的，是宇宙以一種巧妙的方式向我們顯現的意義。丘吉更寫道，愛因斯坦說，「共時性，是上帝隱姓埋名的方式」。世界萬物存在著一種「共有的流動」與「共有的呼吸」，雖然相隔甚遠，但事物是能在宇宙中，用相同的情感或意識來連結的。也就是說，我們的意識與心靈，可以超越時空，界限，進行互動及共時性的相通。我們的心靈，是可以藉由共時性，發生共鳴，化為物質的。透過共時性，我們可以連結主觀與客觀的兩個世界。我們絕對可以將心靈的世界，連結到形形色色的物質世界的，靠著共時性，發生共鳴，我們可以顯現實相。

       那麼，我們要如何做呢？丘吉在書中，舉了很多實例，告訴我們，只要我們透過使用心靈的方式，分分秒秒有意識地專注，我們就能改變自己大腦的細胞。我們的每個想法，所有的注意力，都在命令大腦，創造新的神經傳導元。當我們有意識地引導神經組織成形時，幾星期後，我們的大腦，就會有顯著的改變，幾年後，我們就能習慣地去處理愛、和平及快樂等大腦的訊號。我們利用想法，來改變大腦，改善我們的生活，由心靈到物質，從無形到有形，我們可以升級我們的大腦，成為愛的能量場。想像一下，如果有一塊磁鐵，撒上鐵屑，我們就能看到磁場上創造出能量線。同樣地，我們在大腦運作的神經元，也會因著我們的意識(能量場)，產生能量線，然後再形塑成周遭的物質。我們的意識力，強大到不可限量，遠遠超過我們所能想像。事實上，如果我們每天都有意識地這麼做，我們就已經可以將想法，轉變為物質了。重點是，我們要相信，我們的能量場，一定可以創造物質。我們要時時刻刻的校準我們的意識(能量場)，下一刻，再下一刻，再下下一刻、第二天、下星期、下個月等等，當我們做無限次的校準時，它就會變成事實。

      「共時性」不是奇蹟、不是命定，也不是迷信，它是「意義」在世界中顯現的一種方式。共時性經驗往往出現在重大抉擇、生命轉折，或情緒高度張力的時刻。當它發生時，心靈會以一種非因果的方式，重新組織我們所感知的世界。因此，當我們遭遇到共時性的經驗時，最適切的回應，不是急著解讀，或是依賴它作出決定，而是停下來，反思自己正處於什麼樣的身體與心理狀態。其實，我們只要冷靜、放鬆、守住呼吸，好好感覺我們的身體與事件，事情便迎刃而解。當我們能夠覺察到此刻情緒狀態的發生與存在，不批判、不逃避、不否認，進而「理解」當下的那個情緒，並「回應」情緒背後的需要時，我們就可以理解並處理一切了。我們的每一個想法、注意力，都會刺激大腦，創造新的連結。我們如能好好應用大腦的運作機制，將可以讓我們把快樂變成習慣，對我們的健康和思考，都有助益。丘吉在書中闡明，我們每個人，每分每秒都在變化，無論是醒著或入睡，我們大腦的神經細胞，都在持續運作，它們再生的速度，也快得驚人，而肝臟、心臟、皮膚等不同器官的細胞組織，也都會以不同的速度更新，這意味著，自我療癒是身體自然而然的事。再者，我們的念頭，在腦中出現時，都是一種存在，我們在日常生活中，如果能夠經常發出正向的意念，那也會反覆刺激神經叢內的神經元，讓突觸加倍增長，幾個星期之後，大腦也會有明顯的變化。這說明了，我們快樂的情緒，如能時常在我們的心中流動，我們就可以時時創造快樂的物質了。神經心理學家們的研究更指出，幸福並非來自外在的世界，而是取決於我們大腦內部的感受。我們的迷走神經與快樂、幸福感都有密切的關連，正向心理學研究顯示，人類天生有積極的心態，原因就在於迷走神經可促使快樂與幸福的行為。大腦與愉悅感有關的神經傳導物質有4種：多巴胺、腦內啡、催產素和血清素。
1. 多巴胺：是引發愉悅感的神經傳導物質，能激發我們的願望。當我們有強烈希望想完成某件事情或行為時，大腦就會分泌大量的多巴胺，驅使我們努力完成，並帶來快樂與滿足。
2. 腦內啡：是產生愉悅感的神經傳導物質，大腦可以自行生成，它讓我們減輕痛苦，幫助緩解憂傷。
3. 催產素：是與愉悅感有關的神經傳導物質，又稱「愛的激素」。催產素能夠增強愛、歸屬感和信任感，讓我們感到快樂和幸福。
4. 血清素：是引發愉悅感的神經傳導物質，它會影響情緒，讓我們對生活有自主性與安定感。

       當我們的身體、思想和情緒處於高能量、平靜的狀態時，我們是更容易與宇宙，產生共鳴的。因此，我們要很清楚自己的渴望，讓心靈處於穩定與專注的狀態。當我們內在的想法，與外在客觀的事件一致時，共時性就會發生。宇宙萬物並非孤立的實體，而是相互含攝、彼此交融的。我們每一個微小的念頭，每一個細微的舉動，都在宇宙這張大網上，引發漣漪，瞬間牽動整體(蝴蝶效應)。共時性的法則，不僅體現在宏大的宇宙觀中，也精微地運行在我們的身體內。我們強大的直覺，會本能地捕捉線索，與宇宙建立有意義的共振。共時性其實是我們與生俱來的本能，我們生命中遇到的每一個巧合，每一個幫助我們的人，和每一個我們需要幫助的人，都並非偶然，當我們有意識地與宇宙諧振時，我們的人事物，就會產生意義。所以，我們要保持開放的心，允許各種的可能性發生。我們要讓自己活在當下，進入當下，體驗當下的美好。我們要時時留心提神，練習警覺，謙虛和接受，相信共時性是我們生活中的常態。我們要聆聽自己的直覺，學習正確理解生活中出現的跡象和預兆。我們要知曉自己最深層的需求和價值觀，做出最明智的選擇。我們要經常冥想並時刻向內心詢問，關注我們的夢境，等待圖像，感覺或文字，進入我們的腦海。我們要調整自己的身體，保持健康與喜悅，並做出行動。「共時性」永遠能激發我們的意識、潛意識與無意識，讓我們在生命中，自發且創出神秘而美麗的人事物。 

I Want Money

I want money and I need money. Money is very important in my life. Without money, I cannot do whatever I want. The importance of money is, obviously, clear when I figure out the costs of necessities to sustain my life. Of course, money can’t buy happiness, but financial welfare is important if we really want to provide for our absolute basic needs. No doubt, even though money can’t buy happiness, it can buy security and safety for us and our loved ones.That is to say, we do need money to pay for all the things that make our lives possible, such as shelter, food, healthcare bills, and a good education. There are many benefits of money as follows: 1. Money gives us freedom. When we have enough money, we can live where we want, take care of our needs, and indulge in our hobbies.2. Money gives us the power to pursue our dreams. In other words, having money makes it possible for us to start a business, build a dream home, pay the costs associated with having a family, or accomplish the goals that help us live a better life. 3. Money gives us security. When we have enough money in the bank, we don’t worry about having enough to eat, or being able to see doctors when we’re sick. Although money can’t buy happiness, freedom, security, and the power to pursue our dreams can go a long way towards making us happy. That’s the reason why it’s so important to work hard, earn money, and learn how to save money and invest it.

Because money is necessary for obtaining the goods and services we need to survive, an understanding of personal finance is essential. Therefore, we have to be responsible with the money we earn, and save enough for the future to ensure that we will still have enough leftover when we can no longer trade our labors for money. Thanks to money, we don’t have to ask others for help when we are in need. The sooner we start saving our money, the more likely it is that we’ll never face a lack of money or financial stress. In fact, if we save enough money and invest it wisely, we could even become financially free, i.e., financial freedom. Financial freedom means having enough income, savings, and assets to live with more choices. It is not just about being rich. Rather, it is about having enough control over our money that work, debt, and monthly bills no longer make the major decisions for us. Financial freedom lets us have the ability to cover our needs without frequent financial strain. It does not require us extreme wealth. Nevertheless, it usually comes from the combination of reliable income, useful assets, and manageable expenses.Furthermore, financial freedom also means having enough margins that an emergency, a job that changes, or a major life decision won’t create immediate financial panic.With moderate income, low debt, and steady habits, we can be closer to financial freedom than a high-income family carrying heavy financial burdens.

Since money is something that we will always need, it’s important that we make plans as early as possible to ensure that we will always have enough money. I would like to say that, right now, I should set clear financial goals to manage my money. My financial goals are earning money, saving money, investing money, and paying off my debts of banks. Actually, managing my money within a budget helps me put my earned income to a good use.A budget is a written plan that I can use to map out how I want to spend the money each month. For me, in each month, I have fixed expenses and variable expenses.Fixed expenses are those regular expenditures that I can’t change them much from month to month. These may include utility bills, such as for water, electricity, Internet and cell phones; insurance fees; transportation costs; and debt payments of banks. While variable expenses fluctuate from month to month, such as entertainment, eating out, shopping and travel. In my budget, I need to list my necessary expenses. And then, I should figure out how I can use any extra money for variable expenses.

     Except for earning and saving money, hopefully, I can teach English and practice dancing to create values for me. Thus, I can get more money to do what I love most. I am lucky to take English as a friend for my life. I would like to say that the important thing of learning English is to be able to communicate because we live in this interconnected world today. We are sharing this world. All about seven billion people who live in the world are sharing English at the same time. I would admit that to connect with other people who live in different countries and to connect with their cultures and their ways of thinking is tremendously enriching to my life. It enables me to be more successful because, through English, I can access more opportunities and many connections with others. There are several benefits to learn and teach English in my life. In schools, English really fosters better communication, enhances collaboration and enriches relationships in both my personal and professional lives.Of course, it, too, helps me to earn much money. English does positively correlate with higher salaries and job opportunities compared to other subjects. Moreover, for me, right now, Dance is more than just a recreational activity; it’s a form of self-expression, a source of joy, and a path to personal growth. The importance of regular dance practice cannot be overstated in my life. Concurrently, regular dance practice reinforces my muscle memory and coordination.When I repeat dance movements consistently, my body becomes accustomed to the patterns and sequences, allowing me to execute them with greater precision and fluidity. Regular practice also provides me the opportunity to focus on refining my techniques, from perfecting footwork to maintaining correct postures. Through constant practicing, I can develop my strong muscles, improve mental endurance, and enhance flexibility of my body. Dance practice can significantly boost my self-confidence and self-esteem, too. Therefore, I consider the values of dancing exceed money. All in all, English and dance let me gain my health, joy and confidence, and that is beyond money. Although money is an essential part of our modern society and it is necessary to meet our basic needs, such as food, shelter, and clothing, it really can’t buy our happiness. Many people may have pretty and branded clothes or drive nice cars, but they still might not be happy. In reality, people go shopping to break free whenever they are stressed, sad, or lonely.On the contrary, I am happy because I can have the ability to earn money and save money by myself. Most important of all, I feel great that I can learn and teach English as well as practice dance to get my health and happiness.

I Love Flowers

I love flowers. For me, there are few things in life as universally appreciated as flowers. Whether growing wild in a field, carefully arranged in a bouquet, or blooming quietly on a windowsill, flowers truly capture my heart deeply.I love flowers for many reasons. First of all, flowers are companions for me in moments of reflection and comfort. Flowers come in an endless variety of colors, patterns, and shapes. From the deep, velvet red of a rose to the bright, cheerful yellow of a sunflower, their diversities make them endlessly fascinating to look at. Bright, warm colors like oranges and yellows, really, let me feel uplifting, while cooler tones like lavender and blue can create calmness in my mind. When I walk past a garden or see a place full of fresh flowers, I could sense that the atmosphere of the entire space is always joyful. Secondly, flowers carry the meanings and symbolism. Across cultures and histories, flowers have been used to communicate emotions and messages. For example, roses often symbolize love, lilies are associated with purity, and chrysanthemums can signify remembrance. When I give or receive flowers, I figure out as though I am participating in the messages, saying “I love you,” or “I’m thinking of you.” Flowers have long been used as symbols of love, affection, and admiration. From a single red rose symbolizing passionate love to a bouquet of daisies conveying innocence and purity, flowers speak a language of their own. They allow us to express emotions in ways that words sometimes can’t. Thirdly, I love flowers because they represent the resilience of life.Even in harsh conditions, many flowers manage to push through soil, concrete cracks, or dry ground to show their colors. Watching a flower bloom from a tight bud into full petals is like witnessing a tiny miracle of patience and persistence. They remind me that life finds a way to thrive despite challenges. Their short-lived blossoms symbolize the impermanence of life, encouraging me to find delight and meanings in the small, everyday wonders. By appreciating flowers, I, then, comprehend the cyclical nature of growth, renewal, and letting go. Fourthly, I love flowers because they make me feel good. The sight of vibrant, fresh blooms instantly lifts my spirit and brightens my mood. Whether it’s a simple vase of daisies on the kitchen table or a stunning arrangement of roses, flowers have an innate power to bring positivity into any space. The fragrance, colors, and textures of flowers create a sensory experience that helps me connect more to the earth, providing a sense of peace. Flowers are a universal source of pleasure. Whether gifted, grown in a garden, or admired in nature, flowers continue to captivate me with their natural beauty and timeless charm.

Except for the above-mentioned reasons, I consider that flowers are one of the best and ideal gift options that we can present our close ones on their special occasions and in cherished moments. From birthday celebration to Valentine’s day, we can actually buy flowers as gifts for our beloved ones. Whether it’s a romantic gesture on Lover’s Day or a thoughtful gift on a birthday, flowers are a beautiful way to show someone we care. In fact, on the weddings, birthdays, graduations and anniversaries, flowers play a central role in marking these important milestones. Their presence adds an element of beauty and elegance, helping to make these moments even more memorable. As congratulatory gifts, beautiful flowers and pretty blossoms, indeed, show the feelings of admiration and love. And various colors of flowers also carry different meanings. For example, the red rose symbolizes love and romance. The right roses or white flowers are known for respect and care to the persons. Yellow flowers are known for real friendship, whereas multiple flowers bring colorful life to us. In this sense, we would, definitely, choose various colors of charming flowers as gifts for our most loved family members, closed relatives and best friends.

Among all the flowers, roses are my most favorite flower. They are the perfect flower, beautiful in every way. I love the wide shapes of roses and their amazing colors. From classic red and pink to white and lavender shades, each conveys a different meaning. Looking at different kinds of roses is like looking at a wonder of nature. A white rose is the whitest white. A red rose is the reddest red. And their petals are fascinating. Roses are soft and velvety, and emit sweet and alluring scents. The leaves and stems of roses look even more pretty. They do have perfect and wonderful shapes. Their scents are a blend of subtle sweetness and floral freshness, too. The aroma of roses usually combines with vanilla, tea and fruit all at once. This sweet, floral scent of roses is always a captivating aroma, offering endless versatility for rose lovers all over the world. 

Roses have inspired more poetry than any other plant. They are among the most used images in decoration and in cathedrals. Roses are England’s national flower.They represented two important families in the fifteenth century—the Lancasters and the Yorks. The War of the Roses occurred in England between 1455 and 1487 when the house of Lancaster, represented by a red rose, and the house of York, represented by a white rose, competed to rule England. The rose colors in the western world are commonly associated with the following meanings:

Red: Love & Romance

Pink: Grace, Elegance, Gratitude, Admiration & Joy

Yellow: Friendship & Cheer

White: Purity, Innocence & Spirituality

Orange: Enthusiasm & Energy

In William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, the famous line “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” speaks to the purity of love, beyond the confines of names and labels.This line has become a timeless metaphor for the essence of true love. Scottish poet, Robert Burns, also captured the core of romantic love in his poem “A Red, Red Rose,” where he compares his love to a freshly sprung rose in June. Roses, right now, with their timeless beauty and captivating fragrance, continue to enchant us to this day. By understanding the diverse varieties, cultivation techniques, and cultural significance of roses, we can fully appreciate their splendor, and incorporate them into our own lives. Roses, surely, are more than just flowers. They are a eternal expression of beauty, love, and grace. With these exquisite blooms into our lives, we can share moments of bliss, admiration, and appreciation for the natural world around us. In other words, the power of roses as symbols of love, passion, and romance is undeniable. From ancient legends to modern love stories, roses have caught our hearts and imaginations. Their beauty and fragrance inspire manifestations of affection that genuinely transcend time.As I reflect on the significance of roses, I still remember that the true essence of love, like a rose, requires nurturing, patience, and a touch of passion to flourish. Roses frequently remind me that love is a journey, filled with moments of beauty and tenderness that I constantly cherish forever. I would invest my time and love into my relationships with my beloved ones, making them as precious and wonderful as blooming roses.

Everything Happens for a Reason
Life, in all its complexity, often feels like a sprawling maze of chances and circumstances. It’s easy to question why things happen the way they do, especially when we face challenges or unexpected turns. We’re all humans, and although we prefer to feel joy and happiness, being humans also come with feelings of grief, sadness, loneliness and pain. Sometimes, we may question why certain events occur, or why we face certain struggles. Our intuitions are, always, at odds with the world that is spontaneous and unguided. We are, thus, convinced that the universe is fundamentally random and purposeless. There isn’t a plan or purpose. However, it says,“everything happens for a reason.”That means, perhaps, things don’t happen for intended reasons unless that random occurrences are planned. On this point, things must happen for specific reasons. They must have specific views because our brains are not satisfied with randomness. The answers, in effect, maybe reveal themselves later gradually. And it’s, constantly, in the quiet moments of reflection, and the process of moving forward that the reasons behind our experiences, bit by bit, become clear. Sometimes, the meaning is not immediately apparent. But when we trust in the process, it could lead us to profound understanding. Even when the path is unclear for us, and the future will seem uncertain, there might be a greater plan at work. Thus, embracing this trust, surely, allows us to navigate life with greater ease and optimism. And, it really encourages us to see setbacks as stepping stones, and to approach challenges with a mindset of certainty rather than despair.The fact is, as we look back on our experiences, we might realize that every twist and turn has contributed to the persons we are today. The trials, the triumphs, and the ordinary moments all have played a role in shaping our journeys. It’s, indeed, a reminder that even when things don’t go as planned, they are part of a larger narrative that is unfolding. Each experience, whether joyous or painful, is a thread in the tapestry of our lives. Therefore, in the grand scheme of life, we have to recognize that it’s often the mysteries and uncertainties that lead to the most profound growth. So, embracing that everything happens for a reason can let us reach life with an open heart and a resilient spirit. And it, truly, inspires us to trust in the unknowns of our lives, and to find meanings in every experience. This mindset also fosters resilience and maturity, helping us to grow even in the face of adversities.As a consequence, what matters is our abilities to interpret things in our ways of explanation. In this sense, the power to create meanings, take action, and achieve goals would, definitely, lie in our own hands, not the other way around.Of course, it’s for sure that every situation has a cause. Notwithstanding, even if we don’t know what it is, we are undoubted that every event that takes place in our lives does offer an opportunity for us to learn and to respond.
Though life is not always go well for ourselves, it is not the reasons, but our thoughts and attitudes that shape the way we feel and act. Our happiness is, indeed, dependent on the quality of our thoughts and attitudes.We might feel happy because we interpret the things that happen to us as good, and as a result, they, surely, have a strong influence over our happiness.Therefore, positive thinking is crucial for us to live a wonderful life.We really want to be happy and successful in our lives. Thus, we must create a positive environment in our surroundings as well as produce positivity in our minds. Actually, with a positive mindset and attitude, we, then, can experience pleasant and satisfactory days.When we believe that our abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication and hard work, we are more likely to receive challenges and persist in the face of setbacks. Such a positive mindset and attitude not only leads us to greater achievement, but also empowers us to take control of our lives and pursue our goals. When confronting challenges, we who handle situations with optimism are more likely to brainstorm creative solutions and work collaboratively with others. Furthermore, a positive mindset and attitude is more than just a feel-good mantra; it is a strong tool for us to enhance our personal growth, achieve professional success, and gain our physical and mental health.Hence,it’s important to have positivity.
      At last, since everything happens for a reason, for me, the reason to find meanings, and learn from difficulties in my life, right now, is to set goals to achieve the splits in dance and yoga. First of all, I need a very positive mindset and attitude to persuade myself that doing the splits is beneficial for me to reach some skillful movements because I’m a dancer. By the way, doing the splits is also a great way to boost the flexibility of my body, and improve my range of motion to prevent me getting injured. A split is a physical position in which the legs are in line with each other, and extended in opposite directions. It is commonly performed in various athletic activities, including gymnastics, cheerleading, martial arts, dance and yoga. When executing a split, the lines by the inner thighs of the legs should be formed an angle of approximately 180 degrees. This large angle significantly stretches and demonstrates excellent flexibility. Consequently, the splits are the essential stretching exercise in dance and yoga. There are two forms of splits, i.e., side splits and front splits. Side splits are executed by extending the legs to the left and right of the body. Front splits are extended one leg forward of the body, and the other leg to the rear of the body. Usually, common problems during practicing both the front and side splits are the pains in the hip joints and the knees. Therefore, Secondly, in terms of doing the splits well, I have to set the goals to achieve both the side and front splits. 1. I begin by sitting down every day.I bring my left leg forward, bending the knee about 90 degrees so that my shin is parallel to the waist on the ground. I then extend my right leg backwards. I breathe in deeply, lowering my chest so that the stretch is deepened. I, again, repeat for the other side.2. I start by kneeling down every day. I bring my left knee up, keeping it bent at 90 degrees and with my foot to the floor. I, then, breathe in deeply, put pressure on my glutes, and push my hips forward. At the same time, I lay my hands down by my sides. I, again, return to the starting position and repeat with the other leg. 3. I stand up, spread my feet wider apart between my shoulders, and move down toward the floor onto the right knee, while extending the left leg out to the side fully. I come back to the starting position, and repeat on the other side.Finally, the key for me is to practice consistently, and, hopefully, in a matter of days, weeks, months and years, I may surprise myself with the ability to do the splits.

Taking a Trip to Hualien and Yilan
Traveling can be one of life’s most enriching experiences for us, offering opportunities to explore new cultures, to indulge in different cuisines, and to witness breathtaking landscapes. This spring break, from 2026/04/2 to 2026/04/05, my family, including 5 adults and 2 children, visited Hualien city and Yilan city of Taiwan. From transportation of airplane and renting a car to the hotel, scenic spots, guesthouse and night markets, we really enjoyed a comfortable and satisfactory trip. First of all, air transportation is the gateway for us from Kaohsiung city to Hualien city. One-hour-and-five-minute flight time from Kaohsiung International Airport to Hualien Airport is a smooth, safe, quiet and comfortable journey conducted by Mandarin Airlines. Mandarin Airlines always emphasizes on flight safety and comfortable flight service. It, now, serves a domestic network of major cities and outlying islands, such as Taipei-Sungshan, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Taitung and Hualien. By the way, this time, renting a car for travel, indeed, gives us maximum flexibility, comfort, and the freedom to explore long-distance locations.In addition, renting a car can often save money, and allow us to make the most of every moment without worrying about the crowded buses and tight train timetables. From the flexibility of making our own schedule to the convenience of driving a vehicle suited to our journey, the advantages of renting a car are clear.
Hualien city, also known as Taiwan’s back garden, is a magnificent treasure with a world-class landscape. Hualien’s summer sun, eternally, shines brilliantly, irresistibly inviting people outdoors to enjoy water activities.After one night stayed at Hi-Yes Hotel, on the second day, we visited “Farglory Ocean Park.” Set in the city center of Hualien, Hi-Yes Hotel is only a 7-minute walk from the Hualien Railway Station and is also only a 15-minute drive from Hualien Airport. Wi-Fi access is available, and the hotel offers air conditioning, flat-screen cable TV, fridge, free bottle water, tea bag and instant coffee. Guests can dine in the on-site restaurant, or choose from plenty dining options nearby. We stayed our first night at the hotel, and woke up early at 8:00 a.m., enjoying all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet. After finishing our meal, we drove toward “Farglory Ocean Park.” In order for more people around the world to enjoy the wonderful landscapes, “Farglory Ocean Park” uses the ocean as the core theme to build the place of leisure, entertainment, health, education, environmental protection and culture, with beauty and wisdom as well. Actually, we can see clear skies, clouds, forests, and oceans far above the park. Wandering around in “Farglory Ocean Park,” we can indulge ourselves in the comfort of nature. Different from normal amusement parks that mainly focus on mechanical amusement facilities, “Farglory Ocean Park” does offer a comprehensive park for leisure that combines entertaining and educational enjoyment to visitors. In “Farglory Ocean Park,” we watched the dolphin show at the Ocean Theater, the sea-lion show at the Sea Lion Theater, and the circus performance at the Crystal Castle. We played swing rides and bumper boats, and took cable cars up and down to the amusement parks.
In the evening of the second day, after visiting “Farglory Ocean Park,” we reached Hualien, Tungtamen Night Market. It is the largest night market in Hualien city, and is located nearby the downtown, next to the old train station. Tungtamen means the big eastern gate. The back side of the market is the Aboriginal Street, a lane filled with local merchants selling aboriginal snacks and gifts. The three main market lanes are Futing Market (Taiwanese food), Aboriginal Street (native Aboriginal food), and a street representing the foods from all provinces of mainland China.We ate several fresh and tasty, delicious foods on the spot, and bought octopus balls, oyster omelet and salt crispy chicken back to the hotel.
In the morning of the third day, after eating all-you-can-eat breakfast buffet, we checked out the hotel, and drove the car to Yilan city. It took one hour and forty minutes to the National Center for Traditional Arts (NCFTA).The National Center for Traditional Arts (NCFTA) is a premier cultural, educational, and tourist destination located by the Dongshan River in Wujie Township, Yilan County. The park spans 24 hectares, dedicated to preserving, promoting, and inheriting Taiwan’s rich traditional arts. The park features traditional street scenes (Old Street), workshops, and live performances, offering an immersive experience of Taiwanese folk art. Besides, visitors can participate in hands-on DIY activities, such as traditional dough sculpting (捏麵人), puppet shows (布袋戲), and crafting ancient toys. Moreover, the park is organized around “Three Halls, Three Streets, and Three Buildings” (三館、三街、三建築), which connect traditional craftsmanship with modern exhibition spaces. Daily performances are ranging from traditional music to acrobatics. It was so exciting for me to spend time at “The First Love of the Century: Yang Li-Hua and the Taiwanese Opera Exhibition.” I always love Yang Li-Hua’s Taiwanese operas very much. I, then, watched Taiwanese opera videos and took several photos there.The National Center for Traditional Arts, here, has met the needs of modern life, i.e., expressing culture through creativity, inspiring emotional connections, and creating a welcoming environment where people can be eager to engage and learn.It’s amazing that NCFTA provides a space and stage for local artists and traditional artisans to fulfill their dreams.The purposes of the NCFTA are that 1. Taiwan’s traditional arts are treasured to have multiple expressions in everyday life, and 2. by connecting outstanding groups and talents across Taiwan who embody the spirit of kindness, beauty, and traditional values, NCFTA now creates a dynamic and expansive platform, where performing artists, artisans, and creative professionals all collaborate together to reach Taiwan’s high qualities of traditional arts and culture.
     At night of the third day, we stopped at Luodong Night Market. Luodong Night Market is the largest night market in Yilan city, and is also one of the area’s top tourist destinations.The night market covers a large area and is always packed with people. Delicacies here include mutton soup, shaved ice, duck noodles, and onion pancakes. The main part of the night market was built in front of a movie theater, so moviegoers could get food after seeing a movie. Soon, a few stalls became many, and the night market turned into the large sprawling area that we see today.First, we bought Nobel cake rolls. Shortly, the night market got really crowded and the lanes were super narrow. Every alley was filled with food and lines of people. We saw mutton soup, duck and oyster omelet, steaks and noodles, white gourd boba tea, mango ice cream, taro milk tea, and Yilan’s famous onion pancakes. We ate traditional noodles, and bought different kinds of braised snacks for takeout. After that, we returned back to our guesthouse, Wonderwall B&B. Located in the heart of Yilan county, No. 87-13, Jishui Rd., Wujie Township, Wonderwall B&B offers a serene and comforting retreat for us to seek a unique and memorable experience.The B&B is known for its exceptional hospitality, inviting ambiance, and top-notch amenities. With a team of dedicated staff members, Wonderwall B&B aims to provide a space away from home for all guests that their stay is comfortable and enjoyable. Moreover, the B&B prides itself on its attention to detail, personalized service, and commitment to creating a welcoming environment for every guest. The staff welcomed us, and we checked in. We, then, ate foods in the room together, and experienced the large tubs, cozy beds and relaxing retreats. Next morning, our family members, John, Jerry and two kids, walked out to appreciate beautiful natural views and stunning sunrises over the sea, while Wonderwall B&B prepared fresh and nutritious breakfast for us.
     The last scenic spot in Yilan city was Lanyang Animal and Plant Kingdom. Lanyang Animal and Plant Kingdom is a natural ecological park with significant educational and tourist values. It combines animal interactions, plant knowledge, and environmental sustainability, making it an ideal place for family visits and nature enthusiasts. Covering an area of 3,000 ping, the park features an animal zone, a plant zone, experienced classrooms, outdoor exploration spaces, rest areas, and a small market. The entire area uses eco-friendly building materials to promote the concept of ecological sustainability.Furthermore, the park houses a variety of native and exotic animals, including Blue Hill lambs, Eastern grey kangaroos, red kangaroos, and cavies. Each animal area features informative signs and interactive spaces, allowing visitors to observe animal behaviors up close, and to even participate in feeding experiences. We strolled through the park with so many people, took photos, and enjoyed the rich variety of animals and plants in leisurely moments.Moreover, it is also a perfect place for family outings because it offers several parent-child interactive activities, such as animal tour mini-classes and plant DIY crafts, etc.Our kids, Charlie and Ivy, loved to get up close with animals. They both felt thrilled, and had unforgettable memories in the park.
     At 2:00 in the afternoon, it was the exact time for us to drive back to Hualien city. Jerry was responsible for driving the car back again to Hualien city for one hour and forty minutes. He was tired, but it was already planned to do so. I thanked and appreciated his effort. At 3:44 p.m., we finally arrived at Hualien city. We chose Lai Lai Steak House, Hualien to have our late lunch. This restaurant is very difficult to book. Thanks to Patty’s endeavor, we got to dine in the restaurant. The restaurant offers generous portions and a variety of delicious meal options to choose from. The ambiance is, truly, wonderful with its perfect decoration and attentive service. It was certainly an ideal spot for us to enjoy our meal, and receive the friendly service, offering unlimited refills of black tea and complimentary salad, soup, and dessert pudding with every set meal. We were happy to praise the great service, clean environment, and the variety of options available on the menu. We, in fact, left with full tummy and great satisfaction. At last, we arrived at Hualien Airport. We returned the rented car to the car company, paid the money, and took the airplane of Mandarin Airlines on time. When we came back to Kaohsiung International Airport, it was already at 10:00 p.m. We took taxi and, immediately, went our sweet home to end this wonderful and pleasant journey.

「學習」這件事
「學習」是什麼？學習就是把我們不會的、不知道的東西和事物，跟著別人做，反覆練習，直到學會為止，最終，我們還可以無師自通，無中生有，創作與發明。人類的學習是超越生物本能的，例如，幼兒在學走路時，看到大人自由自在地來回走動，他就跟著做，反覆練習，最後，終於在跌跌撞撞中，他就能走一步、兩步，直到學會為止。幼兒的學習，體現了人類最本源的天性，那就是，他們是隨時隨地的學習，毫無顧忌地吸取一切資訊，不怕疼痛和失敗，反覆練習，最終成功地達到目的。我們人類和動物，都是為了生存，必須學習，獲得經驗，才能適應環境，繁衍後代，生生不息的。譬如，一隻小羊，透過不斷地向羊媽媽學習，知道哪裡可以尋找豐富的食物，及哪裡可以躲避狼的追捕，這樣，牠才會長大成人，生兒育女，繁衍子孫，傳宗接代。如果小羊不學習，牠就不能適應瞬息萬變的外界環境，也就無法生存下去。人類比動物更有不可比擬的學習能力，可以迅速而廣泛地學習，適應環境，戰勝毒蛇猛獸，對付可怕的瘟疫，種植穀物，獲取糧食等。換句話說，人類能夠成為萬物之靈，靠的就是學習。再者，學習不但可以獲得生存，還能不斷地進步。人類在社會、歷史發展的過程中，創造了大量的物質文化與精神文化，如文學、藝術、教育、自然科學等，這些都是透過學習，我們才能獲得精神文化，而且生活在高度物質文化的社會的。其實，我們每個人都是學習者，從小到大，我們都在學習如何搜尋資料，獲得資訊，及解決問題。我們的學習，是「讓今天的自己，不同於昨天」。通常，我們的學習是有目的的，我們總該知道，自己「想要什麼」和「該做什麼」。我們的每分每秒，都是無比珍貴，卻也稍縱即逝，所以，我們的學習，是無時無刻都在進行的。學習如果「沒有用」、「用不到」就等於沒有學，因此，聰明的我們，也都能理解，當我們專心面對眼前的每一刻，好好學、好好用時，我們就歡喜。如果學不會，遇到瓶頸，我們便須培養耐力，克服困難，才能累積自己的能力。事實上，我們每個人，都好努力地在想像著美夢成真的日子，然後，為了此目的，我們都很盡力地不斷在學習，「滿足自己現在的需求」及「滿足自己未來的需求」。而且，我們也都知道，學習完後，我們就能得到新能力、新技術與新知識，然後，我們就可以改善我們的生活，提升競爭力，實現我們獨特的生命意義。
      嚴格來講，「學習」本身是非常複雜的，我們會碰到挫敗，也是正常的。因為如果我們沒有不斷的輸入，就不可能有輸出。於是，學習的行為，必須要仔仔細細地寫下來、講出來、教別人及實踐它。換句話說，「學習」是要靠我們先瀏覽、摘錄，跟著做，反覆練習，用自己的話，複誦內容，歸納整理，確實理解與吸收。然後，我們再逼自己重覆多次的學與思，講解給別人聽，教導別人，最後，我們還要自己實際親自做一遍，兩遍，十遍，一百遍，直到完全純熟為止。學習是讓我們可以了解新知，解決問題，並能付諸行動，帶來思想和行為的改變的。因此，「學習」真正的價值，是讓我們可以有深度的思考，可以應用，可以改變思想，並可以改善生活。在學校，學習不僅是為了應付考試，更是要讓我們具備不同的能力。例如，我們學數學，是為了訓練邏輯思考；學語文，是為了更好地表達自己；學自然科學，是為了讓我們可以理解周遭的世界等。考試是一種檢驗，它幫助我們知道自己哪些方面有進步，哪些方面需要加強。透過考試，我們可以矯正，把技能學得更好。社會上的一些專業，如醫學、法律、科學研究等，會要求相當高的專業知識和技能，那是需要我們具備特別強的學習能力、專注力和自律，才能勝任的。因此，成績好的學生，往往能夠進入這些專業學校或科系，因為他們在學業上的表現，證明了他們有能力承擔此專業的挑戰，成為社會上的專業人才。當然，成績並不是唯一的標準，我們的成績可能未必理想，但只要我們願意「學習」，投入時間和精力，依然可以做出很棒的成就的。當我們努力學習時，我們不僅有能力獲得好成績，更可以選擇我們想要的學校，想從事的工作，而不受限。「學習」確實能讓我們有更多的「選擇」，不論是進入理想的學校，或是選擇喜愛的職業，這些選擇都源於我們曾經付出的努力與學習。「學習」所帶給我們的能力、眼界和自信，是一生的財富。只要「努力學習」，我們都可以讓自己成為一個有能力的人，將來服務鄉里，貢獻社會。
      事實上，「學習」本身就是一種能力。當我們掌握到學習的方法時，我們就會發現，無論是數學、語言，還是我們感興趣的任何事物，我們都能快速上手。不管是樂器，運動，或是新的語言，學會「學習」，我們就能不斷成長，甚至對音樂、科技、藝術或語言等，產生熱情，那是一件無比快樂的事。學習的範圍很廣，我們可以學自己想學的專業技能，也可以在某項領域裡，讓自己成為大師；甚至可以學習自己喜歡的興趣，然後，在興趣裡做到極致。學習的好處很多，首先，學習可以創造財富。據統計，學歷越高，收入越高，生活水平越高，生活質量也越高。再者，學習可以讓我們保持對生活的熱愛。嘗試學習新技能，看新書，我們可以永遠讓自己的思維，保持活力，活得有意義。「學習」這件事的核心是，我們可以將學到的知識，和我們的經驗，連結起來，應用到實際的生活中。「學習」越多，思考也越多，解決問題的能力也就會提高。「學習」讓我們瞭解不一樣的世界、價值觀及人生觀……等，古今中外，凡是在工作上有作為、事業上有成就的人，必然都是刻苦鑽研、勤奮學習的人，「學習」可以讓我們隨身攜帶、隨時加值，且是終生享用的無形資產。當今時下，學習不再只依靠於課堂，依賴於學校，而是要立足在本職、崗位，抓住點滴時間，實踐自主學習、終身學習，與創新學習。因此，「學習」是我們增強自己新本領的能力，更是我們安身立命，立足世界的生存技能。
      「努力學習」，我們會比別人多了「專注力」，也可節省很多時間，就能學會。學會了之後，我們再把省下來的時間，多多「學習」，那麼，我們所累積的能力，就肯定會超過別人很多。的確，學東西不是為了要賺錢，但是，當我們累積學習經驗，獲得啟發，得到知識與能力後，我們是可以幫助自己賺到錢的。試想，如果我們「努力學習」，又培養了很多新能力、新技能，我們是可以把此能力，拿來兼家教，做Podcast，做YouTube，或是到補習班授課，去演講，接商展···等。「努力學習」，我們真的可以節省很多寶貴的時間，不浪費光陰，又可賺大錢，真是一舉數得。世界桌球選手馬龍說：「比天分更重要的是，持續的努力，和對細節的要求。」天分固然重要，但是，只有不斷地「努力學習」，我們才能學會並成功。「努力學習」，讓我們可以具備不同的專精能力，而且好處多多，我們既可節省時間，又可賺大錢，何樂而不為呢？

看見自己的美好
自信，不是比較出來的，而是認識自己、喜歡自己，和肯定自己。真正的自信，是一種由內而外散發出來的能量，它不是來自於「我比別人好」，而是源自於「我知道我是誰，我願意喜歡這樣的我」。這樣的自信不需要完美、不需要第一名，而是一份穩定的自我認同。只要是我們自己內心真實喜歡的，我們就值得看見它們的美好。例如，我們會觀察細節，發現別人的小優點；我們喜歡動手做事，有創意及有耐心；我們很貼心，內心溫柔，對動物有愛心，對朋友表達善意等。無論是從能力、特質、氣質、興趣、風格、品味等各方面……，我們都能細細看見自己的美好，這種感覺，真好。事實上，真正的富有，真的不是我們擁有多少，而是我們能看見多少美好。一碗熱湯，不只是餐桌上的一道料理，更是農夫經過播種、照顧、收割採收，再加上司機的運輸，及廚師的烹煮，最後才被端到我們的眼前，這背後是有著大自然的恩賜，和無數人的努力的。當我們願意用這樣的眼光去看待生活時，我們就會發現，平凡的一餐，竟然如此珍貴；簡單的一杯水，竟然也是天地與人力的結晶；一份微笑的回應，背後無疑是某人真心的善意。這就是看見美好的能力。當我們懂得看見時，我們就會發現，生活裡早就充滿禮物了。不只是食物，連人與人的相遇，也是值得珍惜的。在茫茫人海裡，我們能夠遇見一個懂我們的人，能有機會和某人對話，甚至能在彼此的生命中，留下一點溫暖，這本身就是奇蹟。也就是說，社會能運轉，是因為有人默默的付出；日子能過得安穩，是因為有人守護著秩序；我們能安心生活，也是因為這世界上，有人願意善良。當我們願意看見這些美好時，我們就會明白，生活從來不是理所當然的，而是無數恩典的堆疊。
      許多人以為「有了快樂，才懂得感恩」。其實正好相反，應該是先有感恩，才會有快樂。看見美好的能力，不只是生活的選擇，更是一種心境的練習。當我們懂得感恩眼前所擁有的一切時，我們已經比大多數人幸福了。我們如能將自己四個最大的優點，分別是「學習慾望、洞察力、審美眼光與熱情」，落實與發揮，那麼，「看見自己的美好」，就不是一件難事了。首先是學習欲望，也就是督促自己，持續學習。要學習，我們不是只想偶爾旁聽課程而已，我們要正式修課，和學生們一起上課，這樣，我們才會努力學習，獲得進步。第二個優點是洞察力。我們如能仔細觀察周遭的一切，並撥時間傾聽他人的故事，我們便可豐富自己的生活經驗。第三個優點是審美眼光。看到美，想到美，世界就會美。我們用審美眼光的態度，看人事物，一切就會美好。第四個優點是熱情。積極的做我們最想要做的事，最美。有熱情，我們就有活力，完成美好。當我們把自己四個最大的優點，發揮得淋漓盡致時，我們就有自信，內心就足夠強大，於是，我們便不怕別人的批評與指責，而且，我們更會接納自己、欣賞自己，相信所有的能量，都會在我們的內心，而且，我們終究可以活出自己，綻放自己的。
      看見自己，我們真的可以感受到美好。心理學家常常談論「自我」，他們認為，自我是穩定且一致的。然而，人類在不同的環境、關係，與社會、文化的影響下，可能會展現出不同的面貌。所以，自我應該是多元且流動的，並不是只有單一的樣貌。雖然我們的內在，會驅動我們做出一致的決定，塑造出看似穩定的自我形象。但是，當我們回顧自己在人生不同的階段，及不同的關係中時，我們可能會發現，其實，我們並不總是相同的。例如，在工作場合，我們會比較嚴肅和果斷，但是在家人或朋友面前，我們則會變得溫暖、放鬆。社會建構論的重要學者肯尼斯·葛根（Kenneth Gergen）認為，自我是透過社會互動，與語言建構而成的，並非固定不變，它是多元、流動、變化及多層次的。我們每個人在不同的關係中，都會呈現不同的自我，例如，我們在朋友面前，會幽默、輕鬆；在家長面前，會穩重、成熟；在戀人面前，我們則表現溫柔、體貼，這種彈性與變化，是我們與社會環境互動的結果。隨著人生經驗的累積，我們會接觸越來越多的人際關係，所以，也會發展出更多不同的自我。不管如何，我們要找到真正的自我，從來就都不是在尋找單一的答案，而是認識自己擁有多種的可能性，並在適合的環境下，展現出自己最喜歡的樣子。
      我們每個人，在生命當中的各種歷程，遇見的所有人事物，都是在協助我們更深入的「看見自己」、「認識自己」，並創造出「升級版的自己」。當我們用不同的角度，探尋自己時，我們會整合自己，突破自己，最終豐富了自己。我們要能夠看見自己，知道自己突破了挑戰，好好地欣賞自己，感謝自己，並在內心告訴自己：「謝謝上天」、「謝謝生命」、「我願意臣服」、「我願意被歷練」、「我看見不凡的自己」、「我看見美好的事，一直在我的生命中」。我們要感謝早晨的陽光，讓我們的身體，得到活力，讓我們的心靈，感到慰藉。我們要感謝身邊的家人和朋友，他們的陪伴，讓我們的生活，多彩多姿，他們的關懷與貼心，讓我們永遠感受到溫暖與疼愛。當我們有困難時，他們的鼓勵和支持，是我們最堅實的依靠。我們要感謝日子中所有美好的回憶：與家人共度的光陰，與親朋好友的愉快聚會。我們還要感謝每天微不足道的小確幸：香濃的咖啡，愉快的散步，和好書的啟迪。當然，大自然的美景，也是值得我們感謝的，像是廣闊的藍天，繁星的夜空，春風的低語，雨水的清涼，和花朵的嬌豔等，這些大自然的美麗，都讓我們心境平靜，生活安詳。最後，我們更要感謝自己一直以來的努力和成長。我們在快速節奏的世界裡，常常被繁瑣的事務牽絆，因此，我們須時時刻刻提醒自己，要去欣賞，要去感受生活中周遭的美好。在我們人生的旅途中，我們是有看到自己的成長的，我們是知道自己如何一步步克服困難，取得成功的。我們要感謝過去的努力，也要期許未來的精進。看到我們自己多美好的那種成就感和滿足感，是無可比擬的，我們除了要感謝自己之外，還要隨時提醒自己，付諸行動。總之，我們不但要看見，生活中所有美好的事物，我們更要用感恩的心，把握當下，珍惜自己的美好，並活出豐富且喜悅的人生。

放鬆的藝術
放鬆，舒壓，解放，釋然，我們的身心，才會自然舒緩。在現代社會中，忙碌幾乎已經成為一種常態，工作永遠做不完，自己想要做的事，總是排不到優先順序。其實，有完整的休息與放鬆，我們反而是更容易投入工作，也更能感受到生活的品質的。放鬆不是讓我們停下來不前進，而是讓我們有力氣，繼續走得更穩、更久。放鬆的感覺，像是一場突來的夏雨，洗刷我們心靈的塵埃，讓我們的思緒，回歸到清新純淨的起點。在這一刻，時間也會像是變得悠長而寬廣，我們的每一個呼吸，遂充滿著無限的可能與希望，我們更會感受到莫名的幸福與滿足，內心充滿平靜與安寧。放鬆，讓我們發現，我們能夠做到的事情，遠比我們想像的多，我們不再緊繃，身心更能自在安詳。放鬆的狀態，是我們讓大腦知道：「現在這一刻，我們是安全的，沒有危險的」。我們的身體，可以不知不覺地，從備戰的狀態中釋放出來。放鬆可以讓我們的身體很柔軟，真正的放鬆，我們會深入身體內部結構，打開緊縮已久的情緒與肌肉，讓能量自由流動，讓呼吸穩定緩慢。放鬆讓我們的身體，從緊縮中恢復彈性，使神經系統取得平衡，這時，眉頭鬆鬆的、肩膀塌塌的，就像躺在軟綿綿的床上，那麼的舒服；又像坐在草地上，盡情享受日光浴。放鬆的感覺，真好。
      放鬆時，我們才能「好好吃飯」。「好好吃飯」，我們就能品嚐到食物的滋味，幫助消化，順利吸收。好好吃飯，就是讓我們腳步放緩、紓壓、輕鬆安定。此時，我們的大腦，會聆聽身體感官的訊息，以及飢餓和飽足感的信號，好好用心吃頓飯，能讓我們的大腦，產生許多腦內啡，得到愉悅、放鬆與療癒，這是無法用科學來衡量的美好感受。我們若能全身放鬆，以歡喜感恩的心情，專注挾菜、咀嚼、吞嚥，就能清楚每一口飯、菜緩緩咀嚼而出的滋味。唯有放鬆、清楚、專注地吃飯，我們才能吃得健康，吃出食材的原味。我們的每一餐飯，都是補充身心營養的好時機，我們要認真去咀嚼，體會每一口食物的味道，並且感受它們進到我們身體後的滋補，才能真正享受美食。放鬆並專心地吃飯，我們就能吃得津津有味。我們要放鬆身心，放鬆頭腦，放鬆全身的肌肉，慢慢欣賞吃飯的動作，用心體驗細嚼慢嚥的過程，我們就能感覺身體是輕鬆愉快的。我們以感恩的心，享受完美的一餐，真棒。
       除了身體放鬆外，心理放鬆也非常重要。結束一天忙碌的工作後，睡覺是讓我們「恢復元氣」的重要關鍵。睡眠充足，我們才會神清氣爽，身心健康。資料顯示，最佳的睡姿是右側臥(又稱吉祥臥)，有益健康，不壓迫心臟，不妨礙消化，使人少夢、熟睡、減少打鼾，安詳入睡。我們每天睡覺時，要放鬆頭腦與身體，以輕鬆自在的心情，一夜好眠。規律的睡眠習慣，宜維持在晚上十一點前就寢，不熬夜，不看電視、電腦和手機。我們要全身放鬆地躺在床上，把睡姿調到最輕鬆、最自然的狀態，將全身的重量交給床鋪。放鬆臉部、放鬆眼睛、放鬆肩膀、放鬆腹部，從頭到腳，逐步放鬆，然後，再把心情也放鬆，放鬆頭腦，告訴自己，現在最重要的事是睡覺。頭腦與身體都放鬆了，才能睡得安穩，得到真正的休息。良好的睡眠，有助於穩定情緒，和應對壓力，讓我們能更好地面對生活中的挑戰。睡眠不僅是一種休息，更是我們健康生活的基石，是我們身體和大腦恢復和調整的必要時刻。充足的睡眠，可提高工作效率，我們才可享受到充滿活力的生活。
       放鬆是一種身心狀態都輕飄飄的感覺，它是一個當下的感受，簡單來說，就是要享受當下，讓我們的每一刻，都能身心舒暢。我們每個人，都可以創造屬於自己輕鬆的活動，那不是緊繃，而是多一點柔軟、鬆弛。當然，該認真的事，我們一定要努力去做的。這拿捏之間，端看我們如何有意識地收放自如，鬆緊有緻。精彩的生活，不該是一根緊繃的弦。平常，我們感覺好像有無止境的工作似的，總是不斷地奔波。好不容易上完五天班，迎來難得的週休二日，但是，一眨眼，又到了上班日了。為了生活，我們一直重複著「工作流程」。我們急著完成一件事，又總有下一件事，如此緊湊的行程，我們於是遺失了幸福感，走向緊繃，這樣，對生活也沒有餘裕與放鬆，實在可惜。其實，生活裡的「慢下來」，才是真正的快！也許，我們可以在工作很多、隱隱約約有些緊張時，逼自己停下來，離開公司，換一個空間，或小睡片刻。結果，我們可能會發現，換個地方或睡一覺後，回來工作的效率，高到嚇人，實在不可思議。往往，我們每次逼自己停下來去放鬆時，後面的收穫，從來都是不會令我們失望的。這種在生活中，相對「緊繃」和「放鬆」的調節，真的很重要。「緊繃狀態」是可以幫助我們專注和執行的，但那就像電腦開多了程式、資訊過載，不知不覺間，就會開始變慢一樣。「放鬆狀態」卻是一種相對的放鬆，看似我們「沒有在想」，但是，那些我們掛在心上的各種錯亂資訊，它們反而會自動連貫，主動梳理，讓我們在結束休息後，頭腦更清晰。因此，我們要學會「覺察」，才能有真正的「順遂」，要學會「放鬆」，才能自由地調節「專注力」。學會在生活裡的「緊」跟「鬆」，並收放自如，我們的人生，才能走得更遠、更順遂。

Performances of Dancers
For a dancer, there’s nothing quite like the feeling of stepping onstage to perform. Full of anticipation, a dancer will look out over the awaiting audience as the first few notes of music begin to fill the air. Music that the dancers have come to know is like the back of their hands thanks to hours of practices. The lights come up. The dancers assume their first positions, and then they dazzle the crowd. Though performing can be like magical, rewarding, and fulfilling, it, indeed, takes great amounts of time and preparation for dancers to feel confident enough to enjoy the experiences of performances. According to the information, there are five strategies to implement well on stage as follows:
1.     Maintaining a regular rehearsal schedule
2.     Encouraging rest and nutrition
3.     Combating stage fright
4.     Creating a pre-performance checklist
5.     Dancing happily
      First of all, in order to perform successfully, dancers must know that they have to spend a lot of time for many rehearsals.This helps dancers to stay motivated, gain confidence, and learn how to work together as a team. Thus, rehearsals become a very important part of the performances. For effective rehearsals, dancers should stick to a regular schedule, such as setting the timetable, starting on time, and following the directions of dances.Normally, dancers need to warm up and cool down their bodies before and after class. Except for routine practices, the dancers usually spend extra time exercising more in terms of performances. In this sense, it is truly efficient to emphasize the power of repetition because repeatedly working through small mistakes will lead to a more polished final performance. Rehearsing is, really, of the utmost importance before a big performance. However, we have to notice one thing, i.e., there’s no need to overdo it, especially, in the last few days or hours before the dancers take to the stage. We should be carefully mindful of dancers that too much rehearsing might lead to burnout, self-doubt, and even physical injury. 
      Secondly, for dancers, they should be encouraged to take a rest and paid attention to good nutrition.Performing is physically demanding. Taking care of their bodies has to be a priority at all times, specifically if they want to do their best on stage. In general, dancers ought to eat foods containing protein and carbohydrates which provide them with the energy in dancing. Moreover, in addition to fueling their bodies with nutritious foods, the dancers also need to get great sleep.In other words, they, by all means, wouldstrive to make healthy sleep habits in the highest place. Thirdly, for the performances, stage fright might be a big roadblock for dancers. Very often, we invite experienced dancers to share their stories about overcoming stage fright in class. Sometimes, hearing from peers about stage fright experiences does help new dancers know that they’re not alone to be anxious about dancing on stage. Even the best, most well-known dancers have messed up on stage every once in a while. Therefore, it’s common to talk about stage fright. After all, dancers should prepare for everything, and get ready for the situations before performances. The urgent thing for them to do, right now, is that they could find the best ways to overcome stage fright as much as possible.
      Fourthly, the dancers must create a pre-performance checklist of tasks they’re responsible for completing before the performances. This includes costumes, accessories, makeup, and dance shoes. Putting all the things in one place ahead of time will ensure that no dancers are missing hair bows or shoes on the day of the performance. That is, in any situations, dancers need to allow ample time for them to arrive at the performance venue earlier and get dressed. They should calm down and take it easy to check whether it is perfectly available for everything or not. At last, we, undoubtedly, welcome happy dancers. Genuinely, performances are important because they let dancers show off what they’ve learned in their classes. Performances, actually, open up new and exciting doors of opportunities for the dancers in the world of dance. However, one single experience on stage won’t define someone’s entire dancing career. That’s the reason why it’s very imperative for the dancers to stay positive, and focus on enjoying the experiences of performances. We surely want our dancers to come out of every performance feeling excited to return to class and the stage. As adancer, we do hope that he/she has a wonderful time doing what he/she loves under the bright stage lights.
      Last but not least, when we have accomplished something that took a lot of effort and energy, it is a priceless feeling. Having reached this point, we, truly, strengthen our self-esteem, sense of achievement, and sense of accomplishment.For this moment, we think that we have accomplished something. It, certainly, gives us a boost of confidence that helps us to keep going. Thus, we are more likely to take risks and push ourselves harder when we have past positive experiences to draw from. Moreover, a sense of achievement can also be a great source of satisfaction, making us proud of our work and encouraging us even to do more. Because the feeling of achievement is such a strong motivator, it, in fact, helps us bring out the best in our careers and lives. For most dancers, performing, perhaps, is nerve-wracking, but it can also be incredibly empowering. Successfully executing performances in front of the audience, indeed, boosts the dancers’ self-esteem and confidence.These feelings could extend beyond the stage, positively impacting other areas of their lives. In other words, standing on stage and showcasing their hard work can make the dancers feel, deeply, proud of their achievements. No wonder most dancers enjoy the applause and performances. Dance is a form of emotional expressions. During performances, dancers might display their joy, sadness, or excitement in movements, allowing them to connect with the audience. At the same time, the applause and recognition from the audience do bring the dancers a sense of achievement that is exceptionally motivating. Such positive reinforcements, unquestionably, encourage the dancers to pursue their passion for dance and strive for excellence. Simply put, performances are the ways of presentation for the dancers to captivate the audience’s attention when they are on stage. It’s about commanding attention and showing confidence and ease. What’s more, it is, undeniably, the greatest joy for the dancers to demonstrate their expertise.

神奇的同頻
根據知識和理論，一切物質都是由原子，或比原子更細小的物質組成，如電子、中子和質子。而化學反應，都是以原子為最小結構進行的。化學是在原子、分子層次上，研究物質的組成、結構、性質及變化的科學。化學研究的對象，涉及物質之間的相互關係，或物質和能量之間的關聯。最早的化學，是人類對火的研究，對當時的人來說，火可以將一種物質，變成另一種物質，如果沒有火，人類將不會發現到鐵和玻璃的煉製方法了。原子是由原子核和外圍帶負電荷的電子所組成，原子核是由質子和中子組成。電子帶負電荷，質子帶正電荷，數目相同，會使得電荷平衡，令原子呈現電中性。物質有時是液體，有時是固體或氣體，這些叫做物質的相態。化學反應，就是將物質轉變為另一種物質的過程，其中涉及原子的轉移、形成或消失。以化學反應來說，原子的變化，是「1+1不直接等於2」的特性，且可能等於3或更多，例如，我們將氫與氧結合變成水，它確實發生了不同於兩者簡單相加的改變，可能是蒸氣或能量，且可以被紀錄、歸納、理解，及成功複製。世界上所有的東西都是化學物質，我們呼吸的氧氣、呼出的二氧化碳、飲用的水、吃下的碳水化合物等等，全部都是化學物質。概括之，宇宙中所有的生物，都需要利用化學反應去運作，以製造物質與能量。譬如，我們早餐的咖啡因「C8H10N4O2」可以提神；麵包的碳水化合物「C6H12O6」，讓人增加體力；每天吃鹼性食物，可以減少血液中的尿素、乳酸；豆腐和菠菜不能同時吃，菠菜中含有豐富的草酸，豆腐中則有大量的鈣鹽，兩者一起食用，會產生草酸鈣；我們的服裝材料，是天然纖維，那是透過化學反應合成的有機化合物，即使是純棉、純羊毛等天然纖維，也是用羊毛和棉花，經過化學處理製成的。當然，我們的人造棉、人造絲和人造羊毛，也是經由一系列的化學加工而得來的。再者，我們服藥時，應選擇溫水代替茶水，因為茶葉中的鞣酸，會與多種藥物發生化學反應，從而降低藥效；抗生素的藥劑，也應飯後服用，因為抗生素是胺類化合物，空腹時會刺激胃壁，導致胃酸過多。化學在我們的日常生活中，真是隨處可見，且無時無刻，都與我們的生活，息息相關。
      其實，我們的整個宇宙，就是最大的化學實相。我們的一切物質，都是由原子組成的，如果我們想要和宇宙，產生化學反應，就要讓我們的電子，和宇宙中的質子共振，產生頻率，創造能量場，才能達成我們想要的物質。由此推論，我們的信念，可看作是一個電子實相，我們正向且有建設性的想法，如能時時在我們的信念中，那會讓我們腦中的神經元電波，及身上的電子，和宇宙中的質子相吸，產生極大的能量場，成就我們「心想事成」的奇蹟。事實上，我們每個人的心中，都是有負面的想法的，這些焦慮、擔心、害怕的偏見和壞念頭，都會是我們實現內心渴望的最大障礙。真相是，當我們解除心中限制性的信念，不要自以為是地預設立場時，我們就不會為自己設下太多的障礙。等我們內心的障礙清空之後，我們的心靈，就會回復到自己本來的狀態，這時，我們即可讓內在的頻率，跟著宇宙的能量共振。在宇宙中，每天的早晚與晨昏，是我們調整內在頻率的最佳時間。實驗顯示，多個節拍器一起擺動時，剛開始，鐘擺各自擺動，很混亂。但是，隨著時間的流逝，鐘擺會緩慢而發生變化，兩個節拍器甚至會同步搖擺，不久之後，第三個也同步，...數分鐘後，同頻共振就發生了，最後，所有的鐘擺，都會整齊劃一地擺動。這現象說明了，如果我們每天早晚，持續調校內在的頻率，釋放出同樣正向的信念，我們就可以讓宇宙，和我們一起共振。由於我們在日常生活中，總有各式各樣的情境發生，每次的「對境」，都是我們的試煉。當我們選擇不去回應負面的想法，而是以正向的想法取代時，我們將會進一步提升，轉化自己的振動頻率，藉由電子實相，與宇宙同頻。換句話說，我們每一次正向的信念，都會強化先前的正向信念，並讓我們下次再做出正向信念時，更為順利，而且，我們同時也強化了他人的正向信念，因此，我們與所有同頻的人，也會共振出一個新的實相。在宇宙中，我們的羅盤、指南針、蜜蜂採花蜜、海豚泅泳……等，大自然的一草一木，都有著電子實相，無論我們拉大範圍，到行星或銀河，或者是縮小範圍，到單一細胞，我們都擁有電子實相。我們的電子實相，如能對準宇宙能量的頻率，將能讓我們改善精神、氣韻、際遇，吸引好人好事等，這就是我們的電子實相，在宇宙的化學實相中，藉由化學反應，創造出物質實相的方式。也就是說，我們如能好好善用我們正向的信念，形成電子實相，與宇宙共振，產生化學反應，我們即可主動地創造，在世界上的物質實相。
  現今的科學也證實，當我們的意識改變，世界也會跟著改變。想想古人曾說的：「相由心生」、「心之所至，金石為開」、「心誠則靈」及「萬法唯心造」，亦即我們的思維，決定我們的一切！知識屬於心，而經驗屬於身體。世界上所有平凡的人，都可以做出不平凡的事，我們由知識，到經驗，到智慧；由心智，到身體，到心靈；由想法，到行動，到存在；由頭腦學習，到親身實踐，到了解洞悉，這一切，我們都是透過有意識，將能量與注意力，導向符合我們想像力的新未來，然後，才能具體顯化成新工作、新關係、新機會及新冒險。我們日常擁有的超能力，即是我們每天的想法與注意力。我們的想法，能夠轉變為物質，是經由我們的電子實相，與外界的化學實相，產生化學反應，在同頻共振的能量場中，創造出物質實相的。我們完美的大腦與心智，有能力為自己的人生，與周遭他人的人生，創造財富、快樂、健康及幸福，都要歸功於我們正向且有建設性的想法。我們的想法，具有不可思議的力量，大到不可限量，遠遠超過我們所能想像。因此，我們絕對要相信，想法的電子實相，就是「心想事成」的物質實相。

創造價值
每個人都可以做出屬於自己有價值的東西。「價值」是內在的寶藏，透過自信地表達與持續的實踐，每個人都能成為自己人生中，最亮眼的那朵百合。人生的非凡，都是從每天細微的平凡中，所堆砌而成的。我們會快樂的原因，不是因為財富、地位或權勢，而是有健康的人際關係，及良好、有意義的與人互動。自我價值感，就是我們對自己有足夠的認識，清楚自己是什麼樣的人，有哪些特質、天賦、劣勢，及不可妥協的價值觀等。自我價值感，是相信自己的想法，同時，也懂得尊重他人的價值。自我價值感高的人，不會害怕與人深入的交談，或是去認識自己不熟悉的領域。他們享受跟自己想法相似的人，也會好奇地跟自己想法不一樣的人溝通。他們明白，即使自己在嘗試新事物，可能看起來很蠢，但卻也阻擋不了自己去體驗不一樣的人生經驗。一個人真正的價值，是覺得自己有用、並且快樂。每個人都有不同的優點與缺點，其中，有人成功、有人失敗，究其原因，個性、命運，都有影響，但關鍵在於，是不是懂得用正確的方法，創造自己的價值。說穿了，一個人真正的價值，就是覺得自己有用、並且快樂！「有用」是有意識地知覺自己沒有白活，喜歡自己，看得起自己，在生活上有所發揮，同時也感覺自己被別人需要。換句話說，我們是要想辦法讓自己變得「有用」，而且，也可以被別人充分「應用」，這就是創造自己的價值。自我價值感，不僅是要展現自己的長處，更重要的是，要了解、並且滿足別人的需要。例如，在愛情中，我們渴望被愛，也願意付出，我們以誠懇的溝通，珍惜相聚的每一刻。如果要分離，也是出於自己的意願，做出理智的決定，並且祝福對方。又如，在職場上，我們積極學習，累積專業經驗，懷抱熱情的態度，貢獻自己的能力，幫助主管和同事，達成組織的目標，這種工作經驗，即是展現我們專業的價值。最後，我們如能在自己成長的路途上，重視親情及友誼，接受別人的好意、也熱心關懷別人，懂得求助，也樂於助人，這樣的人生，就是活得很有價值。
       愛因斯坦在《教育論》中說：「一個人的價值，應當看他貢獻什麼，而不應當看他取得什麼。」歌德在《格言詩》中也提到：「如果你喜愛自己的價值，就應該為這個世界創造價值。」我們相信，若想要真正印證自己的價值、並且讓自己的人生不斷增值，唯有把自己的價值，應用在別人需要的地方，才真的是對社會有所貢獻。如果我們的生活比較好，那麼，我們就有道德與義務，幫助那些需要我們幫助的人。再者，如果我們樂於分享自己所得到的知識，而且，因為我們分享的知識，讓別人變得更好，我們也創造了價值。「創造」是一個「狀態」，「力」代表的是「某種特定能力」，把創造和力結合在一起，就變成了「創造力」，我們要努力精進，培養創造力，讓我們的自我與生命，更有價值。創造力具有5種能力，說明如下：1. 表達力：創造力是我們在面對問題情境時，可以心智靈活、思路流暢，有獨到的見解，能在短時間內，想出超越眾人，與眾不同的點子。
2. 溝通力：創造力不只是一種認知的能力，更是一種情意的傾向。因此，教師可運用師生交流，增進學生從事創造的活動，並提供支持個人或團體，發揮創造力的資源與機會。3. 聯想力：創造力可以把不同的要素，連結在一起，形成新關係。換句話說，愈有創造力的人，愈能把看似沒有關係的事物，連結在一起，進行遠距聯想。4. 創意力：創造力體現在能以創意和自由的方式，表達思想，呈現個性、趣味與藝術性。創意思考並不是天馬行空地幻想，而是特定領域的創作。例如，藝術作品，可傳達出美感，著重新奇；而科技領域的創造，則是較著重解決問題。5. 理解力：創造是根據已知的方法，嘗試從不同角度，尋求各式解答的可能。創造力能活絡思路、隨機應變、舉一反三、觸類旁通，因此能想出各種不同類型的答案。
       我們若能讓我們的思想，相信自我價值感，讓我們的頭腦，培養創造力，創造價值，最後，我們就應該好好享受當下，珍愛世界。所謂「當下」，其實只是一瞬間，短短三秒鐘而已。心理學家認為，「當下」，即是人能體驗到的，此時此刻地「現在」的一切，就是三秒鐘的時間罷了。超過三秒鐘，則會被人當成不同瞬間的體驗。我們人的一生，已經有太多的「例行公事」，使人麻木度過，許多寶貴的「瞬間」，明明能好好享受的，卻被棄為「趕快有效率完成」的事情。如果是我們要好好珍惜每日洗熱水澡的機會，那會是什麼光景呢？好好地品嚐食物的滋味；好好感受陽光的溫暖，和微風吹拂；好好欣賞正在走的這段路；好好地跟眼前的人，說真正想說的話；好好地陪伴自己，又如何呢？我們可以在坐著或走路時，讓自己保持舒適，在吸氣和吐氣時，心裡默念：
吸氣，我知道自己正在吸氣。
吐氣，我知道自己正在吐氣。（吸。吐）
吸氣，我的呼吸逐漸變深。
吐氣時，我的呼吸逐漸變慢。（深。慢）
吸氣，我覺知自己的身體。
吐氣，我平靜自己的身體。（覺知身體。平靜）
吸氣，我微笑。
吐氣，我放鬆。（微笑。放鬆）
吸氣，我安住當下。
吐氣，我享受當下。（當下。享受）
享受當下，是我們創造的價值。享受當下，是我們該有的自我價值感，也是我們覺得自己有用，並且快樂的最佳時刻！

The Good Old Days
The younger generations of today have heard their parents, grandparents and maybe even their great-grandparents say “I miss the good old days.” Of course, most of our younger people have no idea, or don’t care what the phrase means when they say, “Ah Pop, times change, you need to get into the 21th century.” Yes. We all know thattime waits for no one, but people’s faith, patriotism, morals, behavior, respect and consideration for one another should never change. It’s very sad when traditions are changed, dismissed, disrespected or forgotten. The good old days was the period when a person could leave his/her home or automobile unlocked. We would borrow a cup of sugar or flour from our neighbors for free. We can eat, laugh and talk about our daily routines while enjoying the meals together all the time. This was the time when our society had respect for God, family, country, teachers, the police, the military and each other. This was also the time when a young person would help an elderly person cross the street rather than scream at them. The younger people were taught to offer their seats to the elderly or to a lady on a crowded bus or in an office. It was the time to show respect for ladies as the gentlemen opened the car doors for their mothers or girlfriends. However, nowadays, the crimes have gotten out of control. Our children, probably, are afraid to go to school in fear of their lives because someone might carry weapons to do bodily harms to everyone. Even we may have gangsters coming in and controlling neighborhoods through violence. Thus, in terms of nostalgia, we, older generations, truly hope the young people to appreciate the difficulties that the founding fathers went through in fighting and creating the nation. Our ancestors were all from different walks of life, such as farmers, merchants, lawyers, ministers, and other professions and trades. By working together, they organized our nation into a God-believing free country where its citizens can have freedom of speech, religion and the pursuit of happiness.
As we compare the good old days to the modern era, we can’t help but feel a mix of cherishing and gratefulness for the progress we’ve made. Technology has made our lives easier in many ways, changing the way we communicate, access information, and entertain ourselves. As time goes by, nowadays, our lives have become more complicated and less innocent as we grow older, andmaturity greatly outweighs simplicity. Our world keeps evolving, and even though we face challenges, we’re determined to make each day better than the last. After all, embracing change and striving for progress is what keeps the spirit of the good old days alive. It would be important for the elders to observe that the situations and forms may have changed now, but the behaviors and attitudes haven’t. That means we didn’t live in the past. We are here right now!  As elders, we have much wisdom and many experiences. If we wish to have the respect of younger generations, we must live gracefully and act with dignity no matter what our circumstances are. It is then that the young people will take notice of us and want to learn from us. If we want to continue to have influence in our families, a voice in our communities, and the ability to affect change, we must learn to listen to the young people, but not to judge them for expressing their different opinions or beliefs from us.It is imperative that no matter our age or generation, we must care for one another.  
At the heart of every innovation in this modern world is change. Without changing existing systems, products, or mindsets, there can be no improvement or advancement.Organizations and individuals that resist change often find themselves stuck, unable to progress. Embracing change means welcoming new ideas, experimenting with different approaches, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible. Change isn’t just about survival. It’s, actually, the key to unlocking growth, fostering innovation, and staying ahead of the curve.In business, market demands and customer preferences are constantly shifting. What worked yesterday might not work effectively tomorrow. Companies that are slow to adapt risk becoming obsolete, as competitors are quick to take advantage of emerging trends and technologies. In fact,change is really necessary to stay relevant and competitive. On an individual level, change is essential for our personal development.Whether it’s learning a new skill, adjusting to a new role, or overcoming challenges, embracing change can lead us to greater fulfillment and success. Change opens doors for new possibilities and growth, both personally and professionally. The more we embrace change, the more we grow. By learning to adapt to new circumstances, we become more flexible and better equipped to handle future challenges. Perhaps,change is often perceived as uncomfortable or disruptive, but in reality, it’s the driving force behind progress, innovation, and success. Without change, there is no innovation. Without innovation, there is no growth. Therefore, the future, indeed, belongs to those who are willing to change, adapt, evolve, and grow.
Life is happening right now! The past is gone, and tomorrow may bring unforeseen challenges that could change everything. We never know. We only can keep the memories of the good old days always, but most important of all, we should focus on living fully in each present moment.When we are in the present moment, our observation is also up to the point that we learn by observing. We gain knowledge from it, and, thus, we can use different instances to make better decisions or become effective in doing something right now.Life is a learning process, and every present moment has something to offer in terms of teaching us. The present moment is where all reality takes place. If our attention is on the past or the future, we’re not fully in touch with reality.Furthermore, the present moment is where we make the decisions that affect the future. When we have greater awareness of ourselves and the world around us just right now, we can make better decisions that will lead to better outcomes in the future. Besides, the present moment is also where we connect with other people, especially our loved ones. If we want to interact with our loved ones, we, surly, need to be fully present.When we were children, we knew how to live in the present moment. It was natural for us. We didn’t have much of a past to regret, nor a future to worry about. Life was simple then. As we grow older, our lives become more complex, and we might gradually lose the sense of wonder and excitement in exploring the outside world. Being present is a powerful way of living which results in our simple pleasures on the one hand, and responding confidence to show our abilities in dealing with our lives, on the other hand. All in all, it’s good for us to appreciate our good old days. We do strive to keep the spirit of the good old days, Nevertheless, we also comprehend that change is inevitable. We, then, try our best to embrace change for fostering innovation and staying ahead. Finally, we, thus, understand that it is the best for us to live in the present moment in order that we can reach joy and happiness.

好奇心豐富生命價值
凡事保持好奇，是驅動學習、創新與提升生活幸福的關鍵能力。它能將「探索」轉化為「創造力」，讓人發現世界不同的面貌。例如，看到蘋果落地，普通人無視，但好奇的人，會思考原因，對未知追根究柢，因此，能帶來突破性的思考。又如，我們常以為理所當然時，好奇又會帶領我們，重新檢視生活或工作，讓我們能從新的角度，尋求價值。好奇可能也會讓我們改變習慣路徑，當我們嘗試走不同的通勤路線，或是逛不同類型的書店時，我們便又是在學習一種全新的技能。凡事多問「為什麼」和「如果...會怎樣」，我們也許真的可以從看似無聊的問題當中，找到隱藏的知識寶庫，讓我們在有限的人生中，探索出更多有意義的體驗。對萬事萬物抱有好奇心，我們的想法會更豐富。有好奇心，我們會對每一件事情，都想要去嘗試，每一個工作，都想要去做做看，這樣，我們便能對事情積極主動，對人加倍熱情。優秀的學生、員工、經理、科學家、藝術家，以及為人類和世界做出傑出貢獻的人物等，都是具有強烈的好奇心的。擁有好奇心的人，他們常常會對人生感到充滿意義，同時，對生活也有無限的興趣、愛好和激情。最終，我們的好奇，真的會讓我們頭腦靈活，身體健康，延年益壽，進而，我們更會推動社會、人際關係，改善國家、世界。
      再者，我們的好奇心，會直接影響我們的價值觀。價值觀是我們對人事物的價值判斷與思想行為。哲學家亞里士多德說：「人生的價值觀，即是體現一個人的價值和思想行為。」簡單來說，「價值觀」就是我們在日常生活中，決定所有事物的指引。每一個選擇，每一個行動，無論是大是小，它們背後都蘊含著我們的價值觀。當我們有明確的價值觀時，我們就能在生活和工作中，做出符合我們自己本心的選擇。有人會將家庭置於首位，有人則重視職業成就，無論是職場，還是家庭，我們都會用自己的價值觀，與他人互動。若是我們能善用好奇心，處處發現新知識，學習新技能，那麼，我們的價值觀會更多元、豐富。
      要知道，每一個偉大的發現背後，往往都潛藏著一顆充滿好奇的心。好奇心是推動人類進步的原動力，它可激發我們探索未知、突破界限，不僅是知識探索的火花，也是我們個人成長和創新的關鍵。當我們對世界充滿好奇時，我們便會開始質疑常識，探求新知，這是一種無比強大的學習動力，因為，它讓我們不斷地問問題，尋求答案，並在這個過程中，豐富我們的知識和技能；它更能迫使我們離開舒適區，面對挑戰，讓我們的大腦，腦力激盪，集中注意力，全神貫注，投入其中，於是，我們便可以吸收，並記住相關的知識。此種主動尋找答案和新知的過程，直接讓我們的大腦，釋放令人愉悅的神經遞導物質多巴胺。這份愉悅感，不僅增加了學習的動力，還幫助我們鞏固記憶。實際上，學習過程中的愉悅感，就是會讓我們的內心，充滿喜悅與滿足。好奇心所帶來的創造性思考、創新和創意，實在開心。因此，我們真的要嘗試透過多種方式，培養好奇心，並實踐在我們的日常生活當中。美國蘋果公司的創辦人史蒂夫・賈伯斯，即是對不同領域，有強烈的好奇心，如字型設計、書法藝術，甚至禪宗等，這些都對他的設計理念，產生了深遠的影響。他於是把看似無關的元素，融合在一起，創造出iPhone、MacBook Air等如今膾炙人口，又具革命性的獨特產品。又或者，公司的員工，如果對市場的趨勢好奇，或對消費者的需求好奇，也能驅使他們開發新產品，或改進服務品質與態度。總結來說，好奇心激發我們對新知識和新經驗的渴望，不僅豐富了我們的世界觀，也為發明和創新打開了大門。好奇心直接帶來的行動與改變，能讓我們無比開心、幸福，更能為我們的人類，創造出極大的福祉。

知道，但做不到：大腦需要訓練
我常跟朋友說：「我知道，但我做不到！」朋友說：「那就想辦法，讓自己做得到啊！」其實，這些道理，我都懂，但是，我的身體就是和大腦不一致！研究顯示，我們人類的大腦，並不適合儲存我們每時每刻，在週遭外界接收到的所有資訊。我們若想要記住每一個細節（例如，昨天早餐三明治的芝麻數量等），大腦將會不堪負荷。因此，我們的大腦，設有一道嚴格的守門員，讓絕大多數的資訊，只會停留在「短期記憶」區，唯有經過重複刺激、情感連結或深度思考的資訊，才被允許進入「長期記憶」區。認知心理學也告訴我們，大腦處理「語言邏輯」與「身體行動」的區域是不同的。讀書時，我們動用的是「大腦皮層的邏輯分析」；而在日常生活當中，我們如要養成習慣或改變行為，則需要我們的「基底核與邊緣系統」的參與。這就是為什麼「看書學游泳」，永遠學不會的原因。我們可以背下所有划水的物理力學公式，但是，若沒有真正下水，嗆幾口水，感受浮力，我們的肌肉，是永遠無法「知道」該如何運作的。也就是說，知識內化的關鍵，在於將「抽象的邏輯」，轉譯成具體的「身體記憶」。許多人在學習過程中，最大的阻礙，是期望自己看過一遍，就要記住，或者，做過一遍，就要上手，並且，一旦發生遺忘或失敗，我們的挫折感，便會隨之而來，導致最終的放棄，實在可惜。真正的學習大師，都明白一個根本的道理，那就是：遺忘是記憶的必要條件。每一次的「忘了」，都是加深記憶的機會，唯有當我們反覆地練習時，大腦才會不經思索地下指令給身體，形成我們的慣性或行為。正是因為有「遺忘」，隨後的「想起來」，才具有強化的力量。於是，我們需要有三個階段的策略，來幫助我們的大腦，循序漸進地改變。
階段一：主動式的學習。我們不只要被動地閱讀或聽講，我們更要讓大腦認為這個資訊「很重要」，主動對其產生記憶。
階段二：刻意的練習與回饋。單純的重複是不夠的，我們必須是有目的的練習。首先，我們要先設定微小的目標，不要試圖一步登天，然後，我們再創造具體的場景，在情境中活用知識。
階段三：間隔重複。我們一定得要利用大腦快要忘記的時候，再進行複習，例如，3天後的複習、7天後的複習、14天後的複習，及21天後的複習等，這樣，才能讓我們反覆的練習，可以精熟。
再者，如果我們能夠教導他人，那麼，我們就可以完全習得此知識，並把這個知識，跟我們的大腦神經迴路，連結在一起。生命的本質是成長，而成長是需要時間的，我們不要太過焦慮，要給成長一點時間，如此，我們才可以「知道並且做到」。
     身而為人的我們，是要靠我們人類的神經系統，應對外界環境的改變的。為了生存，我們的大腦，能隨著環境，時時在重塑。環境不只是指外在的環境，如自然的環境、周圍的社會、文化與教育等，更有來自我們內在的環境，包括我們的認知、信念、情緒模式、及創傷...等。當我們想要改變自己的慣性或行為時，光是憑著頭腦的認知是不夠的，我們還要處理底層的信念（潛意識）、情緒的起伏，及身體的能量模式等。此時，我們大腦的想法，著實影響著其他身心的發展。我們要真的改變負面的信念，增強正面的信念，不斷地持續堅持，才會奏效。改變的開端，常是一些微不足道的行動，但這小小的行動，卻會在日積月累，及不知不覺中，匯聚成勢不可擋的力量，最終能完全改變初衷。找到方法是很重要的，我們要讓正面的信念，從我們的大腦深處紮根，進而影響到身心及行為。我們自己心裡的那份正面的信念，一定要一直正增強，直到它變成具體的行動才行。我們的每一分每一秒，都在決定自己要做什麼？相信什麼？我們要有信心，相信自己的選擇，並且，嚴肅地看待我們正面的信念，，那麼，這股力量，絕對是可以讓我們變成具體的行動的。
     最後，依著自己堅強的信念，我們要讓大腦和身體的適應力，透過刻意的練習，發揮出自己的潛能，達到顛峰的表現。所謂天賦，其實就是「刻意練習」，「刻意練習」可強化我們的「心智表徵」。所謂「心智表徵」(mental representation)，是指我們大腦中用來表現外在世界的內在符號或結構。簡單來說，它是我們「在心中如何想像、記憶、理解」事物的方式。我們的「心智表徵」，會透過他人的指引，及自我的糾正，產生一種正向的循環，意思是說，我們愈精進，心智表徵就愈能發揮作用，而心智表徵的能力愈高，我們的表現和技能也就會愈好。比方說，在電視上，被我們稱為天才的鋼琴家或外科醫生，他們在表演或開刀前，會先在自己的腦中，浮現出一些畫面，如彈琴或開刀的樣子。等他們真正上台，或進手術房時，他們早已在自己的腦海中，演練過無數次了。因著他們這樣刻意的想像，他們就會比別人有更多的機會成功，這就是努力的「刻意練習」，得出高「心智表徵」的結果。他們因為「無時無刻、隨時隨地」都在刻意練習，所以，他們的「心智表徵」是很強的，即便他們不用親手彈鋼琴，或碰手術刀，他們還是可以在心中感覺和觸摸到整個過程，並加以修正，這樣，他們才能在實際表現時，展現能力，臨機應變，完美呈現。又譬如數學家，他們與一般人不同的地方，是當他們看到一則又一則的數學題目時，他們不會只看到一堆毫無意義的符號或數字，而是會看到這些數學題目背後的規則和模式，於是，他們的「心智表徵」和「能力技巧」，就會強過他人，這些都必須要透過「刻意練習」，才能達到的。再者，我們在「刻意練習」時，要不斷地嘗試新的方法，去突破現況與進步，這時，我們是有必要「離開自己的舒適圈」的，因為，我們所要求的能力和技巧，不但要能讓我們熟練舊的(自己的舒適圈)，更要能學習新的。「刻意練習」就是要叫我們去做「不會」做的事，走出自己的舒適區，勉力為之。唯有這樣，我們的能力，才能提升，我們才會真的「知道並做得到」。

台上一分鐘，台下十年功
     台上表演的時間，只有一分鐘，但為了台上這短短一分鐘的表演，我們需要付出十年以上的努力，而且，只有刻苦地努力，才能取得成功，這麼說，一點都不誇張。事實上，要贏得台上一分鐘的光榮，除了花時間，專注訓練，刻苦練習外，我們還要培養優良的心理素質，包括恆心、毅力、耐心、虛心，好的性格與人際關係，以及自我的信心等，因此，台下的功夫，肯定絕對是不能少的。「台上一分鐘，台下十年功」，在光鮮亮麗舞出的那一刻，其實就是我們來自無數個平凡日子的堅持。然而，真正的十年功，往往也不是什麼驚天動地的努力，而是把一件很簡單、已經學會的舞步，默默在做，認真做好，日復一日地努力做到極致就是了。別小看我們那些「每天都在做」的事，正是那些我們每天認真對待的小細節、小動作等，悄悄地，它們便成為我們站在舞台上的底氣與力量。
2026年1月16日星期五，中午12點剛過，高師大體育館2樓，便瞬間響起優美、悅耳的音樂，原來，在高師大體育館2樓的韻律教室裡，有古典舞班級的成果發表會。只見古典舞班上的學員們，都非常努力認真的練習舞碼，希望在表演時，能夠不要緊張，不要出錯，順利地跳完整首舞。「台上一分鐘 ，台下十年功」，為了表演與展現成果，學員們都卯足全力，把握時間，一直在排練，真是令人十分敬佩。在團體中，老師和學員們，有拍照的，錄影的，表演的，鼓掌的，也有加油的，好不熱鬧，看起來，就是一幅好美的圖畫。於是，我們發現，生活中的美，無處不在。在我們的生活裡，有好多的美，跳舞的美，應該是最美麗的影像，這種無以倫比的美，可以溫暖人心，讓人有自信，讓我們的心情，相當開心、愉悅，因為，那是來自長期的努力和堅持，是認真，是熱愛，是挑戰與壓力，但也是熱鬧與感動，真的好美啊！。
    「台上一分鐘，台下十年功」，為了舞台上完美的一分鐘，表演者(舞者們)往往要忍受十年寒窗的寂寞。每次的跌倒，都要立刻爬起來，繼續練。要憑著頑強的毅力，打下紮實的功底，要不斷地修煉，努力，才能達到成功。在成功的路上，也一定處處充滿挑戰和困難，我們要持之以恆，努力不懈，不能輕易放棄。要堅持自己的夢想，不斷地激勵自己，要找到自己真正熱愛的事，並為之努力，才能實現真正意義上的成功。「台下十年功」的「十」，有不棄涓滴、積少成多、千里足下、逐夢踏實的涵義，當然也有低頭、彎腰、看見自己，誠實以對，不捨小善、不容小惡，一步一腳印地讓自己去蕪存菁、脫胎換骨，最終才能在人前，舞出顯貴。花時間，肯定是必要的，但是，要花多少時間，才能成功，那就因人而異了。我們除了上課的時間，要準時出席，不缺課外，課餘的時間，也要善加利用，勤於練習。我們最好養成每天有固定的時間，做運動、看教學影片、練習舞步的好習慣，然後，假以時日，我們肯定是會有收穫的。
     其次，練習固然很重要，但是，正確的練習更重要，遇到瓶頸，我們要多多請教老師，讓自己隨時處於最佳狀態。我們每個人都不是天才，資質都不是很好，但經年累月，我們確實也能練出一身功夫來的。基礎是一切的根基，任何的舞步變化，都是由基礎延伸出來的，掌握基礎的人，其實就是掌握了跳舞的技巧。最頂尖的人，也就是基礎最強的人。鍛鍊基礎，我們要練習上下律動，以及身體各部位的協調。舞步的準確與否，我們要先從身體各部位的上下左右移動開始，包括我們的頭、肩膀、胸口、腰、屁股和膝蓋等。舞蹈的動作，是全身性的動作位移，及單雙腳交替的動態平衡，在跳舞的過程中，我們需要透過身體的協調與肌力的控制，且要有老師在旁邊指導，自己再看看鏡子，矯正姿勢。然後，跳舞時，我們要隨著音樂的節奏，舞動肢體、伸展四肢。當我們換上適合跳舞的服裝，合身而不緊身的衣服時，我們就可跟著舞曲，跳得正確，跳得好看，方法無它，就是「練習、練習、再練習！」
     再來，無論是初學者，還是頂級舞蹈家，對舞蹈的熱愛都是他們堅持下去的最大動力。舞蹈不僅是一種技藝，也是一種藝術，更是一種生活態度。如果我們不是真心熱愛舞蹈，那麼，面對枯燥的基礎訓練，和繁重的排練，我們可能很快就會放棄了。世界上最美的語言，就是肢體語言。而舞蹈，就是那最美麗的表達。有舞蹈的地方，就會有愛；有舞蹈的地方，就會有讚賞；有舞蹈的地方，就會有笑容。所以，熱愛跳舞，是件很開心的事。舞蹈的本質，是表達內心的感受和情感，它就是愛與熱情。好的舞蹈，本來就需要耐心的。學舞蹈，我們不僅是要跳舞，更是有堅持、自信與快樂。練舞時，我們所培養的忍耐與堅韌，其實是我們面對人生困境時，必不可少的精神；跳舞時，我們的笑容與激昂，也是我們面對生活時，應有的樂觀態度，而舞者展現出的自信、淡定，更是我們面對挑戰時，最鼓舞人心的力量。舞蹈教給我們的，是熱愛與耐心，是紮紮實實地讓我們可以自由地發展自己的獨特風格和個人特點。熱愛跳舞，肯定開心。
     最後，跳舞不但是一種藝術表現的形式，更是強化社交能力的絕佳途徑。因為，透過舞蹈，我們可以在很輕鬆愉快的氛圍中，與他人互動。我們可以在有共同的興趣中，與人建立良好的友誼與交流。當我們在跳舞時，我們可以細微地觀察和解讀他人的動作，因此，我們的同理心與社交敏感度，也隨之提升。舞蹈是個人的，也是群體的。很多人在學舞蹈的初衷，可能只是想讓自己變得更好，但當我們開始與團隊一起排舞、一起演出時，我們會發現，舞蹈帶來的，不僅是個人的成就，也是一份團體的榮耀。每一次的集體演出，每一次的默契配合，都是我們友誼與信任的累積。面對夥伴，我們學會人際互動。學舞蹈，我們找到志同道合的朋友。舞友跟朋友是相同的，但舞友跟我們有共同的愛好，共同的回憶。他們不只帶給我們讚美、掌聲和鼓勵，更會給我們好多建議。能與在舞蹈上鼓勵我們的舞友交往，我們才能提升自己的舞蹈程度，相互督促，教學相長，那真是令人身心愉快的事啊！

The Benefits of Dancing
There are a lot of benefits of dancing. Be it hip hop (街舞), ballet (芭蕾舞), tap (踢踏舞), ballroom (國標舞), swing (搖擺舞) or something else, scientific studies show that dancing can improve heart, lung and brain health. Dancing can also lift mood, improve balance, increase flexibility, and strengthen muscles and bones. Hip-hop (街舞) is especially good for advancing cardiovascular (心血管的) health. Belly dancing (肚皮舞) can develop our core muscles, such as the glutes (臀肌), stomach and thighs (大腿), and ballet can progress our posture and balance. Numerous studies also indicate that dancing can significantly raise serotonin (血清素), a natural mood stabilizer associated with happiness and reduced anxiety. “Dance benefits us by making the connection of mind, body and spirit,” says dance and movement specialist Melissa Turnage, an artist-in-residence at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital.It’s a natural inclination in the human body to move. Our brains are hardwired (根深蒂固的) to dance. As we grow older, dance enables us to maintain flexible and strong bodies, and upholds balance. In addition, science tells us that dancing releases endorphins (安多酚、腦內啡), the brain’s feel-good chemicals, which improve mental health.And when we do it in groups, dancing can combat feelings of loneliness, and open social channels. Dancing also helps keep the mind sharp. When we’re learning choreography (編舞), it’s a lot about cognitive recall, focus and concentration. We’ve got to remember the steps and be able to do them, which is great because we don’t have time to think about the other things in the midst of trying to learn a sequence of steps. But once we learn the steps, it’s fun.It builds a sense of community and confidence. Dance is best defined as the body moving in rhythm because it is art in motion.From freeform to ballet, every dance style has its own health benefits. Whatever form we choose, dancing can help us express feelings and transform those feelings into motion. Most importantly, dancing is accessible and inclusive for everyone. It shall be a way to stay fit for people of all ages, shapes and sizes. A great thing about dance is that it’s universal. We might not all speak the same language, but everybody understands dance. Best of all, dancing can easily be incorporated into every step of our days. We, thus, find our rhythms whenever we want. We don’t need to be a skilled dancer, and just bopping to our favorite beats is a great way to get moving and stay healthy.
Dance is, indeed, a language of our bodies. Dance has always been a part of human cultures, rituals and celebrations.It is, undoubtedly, one of the oldest and most universal forms of artistic expression in human history. In every corner of the world, dance has the meaning and significance in different cultures. Whether it is the part of a ritual ceremony, a celebration or a way to tell a story, dance has been a powerful tool, all the time, for people to express their feelings and thoughts.Dance is more than just a form of entertainment;it is really a way to communicate and express ourselves to others.That is, dancing allows us to speak in public through the movements of our bodies. Since the beginning of time, dance has been playing a crucial role in social events within cultures, as it is usually performed during celebrations, courtships, and even rituals. Furthermore, there are lots of different places where we can enjoy dancing, for example, at dance schools, social venues, community halls and in our own homes.We can dance in a group, with a partner, or on our own. Hence, dancing, nowadays, has become such a popular way to be active and keep fit, that most fitness clubs now offer dance classes in their group exercise programs. Therefore, dancing, too, grows into a great recreational and sporting choice because anyone of any age can take part. It doesn’t matter whether it is cold or raining, as dancing is usually done indoors. Actually, there are many styles of dance for us to choose from, each with its own attractions. So, let’s choose one and enjoy it immediately.
By the way, dance is not only the movement for us; it also helps us for personal growth, self-expression, and community building.The benefits of dance for people, in effect, extend far beyond the studios, positively impacting physical health, emotional wellbeing, social skills, and academic success. Through dancing, we, then, develop communication, teamwork, problem-solving, and observational skills. Moreover, working together on choreography and performances surely encourages collaboration and adaptability. Dancing, certainly, serves people as an outlet for self-expression in a supportive environment.We should say that dance provides a space where people can build mental resilience, self-esteem, and confidence. Furthermore, dancing can also let people better recognize their own emotions and reactions, as well as understand the emotional state of others.This aspect of emotional competence, absolutely, influences interpersonal relationships and social connections.The discipline, focus, and creative thinking required in dance often translate into academic benefits for people leading to good grades in schools, and improved performances in stages as well. In other words, with engaging programs, inspiring performances, and dynamic creative projects,dance nurtures talent, builds confidence, and opens doors to new opportunities. It empowers people to express themselves, develop resilience, and discover their potential--both on and off the dance floor. All in all, by fostering creativity, discipline, and collaboration, dance is, truly, a powerful force for our personal growth, community connection, and lifelong learning. Yes. Everybody, let’s dance together!

妮可·維諾拉的《Rewire-神經可塑性》
妮可．維諾拉Nicole Vignola，是一名神經科學家，及組織諮詢顧問。她是英國布里斯托爾大學神經科學學士，西英格蘭大學組織心理學碩士，她研究的重點是，突觸可塑性(神經元修改連結的能力)，並致力於將「神經科學的觀念」，為大眾所熟知。一般來說，我們都會為自己，在腦中塑造一個特定的故事，並且一直在內心重覆述說。有時，這個故事源自於父母、手足、同儕，或者是老師，對我們的評判，有時，則是我們對自身能力的懷疑和自我否定。不管從何而來，許多人日復一日，任憑這種敘述，主導自己生活的軌跡。我們潛意識不斷地強化這種特定的神經元的放電模式，讓它在腦海中持續低語：「我就是不夠好。」事實上，大腦無法區分對與錯，只會學習並鞏固我們反覆產生的想法。我們的大腦，雖然被設計成專門關注負面的事情，然而，現代研究顯示，神經具有可塑性，我們的大腦是可以形成新的突觸，和調整既有的突觸，來重組自己的神經的。如果我們知曉，神經科學可以為我們帶來希望，並改變我們的生活方式，那將是一件開心的事。我們不妨將自己的大腦，想像成電腦硬體，將我們的心理，想像成電腦軟體。在我們升級軟體之前，首先，我們的硬體，必須先運行良好。一旦我們學會如何重塑大腦的知識，我們就可以養成新的習慣，改變我們不希望的行為，創造出我們最好的自我版本了。
     在神經科學家妮可．維諾拉的書中說，神經是可塑性的，它是雙向的，可以創造，也可以甩掉。我們可以刻意地創造一個想法，增強其神經迴圈，也可以切斷另一個想法，讓神經連結變弱。作者以鋼琴實驗為例，一組人要學習用五指彈奏鋼琴曲子，另一組人只需要想像他們正在彈奏曲子，結果顯示，兩組人的大腦活動相似，可塑性水準也相似。這意謂著，僅僅想到要彈鋼琴，我們就已經在大腦的路徑上，產生神經的變化了。因此，我們可以把「大腦的神經」，當作一個工具，讓大腦為我們理想的方向，畫出路徑。換句話說，無論我們「大腦的神經」，本來是怎麼以為的，只要我們刻意地去創造想像，我們都可以隨時重新塑造故事，編寫自己喜歡的版本。每一個人都不一樣，即使是雙胞胎，有著同樣的基因，他們的大腦神經連結，也不一樣。同時，神經系統也不是一成不變，而是隨時都在改變的。每一次經驗、每一個想法，我們都會增強或減弱某些的神經連結，這樣的神經可塑性，不但讓我們可以「老狗也能學會新把戲」，更能幫助我們改掉壞習慣，甚至是終結焦慮、恐慌和憂鬱。了解神經的可塑性、善用神經可塑性，我們就能讓自己的正能量，實現在我們的日常生活當中。
     試想，我們的生活、思想、信仰、習慣和行為，是偶然得之的？還是蓄意為之的呢？我們的習慣和行為，是由我們自己決定和選擇的？還是透過環境，無意中獲得的呢？答案是，兩種成分兼有。我們會不斷地受到週遭世界的塑造，被我們的同儕、環境、宗教或文化等外在的事物所影響，我們也會同時對自己反覆灌輸的負面思想和敘事所左右。這些信念、習慣和行為，有些是偶然獲得的，也有些是出自於我們自己的安排。但人類心靈的美妙之處在於，無論這些信念是如何形成，它們都是有可能改變的。我們可以透過自己的安排，來改變既有的程式設計，重新塑造自己，成為我們想要成為的人。我們大腦的每個神經元，都彼此互相建立一些連結(肉眼看不見)，它們決定了我們將如何度過一天，且是按照我們的生活方式，進行編程。我們可以經由充足的睡眠，和持續的運動，來確保我們的大腦硬體，處於良好的運作狀態。《Rewire-神經可塑性》是一本神經科學的工具書，它提供了可操作的建議。神經可塑性最基本的元素是：重複＋注意力＋刻意＝持久的改變。不過，改變的困難在於，我們很難信任這個過程，不確定它是否成功？作者妮可．維諾拉指出，大腦喜歡走捷徑，我們的習慣與無意識，在無形中，很容易成為我們人生方向的掌舵人。身為成年人，我們若想要改變天性懶惰的大腦，需要兩件事情：注意力和刻意。而且，想要我們的大腦，創造新的行為與思考模式，「重複」是關鍵。首先，我們要重視睡眠。睡眠是我們最大的優化工具(optimization tool)，所有的新記憶和學習，都會在睡眠期間得到鞏固。再來，早上起床後，先不滑手機。減少花在社群媒體上的時間，把更多時間，花在現實世界，為自己騰出時間，冥想也好，看書也好。其次，運動可以增強身體的協調性、平衡性及敏捷性，可刺激神經的可塑性，並釋放多巴胺、正腎上腺素及血清素，促進大腦神經元的生長和維持。最後，當我們感到壓力和焦慮時，最好的方法之一，就是出去散步，和朋友聊天等，這樣，我們可以處理自己的思緒和情緒，無須害怕與恐懼。如果我們想要當自己的主人，就要非常有意識地專注內心渴望的東西，重複＋注意力＋刻意，學習控制自己對生活中遇到的任何事情的應對，要自我信賴，並相信自己的直覺。我們的任何信念，都會被我們自己的大腦增強。當我們開始將「失敗」，視為學習和進步的機會時，大腦中「與努力和堅持相關」的區域，會變得更活躍。而「經由我們的付出努力，並完成任務」，也會在我們的大腦中認知，持續重覆廻路，讓神經元替我們做出，可預期的最好決定。我們的自我信賴，是對我們自己的能力有信心，信守自己的承諾，注意自己的想法、感受與直覺，它甚至進而加強大腦的神經元，讓我們透過紀律，朝著目標，堅持做下去。我們的大腦，確實是可以改變的，給它時間，我們會找到自己的品質，相信我們的神經是可塑性的，寬恕那些無意或有意地給我們DNA編程的人；寬恕自己的失敗，讓大腦可以再學習。告訴自己，美好的事物，都是需要時間的。大腦的神經元，絕對是可以改變我們的人生的，勇於創造我們自己吧！

執著與堅持
無論是伴侶、父母與子女，或者在工作及其他場合，與他人交往，我們總會遇到對方非常固執，難以溝通的情況。在很多時候，由於對方的堅持，不願改變，我們常常會評價他們「太固執」。但是，固執背後的原因是什麼呢？一個人如果拒絕改變自己對某件事的觀點；或者，他/她對自己決定要做的事，抱有強烈的信念，堅持自己認為是最好的，不肯妥協，我們便稱之為「執著」。他們選擇了執著，堅持自己的觀點，不改變自己做的決定，不為外界的因素所影響，這樣的思想與行為，其實是有高度的穩定性的。如果他們能堅持自己的觀點，且能先換位從他人的角度和邏輯，審慎思慮，那麼，他們的堅持，會是更有底氣的。無論是經營事業、做學問，還是從事藝術和科學，若想要做出成就，就不能只是遵循前例，要擇善固執，仔細評估，沿著自己認為最正確的方向，勇往直前，堅持到底，絕不妥協，這樣，才會成功。「擇善固執」，是確定了無誤、美好與良善之後，我們堅持重覆一直去做，今天勝過昨天，明天勝過今天，後天勝過明天等等，不斷地找出可改進之處，持續改良、更新，哪怕只是如螞蟻般微小的挪動一步，只要是向前，便是進步。如此，擇善固執，日積月累，我們才會達成自己想要的人生目標。擇善固執，是「己所不欲，勿施於人」，是「將心比心」，站在他人的立場，善待自己，並兼愛他人。「擇善固執」，是對生命的感恩，愛己愛人愛物，堅持行動，它不只是外在行為的重覆，更是一種我們內在力量的培養。擇善固執，做善的事，做對的事，我們是發自內心的不改變，永遠持續做下去的。
     事實上，堅持，不是一件容易的事。很多時候，改變也不是來自驚天動地的爆發，而是日復一日、點滴累積的堅持。老子在《道德經》上說：「千里之行，始於足下。」形容要走上千里路，得要靠一步一腳印的累積，並非一蹴可幾。放眼望去，我們的生活中，總不乏很多胸懷大志，說得一片好願景的人，他們信誓旦旦、熱血沸騰，但激情過後，卻又一事無成，無法實現夢想。可見，堅持，真的不是一件容易的事。堅持行動，培養意志力，環境往往是關鍵。例如，我們如果想要自己多喝水，就得每天一大早，先裝好一瓶1000cc的水，擺在自己眼睛看得到的書桌前，當我們口渴時，第一眼看到的，就是喝水。所以，要想成功，首先，我們就要為自己創造有利的環境，然後，改變才會一點一滴的發生。想想看，我們每天只要進步1%，一年後，我們便會複利地成長37倍，多驚人啊！我們人類，是有惰性的生物，偏好眼前立即性的滿足，所以，堅持行動，持續不斷，累積時間，是絕對必要的。
     最後，要創造美好的人生，我們除了擇善固執、堅持行動外，耐心也一定是清單上數一數二的要點。如果我們仔細觀察古今中外的名人，一定會發現，他們和我們一般凡人不同之處，都是他們有超人的耐心。有耐心，我們就能看清周遭情形，做出理性的選擇，正確評估狀況，努力邁進。有耐心，我們就可以培養內在的堅毅精神，擇善固執，堅持行動。我們無論在哪個領域，想要成功，就一定必須要有耐心。我們要在日常生活中，耐心以對，養成習慣，反覆去做，累積時間。面對難關，我們更要練習有耐心，讓耐心在不知不覺中，成為我們潛意識的反應。耐心不是一夜之間，就能獲得的，我們每天都要努力。以我為例，今年一整年，我以每週為單位，上芭蕾課，上古典舞課，練瑜伽和彈鋼琴；在高師大兼英文課，參加「英語演講會Toastmasters Club」，寫讀書心得，錄製「播客」等。明年，我還想參加實體的讀書會，和書友們互動切磋。2025年，我們已經很努力了，2026年，我們再持續加油吧！

以假亂真
 有人說，我們現代的社會，已經到了「宜假不宜真」的地步，「以假亂真」的事，到處皆是，例如：
一、環境的以假亂真：現代人居住的環境，不管公寓或獨棟大樓，都少有自然的山水庭園；但是，經過人工，我們可以製造假山假水，設計小橋流水，假花假樹，一樣可以茂林修竹、萬紫千紅，佈置成像公園一樣。只要我們慧心巧思，就可以以假亂真。
二、人體的以假亂真：現代的醫療，美容技術十分進步，如果我們覺得身材不好，可以隆乳，五官不夠美，可以整容，只要動個手術，就可以把單眼皮割成雙眼皮，可以把鼻子墊高。不管我們想要什麼臉型，只要有錢，美容師都能為我們做到。另外，現代人的身體健康出問題，斷了手腳，可以裝義肢，內臟有問題，可以換肝、換腎、換心。甚至，現在的蠟像館，也可以依照真人的胖瘦、高矮，做出栩栩如生的蠟像，幾可亂真。
三、政治的以假亂真：過去政治上的領導人，都要尋訪賢人，請賢者擔任官職；現在的民主社會，人人都可競選，良莠不齊。過去的政治人物，講究信譽，即便是皇帝，也要「金口玉言」、「一言九鼎」，人民更要「一言既出，駟馬難追」。現在的政壇，謊言充斥，空頭支票，隨口開立，讓人覺得政治不可信賴，以假亂真。四、公益的以假亂真：現在的偽君子、偽善人、偽學者，都是靠「以假亂真」來生存。例如，有人假藉公益之名，滿足自己的需求，圖一己之利，這種假名慈善，實際斂財，外表從事好事，骨子裡卻是壞事做盡，不乏其人。聰明的動物，懂得偽裝，現今聰明的人類，偽裝的功夫，也一樣不含糊，以假亂真。
    現在的社會，給人有造假的感覺，不但電視、電台裡有很多不實的廣告，販售假藥、假酒、假名牌、假食品等；社會上的假鈔、假學歷、假證書、假執照等，也比比皆是。很多藝術品，亦有「膺品」，真真假假，看起來像真的，其實是假的，假久了，好像又像真的了。在我們的生活中，有些人，看起來有熱情、有活力，熱衷於自己的事業，也喜歡挑戰。但是，他們沒有信念，隨波逐流，催眠自己，也欺騙了相信他們的人。人人都想要自我成長，從不願輕易放過可以自我提升的機會，看起來似乎充滿靈性，智慧與哲理，可是，他們也常常得理不饒人，不像是在自我成長，倒像是在苛責別人。很多人都懂得在父母親、先生、太太、員工、主管、孩子和朋友面前，把「愛」拿出來，強調都是為對方好，但又常常「以愛之名」，綁架關係。修行不在道場，但我們很容易把修煉的言行，用在別人身上，嫌別人身上的味道，卻聞不出自己的品味。其實，我們不是不清楚自己的習氣，只是，我們不想去面對真實的自己，想要「以假亂真」罷了！活在當下，如果我們能夠時時創造「靜心」的能量，那麼，我們內在的真心，便會呈現。我們承認自己確實不完美，並對自己完全的負責，好好地把自己的內心處理好，不要說謊，沒有藉口，那麼，我們才不會「以假亂真」，才可辨識真象，誠實與精進。
    社會上有越來越多的資訊，都不一定是真的，而且，常常很多「以假亂真」，謊言、謊語，混淆視聽，實在可怕。我們每一個人的人生，也都有或大或小的困局，層出不窮的謊言與藉口，沒完沒了的真假與逆境。從學生時代的課業壓力，原生家庭的溝通難題，到談戀愛，進入婚姻的親密關係，我們似乎都會有相處的真偽、摩擦，與難以解決的問題。要面對人生真假、迷惘的各種困境，其實真的是要取決於當事者內心的強度。內心的強度，是一種韌性，強度夠強的人，就會有勇氣去拒絕不合理的要求，離開不適合自己的人事物，並積極企圖解決問題，跟隨自己內心的渴望去生活，去實現自己的夢想。內心的強度，要透過「行動」，不斷地增長，並且越行動，越能提升內心的強度。換言之，我們不只是要行動，而是要持續的行動。我們行動的起點，只需要一點點的改變就可以，我們的行動，就像一根柴火，要慢慢學會連動，要有「十倍放大」此行動的觀念。也就是說，我們要有意識地提醒自己，至少在行動前，內心要有十倍大的信念，我們要預先存夠對自己的肯定、對自己的愛、對自己的信任、感恩的心、好奇心與遇事沉著等……的內在元素，才會在遇到任何可預期，或出乎預料的外在事件時，用我們十倍大的強大內心，來執行行動，有所堅持。換句話說，我們內心的能量，要有十倍以上的庫存，讓我們在做事時，有持續的行動力，積極主動地追求夢想，努力以赴。這樣，我們才不會以假亂真，輕信且編一大堆的謊言與藉口，把自己的真象都蒙蔽了。我們要讓自己動起來，做自己最有興趣的事，過自己最真心誠意的生活，這樣，我們才會幸福快樂。

Life Is a Blessing
When we become frustrated with life and realize that it is breaking down, we often forget to count our blessings. We forget to give thanks. Whenever we are depressed, we often lose sight of what we have to be thankful for in our life. But if we consider it deeply, we would see that life is not so bad. Rather, it is a great blessing. We need to be thankful for the blessings we have in our lives. Here are some blessings that we are grateful for: 1. Health:No matter how wealthy we are, if we do not have a healthy life, then we have nothing. We cannot live a happy life with a disease-ridden body. We often tend to forget that our health is the most important thing. Good health is, indeed, one of the greatest blessings of life, and we shouldn’t overlook this great blessing. We should always be thankful for our health. 2. Family: A loving family is gifted from God. There is a long list of blessings in this world, and our family is always at the top of this list.We are so thankful that God blesses us with loving, caring, helpful parents and siblings who are there to do anything for us. Besides, we also have the best aunts, uncles, friends, and cousins as well. 3. Wisdom:Diamond is precious stones that are highly valued, but wisdom is far more valuable. Wisdom cannot be compared to any expensive things in the world. Wisdom cannot be compared to any wealth or fame in the world. It is a great blessing. 4. Sleep:
Every living thing sleeps. God has made the night, especially, so that we can rest our bodies, muscles, hearts, and minds. Bedtime takes us away from the worries of this world, and gives us rest and comfort. Moreover, our existence is, simply, a blessing. Our seeing is a blessing, our hearing is a blessing, our smelling is a blessing, our eating and drinking is a blessing, and our walking is also a blessing. So we should appreciate these innumerable blessings and thank God for all these blessings.
We can’t control all of the events in our life, but we, all the time, have the power to choose how we respond to them.
Life is a profound and mysterious journey, filled with an array of experiences, emotions, and challenges. Despite the ups and downs that come our way, one fundamental truth remains: being alive is a blessing. To wake up every morning, breathe in fresh air, and have the opportunity to navigate the world around us is a gift that should never be taken for granted. In fact, every human life is a miracle. To exist, to live, and to be conscious of our surroundings is a phenomenon that surpasses comprehension. Despite life’s complexities and uncertainties, simply being here, alive and present, is a rare and beautiful occurrence.From the sensation of the warm sun on our skins to the sound of laughter, the smell of rain, or the taste of a favorite meal, everyday experiences enrich our lives. These small, seemingly insignificant moments often bring the most joy and can serve as reminders of how wonderful life truly is.Furthermore, the natural world around us is a source of endless wonder.From majestic mountains and vast oceans to lush forests and serene sunsets, nature provides a stunning backdrop to our daily lives. The beauty of the earth reminds us of the intricate balance and harmony of life, urging us to pause, breathe, and savor each moment. In addition, another blessing of life is the ability to form deep, meaningful relationships. Human beings are social creatures who thrive on love, connection, and companionship. Whether it’s the bond between family members, the support of friends, or the affection shared between lovers, relationships add depth and richness to our lives. They give us reasons to smile, to care, and to feel understood. The simple act of being able to share our thoughts, dreams, and experiences with others is one of life’s greatest joys. Besides, knowing that there are people who care for us, and stand by us brings comfort and strength. Love, empathy, and compassion make life meaningful, reminding us that we are not alone in our journeys.
   By the way, life is not just about existing; it is also about growing, evolving, and learning. Every new day presents an opportunity to learn something new, to overcome obstacles, and to become a better version of ourselves. Challenges, failures, and setbacks are inevitable parts of life, but they are also opportunities for growth and learning. Through hardships, we develop resilience, patience, and wisdom. Overcoming adversity gives us a sense of achievement and empowers us to face future difficulties with greater confidence. Learning is a lifelong process, and every experience, whether good or bad, contributes to our personal development. Being alive allows us to continually explore new interests, expand our knowledge, and understand the world from different perspectives. It is this ability to grow and adapt that makes life a dynamic and enriching journey.Also, one of the most beautiful aspects of life is the presence of hope. No matter how difficult a situation may seem, there is always the possibility of change, improvement, and new beginnings.Every day is a fresh start, offering a new set of opportunities and possibilities. This sense of hope keeps us moving forward, inspiring us to pursue our dreams, set new goals, and find meanings in what we do.Hope is what makes us look forward to tomorrow. It encourages us to believe that things can and will get better, even when the present moment is challenging.This intrinsic hope is a powerful motivator, reminding us that life is filled with endless possibilities waiting to be explored. By focusing on the present, we can better appreciate the beauty of life, recognize the blessings we already have, and cultivate a sense of gratitude.To sum up, being alive is an incredible blessing, full of wonder, beauty, and endless possibilities. The opportunity to grow, connect, and experience the world is a gift that should be cherished. By embracing gratitude, finding joy in everyday moments, and nurturing our relationships, we can fully appreciate the blessing of being alive. That is, life is precious, fleeting, and full of surprises.

創造機會Creating Opportunities
     Chris Grosser (克里斯·格羅塞爾)是橫跨運動、娛樂，汽車等領域的美國知名攝影師。Chris Grosser (克里斯·格羅塞爾) is a renowned American entrepreneur, motivational speaker, and photographer, known for his powerful philosophy: “Opportunities don’t happen, you create them.” (機會從不會無緣無故出現，他們是你所創造的。) It means that opportunities do not magically present themselves; rather, we have the abilities to create them for ourselves. In fact,there are five actionable pointers that we can get started on the path to paving our own opportunities to success.
1.    Define Our Objectives: In order to start the process of making opportunities for ourselves, one of the first things we need to do is to define our goals. It is important that the goals we have set for ourselves should be as specific as possible. In other words, we need to have a roadmap to follow in order to achieve our objectives if we first define them in great detail.
2.    Broaden the Scope of Our Network: Building a strong professional network has the potential to open doors to many different kinds of new opportunities. We ought to participate in events that are hosted by our industries, become active in online communities that are relevant to our fields, and network with other professionals. We try our best to make ourselves available to those around us by sharing our expertise or information.
3.    Never Stop Educating Ourselves: It is essential to prepare ourselves for opportunities in order to successfully create new ones. We invest in ourselves by furthering our education and improving our skills. The more we educate ourselves, the better prepared we’ll be to seize opportunities as they come our ways and make the most of them.
4.    Do Not Run Away from Challenges: Opportunities are frequently masked as challenges or impediments when they actually present themselves. If we want to grow as persons and learn new things, we shouldn’t run away from difficult situations; instead, we have to view them as potential opportunities. Sometimes, the most significant opportunities are hiding in plain sight right in the middle of the most significant problems.
5.    Take the Initiative to Get Things Started: In order to create opportunities, we must first take the necessary steps. Instead of sitting around and waiting for someone else to give us opportunities, we should go out and actively look for new ones. Taking the initiative can lead us to new and exciting opportunities, regardless of whether it’s presenting a creative idea at work or starting a project on the side.
Opportunities are not elusive miracles; rather, they are the product of our efforts, mindset, and determination.Actually, we create our own opportunities and pave the ways for successful and satisfying careers if we set goals, expand our network, learn continuously, accept challenges, and take initiative. We need to seize the opportunities, go outside the world and start working to make things happen.
    Furthermore, we are smart enough to understand our strengths, skills, and areas for improvement. We stay updated on industry trends, acquire new skills, and pursue further education or certifications if necessary. Continuous learning enhances our expertise and makes us more attractive to potential opportunities. We should be proactive and open-minded, and are willing to adapt to new circumstances or challenges.By the way, creating opportunities often requires persistence and resilience. We keep pushing forward and learning from our experiences. And then, we collaborate with others who share our interests or goals.
Soren Kierkegaard suggested that we can act and create with a passionate sense of possibility to believe that things can get better, and that we can get better as well. Those people who have desires to serve and support others, really, enable them to flourish and live their best possible lives. Thus, we can see that the greatest satisfaction and meaning in life comes through believing ourselves and serving others. We get better through planning and the choices we make. When we are living and flourishing our best possible lives, we are viewing and experiencing the world positively. We do learn from the lessons of yesterday, and things can get better later on. Moreover, when we get better, others get better, too.Today is all we have, and we need to be present and grateful for every moment. Anticipating the joys or happiness of tomorrow is an extension of hope.The anticipation of positive or fun adventures or experiences, such as holiday celebrations, are meaningful events in our lives. Looking forward to something good happening is a powerful motivator for us. Interestingly enough, there are those occasions where thinking about something good in the future generates nice feelings in the present. We must, first of all, be mindful of opportunities and actually look for them. A person’s life can change and progress day by day, and each of us is unique. In fact, we vary in what brings us enjoyment today, what we look forward to tomorrow and even what we will see as opportunities or possibilities in the future. When we have strong beliefs that things can get better, we feel grateful, cherish our values and develop our plans for the excellent opportunities or possibilities to come.

Learning without Age Limit
“Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever,” said Mahatma Gandhi.Yes. There is no age limit for learning in the world.Learning is a process that it continues throughout life, andlearning, actually, has no age limit. In other words, whatever our age, there is always something new to learn, whether it’s a new language, a new skill, or a new perspective on life. Learning provides several personal and professional advantages. It can help keep our mind sharp, boost our memory, and lower our risks of cognitive loss as we age. In today’s fast-paced world, technology is advancing at an unprecedented rate, and new information is constantly emerging. This emphasizes the importance of lifelong learning more than ever before. Thus, it’s not only about learning new things; it’s also about developing the skills and adaptability needed to flourish in a constantly changing world. Furthermore, learning can provide a sense of fulfillment and personal improvement. It may help us discover new hobbies, push ourselves to grow, and connect with people who share our interests. The good news is that learning has never been more accessible. We may now study from anywhere, at any time, and at our own pace thanks to the proliferation of online learning platforms and tools. There are also many programs and workshops for older individuals who wish to keep learning and staying interested. Therefore, we might say that there is no age limit for learning; it is never too late to begin.The benefits of lifelong learning are numerous, and the chances are limitless, whether we wish to learn a new language, perfect a new trade, or just improve our knowledge.
Young adults dream of having free time to do whatever they want. Then, retirement comes knocking. Now, it’s time to start thinking about how to fill all of the spare time that will soon be available. Retirement, on the other hand, presents an opportunity to learn and re-learn.The willingness to learn at an older age, especially enrolling to pursue a degree in an educational institution, probably is a trend, right now. In fact, it is never too late. For older people, they can come back to schools to learn lessons.Besides, learning is not only confined to educational institutions. Another way to learn at a much older age is by enrolling for online courses, attending seminars or listening to podcasts. Regardless of age, the pursuit of knowledge should be embraced and cherished.Education is not confined to the boundaries of a classroom, and there is no expiration date on our capacity to learn. Therefore, it is essential to recognize and appreciate that there is no age limit for learning.
The traditional belief that education is solely for the young has become old-fashioned. Age should never be a barrier to acquiring new skills, exploring different subjects, or adapting to the ever-changing world. Learning does not have a specific timeline or expiration date. It is a continuous process that enriches our lives, broadens our perspectives, and keeps us intellectually engaged and stimulated. Embracing the concept of lifelong learning has numerous benefits, regardless of our stage in life. It enhances our cognitive abilities, improves memory retention, and stimulates critical thinking.Lifelong learning also fosters personal growth, builds self-confidence, and increases our adaptability to new situations. It is, really, crucial for us to carve out time for lifelong learning. Even dedicating a few minutes each day to read, listen to podcasts, or engage in intellectual discussions can make a significant difference for us and, specifically, for older people. From news, we also see that some people even join the professional courses at advanced age of 50/55, and succeed quite well. New ideas are emerging and new concepts are coming. The only way elders would lead a good and meaningful life in the future is to remain relevant in this highly unpredictable world. I find out that there is another but quite interesting perspective. Some of the elders did have the talents that remained hidden as unfulfilled dreams because of their demanding lives. Once they retire from professional job and complete all family responsibilities, these unfulfilled dreams drive them to charter new ways of life. Lifelong learning, truly, does not have any age restrictions. Equipped with traits like passion, commitment, drive and focus, we, especially, most of the older people, can learn anything at any age.
To more effectively help older adults, a strengths-based approach to care rather than a paternalistic approach is essential. Older adults have a vast wealth of knowledge as well as a wide range of skill sets. While their quality of life may decline in the face of their aging circumstances, we should not view them as “high risks” but instead “able and capable.” We should not see them as victims but rather people who have hopes and dreams.It is important throughout life to dream big and never give up on what we really want.Older adults should be afforded those same opportunities to live boldly and to take risks.Nevertheless, in order to practice lifelong learning, the older people need physical strength, focus and perseverance.As we age, our bodies naturally undergo physiological changes that lead to a decline in muscle mass and strength. However, with the right exercise strategies, seniors can defy the odds and age strong.Strength training for seniors is not just about looking fit; it’s about preserving independence, reducing the risk of falls and fractures, and improving overall quality of life. Furthermore, many older adults have trouble maintaining focus and concentration as part of natural, age-related cognitive decline. The good news is that it’s possible to improve concentration and focus for older people. It simply requires a commitment to adopting new habits.This includes playing a musical instrument, learning to cook, taking up painting or learning a new language. Besides, having a strong social circle also reduces feelings of depression and loneliness, which could impact attention. Speaking with friends requires that we practice focus by paying attention to what they say, which also helps the older people maintain the ability to concentrate.The fact is that some of our elders believe that children always remain only children, and their experiences are much better than them. What they say might be probably right. But there are many things which create a lot of differences between earlier times and today’s time.Children, now, would want to take their own decisions. They don’t like anyone interfering in their ways. Due to these changes, we can no longer live the life our elders used to live. That’s why lifelong learning is necessary for both young and old generations. From now on, it’s better that our juniors and seniors can practice gratitude all the time by reflecting on daily blessings and expressing appreciation for the simple pleasures in life.Plus, both juniors and seniors should engage in social activities, such as group outings or volunteering, and foster their social connections through lifelong learning. Thus, we will build a better, more inclusive and resilient world for everyone.

愛的實踐
《愛的藝術》是埃里希．佛洛姆 (Erich Fromm)在1956年出版的書。佛洛姆這本書最大的論點，即愛是一種能力，一種信仰、紀律、專注、耐性和練習的能力。佛洛姆認為，愛是一門藝術，需要知識和努力，愛不僅是愉悅的感受，更是兩個具有愛的能力的人，努力製造出來的。成熟的愛，是在保有自己完整的前提下，再主動去愛別人的力量。是在給予的行為中，感受到自己的強壯與豐饒。「施」之所以比「受」讓人更快樂，不是因為那是一種剝奪，而是因為「給予的行為」，是在表現我們自己蓬勃的生命力。當我們把自己生命裏活生生的東西給予出去時，我們同時把我們的喜悅、我們的興趣、我們的了解、我們的知識、我們的幽默，和我們的憂愁給出去，，那麼，我們便增強了自己的生命感，也擴大了他人的生命感。愛是一種喚起愛的能力，當我們努力去愛時，我們才會明白真正的愛，然後，才會體察到我們也正接受他人的愛。正如同我們信任，所以明白信任的必要，然後，才能感受到信任隨之而來的責任和能力。又如，因為我們具備藝術的修養，所以去欣賞藝術，然後，我們才感受到藝術帶來的樂趣。當我們努力去愛，然後感受到愛的那一刻，我們就可以清楚地知道，我們正在以正確的方式去愛。佛洛姆提到，愛的基本元素是：照顧、責任、尊重和了解，它們是所有愛的形式共有的特質。愛是我們對所愛者的生命及其成長的積極照顧。例如，因為我們愛著那棵玫瑰，我們日夜看顧澆注，對保護玫瑰產生了責任感，玫瑰便成為我們最珍貴的花。愛裏也要有尊重，因為我們尊重，所以我們讓玫瑰以自己的方式，而不是符合我們需要的方式成長。然後，以愛和照顧為動機的責任，再去尊重，是最超越和最深層的了解。
    佛洛姆也強調母愛的重要。母愛是無條件的，它不需要被贏得，也不能被獲取、被創造和被控制。如果母愛存在，我們就是處在至福之中；如果母愛不存在，生活就失去一切美好。母愛有兩個層次，其一是照顧和責任，是保護小孩生命與成長的必須。另一個層次是態度，母愛會在小孩心中灌注對待生命的態度，讓他們覺得活著真好。自愛，是肯定自己生命的快樂、成長與自由，它植根於我們的愛的能力，及我們對自己的尊重、負責和了解。男女愛、兄弟愛，也都要先自愛，然後，再出自意志的行為，決心把自己對待生命的態度，委身給另一個人，或奉獻給親朋好友。最後，對神的愛，既不是在思想上了解上帝，也不是心中存有愛上帝的意念，而是與上帝合一的體驗。因為，上帝是人類的究極目標，所以，我們應當活出神的樣貌，在生活中的一切行為，全都要按照正義的原則，與神同在。
    佛洛姆在書中說，愛最重要的是「愛的實踐」，愛是動詞，不是名詞，不是光說不練，而是要實際採取行動。愛的首要條件是自律，因著相信愛，我們要主動地、自律地去練習自愛與愛人。其次是要專注，花時間專注，就是愛。第三個條件是耐心，即使慢，即使看不見成果，我們也要表現愛。第四個條件是態度，我們要把整個生活的態度，都奉獻給愛。我們要練習實踐自律，學習專注，學習獨處，認真傾聽對方，全然活在當下，耐性地了解和接納自己與他人。最後，愛最需要的是信仰和勇氣，我們要有去冒險的能力，隨時準備好接受痛苦和失望。我們要能夠有勇氣的愛和被愛，要把生活中的種種困難、挫折與傷痛，看作可讓我們得到愛的挑戰。去愛，意謂著我們可能得不到任何好處，卻要把自己完全的給出去，但我們也會在被愛者的身上喚起愛，再將愛回饋給我們。佛洛姆盼望，我們都可以成為能愛人的人，有信仰，勇氣，自律，專注，耐心，獨立，了解，尊重，投入與責任。
    佛洛姆的「愛的實踐」，說穿了，就是宇宙的法則。在宇宙中，愛是一種力量、一種振波及一種能源。愛是宇宙的法則。愛就是神，神就是愛，我們在世界上每個重大的事件，都是神刻意的愛的安排，萬物絕對沒有巧合和偶然，一切的發生，都是互相聯繫、制約與相連的。雖然，我們所了解的振波、能量，只限於可見光、X光、紅外線、紫外線……等等。但其實，我們的情感和思想，同樣是宇宙的振波，只是頻率與振動不同而已。宇宙擁有最高級而完美的振波，那就是愛的法則，愛是無緣大慈，同體大悲。所以，當我們選擇無私的去愛人時，一股源源不絕的能量，會從我們的心中湧出，滋潤和活化我們的身體。我們的身體本身，就是一個能量系統，當我們與他人接觸和交流時，我們是透過能量的放送，來做溝通的。我們愛的能量，會從我們的心輪散發出去，朝向我們所愛的人，及與我們關聯的人身上。我們越愛人，我們內心產生出來的能量就越多，我們的身體，也就會越健康與和諧。而且，被我們愛的人，也同樣能從我們釋放出來的愛的能量中，獲得很大的益處。因此，我們每天都要練習愛的能力，那是很重要的。如果我們能夠時時記住，我們是生命與愛的無窮泉源，那麼，這整個宇宙，就會永遠快樂、美好。愛是我們每個人非常切實可行且有益的選擇，因著愛，我們的世界與生命，將會獲得永恆的健康、和諧與繁榮。
 

對別人要樂觀其成，對自己要非常努力
對別人做的事，我們要樂觀其成。在這個世界上，我們每個人都是獨一無二的，我們每個人都擁有不同的背景、價值觀和生活經驗。雖然我們無法改變別人，但我們可以選擇如何對待別人，那就是尊重別人。尊重別人，就是敬重對方的觀點與感受，並能肯定對方的能力與內在特質。尊重是可以學習的。心理學家霍勒曼（Holloman）與耶茨（Yates）歸納出以下表達尊重的語彙：
1. 鼓勵的語彙
2. 寬容的語彙
3. 表達對對方的理解
4. 表達重視彼此的觀點
尊重，是一種美德，也是一種智慧，它不僅能讓我們獲得良好的人際關係，也能讓我們在這個世界上，活得自在與快樂。尊重並不代表毫無原則地迎合對方，而是發自內心地接納別人的獨特性。我們每個人都有自己的想法和選擇，這些選擇或許與別人不同，但並不代表是錯的。而且，我們也不該因為別人的選擇與我們不同，就對其加以批判或貶低，而是要試著去理解，甚至學習如何包容不同的聲音。真正強大的人，並不是批評別人，來突顯自己的優越的，而是懂得尊重每一個人。在職場上，領導者如果能夠尊重員工的意見，傾聽不同的聲音，他的團隊往往會有凝聚力，員工也會更願意為公司付出。同樣地，在家庭關係中，若夫妻、家人之間，能夠彼此互相尊重，而不是一味地要求對方，按照自己的方式做事，那麼，家庭生活也會更加和諧。
     當然，面對親人或朋友，特別是和我們關係密切的人，我們自然會很在意對方的想法或心情。其實，關係愈緊密，我們愈需要學習理解。理解，意味著尊重別人因其生活經驗，所形塑的價值觀、想法或做法，及衍生的情緒感受。理解，不需帶著評價，也無所謂好壞或對錯。在人際關係上，本來就是彼此互相的，自己做好是應該，但是，不要用自己的標準來要求、衡量別人。每個人都有自己的優缺點，只是差異不同，不論我們外在有多謙恭有禮、光鮮亮麗、或品學兼優，甚至在朋友面前，有多隨和、脾氣好，但我們總是有弱點的時候，與其想要改變別人，不如先改變自己，接納包容別人。對於別人做的事情，我們就是要樂觀其成，要讚嘆、喜樂，感恩歡愉才是。
     再者，我們要對自己非常努力。生活從來不會辜負每一個努力的人。當我們越努力時，我們就會變得越幸運。我們要在自己人生的道路上，一直努力奔跑，變成自己喜歡的樣子，擁有自己想要的美好生活。我們要讓努力感動自己，讓努力遇見更好的自己。牛頓說：「無論任何事情，只要肯努力，沒有不成功的。」生活不會辜負每一個努力的人，那些轉錯的彎道，孤獨的夜晚，滴下的汗水，都會讓我們成為獨一無二。只要我們對某個東西有追求，一直在不斷地追求，不斷的努力，並為之付出代價，總是會有回報的，這回報有時來得快，有時得到得晚，但請耐心等待，成功之花，一定會為我們而開的。一個真正努力的人，是有執行力的人，他/她懂得掌握自己的工作量，制定如期完成的計畫和策略，發揮高度的時間管理，並有效率地達成目的。所有的事情，都取決於我們的選擇。在人生的旅程中，我們經常面臨各種各樣的選擇。這些選擇，不僅影響我們的生活質量，更決定我們成為什麼樣的人。「選擇，是一種力量，也是一種責任。」我們每天都在做選擇，從生活中的小事，到人生中的大事，無時無刻，我們都在選擇。而這些選擇，決定了我們未來的方向和高度。既然選擇了，我們就要有決心和態度，努力地盡全力付出與達成。我們要勇敢的去想像，很努力地把我們的選擇具象化，寫下來、畫下來，變成長期計畫，把長期計畫，再分割為中、短期細項。每天，我們都要為自己做一些行動，勇往直前，不要後悔，努力達成目標，無怨無悔地，開心完成每一件事。無論大事、小事，一旦選擇，我們就把它當作唯一，帶著微笑的勇氣，盡我們自己最大的努力去實踐。生活不會辜負每一個努力的人，我們要讓努力感動自己，讓努力遇見更好的自己。

心之所向Following My Heart
我心心念念的事是，我要有一間屬於我自己的舞蹈教室。
    There are two ways of determining if we are “following our hearts.” The first way is whether we are following the desires that our hearts are calling us or
not, and the second one is if we are living in our hearts. In other words, one is about the actions we are taking, and the other is more about we are the exact persons. Doing what we love means that we have to listen to our intuition, and take actions to follow our passions to the world without fear.
Our society today is driven by our minds, our fears and our ego. We do not place as much value and emphasis on passion, love, fulfilment and spiritual purpose. Rather, it is about external success, money, security, stability and reputation. As a result, many of us do not feel it is that important to really tune in to our hearts and hear what they want. This is the reason why when we attempt to start following our hearts, we cannot do what we desire. In fact, our hearts’ desires may not have an initial guarantee of income, or it may require a pay cut. It may mean that we have to go against what our family wants for us, or what our friends expect of us. We, certainly, come across some people, all the time, who have these amazing, beautiful dreams and desires, but they suppress and ignore them and tell themselves that they never have them.For most people, it is much easier to live in denial than actually face what they really want. They would rather pretend that they are happy with what they have, and justify to themselves that their inner dreams are not so important anyway.
To get started, we must begin by finding the courage to discover what our hearts want.We may experience feelings of confusion, self-doubt and even regret what we do in the first beginning. It’s OK. It is time for each of us to wake up, and connect with what we surly want.In order to do this, we have to be willing to do things differently, and to challenge the expectations that others hold of us. Our hearts, in reality, are connected to something larger. We might call it Spirit, the Unconscious, God, Higher-self, or the Universe. When we follow our hearts more, and our minds see the results, the integration naturally occurs. We’ve probably seen others follow their hearts. It looks good, but, on the contrary, we doubt our own abilities. They must have some kinds of magical abilities, right? No. They’ve simply experimented a bit more. They aren’t fearless. They just take things one day at a time, and one step at a day. They do feel fear, overwhelm, and confusion, just like everyone else. The difference is that they have developed the trust in themselves. One of the main ways that we can follow our hearts is by noticing our feelings. Those feelings come with peace and encouragement.They are enduring. The more we follow our hearts, the better we get at it. It’s not about being perfect. It’s about learning and discovering how our hearts communicate with us. We can say that courage is not the absence of fear, but the decision to act in spite of it. It’s about stepping into the unknown, armed with the belief in ourselves and the conviction that the journey is worth embarking on.Courage, yet, involves embracing vulnerability, and being open to the possibility of failure, criticism, or disappointment, but choosing to move forward because the potential for growth and fulfillment outweighs the fear of what we might go wrong.
    Sooner or later, I will find an ideal dance space near “Kaohsiung Cultural Center,” where parking cars won’t be the problem. We all know that injury prevention is essential for dancers at every skill level, and having the right equipment can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and long-term damage. Therefore, the key components, such as a properly installed dance floor, well-positioned ballet barres and shatterproof mirrors, certainly, create a safer and more effective dance environment. In my dance space, the high-quality dance floor is necessary for safe dance practices. Ballet barres are a required equipment, too, that provides stability and balance during warm-ups, stretches and strength training. The excellent ballet barre, indeed, ensures that our dancers can engage in low-impact training safely. Besides, mirrors are another critical element in my dance space. For dancers, observing posture is really vital for correcting movements and avoiding injury from improper techniques. Wall-mounted mirrors are commonly found in my dance space, while portable mirrors provide a flexible solution for extra usage. These mirrors are lightweight, making the dancers in my space easy to move and adjust them with wheels.
Dance is an art form that requires skill, talent, and dedication to master. The role of a dance teacher is just as important as that of a dancer, and it takes a unique set of skills and expertise to teach dance effectively.Of course, the first and most obvious requirement for a dance teacher is a strong mastery of dance technique. A dance teacher must be able to perform the movements they’re teaching with precision, clarity, and style. In addition to dance technique mastery, a dance teacher also need to have teaching expertise, including how to communicate effectively with students, how to break down movements into manageable steps, and how to provide constructive feedback and corrections. They are also able to adapt their teaching styles to the needs of individual students, whether they’re beginners or advanced dancers. Definitely, becoming a professional and successful dance instructor requires more than just technical expertise in dance. They should be adaptable and are able to modify their teaching approaches to cater to different styles and levels. All in all, in my dance space, our great dance instructors will teach skilled dance techniques to students, and will inspire, motivate, and cultivate a love for dance in their students. As Martha Graham, the mother of modern dance, once said, “Dance is the hidden language of the soul,” I will follow my heart to imagine that our dance instructors and the students will practice together on a journey of self-expression, creativity, and growth in my dedicated dance space soon. 

生死何去何從
根據能量守恆定律，能量不會無故生成，也不能無故摧毀，它只能以不同的形式，轉化存在。也就是說，在巨觀中的「滅」，其實是另一種形式的「存續」，人體分解，正是遵循著宇宙這樣的法則在運轉。「塵歸塵，土歸土」，宇宙萬物，都是分解、腐敗，然後，我們讓身體與周遭環境，融為一體，原本存在於我們體內的物質，也同時滋養其他生命的成長。試觀，我們每個人，都有過去，生命絕對不是突然產生與滅亡的。那麼，我們的生命，究竟從何而來？將往何處去呢？生命的過去，就是我們每個人的歷史，從小學、中學到大學，每個階段，都有歷史，如果我們知道自己生命的歷史，我們就能知曉生命的價值，而生命的價值，也不光是生命的過去，更是生命的未來。我們人的一期生命，不過數十寒暑，當生命結束後，我們要往何處去轉生呢？換句話說，我們這個形體消滅了，是否又有另一個形體復活呢？死亡是否就是投胎轉世，到其它地方繼續生長，所以才叫往生呢？據說，人的「生」與「死」，在宇宙中，就如同「冰」和「水」的互相轉遞一樣，水可以凝結成冰，冰也可以溶化成水；我們死了以後，是可以再生，生了之後，還是會死的；生生死死，死死生生，在生死輪轉之中，我們的生命，絕對是可以永遠不死的。因為，耶穌基督說：「信上帝者，得永生。」人的生命，應該都是永生的。
  如果知道生命是永生的，那麼，我們就要修心養性、立功立德才對啊！任何人都有生老病死，我們對生則喜，歡慶祝福，面臨老死時，卻都驚惶、恐怖，此乃皆是常情。可是，生老病死，是人生必經的歷程，生固然可喜，老病死也未必可悲？如同一年當中，季節的變換，寒暑的更替，舊的一年過去，新的一年又開始，生命的延續，應該也是如此的啊！因此，我們可以不必害怕死亡，因為，死亡是生死流轉的自然現象。其實，人一出生，死亡就跟著我們了，死亡是隨時都在我們身邊的。生的時候，我們都想要有尊嚴，死的時候，我們更需要尊嚴。所以，死者臨終時，我們不要呼天搶地，要給死者有尊嚴，祈禱他們離去時，能到達更高的靈性層級。身體是載具，衰敗滅亡後，靈魂還會繼續存在。我們要在自己生前時，時刻培養內心心靈的聖火，我們也要在送別親朋好友的最後一程時，祈禱、祈求他們的靈魂，安詳地、無有恐懼地，接受神聖的愛與光，回到宇宙大地的懷抱。
     平常，我們就要好好守住自己的心靈，因為，我們的心靈，就是我們的靈魂，生生不滅的。對於臨終前的告別，我們要以「感恩您，謝謝您」的心情，祈願死者能功德圓滿，死而無憾。法鼓山聖嚴法師說：「能生，則必須求生，非死不可，則當歡喜接受；感恩生存，感謝死亡。」在生命結束時，我們生前擁有的財產、名利，全都帶不走，真正可以帶走的，就是我們的慈悲心、智慧心和有功德的生命。想要「善終」，我們必先「善生」。真正的愛，是讓我們愛的人，沒有煩惱，被我們愛的人，沒有痛苦。以愛為中心來分享，內心就平安，我們就能適時放手，表現真愛。慈悲和智慧，是一體的兩面，有智慧的人，其內心世界，常能保持平靜、清楚、明白，不受環境困擾，還能關懷他人，這是慈悲心。我們在世，更要積極、正向地看待自己，學習開放自己的胸懷和心靈，善待別人，培育我們內心更多的慈悲。當我們仁慈地對待自己，體恤別人時，無論是生、是死，都會帶給我們無限的喜悅和快樂。生死相續相生，我們祈盼著，臨終有人陪伴，平時扮演好自己的角色，孝順父母、教養子女，認真活在當下，真誠擁抱生命，並坦然面對老病，這樣，我們才能很自在地迎接死亡，永續經營來生。

Stay Hungry, Stay Foolish求知若飢，虛心若愚
“Stay hungry, stay foolish (求知若飢，虛心若愚)” 這句話是蘋果公司創辦人賈伯斯(Steve Jobs)，在2005年史丹佛大學的畢業典禮演講時的結語。賈伯斯用hungry，是要我們保持渴望追求目標的動力及熱情，就像對成功的飢餓一樣，永遠不要滿足於當下，要有飢餓的態度和行動。不管做什麼事，我們都要把自己當個傻子foolish，不要為自己設限，要一直行動下去，要求知若飢，虛心若愚，順從自己的感覺，放心去做就對了。賈伯斯強調，對工作的熱愛，是人生中最大的動力，即使在挫折面前，也不要失去信心，要堅持找到自己熱愛的事物。生命短暫，我們要讓每一天，都過得有意義。我們要不斷地學習與成長，保持對知識的強烈渴求，就像飢餓時想吃飯一樣。我們要勇於突破自己，保持飢餓感，持續前進。再者，我們也要像電影「阿甘正傳」的主角一樣，不要害怕失敗或被嘲笑，要勇敢地嘗試新事物。因為愚蠢的嘗試，可能帶來意想不到的結果。保持愚笨的態度，則能讓我們不被自己的思維所束縛，相信一切都有可能，相信自己可以不斷地學習和成功。 
   Steve Jobs said “Stay hungry, stay foolish” in his famous speech for graduate students at Stanford University in 2005. But this phrase is not from Jobs himself. He quoted it from Stuart Brand’s magazine “The Whole Earth Catalogue,” published during 1960s in America. The quote was printed on the back of the last edition of this publication in 1974, and this was what Jobs wished the students for getting into life and work: Stay hungry, stay foolish. Jobs addressed Stanford’s graduating class in 2005, and his words, his touching stories, insightful quotes, and witty comments really make anyone proudly live by. When Jobs, one of the most successful men of his time, discussed his life as a student, he, too, felt the need to attend college. He faced what many people were deathly afraid of: uncertainty. His lack of understanding caused him to stop attending college.However, it turned out to lead him to learn his favorite calligraphy instead. Jobs talked about raising Apple from its infancy, but being shoved away after a decade of hard work.Nevertheless, his love of the work helped him carry on to greater success. In his speech, Jobs quoted the saying “Stay hungry, stay foolish.” and it has become many people’s motto. Staying foolish is realizing that we are still a fool, no matter how much we’ve learned or experienced. There is always more to explore. Staying hungry is wanting to find those things that we are still unknown and uneducated. In his talk, Jobs recounted three stories. The first was dropping out of Reed College, but showing up for the courses he wanted to take.Dropping out was a tough decision. Then, getting fired from Apple was the second. Clearly, it was not his choice, but it led him to create Pixar Animation Studios.Finally, facing death was so hard for him. When facing death, he realized that he had to follow his own intuition, and not to live other people’s lives.Facing death let him know that he ought to take chances to do what was truly important in his life. He taught us the true meanings of “Stay hungry, stay foolish.”
It is a fact thatwhen we stay hungry and stay foolish for things, the more knowledge we can acquire, and the better we get at succeeding. In other words, the truth is, if we stay hungry and stay foolish at all times, keeping a growth mindset instead of a fixed mindset, we would, undeniably, flourish and succeed.First of all,while staying hungry and foolish, we, surely, know our true purposes of life. Anyway, it is the only way we can make a positive impact in the world. We can listen to our hearts and develop our awareness. We, then, would have ambitious, keep going and find ways to develop our ideas in our daily lives. Secondly, to stay foolish is to take risks. Taking risks that other people find irrational are a necessary part for any great success. When people say, “Being a dropout and start a business is foolish,” “Becoming a professional musician is impossible,” and “Devoting our life to solving a worldwide problem that no one else can is crazy,” they might not be true. On the contrary, the world would be boring and unchanged if nobody took the risks. Even though most of the people believe that they cannot change the world, it still does not stop the ones who do them from trying.We could have the courage to try to gain knowledge and have a mindset that challenges the common standards, not to accept them. And more often than not, we would, definitely, stay hungry and even stay foolish to challenge the status quo.
Actually, “Stay hungry, stay foolish” can mean that we make a difference. It is a good advice for anyone to enter adulthood and independence, to go out there in the world, to leave the cocoon of home, to keep the dreams alive and to move forward to where we want to go. When we learn to stay hungry and stay foolish, we might try our best to take risks, think big and change things for the better. And if it does not work, we may be possible to attempt to do something different and keep on going. Albert Einstein said, “The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits.”So, once we stay fresh, naïve, hungry and foolish, we really learn and grow. We take on the knowledge. We practice skills. We are never self-satisfied.Brick by brick, we, finally, build the real paths to achieve what we want. It is a timeless call to action. In the end, we are different to pursue our wildest ambitions with tremendous enthusiasm, without regard for the status quo. Learning is a superpower. When we “stay hungry and stay foolish,” we are hunger every day for our desires, we are different, and we never fool ourselves into thinking that we can become who we are today.

To Be Perfectly Imperfect
The world is as a stage, and we are as actors playing our roles in it. And how can we learn to become a better actor. Shall we need to be perfect, whatever that means? Actually, trying to be perfect is exhausting. It’s a full-time job with no time off. However, when we say “I am perfectly imperfect,” we meant it in the best possible way or in the most optimal way possible. We, probably, cannot be perfect all the time, but we are finally learning to embrace ourselves as we are, not as we think we have to be.Perfectly imperfect might feel like, “This is who I am. I am not hiding.” It is rooted in self-acceptance. Imperfectly perfect feels more like noticing the beauty inside the flaws. In other words, letting go of perfection would let us be much kinder to ourselves. Whether we call it perfectly imperfect or imperfectly perfect, what we have learned is that perfection keeps us living small, and we are afraid to make mistakes. On the contrary, accepting the imperfections give us the freedom to be ourselves, without worrying whether we could fail or succeed. 
In fact, in our lives, we have many flaws… like the way we talk, stand, and walk. We put too much trust into people. We are not confident in many ways. We might have been stuck in, for so many years, in order to appreciate who we are, and improve ourselves without the drive to be worthy in the eyes of others. The truth is, nothing is perfect, and to create the illusion that such an ideal could exist is a misconception because “perfection,” in its simplest form, is impossible to achieve. There will always be someone or something “better,” whether that’s in school, sports, family, or jobs. We, indeed, focus so much on comparing ourselves to the people around us because competition is what our society is built on. Whenever we plan to do something, we give it our best, and hope something great to come out of it. Initially, we do feel that the piece we have created is something beautiful and unique. But soon, we start to see the imperfections in it. We undervalue it and scrutinize our work. We end up getting trapped in a never ending loop of trivial improvements. Yes, it’s no doubt that we do have many flaws. Even though we strive to become someone who is perfect, and we all think that we should give more time to make the things perfect, probably, due to our flaws, there is no such perfect things at all in the world.The true magic always lies in seeing the perfection in the imperfection.Therefore, until the very end of our lives,we should admit that we have done our best, and have perfectly kept on moving to the imperfect world.
I want to take CCVS’s (Kaohsiung Municipal Chung-Cheng Industrial High School) YLP (Youth Leadership Program) as an example to illustrate the perfections in imperfections. First of all, the students of CCVS are not majoring in English. They only have regular English classes in school. They don’t even have extra time to train their English speaking skills. In other words,they are, truly, imperfect in their English abilities to match the goal of YLP. Secondly, by a sponsoring Toastmasters club (Golden Noon Toastmasters Club), YLP is a workshop consisting of eight one-and-a half-hour meetings that enable CCVS students, between the ages of 14 and 18, to develop their communication and leadership skills through practical experiences. In the meetings, these students will learn how to evaluate their own speaking abilities, prepare and deliver speeches, and control their voice, vocabulary, and gestures. Meetings are like Toastmasters club meetings that YLP, especially, helps students build effective communication skills, while understanding their own communication styles. However, in real situations, eight meetings cannot guarantee the students to acquire the techniques of English speaking. That is the imperfect environment. Finally, in such imperfect classroom managements, students still try their best to practice English, and deliver their speeches no matter how terrible they might present. This is the true courage that I do admire them. As an English teacher as well as an experienced Toastmasters member, I can see their fears. But, on the other hand, I notice that these students make progress week after week because of their constant practices. I do appreciate their efforts and respect their endeavors. This is the confidence for them to show their will for learning whatsoever.
Since childhood, we have been taught by the society that we should always try our best. We want to come first in class because that will make us become good students. We want to earn much money so that we can perfectly spend it wherever we want. That’s true. We do our best all the time.Then, what happens when we encounter experiences overloaded with sad emotions than goodness and happiness? In many circumstances, we actually know our deepest fears and also our deepest strengths. The outside world is permanently imperfect. We really can’t control it. That means, it is impossible for us to pursue the goals of perfection, and reach for the wonderful conditions outward.The only thing we can do is that we can be perfect as much as possible in the face of imperfect things around us. When we look back at our lives, we could evidently see many flaws, and few incidents are perfect. These imperfect things, definitely, expose our weaknesses and insecurities. But,in our hearts, we, keenly, perceive that we, surely, make efforts and work hard. That’s enough for us to be perfect in front of imperfect circumstances around the world.

人緩則安
「事緩則圓，人緩則安，語遲則貴」的意思，是指碰到事情不要操之過急，要慢慢地設法應付，才能得到圓滿的解決。「事緩則圓，人緩則安，語遲則貴」，這三句深富智慧的話，是出自清代俞萬春的《蕩寇志》，它啟示我們，面對困境時，不宜過於急躁。當遭遇挑戰時，要冷靜思考、循序漸進，在生活中，也應保持淡定，不要過於焦慮，說話時，更應當謹慎，有分寸，言之有物，才能使語言更具價值。這三句話，不僅是一種生活的智慧，更是我們為人處事的指引。換句話說，「事緩則圓，人緩則安，語遲則貴」的意思，是要我們遇事慢慢處理，不要操之過急。生活要慢慢適應環境，不要急於求成。說話要慢慢思考，不要急於表態。
     首先，「人緩則安」意指，人在面對事務時，若能保持緩慢從容的態度，不急於求成，則能處於穩定和舒適的狀態。它提醒我們，要沉著應對，避免過度焦慮和急躁，因為心境的平靜，有助於迎接變數，並達成圓滿的結果。 
l  保持冷靜，避免情緒干擾： 
在遇到問題時，不要被急躁或焦慮的情緒影響，須從長計議，才能避免決策失誤。 
l  循序漸進，穩紮穩打： 
緩慢並不代表停滯不前，而是採取穩健、有條不紊的步調，一步步解決問題，以確保最終成功。 
l  適應環境，保持穩定： 
當改變發生時，不急於求成地去適應，而是給自己時間，慢慢地適應環境，才能保持心境的穩定與舒適。
「人緩則安」提醒我們，如果我們能夠緩慢地生活，我們就能夠更好地享受每一天。因為，當我們匆忙地過日子時，我們會感到焦慮和緊張，進而影響我們的健康和幸福。相反地，當我們緩慢地生活時，我們可以更好地享受人生，提高幸福感和生活品質。在現代社會中，我們經常會感到壓力和焦慮，那是因為在競爭激烈的世代裡，我們必須不斷地努力，才能保持競爭力。然而，這種競爭激烈的生活方式，往往導致我們疲憊不堪、焦慮和緊張。因此，如果我們能夠學會緩慢地生活，我們就能夠更好地把握每時每刻的快樂與美好。
     其次，「事緩則圓」強調，我們遇事，要慢慢處理，不過於急躁，才能得到圓滿的結果。無論我們遇到什麼問題，其實都不用急著馬上回應，船到橋頭自然直，人生也絕不會因為單一的事情就毀掉。在空間上，我們自己最要緊；在時間上，此刻當下最重要。所以，我們不要焦慮，不要內耗，允許一切事情，自然發生。就算當下的結果，不是我們想要的，我們也要相信，未來會慢慢長成我們喜歡的樣子。泰戈爾說：「即使向空谷吶喊，也要等一會兒，才能聽見回音。」好事多磨，慢有慢的好處，晚有晚的道理。我們因為常常想要控制結果、追求完美，反而給自己帶來不必要的壓力。遇到問題時，我們不用急著去改變外在的世界，我們唯一需要關注的，就是自己內心的反應。靜就是吉，緩就是機。堅信凡事發生，必有利於我，給自己多一點時間，就是給好運多一些機會。時間是一種寶貴的資源，它可以帶來成功和幸福，也可以是失敗和痛苦。在現代社會中，我們經常被迫快速地做出決定和行動，這使得我們常忽略時間的價值。如果我們能夠學會緩慢地思考和行動，我們就能夠更好地掌控生活，實現目標和理想。
     最後，「語遲則貴」是指，說話應謹慎思考，不貿然發言，這樣，才能使語言更有價值。我們在面對與人相處和言語交流時，應當要保持緩慢、從容、冷靜，要好好地思考，充分地表達自己。在現今社會中，溝通和交流是非常重要的，古訓道：「知止而後有定，定而後能靜，靜而後能安，安而後能慮，慮而後能得」。心浮氣躁的人，難成大事；真正的強者，大都能平靜如水，保持清醒的頭腦，不慌不忙，有條不紊。我們每個人，總會遇到形形色色的急事、難事、爛事。慢下來，靜下來，積蓄力量，穩住情緒，掌控心態，這樣，我們才能更加清晰，輕鬆地再出發。做到事緩則圓，人緩則安，語遲則貴，心靜則安，我們才能修養好自己的心態，修行好自己的心境。凡事不可急躁，心緩地接納，慢慢地觀察，抽絲剝繭地分析，我們才能找到問題的出口，對症下藥。事慢則圓，人慢則成，為人處世，沉得住氣，才能隨時靜下來，水到渠成。
    《小窗幽記》道：「處事當熟思緩處，熟思則得其情，緩處則得其當。」真正的智者，遇到問題，從不着急，而是懂得深度思考，耐心分析，直到豁然開朗。《禮記》云：「水深則流緩，語遲則人貴。」水越深的地方，水流越平緩。那些有涵養、有人品的人，說話不急不慢，不慌不忙。我們做人，說話，不單要慢一些，說得清楚一點，還要說得少一些。《周易》云：「吉人之辭寡，躁人之辭多。」說話慢半拍，或是少說話，甚至是不說話，才能避免禍從口出。寧願做一個善於聆聽的人，也不要做一個尖酸刻薄、冷嘲熱諷、咄咄逼人、污言穢語的人。會說話的人，能愉悅人心，也能成就彼此。心靜則安，心靜，世界就靜了。世界靜了，一切雜物，都將會沉澱。凡事萬物，我們都要懂得清虛靜泰，才能活出從容、淡定、心安、心足。真正的智者能人，遇事從不着急，放緩步調，看清形勢，合理判斷。謹言慎行的人，尊重別人，心靜如鏡，心安存福，他/她必能從容地邁過坎坷，熬過波折，樂享當下的歲月靜好。

天馬行空的脫框
  想想看，我們每天的生活與工作，常常被「因為非做不可，所以只好去做」的事情佔據。也許，有些人連什麼事情想做、什麼事情不想做、為什麼自己要做，都搞不清楚，實在可悲！活在這個時代，我們要取得資訊，並不是難事。電腦網路，愈來愈精密，要接收多少訊息，也不難。再者，除了新聞媒體和社群網站外，我們也可以透過讀書、學才藝、參加研習或講座等，來贊同或發表「自己獨一無二的觀點」。但是，在這個社會上，我們根本不太可能脫韁，產生想要以「自我模式」的思考，或以內在的動機發聲，因為，在我們僵化的國家體制下，群體的思想，是大過於個人思想的。例如，如果有小朋友說「我的夢想是當太空人」，我們會認為，他是個有前途的孩子，但是，如果長到一定年齡的成人，還說這樣的夢話，別人很難不回應：「都已經老大不小了，還說這些話。」年過五十的上班族，如果突然說：「我想要當電影導演」，那會讓很多人，大吃一驚的，或許，還會有人在背後嘲笑他呢！所謂的夢想或願景(vision)，一般大人都會覺得，那是在做白日夢。應該這麼說，不按牌理出牌，敢於求新求變，不是不可以，而是很辛苦，失敗率高，也不被看好。然而，事實上，「真正有價值的事物，只會從夢想中誕生」。我們甚至還要故意去思考一些脫離現實的事情，才會有創意與創造力。換句話說，真正有價值的事物，是從「天馬行空」中誕生的。不按牌理出牌，不是空想，而是對原有的規則，勇於突破。「天馬行空」的思維，不是要想得很周全才做，而是在「直覺」的那一瞬間，斗膽實踐。世界上不變的道理，就是「變」，而人只要努力嘗試地去改變思維、作法和態度，一定會更加適應新的環境，變得更活躍的。蛹在蛻變成一隻美麗的蝴蝶之前，一定是經過一段寂寞與漫長的煎熬的，因為「完美」是需要很長的時間，才能辦到的啊！不按牌理出牌的思維，是與眾不同，基本上，不是一般人很快就能接受的，但是，如果我們能靠著「直覺」，堅持己見，擇善固執，總會達到自己想要的目標的。
     我們對現實的感知，影響著我們的行動。那些早就知道的事情，我們總以為理所當然。我們人類的思考，常常是在一定的框架內的。不要框架、跳脫框架，好像會心慌，不知所措。這個世界，有各種模式，我們已經被教育及教導，預測事物的發展，瞭解任何狀況，試圖事事都掌握在自己手中，甚至還不斷的沙盤演練，完全控制，不容半點出錯。而且，正是這種心智模型，為我們帶來秩序，讓我們能夠無視不必要的事物，而很快地抓住重點，精準的執行任務。例如，我們需要做出重大決定時，像是換工作、生小孩、買房子、關掉工廠、蓋一棟摩天大樓等，就最常有這樣的客觀邏輯。但是，以我們日常生活的感受來說，有時，不要框架，反而海闊天空。社會上許多問題，之所以如此棘手，究其核心，就只是各方採用了不同的思考框架而已。例如，美國和其他國家之間，究竟是該築起一道牆，還是搭起一座橋？蘇格蘭究竟是該留在英國，或是獨立？中國對香港的「一國兩制」，究竟是一國，還是兩制？對於同一個情境，我們因為思考框架不同，看在眼裡，就有完全不同的樣貌。每一種思考框架，都會讓我們用某種獨特的視角，來看世界，或許要放大元素，或許就縮小元素。同樣的資料數據，不同的思考框架，就會有不同的結論。有時，我們慣用的思考框架，不見得和現實契合。那麼，也許不要框架，我們才能用不同的方式，來解決問題。平常上班工作時，要舉辦活動，我們總會覺得創意不足？寫不出文章，活動內容想不出來？創意是如此的遙遠與難以接觸，而創意又有點叛逆，不走常規，想要擁有創意，我們就要跳出現有的思考框架，先要有一顆好奇心，不要認為每件事情都習以為常，枯燥乏味。其次，我們也要擁有開放的心，走出自己的舒適圈，去擁抱各式各樣新的想法。那些思想或立場，慢慢地在我們的腦中拆解、融合，將來就會成為我們創意的養分。創意是可以被訓練的，面對問題時，我們要去想像那些各行各業的人物，他們是用什麼思維、態度、準則、專業去處理事情的。或者，反過來，我們逆向思考也行。或是，我們先暫時放下這件事，去散步、慢跑、玩樂，來放鬆大腦，然後，我們就會有創意了。
     天馬行空的想像，無限遼闊。想像力是人類與生俱來的天賦，保有這份想像力是幸福的，具有想像力的人較樂觀，也較熱情，並喜愛探索世界，充滿創意。著名物理學家愛因斯坦說：「想像力比知識更重要」。未來的時代，我們真的需要更多的創意人才，也就是說，創造力和想像力，是未來重要的競爭力。我們生活的範圍，非常有限，但是，想像的世界，卻可以無邊無際。想像力在我們的生活中，無所不在，千奇百怪，它常常影響著我們日常生活所做的一切。許多名人，如比爾·蓋茨和史蒂夫·賈伯斯，都運用了他們的想像力，預見個人電腦如何改變世界，並發明微軟和蘋果。想像力確實影響著我們的每一個行動，它有無限的可能，永遠驚喜。我們要有意識、有知覺地跳脫框架，運用想像力，才能無時無刻，都有創意，充滿新鮮。我們天馬行空的脫框，可使我們永遠海闊天空，開開心心，呼吸並享受著宇宙帶給我們的每一份恩賜。
 

學校、老師與學生
  學習，乃是人生不間斷的大事，它維繫著個人的發展，社會的進步，甚至國家的興衰。學校、老師及學生，是學習不可或缺的一環。一般而言，學習的場所是學校，學校設施，是指為達成教育目標，而設立的教學建築與設備，其內，包括校舍、庭園、運動場及其附屬設施等。學校的教室與辦公室，在校內的各建築物內；運動場包括田徑賽場地、球場、體育館、遊戲場與游泳池；庭園是指學校的庭院空間。學校是實施教育的場所，其設施與環境，應具備教育意味與價值，並擔負起薰育沐化的作用。學校環境與設施，大大影響著師生的健康、工作、休閒、情緒、場所感和歸屬感。其運作的良好，則能增進教師的教學效率，學生的學習成就，及師生對學校的認同感。因應近來多起刑事案件，為防範重大校安事件發生，學生應隨時注意自身的安全及預防，其注意事項如下：
(一)上學勿單獨太早到校，放學不要太晚離開校園，務必結伴同行，或由家人陪同，不行經漆黑小巷，或人煙罕至的地方，及進出危險的場所。
(二)學生應配合學校作息時間，課餘時，避免單獨留在教室，不單獨上廁所，避免到校園偏僻的死角，以確保自身的安全。
(三)課後社團及自習班的教室，應集中配置，減少放學後樓層出入口的動線。學生如在校內遇到陌生人，或可疑的人物，應立即通知師長。
(四)遇到陌生人問路時，學生可熱心告知，但不必親自引導前往，切勿聽信他人的要求，繳交金錢，或隨同離校。
(五)學生在校外發現陌生人跟隨，應快速跑至人多的地方，或便利商店，並大聲喊叫，吸引他人的注意，尋求協助。
只要我們好好利用學校的設備，注意安全，學校內的設施，定可發揮其最大的功能，供老師與學生充分使用。
    再者，一位好老師，需要不斷進步的專業知識、教學熱情、良好的品德操守，以及能將複雜事物簡化，並激勵學生的能力。也就是說，老師的專業特質，是要具備深厚的學科知識，能清晰且深入地傳授知識，並有主動學習的能力，不斷求進步。老師要對教學的內容和學生，有真誠的熱情，能付出心力，耐心教導，能贏得學生的信任，作為學生的榜樣。老師的專業與熱誠，是相互依存的，專業的知識，提供了教學的根基，而熱誠則是激發學生的學習動力。一位有專業和熱誠的老師，不僅是知識的傳遞者，更是學生的引導者，及心靈的啟迪者，他/她肩負著傳承文化，與培育未來人才的重大使命。當老師具有信任、真誠、開放、接納和耐心的人格特質時，學生自然能充分信任老師，願意開放地學習與討論，展現自己的能力。此外，現今的老師，更要以「生命教育」為重點，期望從情感、人際、生活、人生、生命各方面，啟發學生對「生命意義」的瞭解。在傳統的教學模式中，老師是站在教室前方講課，而學生是坐在下面聽課的，但是，有些學生全神貫注，有的則心不在焉。由於學生的程度不一，老師的教學，除了關心外，更需要熱誠與尊重。在「亦師亦友」的前提下，老師可親近地跟學生溝通、互動。老師「熱誠」的態度，學生絕對懂得，其情誼，甚至在學生畢業之後，還能長長久久，保持連繫。
    最後，在這瞬息萬變的世界裡，學生在學校，要持續的努力，才能成就卓越的未來。其實，成功的背後，都有著無數不為人知的辛勤與付出的。學會努力，學生才能在歲月的長河中，築起屬於自己的燦爛未來。每個人都有夢想，無論是想成為一位出色的醫生，或是成功的企業家，我們都需要靠不斷的努力來實現。成功的過程，絕不是一帆風順的，往往充滿艱辛與挑戰。努力是一種選擇，當我們遇到挫折時，選擇努力，將決定我們最終的成就。在校園中，透過老師的教導，我們學生要努力的學習。對於學生而言，每一個清晨的早起，每一次對知識的探索，都是努力的體現。在努力的過程中，我們會遇到各種困難，經由老師在身邊的指引，我們學習鍛煉自己的意志，提升自我的能力。努力是一種生活的態度，因著良師的教誨，我們努力前行，學會在社會上的基本素養與技能。學校是一個教育學生的地方，它像一棵大樹，是成熟、茁壯的，學生就像樹葉一般，在成長中，有無限的可能。老師在學校，努力精進，教導學生，教學相長，落實「亦師亦友」，跟學生建立良好的關係，學生也相信自己的能力，努力達成目標，獲取好成績，將來貢獻社會。學校、老師與學生，相輔相成，缺一不可，讓我們一生的學習，活到老，學到老，永無止盡。

Vision of My Life
 Vision clarifies our life purposes. We all asked ourselves, at one time or another, that why we are here. And where do we see ourselves in life? In fact, we all are here with specific purposes, i.e., our vision. Then, what exactly is the vision? The dictionary defines vision as an act or power of anticipating which will come to be. In other words, vision gives directions of our lives to let our goals and purposes become a reality. So, in order to understand where we want ourselves to be in life, we must have a clear vision over our lives. Once we understand that vision clarifies purposes, life will become simpler and more meaningful. Actually, the vision of my life decides who I am now.
First of all, vision chooses our friends and the company we keep.People are attracted and spend time with others who have the same vision, and are disciplined in their vision. That is, we normally make friends with people who know where they are headed in life.The great thing is that vision not only benefits and helps us, but also makes room for others to learn and grow in their purposes as well.
Secondly, vision decides how we spend our time.In reality, how we spend our time is all connected to our vision. If our vision is important to us, the time we spend pursuing it will reflect it.In order to reach our goals and purposes, the time we spend will determine our actions to achieve our vision. If time wasted today, we cannot get back tomorrow because tomorrow is not guaranteed. Money, people, and opportunities can always come again later in life, but once the time is gone, it is gone forever. Therefore, if we have clear vision, we are sure that we won’t waste our time. On the contrary, we certainly make the most of our time to take action.
Thirdly, vision creates our habits. Not only does vision decide our friends, how we spend our time, but also it creates our habits. Vision does a lot of things for us to realize what we want.For example, in order to strengthen my professional knowledge, I do take time to read books for 30 minutes every day. Day after day, I, finally, realize that it surely becomes my good habit to read books before I go to bed. Habits are the things that, most of the time, we do every day without thinking about it.It’s important to know that the way we spend our time, energy and resources can contribute us one step closer than we were yesterday. The truth is that our vision and purposes of life can help us create our good habits.
At last, finding and realizing our purposes of life is not easy. But once we comprehend our purposes and write down the vision, our lives could become simple and less complex. Society has made us believe that the busier we are, the more successful and important we are.As soon as we understand our purposes and vision, we know why we are here, busy and what we want. I can see my vision to be an English teacher, a classical, ballet dancer, a pianist and a yoga practitioner. I am very happy to make friends with English teachers and ballet dancers. I spend most of my time to practice English, to dance and play the piano, and even to form good habits of rehearsing them every day. My vision really lets me know what I want and the purposes of my life. With vision of my life, I, indeed, feel pleased and enjoy myself very much.  

奇幻與現實 Fantasy and Reality
 學生寫小說，請我拜讀，我十分樂意，只見主角、配角、英雄、軍團、人魚、反派人物、魔鬼、命運使者、怪物等···，充斥劇情，引發我無限地好奇與深思！小說中有1、英雄：他們承載著拯救世界的使命，具有強烈的道德感、勇氣和領導能力，經歷成長與挑戰，最終克服困難，實現自我救贖。2、反英雄：反英雄是追求金錢和復仇的角色。3、命運使者：這一角色往往肩負著某種預言或重大使命，注定要對抗黑暗勢力，充滿挑戰和自我發現。4、邪惡的統治者：他們是統治者或魔法師，追求權力與控制，利用其影響力，進行操控和陰謀，造成大量的衝突和混亂。5、墮落的英雄：此為反派角色，原本可能是英雄，但因悲慘的經歷或選擇，而走上邪路。他們的轉變，因被外部環境所迫，常引發同情和理解。6、無情的怪物：怪物或惡魔，代表人類內心的黑暗，其異形生物或超自然虛體，使英雄的旅程，更具挑戰性。奇幻小說很有趣，但是，奇幻不是為了逃避現實，因為，奇幻本身就是現實。說穿了，奇幻是透過不同的視角，看待現實。人們常會因煩惱，而尋求慰藉，奇幻正是我們現實的產物。在托爾金的《魔戒》中，種族的歧視，反映了殘酷的現實；精靈騎著高頭的大馬，是帶有優越感的；妖怪容不下仙女，便摧毀仙女的棲息地···等等。魔法、巨龍、寶藏、戰爭，小說的情節與故事，正是反映出我們所面臨的嚴峻現實。奇幻的魔法，讓我們看到神奇的世界，其實是與我們的世界，有多麼地相似啊。
     我們的思想與價值觀，是出自人類的視野、認知與思維運作的，我們對虛構的想像，也是基於現實之所見。因此，虛構創作所呈現出的觀點、生活風格、生命概念與樣貌，及抽象的意識形態，基本上，注定逃離不了人類的心靈。平淡的生活，是不可能存在奇幻性的。奇幻、科幻小說，是因應現實而誕生的。奇幻故事，就是緬懷過往的美好年代；其想像的社會或夢境，則是寄情於古老的美好舊時光。想像離不開現實，甚至奠基於現實，所以，所有的奇幻小說，都是由真實的地面長出來的。奇幻小說是以虛構世界為背景，融合魔法、神話、超自然力量的文學體裁。故事常發生在一個虛擬的宇宙，超越現實的物理法則，充滿魔法、異種生物及英雄冒險等，這些元素不受現實世界的科學法則約束，擁有複雜的歷史、文化、地理及獨特的生物，通常以善惡之爭為核心。小說中的英雄，也肩負著拯救世界的使命或責任，透過冒險，獲得成長，最終戰勝邪惡的勢力。英雄借助超自然的力量和規則，創造出獨特的體驗，包括，逃離現實，體驗未知的世界，魔法、咒語、神器、及各種超自然現象，如巨龍、精靈、吸血鬼等，並經歷複雜的社會問題和哲學思考。其中，善惡的對立，是故事的主軸，善良的主角，與邪惡的反派之間的對抗，是推動故事情節的重要因素。此外，奇幻世界是廣闊無垠、充滿可能性的虛擬構想，我們藉由對虛構的無限，更能探索現實世界的深層底線。
     直至今日，人類科學家仍在試圖探索大自然的奧妙、海洋的真實，以及宇宙的神秘。即便是在當前高度發展的世界，人類的科技，仍無法觸及並掌握造物的完全風貌。對於世界，我們仍抱持著懷疑、好奇，與想像，這就是奇幻。
奇幻，不單單只是有猛龍與魔法，有偉大的英雄，和傳奇的寶劍而已。在奇幻的背後，其實是我們對於真實世界的好奇與疑問。我們靠著想像力的發揮，一面根據現實去定義，一面根據虛構去塑造，然後，兩者結合、交融，形成似真非真、似假非假的奇幻世界。奇幻具有不受現實框架的約束，具有高度延展的空間，可以任意發揮，超級可塑。也就是說，奇幻小說的世界觀，魔法系統，人物構想，奇幻生物，乃至於神祇、古代神獸等，都超越人類現實的範疇，是可以有更多演化或延伸的，甚至還可以有多種變體，無盡的可能性。想像是人類所擁有的能力，當人類有未解的難題、無法實現的慾望時，人類就會藉由想像來尋找答案，或寄託於虛構的幻想。想像力，是可以有很瘋狂的想法的，例如，看到鳥飛，人們就會想，如果人也能飛，那該多好！如果人能在時間軸上旅行，回到過去、拜訪未來，那又會是怎麼樣？在人類的文化歷史中，想像力豐富的藝術家、文學家，都能創造出許多美好的作品，留傳千古。我們透過不斷地思考，提出新點子和解決問題，不但可以開拓思維，發揮想像力，還可以培養無中生有的創造力。想像力和創造力，讓我們充分享受在超現實的奇幻世界裡，確實豐富了我們生活的內涵，開啟了我們無限可能的思維，更增加了生命的創新與挑戰。 

儀式感與存在感
有儀式感的人生，我們才能切實地有存在感，真正地感知生命，熱情地享受生活。那麼，儀式感是什麼呢？儀式感是人們表達內心情感，最直接的方式。其實，儀式感的目的，是透過一些耗時耗力、可有可無的動作，來表達我們認為重要的意義。我們的生活，多半平淡無奇，今天和昨天，似乎沒有什麼不同，但因為有某個儀式的存在，我們就會覺得，彷彿一切都不一樣了，這就是儀式感。儀式感可以將生活中平淡的瑣事，轉化成有特殊意義的事件，進而觸動我們的心靈。
   《小王子》裡有一個片段：小王子第一次遇到狐狸時，狐狸告訴他，相識是需要一定的儀式的，這很重要，因為伴隨著這個儀式，原本很多無關緊要的東西，就會被賦予意義。好比狐狸看到小麥，就會想起小王子的髮色。有了儀式，生活就會有期待，小王子每天下午四點會出現，那麼，到了三點鐘的時候，狐狸就會滿心期待。儀式感就是使某一天與其他日子不同，或是，某一時刻與其他時刻相異。在這個世界上，大多數人，都是庸庸碌碌的，時光總是很容易被虛度。儀式感的作用，就是要讓我們在日常的煩瑣中，體驗到真正的愉悅。儀式感，說穿了，不過就是做一些小事，例如，買幾朵花，增加愉悅感；和朋友聚餐，帶著鮮花，氣氛會變得更溫馨、浪漫。又如，出門吃飯，精心化個淡妝，再根據餐廳的風格，搭配相應的服飾，那麼，我們就會感到特別新鮮、開心了。儀式感的目的，是要讓人感覺我們在認真的生活，而不是蒼白度日。生活的意義，是需要主觀地賦予的，那是一種生活美學。沒有儀式感的生活，一年365天，除了吃喝拉撒睡，和日復一日重複的工作外，毫無期待，就算我們做了一輩子的好事，也沒人知道。我們尋求儀式感，只是在這個無情且殘酷的世界裡，讓某段時光或某個場景，能夠真實地受控於我們，並且賦予我們自己，有個人的色彩罷了。想像一下，在某個普通的午後，當我們端起一杯咖啡，四處看看時，是不是這一刻，突然變得特別不一樣了呢？一個小小地、簡單的動作，我們就能感受到片刻的寧靜和滿足，那就是儀式感啊！
    接著，何謂存在感呢？人生在世，就像在一條漫長且黑暗的河流裡，不斷地漂泊、流浪，我們到底在哪裡呢？誰能切實地、清楚明白地知道呢？可是，我們是不是依然不斷地前行？所謂存在感，就是讓我們有意識的活著，像小燈塔一樣，我們靠著燈塔微弱、閃爍的亮光，別人就能看到我們，而我們也確定自己的存在。也許燈塔的小光會吹滅，但是，我們依舊努力地在讓燈塔發光，為每一個平凡的日子，普通的行為，照出屬於我們自己的特性。
    存在型生活模式（Existential Mode of Living）是心理學家佛洛姆(Erich Fromm)，在20世紀中期，提出的一個重要概念。在他的著作《逃避自由》(Escape from Freedom)和《愛的藝術》(The Art of Loving)中，他認為，隨著工業化和資本主義的發展，現代社會中的人們，越來越感到孤立和無意義，這是一種「異化」現象。異化讓人失去自我、他人及世界的真實聯繫。佛洛姆強調，透過追求內在的自我，和建立有意義的人際關係，人可以克服異化，實現真正的存在。儀式感就是賦予人在日常行為的意義和連結，也就是說，儀式感讓我們在繁忙和碎片的生活中，找到意義，表現存在。人類學家湯瑪斯·摩爾(Thomas Moore)說：「儀式感賦予我們生活中的小事以靈魂，使我們的行動，充滿神聖。」所以，舉凡家庭聚餐、公司團康、節日慶典、宗教儀式、傳統婚禮等，這些儀式感的活動，不僅促進大家的互動和交流，還強化群體的認同和歸屬。當今社會中，越來越多人重視存在型生活模式，因為，透過儀式感，我們可以大大地提升生活的幸福和滿足。義大利有句流行的口頭禪：「Piano, Piano」，不是指鋼琴，而是指「慢慢來，慢慢來」。對當地的居民來說，這不只是一句口號，而是內化的生活態度。義大利人生活，動作很慢，他們放慢速度，並非放空、毫無安排，而是一種生活的平衡，沒有一定的公式，也不用特別到深山隱居。他們的慢活、慢養，是為了更自在、更長遠的社會秩序。換句話說，即便我們藏身在都市叢林，我們的精神，也能放個假，慢慢地幸福過活。儀式感就是在平日愈繁忙中，愈要好好經營時間，為疲累的身心加滿油，於是，隔天又是元氣滿滿！過幸福的小日子不難，就是要自己提案、自己實踐，讓生活真正活起來，不流於形式，只是熱情地認真生活，人生就很美好。

回不去了
我們常會在繁華的深處，喧譁的街角，人際的紛雜中，感嘆回不去了。然而，是美好的，卻永遠存在。縱然，我們有很多事情，都回不去了，但是，我們若記得愛與被愛，那便是美好的回憶了。
回不去了。小時候，看到爸媽的眼神
回不去了。以前的日夜嘆息，原來可以開花結果
回不去了。想念爸媽的日子
回不去了。那時爸媽有多健康
回不去了。那些擦肩走過的人
回不去了。已經漲價了
回不去了。口罩也拿不下來
回不去了。開會都是線上，吃飯要外送、宅配
回不去了。日常且細瑣的食衣住行
回不去了。看著背影，心底總有好多話
     是的，許多曾經，其實都過去了，時間每十年、十年地飛逝，就這樣，好多的人事物，都是回不去的。生命何其弔詭，在「回不去了」的同時，我們隨著時間的步調，又有新的地圖、新的計劃。生活一天天地過，看似單調，卻彷彿一直在重複。逝者如斯，不捨晝夜，我們好像只能活在當下，因為，所有的人事物，都有它回不去的理由，食衣住行育樂，無處不漲，世界變化萬端，朝令夕改，我們好像只有美好的曾經Good old days，卻不知未來的展望。
     難道，沒有什麼我們能回得去的嗎？物質條件，恐怕沒有；但是，精神方面，也許我們可以自己訂製。人生只有一次，反正也回不去了，就該享受當下，用心過好自己的生活。我們如果能找到自己的生活節奏，讓自己的成長，穩步推進，為每天達成的小目標，感到充實和幸福，那就太棒了。因此，為了不讓自己有「回不去」的遺憾，我們每天都要自我反省與改造，不論大事或小事，都要自律，養成良好的習慣，我們若能看到自己的進步，就是開心。在生活中，遇到不知道的事物，我們就是要去理解，不讓自己的心思定型，要時常思考新的可能，發現新的自己。
      是的，我們可以隨時設計巧思，讓生活過得不一樣，例如，處處製造儀式感，吃浪漫的餐飲，去公園散步、遛狗等。試著在生活中，注入新元素，摘一、兩朵花，寫三兩行字，即使是小小的設計，都能讓我們每天的生活，過得不一樣的。此外，我們要常常珍惜物品、珍惜自己。每天，我們都可觸摸身邊的物品，加入我們的氣息，讓物品顯得神采奕奕。同樣地，我們自己身體的各個部位，每天也要好好照顧，確認自己健康無恙。蔡康永說：「活著應該要體會成就感，而不只是去追求成功。關鍵是，我們要過自己的生活。」人生的每個階段，都值得做「生涯規劃」，自己的選擇與決定，非常重要。生涯規劃，是要找到我們自己理想的生活樣貌。理想的生活，不一定是買車、買房，也許要好好陪伴家人，或者，在工作之餘，發展自己的興趣，做對別人有幫助的事。自我覺察，也很重要，每一個覺察，都在幫助我們檢視自己，看看自己是否有自我肯定、自信和自我價值；是否有找到自己最舒適、自在的生活狀態。我們要隨時告訴自己：「今天的我，比昨天更進步，明天的我，比今天懂得更多。」人生的馬拉松，有無限的方向和可能。我們要調整步伐，定調屬於自己的成就感，活出自己想要的理想生活。

宇宙的護持與庇佑 Support and Protection of the Universe
我們經常談論恆星、行星、動物、天空、地球、水與雪，卻忘了我們是大自然的一份子。所有的古代文明，都透過宗教、形上學和哲學來問，宇宙將走向何方？我們替恆星命名，測量出地球到月球的距離，在礦物學中，我們學到岩石的不同特質，還有地表變化的地殼運動等。當我們拿一個東西，並讓它從手中落下時，我們看到它向下墜落，是地心引力。地球上的小物質，與我們身處的大物質之間，有一種自然的吸引力，而且，我們知道此吸引力是永恆的、不變的。一般來說，當我們遇到困難時，我們會試著努力一段時間，但如果很困難，沒有解決，我們就會退讓。在大自然的事物中，它們擁有超越時間的韌性，並永遠都在達到目的，永不休止。一顆小小的種子，埋在冬天佈滿雪的土地下，會耐心地等待春天到來，當春天來臨時，那顆小小的種子，便破土抽芽，向上尋找空氣與陽光，長大成樹，開花結果，植物具備了「懂得等待與成長」的能力，那是「堅韌」。再拿「水」為例，無論我們把水倒在哪裡，水都會朝向大海而去，蒸發成氣體，上升到大氣，凝結成雲，再化作水落下，成為大自然循環的一部分。宇宙萬物，皆其來有自。葉子的呼吸孔，是在下方，而不是在上方，因為如果在上方的話，葉子會被灰塵覆蓋，無法呼吸，所以，葉子的呼吸孔，生在下方，這是巧合嗎？蝴蝶的翅膀顏色，剛好跟花朵、樹葉一樣，好讓牠不會被鳥捕食，這是巧合嗎？貓頭鷹的翅膀尖端，是平滑的，所以，牠們就能在夜間飛行時，不發出任何聲響，獵捕到兔子，這可能是巧合嗎？囓ㄋㄧㄝˋ齒類動物的耳朵，是向後的，這樣，牠們就可以聽到掠食者所發出的細微動靜，這可能是巧合嗎？我們可以透過光譜，將白色的光，拆分成七彩顏色，為何是七種色彩呢？雖然宇宙萬物是如此多重多樣，但它們卻不約而同的尋著軌跡活著，這冥冥之中，是否有一個大智慧，支配著這一切呢？我們不能說，大自然所有的一切，都是巧合。相反地，我們必須去意識到，是有一個最深遠的大智慧，安排了這一切的。
    據了解，宇宙的自然運行，可分成七個原則：
(1) 第一個原則是「合一」。整個宇宙是協調合一的，換句話說，所有的世間萬物，都遵循著「合一」的原則，相互協調成一個宇宙。當生命活著的時候，它們不會毀滅其它生命，而是使所有的生命，成為可能。例如，狼在草原上追趕鹿時，牠不會抓最年輕的，而是抓最老的，這意味著，即使在我們看來，是毀滅的行為，很殘酷，但卻是一種能讓物種得以永存的方式。自然中不存在任何問題、質疑或反抗的聲音，因為，所有事物都會完美的協調與平衡。
(2) 第二個原則是「光」。自然中的萬物，皆擁有光，無論是形體上的，還是精神上的。光在宇宙是永遠存在的，我們需要知識，去理解宇宙的光，來幫助我們去生活，提升生命。
(3) 第三個原則是「差異」。自然中的所有事物，都是不同的。沒有兩個東西，是絕對一樣，或完全相同的。所有的事物，都是不同的，就算是沙灘上的沙粒，看起來似乎一樣，但仍不盡相同。我們可以是相等的，但不是平等；我們可以是相似的，但不是相同。就好比不同顏色的馬賽克，具有相似的色調，但永遠不會完全相同。
(4) 第四個原則是「組織」。宇宙萬物都是有組織、有條理順序的。我們看到一顆樹，聳立於大地上，擁有結實的樹幹，茂密的樹梢，支持著鳥兒，讓鳥兒們得以築巢棲息，這是大自然的安排。換句話說，宇宙的一切，都組織得井然有序，都精心設計過，萬物才得以相互共存共榮。組織意味著支持，就好比我們的雙手是相反的，它們才能夠組織自己，把東西撿起來，如果我們的雙手，是面向同一邊，我們應該很難撿東西吧！「組織」這個原則，使我們在生活與工作的同時，讓我們與別人，都發揮所長，成為最好的個體。
(5) 第五個原則是「因果」。每件事物，都是之前有因，之後有果的。在任何時候，每件事物，都同時是某個事物的結果，也是其他事物的起因，它們是彼此相連的。也就是說，我們不能置身度外，漠不關心。當然，也不能好管閒事，惹事生非。
(6) 第六個原則是「活力」。所有萬物，都是活著的。當我們說一個東西是否活著時，我們常以它是否會動、會飛或會成長來做判斷。但是，打從宇宙出現的那一刻起，並不是只有會動的生物，才算活著，會回饋、反抗的無生命體，也是活著的。宇宙中所有的一切，都不停的在動，萬物皆被「活力」所滲透，生生不息。因此，當我們說一個生命死亡時，其實生命並沒有死亡，它們只不過是改變了活著的條件、形態或方式而已。我們說，人死後，會去另一個看不見的世界，但是，其實人一直都看不見自己。真正的人，是在他所做的事情背後、在他的身體背後、在他的言語背後、及在他的行為背後，一直都活著的，永不消滅。
(7) 第七個原則是「週期」。自有人類以來，我們就注意到自然中有白天和黑夜、夏天和冬天。是的，週期包含所有的東西，一切都是循環不止的。行星在天空中，週期循環，微小的粒子，也在原子內循環移動。「週期」原則，可使生命不斷地延續與活躍。我們要有洞察力，需要新科學，需要新藝術，與新政治，讓我們能夠和睦相處，彼此精進。宇宙本身，就是周而復始的大自然，春夏秋冬，潮起潮落，無一例外。我們唯一能做的事，就是護持大自然，強烈地活在生命提供給我們的每時每刻，相信大自然的庇佑，永遠都在，且於無時無刻，心中都要有愛、信心及感恩，我們才能活的更新、更好。
    總之，和樂、和諧與合羣，是大自然的法則。從大自然中，我們看到很多真理，山河大地與日月星辰之間的平衡，恰到好處，身體的五臟六腑、四肢五官也相互協調。在宇宙裡，我們用理性與智慧，去看待一切。我們生命的本質，本自具足，不假外求。大自然的一切，也都互相利他，充滿大愛。我們只要在日常的生活、工作，為人、處事當中，各盡其職，恪守本分，心存善念，充滿信心，我們必會得到宇宙的護持與庇佑。

信心、善良與自在 Confidence, Kindness and Feeling at Ease
Confidence, kindness, and feeling at ease are all inborn and interconnected virtues that we possess to live in the world. Confidence allows us to navigate challenges with self-assurance, while kindness fosters positive relationships and a sense of connection. When we own the above-mentioned qualities, we experience a sense of ease and inner peace. Feeling at ease implies a sense of comfort, relaxation, and inner peace. In other words, when we are confident and kind, we are more likely to feel at ease in our minds and in social situations. By actively cultivating confidence, kindness, and a sense of ease, we, definitely, can create more positive and fulfilling lives for ourselves and others.
First of all, confidence is a feeling of self-assurancearising from an appreciation of our own abilities or qualities. It’s about believing in ourselves and our capacities to handle situations and achieve goals. It’s also a positive expectation for us to succeed and to deal with challenges. Confidence isn’t just a feeling, but involves the willingness to take action and pursue aims. It’s the belief that we can do something, for sure. Therefore, confidence is the most important resource in human well-being and performance. Further, what we think has a significant impact on changes in our attitudes. Thus, the best way for us to build self-confidence is to act as if we already possess it.This is where visualization can be beneficial. We were all born with confidence, and we can all get it back if we learn harder. By continually practicing and training our brains to be more confident, we would generate a more consistent outlook that results in a more positive attitude. Moreover, confidence doesn’t come from knowing everything, but from knowing that we can handle what comes up. No one in the world knows everything. Everyone is good at some things, but is not good at other things. If someone criticizes us, we take it as an opportunity to improve. If someone does better than us, we should see it as an chance to learn from them. Even confident people lose jobs, relationships, and sometimes, their health. Hence, when we realize that the twists and turns have nothing to do with what we did or should have done, it’s easier for us to feel confident in the world.
Secondly, kindness involves a spirit of helpfulness, being generous and considerate, without expecting anything in return. Rather than viewing kindness exclusively as an action, giving kindness often is simple, free and healthy. Actually, kindness can increase our sense of connection with others, decrease loneliness, combat low mood and improve relationships. When we share kindness, it’s not just about how we treat other people, but also about how we extend those same behaviors and intentions to ourselves. Dalai Lama said, “Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible for us.” The more we do for others, the more they are likely to do for us.Even if things are hard for us right now, we still can try and find some small things to celebrate each day. Humans are usually hardwired to be kind. Nevertheless, if we want to show kindness to others, why not we start by being kind to ourselves first. Anyway, practicing kindness is free and is readily available to everyone.
      At last, just as one single act of kindness can create a domino effect (ripple effect) that benefits dozens of people, everyone has the way to influence more than he/she thinks that he/she has. That is, anything that we feel comfortable with and get better at, takes practice. Whether it’s playing a sport, cooking, gardening and drawing, nothing gets better without practice. Every time we practice, we strengthen the neural pathways in our brains associated with doing that action. Eventually, something that we once felt difficult and insurmountable becomes easy in our everyday life.Practice makes perfect. In fact, perfection isn’t required. We just need practice, and we can make progress! In our fast-paced world, it’s easy to overlook these small, genuine acts of harmony in our daily lives. So, we must be able to let go of the old beliefs, and find a profound sense of fulfillment and contentment within ourselves. We have to take easy to comprehend that it is the present moment in the simple choices we make, the intentions we set, and the ways we treat ourselves and others.Haven’t we, recently, had the time to cook healthy and balanced meals for ourselves and our loved ones, or to reconnect with an old friend or our family members? When we live at ease, we are, then, enjoying the sun shining on us, the buds starting to open, and the birds singing. Our hearts and minds are strong and complex, and we need to feed them with love and respect always. To be at ease is to be relaxed, centered and calm even in the midst of difficult situations. Life is not easy. But if we bring an energy of ease to each moment, we can find a lightness that offers support. To be at ease does not mean that everything is going our ways and falling into places just as expected. To be at ease means that even when things are not going as planned, there is an effortlessness to our steps, and it will be okay no matter what. The universe works with a balance of constriction and expansion. Thus, it’s much easier to be at ease when we feel expanded, and all is going well. There are two stated definitions of ease: 1) to make something unpleasant, painful, serious or severe; and 2) to move carefully, gradually, or gently. Being at ease actually requires both definitions in order to work. We must move with gentle intentions and mindful awareness while remembering to drop resistance that arises in certain situations. Ease is not something that comes automatically. It is something we must practice in a world full of unease. We have a choice in every moment to bring the energy of ease into our existence. The more feeling at ease we have, the easier lives we experience. To sum up, in order to be healthy and happy people, we ought to have full confidence in ourselves, and practice kindness to others. We, then, feel at ease in our whole lives in return.

Grit恆毅力
Grit為恆毅力，特別是指對長期目標的熱情和毅力，以不屈不撓的精神，去追求目標，即使遇到挫折，也要堅持下去的特質。簡單來說，恆毅力就是要有決心和毅力，去努力達成目標，不輕易放棄的力量。恆毅力(grit)，是需要有追求長期目標的熱情(passion)與毅力(perseverance)的，它不僅只是努力1週或1個月而已，而是持續長達數年的努力，直到目標實現為止。心理學家Angela Duckworth指出，恆毅力(grit)是比智商、天賦更重要的成功特質，即使在遭受困境失敗後，有恆毅力支撐的長期目標，依然會堅固地毫不動搖 (steadfast)。Duckworth的研究顯示，恆毅力較高的人，有較好的表現。在全美兒童拼字比賽中，恆毅力強的孩子，學得很多，也更容易在競賽中勝出。在比賽中，天分高的孩子，不見得會花很多時間練習，還不如恆毅力高的孩子。天賦和恆毅力，是毫無關連的。我們的潛力是一回事，但是，我們做什麼，又是另外一回事。結論是，相信恆毅力，我們就是相信個人的成功，是完全掌握在自己的手上的。
我們可以藉由成長型思維模式 (growth mindset)，來鍛鍊恆毅力，例如，我們可以尋求協助、嘗試新方法、或從挫敗中學習等，靠後天的訓練，來讓自己變得更強壯，跳脫天生的限制，往前邁進。Duckworth提出，要獲得成功與成就，外在的機會，很重要。例如，跟著好的指導教練或老師，長時間的學習，一樣是可以成功的。同時，內在的心理，深信努力的成效，也至關重要。「成長型思維模式」認為，大腦的學習能力是可以改變的，就如同身體的肌肉一樣，它會因為我們的努力與自我訓練，而有所進步與成長。因此，在生活中，我們可以重新詮釋成功與失敗的經驗。成功並不代表我們很聰明，或許是我們非常努力的成果；相反地，失敗亦不代表我們愚笨，那可能是我們努力不夠，或是沒有恆毅力。我們可以有成長型的思維，隨時檢視與調整自己的學習方式，重新型塑自己大腦功能的成長，這樣，絕對會讓我們一次次更接近成功。
      Duckworth建議：「如果你是家長，想要培養孩子的恆毅力，又不想抹煞孩子自己選擇的能力，我建議你試試困難任務規定(Hard Thing Rule)。」簡言之，當我們的孩子年紀夠大時，我們可以幫他們找出可能感興趣的課外活動，然後，讓小孩每週花點時間，投入他們感興趣的困難事物，如此，真的可以幫助他們成長。「困難任務規定」(Hard Thing Rule)，分成三部分。第一部分是全家每個人，包括爸爸、媽媽，都必須做一件困難的任務。所謂「困難任務規定」，是指需要每天刻意練習的事情，例如跑步，練瑜伽，學鋼琴，學芭蕾舞，練習數學，或英文會話等。「困難任務規定」的第二部分是，我們可以放棄任務，但是，至少我們要等到一季結束、學期結束，或是達到某個截止點，完成某個段落後，才能停止，不可以因為被老師罵，比賽輸了，或是隔天早上要表演，不能去朋友家過夜等理由而放棄。最後，「困難任務規定」的第三部分是，我們有權利自己挑選那件困難的事。沒有人可以強迫我們做困難的任務，那絕對是我們自己的選擇。既然是自己的選擇，我們就應該努力好好完成任務才行。我們絕對是可以隨著年齡的增長，變得更有恆毅力的，因為，恆毅力就像學習任何技能一樣，需要練習，假以時日，我們一定可以練出屬於自己的恆毅力的。
     在安琪拉 達克沃斯 (Angela Duckworth)的書中，書名是《恆毅力：人生成功的究極能力》(Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance)，她強調，天分或努力，都不是成就的唯一條件，持久熱情，再加上堅持毅力，才是最重要的致勝關鍵。我們的恆毅力，並非運氣。能成功，是因為我們灌注熱情；可卓越，是因為我們堅持不懈。「堅持到底，勿忘初心」是我們這個世代最需要的特質，而書中告訴我們，專注一個方向，竭盡所能，充滿熱情地去實踐，並在所有的事物中，洞察各種模式和動機，不斷整合可行的方法，這樣，才能清楚地描繪出「成功」的輪廓。我們生命中的每一段挑戰、挫折、改變與調適，都是需要我們關關難過，關關過的，最終，陪伴我們一生成就的，就只有恆毅力了。恆毅力是我們跨越每一個階段最大的動力。恆毅力也是我們教導孩子，能否度過難關，有能力為自己做選擇的關鍵。我們要用更多充足的愛與陪伴，鍛鍊孩子的恆毅力，讓他們去創造屬於他們自己的成功。也許，社會的價值觀，都是想要追求快、想要速成的，不過，一但我們了解到，唯有日積月累的努力，才能完成時，我們就不會太執著於成效，而忘了失敗才是奠定成功的基石。當我們擁有恆毅力時，我們將會更堅定地朝著自己的目標前進，更不畏任何困難的挑戰與挫折。

Childhood Memories回憶小時候
Childhood memories often involve simple, joyful experiences like playing with friends, spending time with family, learning new things, such as riding a bike or making a kite, or the simple pleasure of eating snacks after school. The memories we formed in childhood are the enduring touchstones to who we are now, and the people we have become. How do we come to terms with our memories of childhood, and find ways to live more creatively now? Maybe, memories of childhood come back to us incompletely. A sense of nostalgia for who we were is still an ongoing work in progress. Perhaps, we only remember fragments of experiences, feelings and places in our childhood, but they remain vital to us. The past, indeed, has affected us. They can shape our self-identities, influence the choices we make, and decide the ways how we interact with others. When we want to strengthen relationships with others or form new ones, we might tap into (挖掘) our childhood memories more than we realize. Memories matter. The more time we take to reminisce, recollect, and share our memories, the more likely those memories are to stay with us and help us grow. Childhood memories have a powerful hold on us, They do have a deep impact on our physical and mental health, and have the power to provide comfort and resilience for us.
Memories are an essential part of the human life. Especially, positive childhood memories, such as happy family moments, supportive relationships and joyful experiences, can foster happiness, confidence and security. Childhood memories can be remarkably strong and influential. These memories, particularly those tied to significant emotional events, can be vivid and deeply ingrained. Obviously, our family and cultural environment significantly influence what memories we form and how we remember them. Family traditions, cultural narratives, and even the ways our families talk about past events can become our childhood memories. They can influence our preferences, our fears, and even our relationship patterns. Growing up, we create countless memories that stay with us for a lifetime, and further, these memories play a significant role in constructing our future selves.
I remember my childhood as a series of vivid and joyful memories that I hold dear to my heart. From playing with my siblings to spending time with my grandparents, each moment was filled with love and laughter. Some of my fondest memories are of summer vacations, where my family and I would travel to different parts of the country and explore new places. I would spend hours collecting seashells on the beach, playing with sand, and building sandcastles. These memories bring a smile to my face even now, and remind me of the carefree spirit I had as a child. I also have fond memories of my grandmother, who taught me to bake my first cake, and instilled in me a love for cooking. I still use her recipes to this day, and often think of her when I’m in the kitchen. These are all my happy and positive childhood experiences. Positive childhood memories really contribute to the development of a healthy, confident personality like me.
Moreover, one of the reasons why childhood memories are so important is that they provide a sense of continuity and stability in our lives. They remind us of the people, places, and things that were important to us, and they serve as a bridge between our past and present. When we revisit our childhood memories, we can see how far we have come, and appreciate the journey we have been on. This sense of continuity and stability helps us feel grounded, and provides a sense of comfort, especially during times of change or uncertainty. As we age, we gradually comprehend that positive childhood memories reduce our stress and anxiety, and improve our self-esteem. They are also the source of inspiration and motivation, reminding us of the things we are capable of and the dreams we once had. Whether it is through photographs, videos, or simply by revisiting these memories in our minds, we need to make an effort to preserve and cherish our childhood memories. In sum, recognizing the importance of our childhood memories enables us to foster a deeper connection with ourselves and others, contributing to a richer, more fulfilling life. 

有給才會得
試想看看，在日常生活中，我們是不是無時無刻都在接受別人的給予呢？是的！就連我們現在有手機可以滑、有車子可以開、有電可以用……等等，這一切都是因為曾經有人為此付出努力，我們才能得到。所以，其實我們每個人，無時無刻都在接受別人的付出。然而，這所有的一切，都是理所當然的嗎?當然不是。我們每個人都有給予的能力，我們會幫助過馬路的老人，幫他提東西。我們會捐善款，幫助弱勢，有錢出錢，有力出力。所有我們願意付出的人，都不是為了求得回報，才做這些事的，而我們也明白，給予的同時，獲得的更多。人體就像是一個容器，整個宇宙，是取之不盡、用之不竭的寶庫，任由我們使用。生命的本質是流動，我們通過給予而流動，給予的越多，流入的也就越多。我們願意·創造自己的價值，將自己的能量給出去，在這個世界上，我們做最想做、最有興趣的事情，然後，讓一切的能量流通，我們的能量，就會不斷地傳遞出去，最後，再回到我們自己的身上。
     儘管給予者並非為了回報才付出，但是，他們的貢獻，卻可以觸及最多數人，因此，他們潛在的回報，也最多。真心給予者的出發點，一直都是想要貢獻社會的。事實上，給予者能關懷他人，更能強化自我和社會形象。他們懂得將立足點拓寬，呵護自己的精力和時間，然後，貢獻自己的善意和專長，造福自己，同時更造福身邊的所有人。愛因斯坦說：「一個人的價值，應該看他貢獻什麼，而不是看他取得什麼。」未來的世界，肯定是屬於給予者的，因為，給予就像迴力鏢一樣，我們所給予的一切，最後都會反饋到我們自己身上，甚至加倍奉還。其實，在日常生活中，我們常不自覺地，從「給予」中獲得滿足，有些付出，是微小到我們並不意識自己在給予的，然而，如此給予的力量與影響，卻無遠弗屆，不可勝數。譬如，我們給早晨第一班公車司機，一個大大的微笑與早安，我們順手把統一發票，丟進超商的愛心盒裡···等等，我們先拋給世界一顆好球，然後，世界回饋給我們的，卻是一支滿壘的全壘打。給予真的很簡單，只要心念一轉，不僅我們自己快樂，更多的是，別人也可以很快樂。又如，我們給異鄉的母親打通電話，對朋友真誠的感謝，給情人深深的擁抱，給同事肯定的眼神，這些都是給予。身體的擁抱，讓我們感受彼此的溫度，透過肢體的交流，我們感受到暖意與正能量。而精神的擁抱，更讓我們在思想上，可包容他人，願意用同理心，去理解與我們不同的人。我們以為「付出就是給予他人」，最後會發現，付出就是回饋自己。讚美別人，自己也會得到別人的美言。我們給別人一個笑容，自己也會收到回眸的一笑。
     給予是迴力鏢效應。我們的正向能量，如付出、給予、誠實、善意、幫助、同理、尊重、影響、圓滿、意義、關注、快樂、認同、感恩等等，就像迴力鏢一樣，是會彈回來的。如果我們對人惡，它也會惡向我們的，實在得不償失。所以，我們要傳遞正向、善意、溫暖與祝福，因為，那最終，就是會回饋到我們自己身上。
當我們給予別人知識，其實，我們將擁有更多的智慧；當我們給予別人勇氣，我們定能擁有更大的力量；當我們給予別人肯定，我們也有更誠摯的尊敬；當我們給予別人關懷，我們會有更深刻的溫暖；當我們給予別人舞台，我們更有寬廣的世界；當我們給予別人機會，我們有更美好的無限可能。我們所擁有的價值，端看我們能給予別人多少價值、及能提升別人多少價值，這才是真正的成功。當我們改變了自己的觀念、態度，在內心真正改變了，於是，我們慢慢會發現，好事會愈來愈多，今天好運、昨天也好運、前天也好運，似乎天天都有好事發生。
    給予，不但能讓好事不只成雙，還會時時讓我們保持正向的念頭，並能傳遞出去，這樣，日日都是好日，天天都能添喜。給予永遠可以讓我們去創造自己的未來，讓世界變得更好。地球是圓的，整個世界都在繞著圈子，無論我們有沒有覺知，它一定會繞回來的。「凡你對別人所做的，就是對自己所做的。」這是歷來最偉大的教誨。不管我們對別人做了什麼，那個真正接收的人，並不是別人，而是我們自己。也就是說，當我們給予他人，為別人付出時，那個真正獲利的，也不是別人，而是我們自己。所以，凡事我們希望自己得到的，就必須先讓別人得到。同理，我們若想被愛，就要先去愛人。我們期望被人關心，就要先去關心別人。如果我們希望交到真心的朋友，我們就必須先對朋友真心。如果我們希望快樂，那就去帶給別人快樂，因為，不久之後，我們就會發現自己愈來愈快樂了。我們所能為自己做的最好的事情，就是去為他人多做點好事。己所欲，施於人。凡我們想給予自己的經驗，就給予別人；想別人怎麼對我們，我們就怎麼對待別人。如果我們給予金錢、名聲、任何的事物，我們真的將經歷金錢、名聲、任何事物的倍增。給予就是獲得，凡所有給去的東西，都會回到我們自己的身上的。

吃虧是福氣
吃虧這件事，大多數的人都不會想去經歷，因為吃虧就是被人占便宜、被人欺負，然而，反過來想，吃虧卻是一種磨鍊，甚至是一種福氣。就好比出門旅遊時，其他人搭乘交通工具，而自己卻徒步行走。乍看之下，好像自己吃虧了，但其實沒有。如果用走的方式，既能停下來欣賞沿途的風景，順便拍幾張照片，還能鍛鍊身體及意志，這樣的吃虧，不就是一種福氣嗎？人生有滿有損，有盈有虧，滿足時，其實暗藏了受損之災；對自己有損，就是對他人有益，這樣，在外既能得到人情的平順，在內可使自己心情安穩，既平且安，就是有福了。俗云：「聰明難，糊塗難，由聰明轉入糊塗更難，放一步，退一步，當下安心，非圖後來福報也。」在社會上，人人都想貪小便宜，沒有人要吃虧，但「吃虧是福，難得糊塗」，不是要占便宜，也不是為了福報，而是為了心安，為了人際的平順。雖說吃虧是福，但不是什麼虧都吃，也不能處處都忍讓別人，讓別人占便宜。有時，一味的委屈自己，只會讓別人變本加厲，被當成欺凌的對象。所以，吃虧還是要有底線的，如果會危害自身，就要學會說不。
    吃虧是一種智慧。吃虧是福，這是一句真話；吃虧不光是一種境界，更是一種睿智。能吃虧的人，通常一生平安，幸福自在；不能吃虧的人，往往在是非紛爭時，斤斤計較，在狹隘的自我思維中，蒙蔽了自己的雙眼。吃虧是能觀全局的眼光，是精明睿智的妥協，是淡定從容的灑脫，而不是去爭強鬥狠。學會吃虧的藝術，練就包容的心胸，才能在人際交往中，贏得廣泛的人脈資源。吃虧的人，一般來說，都會得到旁觀者的同情，不但贏得好人緣，還會在道義上，得到更多人的支持，為自己構築堅實的人脈。所以，吃虧表面是禍，其實是福；佔便宜，表面是福，其實是禍。奇怪的是，吃虧的人，常常老闆都願意與他合作，而且還會介紹朋友，再擴大到朋友的朋友。「一個人心胸有多大，他做成的事業，就有多大。」那些大成就者，幾乎都是肯吃虧的人。相反地，那些一事無成、庸庸碌碌的人，多半心胸狹窄、斤斤計較、不肯吃虧。
     有趣的是，其實，人類是處在一個平衡的系統。當我們的物質付出，超過我們的回報時，我們一定取得某種心理優勢；反之，當我們的物質獲得，超過付出的勞動，甚至不勞而獲時，我們反而會陷入某種心理劣勢。很多人拾金不昧，決不是因為跟錢有仇，而是因為不願意被一時的貪慾，搞壞了長久的心情。換句話說，人沒有無緣無故的得到，也沒有無緣無故的失去的。有時，你是用物質上的不合算，換取精神上的超額快樂。也有時，看似佔了金錢便宜，卻在不知不覺中，透支了精神的快樂。吃虧就是，在物質利益上，不是锱铢必較，而是寬宏大量。在名譽地位面前，不是先聲奪人，而是先人後己。在人際交往中，不是惟我獨尊，而是尊重他人，賞識他人。如此這般以吃虧為榮為樂，勢必也會贏得人們的尊重和賞識。
     在12星座中，其中有3星座，特別不怕吃虧，傻人有傻福。雙魚座的日期是2月19日至3月20日。 牡羊座的日期是 3月21日至4月19日。天秤座的日期是 9月23日至10月23日。屬於此3星座的人，處事大方，不愛計較，懂得包容別人，總是先為別人付出。所以，遇到困難時，他們就能得到別人的回報，無形中成為有福氣的人。牡羊座的人，開朗樂觀，對人一向講義氣，當朋友有難，必定伸出援手，而且說到做到，但是，他們傻裡傻氣，不斷付出，也常常把自己累個半死，牡羊可說是典型的傻人有傻福，不是真傻，而是大智若愚，大方不愛計較的個性，讓他們廣交朋友，深得朋友的信賴，有付出就有回報，因此別人有好事，第一個就會想到他們，在他們有困難的時候，四面八方的朋友們，也都會施以援手，先吃虧後享福，無意間就成了有福之人。天秤追求世界和平，做事儘可能把傷害降低，對於越是在乎的人，天秤越是心軟，他們骨子裡有一種柔軟，寧願別人辜負自己，也不要辜負別人，所以，他們最容易受傷吃虧。不過，天秤自帶福氣，從小到大集寵愛於一身，家裡長輩、身邊朋友都能包容他們。他們心裡純淨無比，不知世間險惡，對世界充滿美好的幻想，楚楚可愛的表情，讓人不捨得破壞天秤這麼美好的憧憬。雙魚的內心，就像是個孩子，因為太容易相信別人，而經常吃虧，無論是在感情或事業方面，都會付出沉重代價。雙魚感情非常細膩，懂得包容他人，對人溫和有禮，人際關係很好，異性緣也很不錯，生活裡常受許多異性照顧，對他們噓寒問暖，關懷備至，這樣的雙魚，也算是一個有福氣之人。
    人虧天補，是宇宙自然的法則。我們眼前的一切，就是一個補償系統。每一種缺陷，都會由另一種方式，來彌補其不足。每一種痛苦，都會得到回報。每一種犧牲，都會得到報酬。每一筆債，都得償還。吃虧了，宇宙會補給我們。宇宙的補償法則，告訴我們，當我們伸手去幫助那些不幸的人時，我們的努力，沒有白費，宇宙會用某種形式，在適當的時機，回饋給我們。宇宙法則說，我們給予，祂就給予，因為這全都是我們應得的。宇宙的規律就是等價、等值的交換，人只要懂得奉獻，願意吃虧，內心就可以生出一種強大的力量。當你的內心足夠強大時，就有大愛，人際關係自然好，人人都願意跟我們相處、打交道，廣結善緣，廣種善果，自然修得福報。能吃虧是做人的一種境界，會吃虧是處事的一種睿智。吃虧是福，我們生生平安，都能幸福坦然。

自發性的感恩與慈悲 Spontaneous Gratitude and Compassion
自發性的感恩與慈悲，是由我們自己的身體，包括全身的細胞及組織與器官，和我們的內心，涵蓋情緒、感受等，自動發出的感謝與包容，那是人類生存最高的境界。Spontaneous gratitude and compassion are the thanks and tolerance that are automatically expressed by our own bodies, including the cells, tissues and organs throughout the body, and our hearts, covering emotions and feelings. It is the highest state of human existence.
      首先，讓我們來談一談，什麼是自發性。在賽斯資料中，賽斯的「自發性」，指的是一種「源於內在真實本我」的自然流露，「不受外在制約或恐懼」影響的狀態。它不是混亂或無序，而是「與宇宙和諧一致」，並能自然地「展現出創造力」的本質。自發性來自於我們最真實的自我，而不是我們所受到的社會規範、恐懼或外在期待。這種自發性，不受外在的控制或壓力所影響，它是一種自由的流動，順應內在的指引。自發性是與宇宙的秩序相協調的，它能讓我們與周圍的環境和諧共處，並自然地展現出創造力。當我們處於自發性的狀態時，我們更容易產生新的想法，並將這些想法付諸實踐。再者，自發性並非混亂或無序，而是一種「有秩序的流動」。它是一種內在的秩序，與外在的大自然相協調，並能自發地展現出創造力。總之，賽斯的自發性是一種「內在的力量」，它能幫助我們活出更真實、更有創造力的生活。
First of all, let’s talk about what spontaneity is. In Seth’s materials, Seth’s “spontaneity” refers to a state of natural expression “derived from the inner true self,” and it is “not affected by external constraints or fear.” It is not chaos or disorder, but it is “harmonious with the universe,” and it can naturally “show creativity.” 賽斯提到，魯柏有非常嚴重的關節炎，賽斯說，如果魯柏願意開始信任他自己，在內心對自己說，告訴自己，我願意信任自己，他就會找到生命的出口。我們需要的是信心。第一，我們要有想找到生命出口的渴望。第二，我們要有自己可以找到生命出口的信心，因為信心是所有一切中最重要的。當一個人開始信任自己時，他身體的盔甲就鬆了，而創造的能力就會變得更容易了。所謂的創造力，就是我們可以以一種過去沒有學過，或不知道的方式，來找到問題的解答。因為信任自己，我們才能信任自己的自發性。所謂的自發性，是所有追求心靈最重要的一個特質。當我們每個人都活在頭腦的框架裡，我們就會有越來越多的擔心、恐懼、和顧慮，而我們的生活，也會變成一座牢籠，我們會困在自己的執著裡。賽斯對魯柏說，他對自己的創造性不信任，所以他才會產生精神性及肉體性的屏障，來對抗他的自發性。也就是說，有時候，我們明明很累了，可是我們的頭腦，卻一直告訴我們要繼續堅持，不肯休息。如果我們能順著自己的內心，不要強迫自己，那麼我們的自發性，會自動療癒身心。但是，如果我們永遠不容許自己軟弱、求助，那麼，我們最後就會面臨最大的軟弱。自發性告訴我們，千萬不要太在意別人的看法，社會的價值，甚至父母的眼光。我們的自發性，會有創造力，這些創造力必須被信任。賽斯希望我們去發掘自己內在的、自發性的自我，及創造性的自我。當我們在人生中，越信任自己時，我們就會越勇於改變，而宇宙也會給我們最豐富的回饋。
Seth mentioned that Robert had the very serious arthritis. Seth said that if Robert was willing to start trusting himself and make a voice in his heart, “I am willing to trust myself,” he would find out his way. What we need is confidence.In the very first place, we must have the desire to find out the way of our lives. Then, we should have the confidence that we can find out the way of our lives because confidence is the most important of all. When a person begins to trust himself, his body loosens, and his creativity becomes easier.Creativity means that we can find solutions to problems that we might not have learned or known in the past. Because we trust ourselves, we can trust our spontaneity. Spontaneity has always been the most important quality of all people in the world. When we live in society, we might have worries, fears, and concerns, and our lives would become a cage, trapped in our own obsessions. Seth told Robert that he did not trust his creative nature, so he himself built spiritual and physical barriers to fight against his spontaneity. That is to say, sometimes, we are obviously very tired, but our minds still keep telling us that we need to insist doing things without rest.However, if we can follow our hearts and don’t force ourselves, our spontaneity would automatically heal our bodies and minds.If we never allow ourselves to be weak and ask for help, and then, in the end, we will face the greatest weaknesses in our lives. The so-called spontaneity tells us that we don’t have to care too much about others’ opinions, outside social values, or even the thoughts of our parents. The spontaneity itself creates its life-giving qualities, which have been trusted by us. Seth hopes that we could explore our inner, spontaneous and creative selves. When we trust ourselves more in life, we will be more courageous to change, and, eventually, the universe will give us more abundant feedback.
其次，感恩的背後意涵是：當我們關注自己所擁有的，而不是所缺乏的，我們就擁有滿足感。這種積極的心態，可以帶給我們更大的幸福感，改善人際關係，和增加面對挑戰時的彈性。感恩可以帶來許多好處，包括改善身體的健康，減輕壓力和焦慮，增加積極情緒，和提高睡眠品質等。透過有意識地關注我們所感恩的人事物，我們將從匱乏轉換成擁抱豐盛的人生。實踐感恩的方法有很多，除了寫下所感恩的人事物、冥想或祈禱、主動表達感謝、尋找機會助人等以外，每天早上起床後，我們都要感謝自己的身體；吃飯的時候，我們要感謝食物的美味，和供應者的辛勞；在工作中，我們要感謝同事的合作與支持。每分每秒，都是我們感恩的大好機會。當我們把握每個時刻，活在當下時，我們就會覺得滿足。但是，當事情並非我們所期待的那樣進展時，我們也要心懷感激，時刻感恩，這樣，即使在困難的處境中，我們也能保持平靜。感恩不僅是一種情感，也是我們用時間，所累積培養出來的能力。每天，我們花一點時間，欣賞生命中，大小的祝福。透過感謝，培養感恩，我們就得到快樂。當我們的心靈充滿希望和感動時，我們才有能力，輕鬆地面對生活中的挑戰，實踐感謝、感激和感恩。
Next, the meaning behind gratitude is: when we focus on what we have, rather than what we lack, we feel satisfied. This positive attitude can bring us greater happiness, improve interpersonal relationships, and increase resilience in the face of challenges.Gratitude can bring many benefits, including physical health, reduced stress and anxiety, positive emotions, and good sleep quality. By very consciously paying attention to the people and things we are grateful for, we will transform from thinking we are lacking to embracing a rich life.There are many ways to practice gratitude, such as writing grateful journals, meditating or praying, actively expressing gratitude, and looking for opportunities to help others. In addition, we should thank our health every morning after getting up; when we eat, we thank the delicious food and the hard work of the suppliers; at work, we thank our colleagues for their cooperation and support. In every minute, it is really a great opportunity for us to be grateful. When we seize the moments and live in the present, we grasp the sense of contentment. However, when things do not go as we expect, we even need to be grateful because by doing so, we can remain calm in difficult situations. Gratitude is not only an emotion, but also an ability for us.Every day, we take a moment to appreciate the blessings in our lives. By giving thanks and cultivating gratitude, we gain happiness. When our hearts are filled with hope and love, we are able to face the challenges of life with ease. We, then, express gratitude, appreciation and thankfulness at all times.
最後，人類最基本的願望，就是能夠過幸福的生活。可是，人類的社會，卻處處充斥著與此願望相抗衡，例如暴力、恣意破壞，及剝削人權等。佛法指出，潛藏於人類生命中最邪惡的欲望之一，就是去控制他人。當這種欲望出現時，人類會變得自以為是，且行剝削、獨裁的手段。而能夠抗拒這種人性中迫害他人的力量的，就是慈悲。慈悲以和所有生命和諧共處為目的，祈願大家都能創造共同的幸福和成長。簡而言之，佛法的慈悲，就是為他人解決煩惱，並賦予喜悅的願望（離苦與樂）。慈悲是發自內心，尊重生命平等，達成同甘共苦的大願。慈悲需要智慧。真正的慈悲，是要讓自己安好，也使他人自強的。而要讓自己與他人都能自立自強，我們最需要的，就是智慧，慈悲與智慧是密不可分的。社會的變革，只能始於人心的轉變。我們如能持續相信，和努力發揮自身與他人與生俱來的慈悲，那麼，我們就能使世界，變得更美好。
Finally, the most basic human desire is to live a happy life. However, human society is full of phenomena that conflict with this desire, such as violence, destruction, and exploitation. Buddhism points out that one of the evilest desires hidden in human life is to control others. When this desire arises, humans will become exploitative and dictatorial. The exact power that would really resist this force of persecutions is compassion.Compassion aims to create common happiness and growth as well as live in harmony with everyone in the world. In short, compassion in Buddhism is the desire to solve the troubles of others and give them joy (relieve suffering and bring happiness).Compassion comes from our inner hearts, respecting others and sharing sufferings with one another.Compassion requires wisdom. True compassion can make ourselves safe and others strong. In fact, compassion and wisdom are inseparable. By way of compassion and wisdom, we could achieve the best social changes. We have to believe in and develop the innate compassion in our lives and others in order to make the world a better place.

自我價值Self-worth
自我價值是我們對自身的感受，和對自己的價值感。人類是群居的動物，我們的生活，是由社會所建構的，而我們在與他人的互動中，逐漸形成了「自我」，創造出屬於自己的獨特性。不過，社會對我們的期待與評價，也大大影響了我們的人生。有些人會覺得好像一生都為別人而活，難以自我肯定，超越他人，達到社會的標準。因此，我們如何看待自己，自我覺察，是探索自我價值的源頭。價值的定義，隨人而定，那是一種主觀的選擇。例如，有兩個杯子，一個裝鑽石，一個裝水，哪一個比較有價值？一般來說，我們會覺得，當然是裝鑽石比較有價值。但是，假如我們身處在撒哈拉沙漠，水的價值，就比鑽石高太多了。水和鑽石不是沒有價值，而是與價值無關，它們只是純粹的事實而已，任何價值，都需要由我們來選擇，才能呈現出來。在社會上，如果我們努力地向外尋求價值，隨著環境而一直變遷，一旦大環境不利於我們，是否我們就沒有價值了呢？我們應該要從了解自己，傾聽自己，發現自己內在的自我，看見自身的優勢與資源，才能肯定我們自己的價值。而且，如果我們有了自我肯定的價值後，我們就會開心，做什麼事，都會順利，我們的身體和心理也會很好，身心都健康。自我價值，就是開心，開心可以治百病，開心無煩惱，既能愛己又愛人。
     心臟是在我們人體中，一個非常重要的器官，它就像幫浦一樣，不斷地收縮和舒張，將血液輸送到身體各部位，確保各個器官和組織，獲得充足的氧氣和營養。心臟是血液循環系統的核心，透過收縮和舒張，它將血液注入血管，然後再輸送到全身。血液中含有氧氣和營養，於是身體各器官和組織，便都有能量，維持正常運作。心臟還有內分泌的功能，可分泌激素，調節血壓和水分的平衡。總之，心臟對我們人體生命的活動至關重要，我們一定要保持心臟健康。我們要攝取健康的飲食，做規律的運動，控制體重，充足睡眠，管理壓力，並定期健康檢查等。另外，我們還要隨時保持心情開朗，避免過度興奮、緊張、生氣的情緒。心理方面的「心病」，是與身體上的「心臟病」，互為因果的。當我們面臨壓力和情緒時，交感神經會分泌腎上腺素，使心跳加速，血壓、血糖升高。此外，如果我們有慢性病疼痛或失眠，也會引起我們的焦慮，及心情沮喪。因此，想要擁有理想健康的人生，我們要積極讓生理和心理之間，形成相互扶持的正循環。也就是說，只要開心，心臟就好，身體就健康。
  人類的心思，非常複雜難懂，一旦想不開，又會得憂鬱症，傷害身體。
如果我們能夠開心，好好地、耐心地觀照自己，那麼，我們不但自己沒煩惱，而且，我們周遭所有的人、事、物，乃至全世界，也必同時受到照顧和祝福。開心是由內而外、從心出發的，我們以自己的創意和正能量開始，我們的自在時光、活力創意，將會無限伸展擴張，一天天過去，我們會驚歎，如此的人生，是多麼地美好。孔子說：「世間無難事，庸人自擾之。」我們之所以會活得這麼累，是因為心裡裝了太多無關緊要，卻又傷心、傷身的人事物。我們要懂得自己釋懷，把有限的時間，用在讓自己開心、快樂的事情上，再用一種寬容的態度，去對待身邊的人事物，決定權永遠都在「自己」，自我的價值，也完全取決於自己。愛因斯坦說：「一個人的價值，要看他貢獻什麼，而不是取得什麼。」能貢獻自己，奉獻他人，內心一定開心無煩惱，既愛己又愛人，我們才能活得身心都健康。
 

The Way Toward Health健康之道
  身體是心理的一面鏡子。改變信念，就能改善身體狀況！醫師常常問看診的病人：「你有沒有高血壓、糖尿病？」病人通常會回答：「我現在沒有高血壓、糖尿病，但是我的爸爸、媽媽有，我以後也會有。」可見，我們已經被催眠和暗示了。在「賽斯哲學思想」裡，不承認遺傳類疾病，特別是中、老年之後才顯現出來的，與生活、飲食有關的慢性病，尤其是高血壓和糖尿病。我們常常被自我的慣性牽著走，對我們的心理不瞭解，才飽受疾病之苦。我們的腦袋，深深地種下很多的恐懼。從小到大，我們被灌輸很多負面的思維，以為自己年紀越大，身體就越容易生病。我們被慣性、習性帶著走，被負面的信念所催眠。現在，讓我們反思一下：心理是能夠改變負面信念的。「賽斯哲學思想」很注重心理，只要心理開心，腸胃一定健康，然後，我們可以選擇少量多餐，均衡飲食，身體會吸收它想要的食物的。
      其實，導致疾病的最主要因素是心理。我們平常過得快不快樂？情緒有沒有保持得很好？思想有沒有打結？我們要能夠對自己的身體負責，學會瞭解自己的情緒，觀照自己的意念，經常問自己有沒有很多負向思考？有沒有憤世嫉俗？有沒有很多負面的情緒？有沒有「憤怒、嫉妒、恨」？有沒有活在不平衡中？經由疾病，我們才能自我覺察，透過疾病，我們才知道自己內在的負能量。在觀照我們身體的生命時，《健康之道：最後的一堂賽斯課》書中的章節，包括：「為什麼醫藥和治療往往使疾病永續」、「給疾病命名的作法如何可能對我們不利」、「宗教對創造疾病的影響」、「兒童的健康如何被父母的信念影響」、「幽默作為療癒的一個有效因素」等等，都在告訴我們，心理和身體是交織的。我們的身體，就是我們的思維。身體病痛乃是「果」，真正的因，是其背後痛苦扭曲的心理，如果我們不改變自己的思考模式，就無法真正解決身體的病痛。一個好的醫生，一定要醫人、醫心，醫治病人的心理，使其在思想、情緒及生活上，都能平衡，這樣，病人的身體，自然會回歸健康。
     Jane Roberts (May 8, 1929–September 5, 1984) grew up in Saratoga Springs, New York where she attended Skidmore College. She was a prolific writer in a variety of genres including poetry, short stories, children’s literature and fiction whenin 1963, she began to receive messages from a non-physical energy personality who called himself “Seth.” Her husband, Robert F. Butts, an artist and writer, recorded the messages, and together they dedicated their lives to the publication of Seth’s teachings. The “Seth Books” have become classics in the fields of psychology and personal growth. Today, Yale University Library maintains a collection of Jane’s writings, journals, poetry, audio and video recordings, correspondence, and other materials (the “Jane Roberts Papers”) donated by her husband and other individuals. In September 1984, Seth had spoken exclusively through Jane Roberts from her hospital bed until her death. Now, in The Way Toward Health, Jane’s husband, Robert Butts, shares with us the intimate story of Jane’s final days, and the exquisite teachings that Seth gave during that time.The Way Toward Health is an in-depth examination of the miracle of life in a human body. The material in the book was evoked by the questions and considerations Jane and her husband Robert faced during her long illness. Seth speaks about:
“Why medicine and therapy often perpetuate illness”
“How the practice of naming diseases can work against us”
“The influence of religion in creating disease”
“How children’s health is influenced by parents’ beliefs”
“Humor as an effective factor in healing”
“The mechanics of self-healing: how our thoughts and beliefs affect our health”
“The creative aspects of illness: how we sometimes contract an illness to give ourselves time to understand and integrate our life experiences”
The will to live can be compromised by doubts, fears, and rationalizations.Some people, for example, definitely want to live, but they hide these fearful feelings from themselves. They concentrate upon the dangers in society and worry about their safety. What is actually involved is a kind of paranoia. These self-deceptive feelings are hidden deeply in the subconscious mind. Normally, one of the attitudes to good health is that of self-condemnation, or dislike of the self. Such attitudes are unfortunately fostered by parents, schools, and religions in society. However, it’s not healthy.Feelings of self-worth, self-esteem, and pleasure with our abilities, in fact, indeed, promote our well-being, health, and exuberance. No animal considers itself a failure, obviously. But in our modern world, people often identify with their mistakes, and feel frightened, overburdened, and a failure in their own eyes, or others’. According to Seth, one of the very first steps toward mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health is precisely that kind of acceptance and affirmation.If people become ill, it is quite fashionable to say that the immunity system has temporarily failed, but yetthe body itself knows that certain “dis-eases” are the reactions to health.The body does not recognize diseases as diseases. The body’s consciousness is highly conscious. All of the automobile’s parts of the body are responsible for their operations so well. Therefore, if the heart is out of its function, the doctor should repair it through medical technology, along with the patient’s beliefs, attitudes and feelings changed for the better.
 

個人的偏好Personal Preferences
 每個人都有食、衣、住、行、育、樂等需求，但每個人的喜好都不同，自己喜歡的，都可稱為個人的偏好。在我們的日常生活中，我們經常在做自己喜歡的事，這就是個人的偏好。問題是，我們有沒有真正問過自己：「我最喜歡的是什麼呢？」因此，探索並了解自己的喜好，不僅是自我發現的旅程，更是自己生活品質的提升。我們的內在世界，可以比喻為一幅豐富多彩的畫布，每一筆、每一色，都代表著我們不同的興趣和喜好，而自我探索的過程，就像是選擇合適的色彩一樣。我們要自由地表達自己真正的喜好和興趣，才能稱得上是自己個人的偏好。
     現在，讓我們嘗試問問自己，「什麼時候，我感到最快樂？」或「在什麼情境下，我感到最有動力？」反思可以幫助我們重新連接過去的經歷，讓我們從中發現自己的興趣和熱情。無論是透過日記、拍照，或使用手機，我們都可以記錄自己個人的偏好。另外，當我們開始進行自我探索時，我們可以選擇既簡單又具體的事情。例如，每週花一小時，來學習瑜伽，或者，每天散步半小時等等。這些看似微小的事情，其實已經悄悄地在豐富著我們的生活和內心世界了。當我們達成這些小目標時，就跟自己說，「我做到了~，我好棒」。這些成就感，會一直支持著我們繼續前行的。認識自己，是一個持續且長達一生的過程。它需要時間、耐心及對自己的理解。
    我們要自我了解，才能知道自己的偏好。我們要透過自我察覺，更深入地了解自己的優點、缺點、價值觀、興趣和行為模式，才能更好地認識自己，知道如何好好地過生活。了解自己的偏好，可以調節自己的情緒，留意自己的身體，知道自己的想法，及聽進他人的意見。
    最後，有了個人的偏好，我們要勇敢地採取行動，不然，我們如何與別人分享？別人怎麼知道我們的偏好呢？當我們很清楚自己的偏好後，我們要付諸行動，讓我們的偏好，成為自己的個人品牌。我們做得越多，累積越多嘗試，就會越有自信，更有勇氣地說出自己的偏好。勇氣是一種良性循環，它會在我們不斷行動的過程中累積，帶領我們前往自己的渴望。事實上，要實踐個人的偏好，常常都會遇到新的挑戰和困難的。無論如何，我們都要學會在面對恐懼的同時，依然選擇採取行動。也許，我們要實現我們的偏好，會花費太多時間和人力，但是，我們就是要提醒自己，唯有踏出舒適圈，去嘗試和採取行動，才有辦法實踐我們的偏好。對我們的偏好來說，真正的學習，在於把想法付諸行動，並在過程中，累積點點滴滴，不斷地反思與反饋，從中改進。實際的行動，才能具體化我們的偏好，不是「我還沒準備好」，而是「現在」就要採取行動！很多時候，我們都會受到外界的左右，用別人的評論、觀點或期望，來衡量自己的價值，按照別人標準來過日子。這時，我們的偏好，就是在提醒我們，要放膽創造「自己的人生」，因為，只有我們最了解自己，最知道自己想要什麼，又渴望怎樣的理想人生。人生的駕駛，應該是我們本人，所謂的「已經準備好了」並不存在，我們要把自己的偏好，轉化成一個又一個可落實的目標，有動作、計畫和步驟，用實踐和體驗，來將我們的偏好，變成每日的生活，一生的最愛。

Beyond Imagination 超乎想像
 Imagine a world where machines can think, learn and create beyond our level of intelligence.A world where our personal AI assistant understands our emotions, where self-driving cars navigate flawlessly through bustling city streets, and where AI-generated art and music captivate (著迷) our senses. Well, in the world of AI, it is, exactly, a realm where boundaries are blur, and imagination becomes reality. The astonishing progress of artificial intelligence has already reshaped numerous industries and transformed our daily lives.To put it another way, what lies ahead goes far beyond our current comprehension, both in opportunities and challenges.
While we are fascinated by the possibilities that future holds, AI has already made remarkable progress. Today, AI systems have demonstrated their power in a wide range of applications. Originating in the 1950s, early AI pioneers laid the groundwork (根基) for machines mimicking human intelligence through rule-based programming. Over time, AI diversified into different subfields. Now, AI has found wide-ranging applications in virtual assistants of homes, hospitals, restaurants, personalized recommendations, healthcare, finance, transportation, and manufacturing. Its integration has led to enhanced efficiency and accuracy across various domains.
As we look to the future of artificial intelligence, we are faced with possibilities beyond our current understanding. Right now, we have seen AI systems surpassing human intelligence, possessing an extraordinary capacity for problem-solving, scientific discoveries, and creative endeavors. Though that is a distant dream, AI could potentially unlock groundbreaking (開創性的) solutions to complex global challenges, revolutionize industries, and reshape the course of humanity. In other words, the future holds the promise of autonomous AI systems capable of learning and making decisions without human intervention. These systems would continuously adapt to their environments, enhancing efficiency, and reducing the margin of error. From self-driving cars and smart homes to intelligent robots, these autonomous AI systems would revolutionize our day-to-day lives.
For example, emotional AI will enable personalized experiences, empathetic virtual assistants, and mental health support. It opens up a world where AI can understand our emotions, offer companionship, and provide meaningful connections.Moreover,AI-generated art, music, and literature are already pushing the boundaries of human imagination.The fusion of human creativity and AI’s computational power has the potential to inspire new artistic expressions and push the frontiers of innovation. Besides, it’s not a distant dream anymore to wake up to an AI assistant that knows our preferences, schedules, and anticipates our needs. Personalized AI assistants will become even more intuitive, capable of managing tasks, providing recommendations, and streamlining our daily routines. One of the industries that will most benefit from AI advancement is healthcare. AI-powered diagnostic tools can analyze medical images, detect patterns, and assist in the early detection of diseases. Additionally, the future of transportation is bound to be transformed by AI. Self-driving cars will navigate roads with increased safety and efficiency, reducing accidents and traffic congestion. AI will also revolutionize public transportation systems, optimizing routes and schedules, and enabling intelligent traffic management for smoother commutes. AI can also assist teachers with administrative tasks, automated grading, and data-driven insights to optimize educational outcomes. Thus,some jobs will be automated, new roles and opportunities will emerge, emphasizing human creativity, problem-solving, and emotional intelligence. The workforce of the future will require adaptability to thrive in collaboration with AI systems. Intelligent robots will collaborate with human workers, performing repetitive tasks and improving quality control.The future possibilities of AI are awe-inspiring, from superintelligence and autonomous systems to emotional AI and groundbreaking creativity. It can and will transform different lifestyles for good.
Nevertheless, different from AI, our human beings are good at thinking because we believe that thinking makes a difference. We have ideas, consciousness and stories every day. Even “we don’t know” is actually a kind of thinking. When we think deeply enough about things, we discover the truths “beyond the known.” We possess our imagination and perceive the “unknowingness” of what is happening. The main point is that we should open up our minds to accept and enjoy it.AI is like the tool that goes beyond the limitations of spoken or written language. It is the power of non-verbal communication. And there’s no doubt that it will continue to make life more pleasurable and easier for humans.However, it’s also very clear that the human brain is a magnificent thing that is capable of enjoying the simple pleasures of being alive without AI.Life is not always consistent. There are times when it’s easy to make life go well for ourselves, while other times, it can feel really difficult. Oftentimes, it’s our thoughts shape the way we feel, not AI. Our thoughts interpret the things that happen in our lives and, as a result, they have a strong influence over our happiness. That is, it doesn’t matter what happens to us; what matters is how we interpret those things. In other words, our positive thinking and imagination surpass AI systems in all respects. Those who are able to understand the deep thoughts in the brains do create their happiness. And once we can control our thoughts, we are capable of overcoming anything, including AI systems. Therefore, let’s try our best to make good use of our imagination and positive thinking to live our lives beautifully with the help of AI systems.  

下雨天、慵懶天
上禮拜(6月2日到6月5日)，每天連續下雨，很不方便！出門的人們，不得已，要穿上雨衣，拿起雨傘。開車的人們，也因為車輛變多而煩躁。下雨的時候，路上溼答答的，走起路來，感覺很潮溼，地板也滑滑的，腳會很癢、不舒服。鞋子、襪子都黏黏的，不清爽！下雨天是發霉的天氣，人也要跟著長霉了，感覺心情沉沉的，提不起勁，賴床時間變長，容易心煩，情緒低落，一整天都灰濛濛，胡思亂想，總繞著下雨的麻煩，夾雜著無聊、無趣與無奈。我們的大腦，在下雨天時，總會關注麻煩的事情，討厭的一面。有很多人，平時都壓抑、忍耐著自己內心的情緒，深怕自己控制不住、情緒潰堤。但是，到了下雨天，往往按耐不住，整個崩潰，一股腦兒，全部吐出內心各種不快的感受。下雨天，就是不開心，不爽！下雨天，就是討厭加心煩，就是很慵懶，不愛出門，什麼事都不想做。下雨天，外面暗暗的，天空陰陰的，花木低垂著，遠方的山，更是朦朧的，看不下去了···，這時候，真的好想晴天。
      然而，雖然我們無法阻止大雨的到來，有時，雨量過大，甚至帶來許多災害，對人們的生命財產，造成威脅。像是之前的八八水災，造成嚴重的死傷，令人慘不忍睹，很多家庭，天人永隔···。但是，是否我們可以在下雨天，試著去體會那種未必盡如己意，但也是不可避免的情境呢？試想看看，下雨天到底有什麼好處呢？「雨」也是老天爺賜給我們的恩惠，讓我們滋潤大地，提供自然生態的培養，使萬物生長，造就我們綠色的地球。下雨天，可以增加水庫的含量，提供民生用水。下豪大雨的時候，我們可以順便洗洗車，澆澆花，把灰塵都沖洗掉。下雨時，出門的人比平時少，讓外面平常忙碌又慌亂的街道，得到片刻的寧靜。下雨時，我們家裡拍打窗戶的雨聲，應該特別大聲、好聽。外出時，細膩的雨絲，滑過我們的臉龐，就像無聲的琴音一般，那孤獨的雨點，打在我們身上，又彷彿是在我們的耳畔低語。神奇的是，好像雨水也可以洗滌我們似乎過不去的事，那一切就像飄飄的，散了，如過眼雲煙一樣！
  同一件事，在不同的情況下，我們總會有不同的解讀，不同的感受，不同的立場，及不同的意見。如果我們能放慢腳步，細細觀察這下雨天的情景，相信我們一定會發現好多簡單的事，就像是滴水從樹葉上墜落，又如雨滴在水面上擴散一樣，那樣地純粹而真實。那麼，現在，我們是否還一直在追求華麗而複雜的事物，卻忽略身邊平凡、珍貴的瞬間呢？下雨天，是否提醒著我們，要去重新感受簡單的喜悅呢！生活，或許永遠無法如我們所願；不變的日子，或許是很無趣，也平淡，但是，是否我們可以在這平凡的生活中，找到雨過天晴的開心與愉悅呢？
     下雨過後的陽光，真的好美。如同一束希望的光芒，破開灰暗的天空，帶來溫暖。一線陽光，穿透烏雲，肯定會照耀大地，那是陽光灑在我們身上的暖意。我們每個人，在一生中，都會經歷風風雨雨的，而生活，就存在於每一個轉折與風雨之後。一場雨後的彩虹，即是光明和希望了，我們何不開開心心地，將心靈的視野，從煩囂中解放出來，享受此刻當下的靜好和安寧呢？！於是，我決定了，我要和我自己的內心和解，往後，在每一個下雨天中，我都願意領悟，那微小但卻美好的片刻。

Companions同學、同伴與同好
我們稱呼同班上課的夥伴為同學；一起工作的夥伴為同事；有共同興趣的夥伴為同好；假期結夥出遊的朋友為同伴；常常混在一起吃喝玩樂的哥兒們為同黨；來自同一個國家的人叫做同胞；來自同一個家鄉的人叫做同鄉；理念一致的人叫做同志；在一起衝鋒陷陣的軍中弟兄叫做同袍；就算遊手好閒不務正業的夥伴，也可稱為同道。這些有共同點的朋友，我們相信能有更深的連結。換句話說，與有共同愛好的朋友們相處，我們是很容易找到共同的話題，分享熱情，一同體驗美好的事物，同時也能互相學習和成長的。有共同愛好的朋友，較容易建立信任和親近感，共同參與愛好的活動，可帶來樂趣和興奮。例如音樂會、運動比賽、電影首映等，與有共同愛好的朋友一起參加，能更開心地欣賞和分享知識。再者，擁有共同愛好的朋友，可以彼此支持和鼓勵，特別是遇到困難或挑戰時，更能互相扶持和幫忙。舉例來說，有共同愛好運動的朋友，就可以一起鍛鍊身體。有共同愛好閱讀的朋友，能互相推薦書籍，討論書中內容與閱讀心得。有共同喜愛旅遊的朋友，更可以一起規劃旅行，探索不同的地方，並在旅途中，體驗彼此的經歷和感受。總而言之，共同愛好的朋友，可以為我們的生活，帶來更多的色彩和樂趣，並建立永久的友誼。俗話說，「物以類聚，人以群分」，朋友如能彼此擁有相似的興趣、價值觀，甚至溝通方式，都是我們特別親近，合得來的朋友。
    共同興趣可以是各種各樣的，包括：
興趣愛好: 例如閱讀、聽音樂、運動、烹飪、攝影、繪畫、編織等。
休閒娛樂: 例如看電影、玩遊戲、旅行、戶外活動等。
志願與服務: 例如參與慈善活動、環保行動、社區服務等。
知識與學習: 例如學習語言、研究歷史、探索科學等。
文化與藝術: 例如欣賞繪畫、雕塑、音樂劇、舞蹈等。
生活方式: 例如烹飪、園藝、裝飾居家、收集物品等。
具體來說，我們可以根據興趣愛好、休閒娛樂、志願與服務等不同面向，來定義共同興趣。例如，如果兩個朋友都喜歡閱讀，那麼閱讀就是他們的共同興趣。如果他們都喜歡戶外活動，例如健行或露營，那麼戶外活動，就是他們的共同興趣。如果他們都熱愛環保，那麼環保就是他們的共同興趣了。只要有兩個以上的人，對同一件事或事物有興趣，他們就是同好，就有共同的興趣。兩個對文學有熱愛的人，可以因為對文學的熱愛而相遇，進而在交流中，發現彼此的相似點，逐漸成為知己，建立其深厚的友誼的。 
     在人生的旅程中，遇到志同道合的同好，真是非常幸福。我們對某件事物的熱愛，無論時間如何流轉，是不會過期的，而同好，也會陪著我們，不斷努力，不斷探索。我們志同道合的朋友，就是我們的知己。當我們遇到同好時，我們就像找到失散已久的伙伴，其強烈的共鳴，會油然而生。我們會和同好，分享著喜悅，分擔困難，一起為心中的目標而努力。相信在人生的道路上，會與志趣相投的人邂逅，是件美好的事。無論在工作、學習、或是日常生活中，我們能夠找到志趣相投的人，真的很不容易，他們會在我們感到迷茫或失落時，提醒我們最初的夢想，鼓勵我們不可輕言放棄。在人生的每一個階段，我們都需要有同好陪伴，尤其是在那些艱難的時刻。志同道合的朋友，總會尊重我們的選擇，在我們需要時，提供幫助。他們讓我們的人生旅程，更加充實、有意義。
Have you ever discovered that people who share the same interests are easily to become good friends? Friendships with shared interests are very important to our well-being. Why? Because they can enhance our life experiences, support us through the ups and downs, and make us feel a sense of belonging. With friends of the same interests, we, thus, find the common ground through shared passions. We can, later, become lifelong friends. This is the power of shared interests. Friendships can be strengthened by sharing common interests. In other words, friendship ties are developed when a person discovers and develops more common experiences with others. Additionally, sharing interests and establishing friends can also provide numerous advantages to our lives. Friends with the same interests not only give us an increased sense of belonging and social connections, but also offer emotional and practical helps during our stressful times. Sharing interests with friends, indeed, significantly improve our lives, and, eventually, increase our happiness and well-being.
Life can be stressful and filled with challenges that always test our peace of mind. A true companion with the same interest can calm our worries and soothe our fears, making our life’s burdens lighter. As we grow older, we truly realize that life is not about having a multitude of friends or being known by everyone, but is about having people in our lives who add depth, joy, and security to our existence. As we reflect on the journey of life and the people we meet along the way, we really should cherish those who are the true companions with the same shared interests as ours. They are the ones who matter us most, and provide us the real lasting connections.

Giving Thanks and Expressing Gratitude
Each holiday season comes with high expectations for a cozy and festive time of year. However, for many, the Thanksgiving season might be tinged (著色) with sadness, anxiety, or depression. Research suggests thatgiving thanks and expressing our gratitude can actually lift the good and right spirits.The word gratitude is derived from the Latin word gratia, which means grace, graciousness, or gratefulness. In some ways, gratitude encompasses all of these meanings. Gratitude is a thankful appreciation for what an individual receives. With gratitude, people acknowledge the goodness in their lives. In the process, people usually recognize that being grateful helps them connect to something larger than themselves as individuals. In positive psychology research, gratitude is strongly and consistently associated with greater happiness. Gratitude helps people feel more positive emotions, relish (喜愛) good experiences, improve their health, deal with adversity, and build strong relationships. Furthermore, gratitude is strongly related to wellbeing (康樂). The positive effects of experiencing and expressing gratitude are endless.Gratitude has been found to be beneficially linked with social wellbeing, emotional wellbeing, and psychological wellbeing, too. Gratitude appears to have a constant effect. People who are thanked are presumably more apt (易於) to extend help to others in the future. Indeed, the expression of gratitude is beneficial for both individuals and society.
People feel and show gratitude in multiple ways. They can apply it to the past (retrieving positive memories and being thankful for childhood or past blessings), the present (feeling good fortune all the time), and the future (maintaining a hopeful and optimistic attitude).Two psychologists, Dr. Robert A. Emmons of the University of California, Davis, and Dr. Michael E. McCullough of the University of Miami, have done much of the research on gratitude. In one study, they asked all participants to write a few sentences each week, focusing on particular topics. One group wrote about things they were grateful for that had occurred during the week. The second group wrote about daily irritations (惱怒) or things that they displeased, and the third group wrote about events that had affected them (with no emphasis on them being positive or negative). After 10 weeks, those who wrote about gratitude were more optimistic and felt better about their lives. Surprisingly, they also exercised more and had fewer visits to doctors than those who focused on irritations. Other studies have looked at how being grateful can improve relationships. For example, a study is that couples who took time to express gratitude for their partner not only showed more positive toward the other person, but also felt more comfortable expressing concerns about their relationship. Managers who say “thank you” to employees would let employees get motivated to work harder.While it’s easy to feel a rush of joy after winning the lottery or receiving a big promotion at work, gratitude extends to the smaller blessings in life as well that they might be often overlooked or taken for granted. Even the smallest moments, such as a brief chat with a friend, a kind gesture from a stranger, a cool breeze on a hot day, or a peaceful stroll (散步) in nature, are things that we can be thankful for.Nevertheless, whatever our circumstances in life, oftentimes, we may find that consistently showing gratitude can be surprisingly difficult. Many of us get caught up in a negativity bias, where we linger on bad news and unpleasant experiences, but, yet allow moments of positivity to fade into the background. Fortunately, gratitude is like a muscle that we can build. With the right exercises and practice, we can find, at least, something small to appreciate in even the bleakest (陰冷的) day.In doing so, a little gratitude can do wonders for our mood. When we practice gratitude, we shift our thoughts away from negative emotions and uncomfortable sensations. Instead, we begin to focus on good things.For example, we sense that how fortunate we are to have close friends who are willing to company us and drive us home. Moreover, because gratitude can boost our mood, it’s no surprise that it can also improve our overall physical and mental health. That is, approaching life with a more positive mindset can do more than just improve our health. It can also let us have better sleep, higher self-esteem, increased patience and acts of kindness toward friends and family members.
Gratitude is, in effect, a way for people to appreciate what they have, instead of thinking what they can’t feel satisfied. In other words, gratitude helps people to refocus on what they own instead of what they lack. Here are some ways we can do to cultivate gratitude on a regular basis:
Write a thank-you notes or emails.It can express our enjoyment and appreciation of people who help us a lot.
Thank someone mentally. It may help us to think about someone who has done something nice to us.
Keep a gratitude journal. We can write down the things and thoughts about gratitude immediately every day.
Count our blessings. We can count three to five good things every day to remind us of our blessings.
Pray. People who are religious can use prayer to cultivate gratitude. For ordinary people, prayer is also a process of learning to trust Almighty God.
Meditate. Mindfulness meditation involves focusing on the present moment without judgment. We can often practice meditation to let us have a peaceful mind.
    Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life.It turns a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend. Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow. We perceive that a positive attitude is not just thinking happy thoughts. It takes effort and determination to remain positive, especially in today’s world. In truth, a positive attitude is formed by the choices we make daily, and how we react to situations and others around us. When we brush off disappointment or rude comments, we maintain a positive attitude. Our attitude is also influenced by how well we ignore negative self-talk and accept our current circumstances. It is important to express thankfulness when something good happens.Being thankful is not inherently bad. On the contrary, it is part of showing appreciation to others or for our good fortune. We are really thankful when we get a new job or meet a new friend. However, where thankfulness is an emotion, gratitude is an attitude of appreciation under any circumstance. Gratitude involves being thankful, even when nothing exciting happens. That is to say, we do not need something good to happen to have gratitude, and when bad things happen, our gratitude does not falter (動搖). Gratitude is about being content physically and mentally with the state of our lives.In other words, we may not always be happy, but we can still practice gratitude. Gratitude deepens our inner connections. Thankfulness is external. When we practice gratitude, we rely on our inner voice to stay positive and remain appreciative in all circumstances. So, let’s take action to have gratitude always.

Evaluations and Feedback
For many, the evaluations encourage readers to continue practicing and learning because when people receive thoughtful evaluations, they feel heard and become motivated to improve. Delivering an evaluation is an excellent way to practice and demonstrate our suggestions to readers. As good evaluators, we give helpful feedback to others. We take the time to work on topics and to assess the contents. Actually, the evaluators really play an influential role to provide constructive and positive comments to readers.The key to presenting a high-value evaluation is not just observing areas for improvement, but also offering specific and feasible recommendations for how readers can improve in the future.For the readers, evaluations are like formal observation, while the share personalized, detailed feedback is a way in a private follow-up conversation with the readers. Feedback plays a crucial role, too, with valuable insights for building upon readers’ strengths and improvement.Additionally, feedback fosters a supportive and encouraging environment, where readers feel empowered to take risks, and push themselves out of their comfort zones in non-public areas.
In fact, teachers and students are both readers, responding authentically to the texts. Teachers always give students specific advice about what to keep on doing and what to work on doing in future pieces. Students also share their works with one another all the time through mutual discussions. Furthermore, teachers and students are both evaluators, offering sincere feedback to the pieces.For the public speaking, the effective feedback is as follows:
Keep on choosing topics and developing them deeply
Keep on using strong imagination to create good stories
Work on organizing the ideas into smooth and logical paragraphs
Work on proofreading carefully, especially for missing keywords
As evaluators, teachers can list the specific, accurate and clear guidance to students, while students would also pinpoint precise strengths and weaknesses among peers in the public speaking. Such a well-constructed feedback is very helpful, especially, in the classrooms. In large group classes, whatsoever, students sometimes get frustrated doing evaluation activities with other students. For these situations, feedback from teachers and peers can help students appreciate the value of their tasks, and improve their confidence, accuracy and fluency. Feedback is not only about error correction, but also about finding out the main topics, giving and exchanging opinions and developing ideas. What’s more, it’s a good idea that students make their own notes from any feedback. Thus, students can recognize their own typical errors and correct them at once.
Except for the public speaking, essentially, asking for feedback at any stage of the writing also helps students a lot in the understanding of their writing.By seeking feedback from others, students are taking positive, constructive steps to improve their own writing and develop as writers. However, occasionally, students might worry that the feedback will be negative. We know that many people avoid asking others what they think because they have a sneaking (卑怯的) suspicion that the news will not be good. Nevertheless, if we want to improve our writing, constructive criticism from others, definitely, helps. In order to become efficient evaluators, we must share our writing often with a variety of readers. When we ask someone, “Could you take a look at my writing?” or “Could you tell me if this is OK?” can sometimes elicit wonderfully rich responses. Besides, we do need to ask different persons for feedback at different stages in the writing process. For example, the effective feedback might be as follows:
The Beginning Introduction: Do I understand the writing? Am I gathering the right kinds of information to answer this question? Are my strategies for approaching this writing effective? How can I discover the best way to develop my early ideas into a feasible draft?
Outline: I have an idea about what I want to argue, but I’m not sure if it is an appropriate or complete response to this writing. Is the way I’m planning to organize my ideas working? Does it look like I’m covering all the points? Do I have a clear main idea? Do I know what I want to say to the reader?
The First Draft: Does my writing make sense, and is it interesting? Have I proven my thesis statement? Is the evidence I’m using convincing? Is it explained clearly? Have I given the reader enough information? Is the information in the right order? What can I say in my introduction and conclusion?
The Second Draft: Are the transitions between my ideas smooth and effective? Do my sentences make sense individually? How’s my writing style?
The Final Draft: Are there any noticeable spelling or grammar errors? Are my margins and formatting OK? Is the writing effective? Is there anything I should change at the last minute?
In addition, a notebook on asking for feedback after a writing has been double-checked by students. More importantly, taking the time to read, at least twice, throughout the evaluations and feedback is necessary, for sure.
At last, feedback is essential in personalized learning. Personalized learning to education, in our country, is an excellent approach to education for students’ abilities, learning styles, interests, and preferences. In other words, personalized learning is an effective way of promoting students’ engagement, motivation, and achievement in school.However, personalized learning can only be useful if it includes timely, meaningful, and relevant feedback. Feedback is really a critical component of personalized learning that helps students monitor their progress, identify their strengths and weaknesses, set goals, and adjust their learning strategies. We can say that evaluations are the information provided to students about their performance, progress, and goals. On the contrary, feedback can be informal, verbal or written, immediate or delayed, but could be provided by various sources, such as teachers, peers and parents. The key characteristic of feedback is that it is specific, constructive, and actionable. Feedback is not praise or criticism, but rather an opportunity for improvement and growth. Feedback, actually, is great in personalized learning for several reasons:1. Feedback helps students monitor their progress. 2. Feedback provides students with information about what they have learned, what they still need to learn, and how to improve their performance. 3. Feedback allows students to see the relevance of their learning and potential to achieve the goals. Positive feedback, indeed, boost students’ confidence, self-efficacy and persistence, too. By the way, feedback further encourages teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of their instruction and make necessary adjustments.All in all, personalized learning with feedback can promote higher-order thinking skills, such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and creativity among teachers and students. These skills are necessary for lifelong learning and success in the twenty-first century. Therefore, the importance of evaluations and feedback cannot be overemphasized in our actual classrooms.

How to Be a Good English-writing Teacher
  In our writing classrooms, we are writers, including teachers and students. In other words, in order to teach effective English writing, we must be effective English writers ourselves. We can try starting blogs or vlogs, writing articles, or developing short stories for English writing. We, then, practice and write out the paragraphs by ourselves.Once we figure out the themes and topics of our writing, reading articles and brainstorming with others are essential because they are the sources of our writing. Teachers, in the writing classroom, should encourage students to write well. In a supportive writing environment, teachers participate as writers to demonstrate the importance of writing. By taking part in writing lessons and activities, teachers are also models to teach the writing skills and to create good pieces of English writing for students. Teachers help students to collaborate throughout the writing process by brainstorming ideas in a writing group, and ask students to keep notebooks in which they record topics for English writing. No matter what we write, we are able to share our written works and ask for the feedback. In this way, we can improve upon our English writing over time. Thus, teachers ought to urge students to share their works with each other in the classroom or through online. We might say that others’ opinions are also very important for our writing, especially our peers. Students need to know whether their writing is accurately and appropriately conveying its message or not by way of teachers’ advice and peers’ feedback.
    Next, vocabulary and spelling skills affect the words we choose for our writing, for sure, because they can generate strong, interesting sentences that vary in length and complexity in order to convey the intended meanings in our writing. For this purpose, students should be encouraged to learn new words, as well as words they wish to include in their writing. Teachers should also help students acquire the skills to generate and check plausible spellings for words in the writing. Afterwards, students gain good and suitable words correctly, connect these words to form sentences, and, eventually, build a group of sentences to communicate particular ideas.
Furthermore, when teachers focus sentence-level instruction on sentence construction, encouraging students to consider the meanings and syntax of the sentences, teachers, at the same time, explicitly demonstrate how sentence construction and sentence mechanics for students, such as punctuation and capitalization, etc. Students, then, practice to create solid sentences and to use a variety of sentence structures in their writing.
An article is a piece of writing about a particular topic. It might also be flavored by the writer’s style. Depending on the purpose of the article, we might use very direct informative language, or more poetic language to create the subject matter. Normally, we use complete sentences (S + V + O) to convey ideas, and past tense, present tense, present perfect tense and progressive tense to indicate the timeline. Here are some typical subjects covered by article writers:
Travel
Sport
History
Hobbies/Home/Craft
Music
Celebrities/Famous figures (i.e., an article about an actor’s life and career)
The basic structure of an article for a newspaper, magazine or website, is usually in three parts: Opening is engaging the reader, or outlining the main point of the article. The middle part is a series of paragraphs that go into more details and examples. The end is a concluding paragraph that draws the points together.The conclusion should connect back to the opening idea. For example, here’s an article that tries to persuade the reader to eat a more balanced, healthy diet. The title is “Eat Right, Live Longer.” In the first paragraph: It has been scientifically proven that the less junk food a person consumes, the longer they are likely to live. “So why isn’t everyone dumping the junk?” Jordan McIntyre investigates. A staple part of twenty-first century British home-life is the weekly takeaway treat. Finger-licking burgers, sticky ribs and crispy chicken wings are, for many, the normal Friday night feast. The average national calorie in the UK is a whopping 4500 a day, a key factor in the obesity cases that are soaring. Fast food packed with fat and obesity contributes to a range of health issues, such as most significantly heart disease and depression. So why aren’t we changing our lifestyles? In the second paragraph:Families, in these days, are spending less and less time at home during the working week. People always engage a lot of school commitments, work meetings and extracurricular activities. Therefore, fewer people are able to put in the effort to prepare fresh, healthy meals for their daily lives.When time is tight, it seems that we are even more willing to compromise our routines for a little bit of what we fancy i.e., fast fatty food.In the third paragraph: However, Georgia Thomas of the University of Food says, “I am convinced that it is possible to live a busy lifestyle and prepare healthy, satisfying meals at the same time.” Nowadays, people have simply got out of the habit of cooking. That’s not healthy. Even though we are busy people, we still have to treat us well. How do we reward ourselves? Of course, we, certainly, need to eat healthy food.In the final paragraph, the writer uses quotations from an expert to add credibility to the argument. As readers, we really expect this article to go on to explore how we can eat healthily. And in the end, we are clear to see that the writer concludes with an explanation of how easy it is to do this.In the above-mentioned article, we know that taking examples and listing facts are very much necessary to increase the contents and ideas of our writing.
At last, proofreading is, extremely, necessary. Proofreading is the ability to read through a written piece, while editing errors and correcting them in order to let the writing become better.Strong editing and proofreading skills mean that students can identify areas in their works that need correction, such as tense, spelling and punctuation. They can also spot and revise errors in their styles, structures and sentences. The main purpose of proofreading is to improve the quality of the writing, ensuring that there are no lingering mistakes, and sentences’ errors or writing inconsistencies. Proofreading is the last writing process before the writers submit their writing. Thus, it is not only important to check grammar and spelling, it is also highly advised to ensure that the idea of the writer is in agreement with what he or she wants to communicate with the readers. No writer creates an excellent writing without reviewing, reflecting, and revising before the final version of their writing is complete and submitted.

Coffee Break咖啡休息時間

聽朋友說，在義大利喝咖啡，就像喝水一樣，早餐來一杯，中餐飯後一杯，晚餐吃飽，再來一杯。在米蘭的餐廳裡，就連吃中式、日式、韓式、泰式，甚至巴西烤肉等，各式異國料理，餐後，侍者都會很有禮貌地詢問，要不要來份甜點，或一杯咖啡？大部分的義大利人，真的三餐飯後，都會來一杯咖啡，他們不怕喝太多，或者喝太晚睡不著，他們在飯後喝咖啡，就像我們吃完飯配水果一樣。「咖啡休息時間 (coffee break)」大約10-15分鐘，義大利人通常在早上和下午，各有一次，讓大家暫時放下手邊的工作，一起喝杯咖啡閒聊，放鬆休息一下。而在日常生活中，義大利人也不管是逛街、血拚，或是看表演、展覽，只要正事結束，他們一定會問：「要不要一起喝杯咖啡？」「咖啡休息時間 (coffee break)」就是他們最自然與最真實的生活方式了。在台灣，我也發現愈來愈多人喝咖啡了。其實，一起喝咖啡，就是聚一聚、說說話，互相分享生活中的大小事，喝咖啡只是藉口罷了！
    Have a break, have a … coffee! Is there anything that we can get together to have a cup of coffee and take a break at the same time? I guess that, nowadays, coffee break has become a part of our daily lives. Actually, a coffee break serves as the perfect time for most of us to enjoy the drink, take a rest and regain the focus as well. Essentially, taking a brief pause during our workdays to enjoy a cup of coffee really helps us revitalize both our minds and bodies. All humans need breaks. It’s simply biology. Our nervous systems are much easier to burnout. And our brains and bodies are more attuned and responsive to our busy surroundings. We tend to have lots of ideas for things that we want to do all the time without stop. It seems that we don’t have excuses to end our works. However, we should have to take a break in order to go further. In our society, stopping seems like the exact wrong thing to do when there’s so much to be done. But, it turns out that those of us who take that extra time for ourselves may achieve something. We must remind ourselves that life is a marathon, not a sprint (短跑). Therefore, having a cup of coffee is necessary and very important. Breaks are acceptable and encouraged. There will be times to speed up, just as there are times to slow down.
    Moreover, taking a coffee break helps us at work. In fact, coffee breaks also play a crucial role in fostering social interaction among team members in companies. The informal setting of a break room or coffee area in the office provides a space for employees and colleagues to connect on a personal level, share ideas, and build relationships and networks. These casual interactions of coffee breaks, indeed, shape a cohesive and collaborative work environment effortlessly. In other words, team cohesion is vital for effective communication and collaboration, and coffee breaks exactly offer a platform for team members to discuss projects, exchange insights, and brainstorm perspectives. These spontaneous discussions during coffee breaks, in effect, become a good way for innovation and problem-solving in the workplaces.
Additionally, without others, the change of environment during a coffee break even provides a mental break only for ourselves along to rethink and explore new ideas while doing something simple and rewarding. Enjoying a cup of coffee just by ourselves is so great in terms of personal privacy. It lets us escape temporarily from our work environment, and encourages us produce fresh outlooks. We, then, can return to our workday tasks with a heightened sense of creativity, ready to approach challenges with a novel mindset.
   Truly, the humble coffee break holds massive potential as a tool for enhancing productivity and fostering creativity both on a personal level and as a team. Just a simple coffee break does allow us having the opportunity to step away from our works, so that we can have clear minds to calm down and create new thinking. Furthermore, if we have regular coffee breaks, they also bring employees together to have strong relationships, interactions and cross-department collaborations. Coffee breaks offer moments of relaxation. Such a positive atmosphere leads us to creative breakthroughs, innovative ideas, new insights and novel approaches.  Specifically, for the team work, taking a short break stimulates employees’ imagination and productivity constantly. All in all, coffee breaks not only let us feel more energized and focused, experience greater satisfaction and fulfillment in our personal lives, but also permit employees seizing the opportunity to promote cohesion, become more manageable and boost business profits.
    Now, let’s have a cup of coffee and take a break!

不要拿別人的過錯，來懲罰自己
 在我的為人處事與生活中，我總是把每個人與每件事，都很認真地去處理與看待，唯恐怠慢了別人，或沒把事情做好。但，不是每個人都把我當一回事，或想努力去做事。於是，我常常會認知失調，自己難過與生氣···，也許我沒必要那麼serious吧！掌控情緒這件事，說來簡單，但是要做到卻很難，那是要經過很多歷練，才能改變觀念，繼而改變態度的。人為什麼會焦慮、有情緒呢？因為我們太重視別人與事情，太把別人與事情當一回事了，對很多人事物太認真，覺得別人怎麼沒有像我一樣，那麼看重情誼，那麼積極做事呢？其實，他是他，我是我，他的思維模式，本來就跟我不同，我何必被自己的情緒牽著走呢？碰到狀況時，也許我要先想想，我有沒有不對的地方，如果有，就要及時改進，如果沒有，請不要拿別人的過錯，來懲罰自己。重點是，千萬不要動怒，不要拿別人的過錯，來懲罰自己，傷害自己，那是多麼得不償失啊！
    人難免都有生氣的時候，心理學家說：「生氣是一種很好的情緒發洩方式。」每一個生氣的原因，都不相同，例如：沒睡飽、掉東西、被誤會、別人得罪我、考試考不好···等等。生氣時所做出的事情，也不一樣，有人會亂摔東西，有人會嚎啕大哭，有人會到處訴苦，也有人會去跑步、打球等發洩情緒，這些都是很好的發洩方式。但是，我們千萬不要用生氣，來處理事情，生氣雖然是一種很好的發洩情緒方式，但是，生氣會讓人一整天不開心，而且，生氣也會把自己氣出病來。「不要拿別人的過錯，來懲罰自己。」不要跟自己過意不去，否則，自己傷心傷身，別人還莫名其妙、若無其事呢！
    其實，要做好情緒管理，就是要將複雜的事情簡單化。我們常常會遇到很多棘手的事情，會焦慮、會不安，但那都不能解決問題。我們遇到不懂的事，就要去看書、翻書，請教別人，多跟人群接觸，改變對事情的看法···等等，久而久之，我們就會有定性，較不至於有劇烈的情緒起伏，也較不會隨對方的情緒起舞，那是很好的情緒管理之道。
    人生在世，我們無法控制別人的行為，與事情的發生，但是，我們可以控制自己的情緒。當我們選擇放下憤怒時，實際上是給自己一份自由，那是一種無價的解脫，智慧的體現。當我們遇到讓自己不舒服的人事物時，就是一種不對勁的感覺，我們感受到了不舒服的感覺，真的不需要反應過度或情緒化，好好地想想，處理並面對別人帶給自己的不對勁感，感到「那個行為很沒禮貌」，用客觀的角度去思考，冷靜下來，把對方失禮的行為當作笑話，笑笑就算了，讓自己內心平靜地過日子，才是王道。我們要守護自己，不要被劣質的人際互動擺佈，帶著信念，捍衛自我認同與自尊。無論別人如何，事情多麼糟，我們都要不動氣地用簡短、堅定的口吻，點出錯誤之處，表達自己的意見，修正言行舉止，下次再做得更圓滿、更好。

Doing Things without Pay
What are the truly priceless aspects of life that money can’t buy? Obviously, money cannot buy knowledge, passion and friendships. These most valuable aspects of life, i.e., knowledge, passion and friendships, indeed, cannot be purchased. My writings and podcasts every week are cultivated through my life experiences and personal dedication. They are not paid by money. Yes. money can purchase educational materials, but knowledge that comes from my personal efforts and experiences cannot be bought. I will continue my writings and podcasts without pay because knowledge is more important than money. Next, true passion requires personal investment and time for genuine growth. Engaging in activities driven by passion is really more fulfilling than monetary gain. Recently, my volunteering to form the “English Youth Leadership Program” at Chung-cheng Industrial High School in Kaohsiung City without pay is my passion. While money provides opportunities to explore learning, it doesn’t create the intrinsic motivation needed for passion. In other words, passion does bring me joy and fulfillment that I might say it cannot be replaced by money. Lastly, I regard that genuine friendships stand out (突顯) as priceless treasures in the world. Authentic friendships, built on trust and mutual respect, offer a depth of connection that, for me, money simply cannot buy. It’s truly meaningful that I have “in-person English tutoring for free” with Zaki Wang. I value Zaki’s true friendship more than money provided. I would like to spend quality time with him, instead of favoring the payment of private tutoring, because Zaki is my good friend. All in all, it, absolutely, cannot be overemphasized that money, undoubtedly, can’t buy knowledge, passion and friendships.
First of all, I am not a “professional writer.” I don’t write for books or magazines. My very close relatives and friends that I have known for many years have often questioned why I invest my time in writing the articles since I don’t get paid for them. Well, I would like to say that writing helps me think of the philosophy of life. Every week, when I recalled the whole week schedules, my writing on Friday lets me learn the lessons, knowledge and wisdom of my daily routine. Secondly, I think that I can write to touch people. I write to form a connection with those who take time out from their lives to read what I have written. For these, perhaps unknown, people to take additional time to read my writings, I consider that I really give them my precious gifts. Besides, in terms of my own benefits, through the writings, I can be free to express my feelings that bring me pleasure. I enjoy writing my thoughts freely and lightheartedly. In fact, I know that the power of the spoken words with sincerity and passion can never be discounted. But, unfortunately, I am not an eloquent person. My writing is better than my speaking. As much as I love people and love to talk to people, I guess that through my writings, I could communicate with people more effectively. Actually, when I am inspired by an event that I read, hear, see or it has happened to me, I feel compelled to put it into words to share it with others. One of the strengths I think to be a “writer” is that I can present the events and my feelings to people. I don’t really care to pay my writings. Actually, the main reason I write without getting paid is that writings bring me joy while making me feel good even for a few hard moments. 
Maybe, not every action requires a paycheck. For example, hobbies, like singing and dancing, are just a few of many things that people participate in to express themselves, to share the cultures, and to just have fun without any pay. This is the exact reason why I started the podcast. In my podcasts, there are 52 episodes throughout 12 months, within a year. I started my podcasts without any intention of monetizing it. I didn’t even know if anyone would listen. And most of those who do listen are my friends and family. In the very first beginning, I just wanted to have fun and shared my podcasts with people who might care to listen. Year after year, I think that I am the person who gets the most advantages. My podcasts have taught me the importance of doing research, of being humble to be corrected when I am wrong, and of asking questions to solve the problems. It is possible to learn these skills elsewhere, but I have been afforded a great opportunity in gaining knowledge through the trials and applications of running the podcast.
     In addition, volunteering brings the noblest aspirations of human kind, i.e., the pursuit of peace, freedom, opportunity, safety, and justice for the world. In effect, a lot of people on earth offer their time, talents, and energy to others and their communities through different actions without financial rewards. Nowadays, with busy schedules, it might be hard for many people to find time to volunteer. However, there are, certainly, a lot of profits of volunteering. I am lucky to have such a volunteering chance to form the “English Youth Leadership Program” at Chung-cheng Industrial High School in Kaohsiung City. I have my senior Toastmasters member, Simone Nash, to help me create the agendas and sessions in the program. It is the free program for students to practice their spoken English at school. I have my passion, and I am, surely, willing to spend time and energy to discuss the activities with students and teachers without any pay. Nevertheless, it is worthy of my support to assist students in learning English.
Last but not least, I also offer in-person English tutoring for free. In-person tutoring means a tutor sits down face-to-face with a student. This could be done in any environment that facilitates learning, such as in the school’s classroom, at the tutor’s or student’s home, or in the local library. One of the most important benefits of face-to-face learning is the opportunity to establish a personal connection between students and tutors. I remembered that one of the Toastmasters members, Zaki Wang, asked me to teach him English in private last year. I quickly promised to help him for free without doubt. In-person English tutoring for free gives me a chance to socially interact with Zaki. Actually, I am glad to make friends with Zaki, and I am happy to help him find the right ways for English learning. Truly, I am the one who gets the best advantages. In Zaki’s case, I win the true friendship that money cannot buy. And I also learn the experiences to guide Zaki according to his unique strengths and areas for improvement.
In conclusion, money might be an essential tool for us to access necessities, such as shelter, food, clothing, transportation, etc. But, unquestionably, money cannot purchase knowledge, passion and friendships. My writings and podcasts provide me good knowledge that is priceless. I appreciate and cherish such valuable experiences very much. Again, the motivation of volunteering is our passion, not money. My recent volunteering experience is more worthwhile than money. At last, authentic friendships cannot be bought, but have to be built through time and effort. In our whole lives, we should cultivate our knowledge, passion and friendships, and, of course, these things cannot be bought by money.   

Following My Own Pace
After reading some articles, I am convinced that I don’t need to worry about how “fast” I am trying to go becauselife isn’t a race. Life is not a competition. And I don’t have to run faster than others. Regarding success, it seems that we have to achieve something within a certain timeline, such as going to university/college and finishing it at aged 22, getting married in our 30s, buying a house in our 40s, and progressing throughout the career consistently, etc. But, how about if I don’t follow the normal timeline? Can I just simply follow my own pace in my life? Is it OK that I can take my time to do my own things? If I do not meet these normal standards, am I “behind” or a “failure” somehow? Anyway, life isn’t a race. I can understand the pressure and the feelings associated with the timeline. So many people follow the normal rules in the world. It is also natural to compare ourselves to others. We’re social beings, after all.We see people starting new jobs, having bought property, graduations, engagements, marriages, holidays, and childbirths. Then, they come the second child, a promotion, the next holiday, the child becoming the star player of his local football team, the next promotion, grandchildren, a second home, a successful second career, and so on. But, in fact, we still can know that people make changes all the time. Why not we could just make things happen at our own paces?
We all experience setbacks, right?! Actually, we all experience setbacks from time to time. It is really unfair to say that we have failed because we have experienced something that we did not like or anticipate. It’s better that we know what we want, and work towards it.But who knows? Some people are lucky enough to know what they want to do from a young age. Others figure it out later. Others currently do not know what they want to do surely. Perhaps, we just cannot know what is going on behind the scenes.It is, indeed, easy to look at people successfully, particularly, those who are the same age of ours. I can even realize that good things always take time. It’s never too late to do things. Everyone is different. Things happen differently for different people. Therefore, it’s actually no need to compare my life to others. I should work at my own pace and follow my own ways. Notwithstanding, nowadays, things are up in the air (事情懸而不決). As a matter of fact, finding a secure job and reaching financial stability have all become difficult for many people. People blame themselves for their lack of “success.” Failure is, in effect, an integral part of our lives, right now, and do lead to setbacks. Failure is uncomfortable. And it hurts. It hurts a lot. In this case, I think, for me, I might try something to change, instead of focusing on failure.
 When some people fail, they might be quick to brand themselves as a “failure.” Nevertheless, failure is temporary. It could be a feeling and it can be changed.When we fail or experience setbacks for something, the experiences can be quite unpleasant. Failure and setbacks often feel painful, but these feelings are temporary. It’s, possibly, OK to feel down from it, but it will pass. The pain will fade away, and it certainly will be replaced with resolve and hope if we are optimistic enough. Later, undoubtedly, it will be learning experiences to us. We learn lessons from our setbacks and failure for sure. Hereafter, we realize that we truly have our own paces to do things in our lives. Yes. It’s powerful to follow my own pace. We ought to acknowledge that certain things are beyond our control. Within our race, we have already played the cards in the best possible ways. We, then, try to practice self-acceptance, self-improvement, self-esteem and self-reliance. Learning not to compare ourselves to others requires time and practice. There is quite about simply saying “I am enough,” and appreciating the journey of our endeavors. Recently, I have been playing the piano by myself without the teacher. I should have followed the notes to play the song accordingly, but it’s not easy for me to finish the whole piano music without the teacher’s instructions. So I, personally, change the musical notes to fit in the styles that I am familiar with. It sounds great and wonderful for me to enjoy the music because I can play easily and smoothly. Wow! I even don’t know that I can do such a silly thing to amuse myself. How happy I am to have such a change! Well, maybe I am wrong not to listen to the teacher’s guidance. Yet, I am glad and I enjoy learning this way sometimes. It’s so pleased to follow my own pace. Afterwards, I got the lesson from the above-mentioned action.In the world, there are certain ways that we can improve our living standards to make happiness easier to achieve. Success isn’t directly correlated with effort, though. Life isn’t a race.I know that I can be happy wherever I am, and eventually find the right way forward for me whatever that may be.I only need to make small adjustments here and there to follow my own pace. Thereupon, I don’t worry about failure. It is just a matter of time until I succeed
Obviously, people make progress at different rates. The main point is that we should never give up trying things. The master has failed more times than the beginner has ever tried. The master knows of all eventualities, and plans accordingly for them. Therefore, we, definitely, have to try. We have to go through life knowing that we tried our best. Learning never ends. Once we follow our own paces to learn things, we get sense of achievement by ourselves. We are, thus, the big winners in our whole lives.The difference between those who find happiness and those who don’t is perseverance. We all face challenges and hardships. But the key to happiness is never to give up, no matter what we face.We all become better at things by trying. The most important thing is that we have to be daring to follow our own paces, and keep on going no matter how long it takes or how far it is.

生活與生命的目的是進步
2025年4月3日星期四，我們全家北上去台北「中正紀念堂」遊覽，在蔣公銅像前拍照留念，又欣賞了閱兵交接典禮，實為壯觀。我在蔣公銅像旁邊，看了兩排字：「生活的目的，在增進人類全體之生活；生命的意義，在創造宇宙繼起之生命。」感觸良多。以前小時候，在教科書上，不斷背誦，朗朗上口。如今，已年過60，再細細品味，真是百感交集。短短30個字，道出了生活與生命的意義。生活，不單只是一個人在生活著，而是結合了一個個的單獨個體，形成「人類群體」的家庭與社會，大家都為了生活而打拚，希望努力進步，過幸福的生活。而我們的生命，亦復如是。除了繁衍後代外，還要延續人類生命的正向精神，代代相傳，永不止息。生活與生命，就像一場旅程，而進步就是我們不斷前行的動力和目標。在這段旅途中，我們面對著種種挑戰和困難，但只要我們始終保持前進的信念，就能超越自己的極限，達到更高的境界，替人類創造美好的生活，為生命開創一個個的奇蹟。
     原來，在蔣公銅像旁的兩排字，道盡了人類歷史與社會的進步。是的，進步是人類生活與生命中，最不可或缺的一環。首先，在個人的成長過程中，進步是至關重要的。每個人都有自己的夢想和目標，但要實現這些夢想，就必須不斷地努力和進步。只有在不斷地學習和成長中，我們才能夠提升自己的能力，更好地應對未來的挑戰。然而，要始終保持前進，並不容易，因為，人生充滿了各種誘惑和困難。有時候，我們可能會遇到挫折，就覺得自己無法再前進了。進步的秘訣，就在於我們始終要保持前進的信念。無論遇到什麼困難和挑戰，我們都不能放棄，要堅持不懈地努力奮鬥，直到最後一刻。在進步的過程中，我們是需要不斷地反思和學習的。進步的道路並不平坦，我們要有勇氣，勇敢地面對挑戰，並不斷地努力向前，才能提升自己。再者，進步的秘訣，是要盡力去解決問題，克服難關，追求物質生活的進步，造福人群的。隨著社會的發展，我們要更新自己的知識和技能，以應對不斷變化的環境和挑戰。我們要不斷地精進與學習，才能提升自己的競爭力。最後，進步的秘訣，在於我們的心態和態度。當我們擁有一顆開放、積極的心態時，我們就能夠更好地接受挑戰，並從中獲得成長和收獲。同時，我們也需要擁有一顆感恩的心，感恩身邊的一切人事物，並將這份感恩，化為不斷努力和進步的動力。在態度方面，我們要謙卑和順，有進步，不要志得意滿，要更積極努力。總的來說，進步的秘訣，是始終保持前進的信念，不斷超越自己的極限，並不斷學習和成長。當我們能夠堅持這樣的信念和態度時，我們就能夠提升自己，實現更大的物質成就，開創更進步的社會、國家，讓世界更便利、更富有、更舒適。
     接著，我們生命的目的，也是在追求進步，但不只是物質的進步，更是精神的進步。人從哭聲中來到這個世界，最終，也會從哭聲中，離開這個世界；人從初來乍到，需要別人照顧，到最後，亦不得不被人照顧。我們終其一生，只不過是這世界上，匆匆的過客，我們看似是在追尋自己的節奏，自己的生活，與自己的幸福，但實際上，大部分的人，一輩子碌碌無為，也沒做出什麼轟動世界的大事。那麼，生命到底有什麼意義呢？在遠古時期，力量、火把，就是人們獲取生命的方式。有力量，就能用拳頭解決一切問題，有火把，就能掌控事情的發展；在命懸一線的戰火時期，單是活著，就是一種幸福，從戰場上活著回來，無論是受傷，還是失去四肢，只要意志清醒，平安回家，就已經是當時人們遙不可及的幸福了。其實，真正的生命，是心靈的進步，是從心底出發，不受他人影響，不限制於世俗的眼光，不被人們的言語控制，而能跟隨自己的內心，做自己該做的事，喜歡做的事，及做對社會有貢獻的事。生命的目的，即是不斷地追求心靈的成長與進步，跟隨內心，珍惜當下的每一個瞬間，多留意身邊的人事物，我們精神的富足，是遠遠超過物質的堆積的。當我們真正要離開時，那些珠寶首飾，都是身外物，我們實實在在能帶走的，就只有在世上的精神和信仰，這是難以磨滅的靈魂。生命就是一個不斷學習的歷程，學習的同時，也在累積自我價值、提升心靈。我們每個人都擁有獨特的優點與能力，我們要善於運用積累的知識，培養自己的能力。之後，在職場上，無論遇到什麼困難，皆能臨危不亂，處變不驚。那麼，我們的生命，就一直都有進步，內心就會更堅定，更充滿信心。
    蔣公的至理名言，一點都沒錯，歷久彌新，生活的目的，是要追求物質的進步，生命的目的，是要追求精神的進步。我們在追求物質生活進步的同時，更要注重精神生命的進步。也就是說，生活要進步，生命更要進步。在當今的社會中，我們都很努力地來求得物質條件的富足，當我們有充足的經濟資源時，我們就有更好的醫療服務，促進健康，延長壽命。再來，我們需要有良好、進步的教育背景，才能提高我們的知識水準，廣闊職業生涯。此外，我們還要有足夠的時間，參與社交活動，譬如文化活動及旅遊等，來增強人際關係，豐富生活經歷。最後，我們更要有高層次的生活品質，例如藝術、音樂、美術和休閒活動等，來充實我們的心靈。也就是說，我們在追求物質富足的同時，更應該要重視心靈精神的提升與進步。真正的富足，是心靈與物質的平衡的。金錢確實可以提供幸福感，特別是在滿足基本需求的情況下。沒有金錢，生活將面臨許多現實的困難，諸如食物、住處、醫療等，都可能是一種奢望。然而，金錢並非幸福的唯一來源。即使擁有充足的金錢，仍有不少富人，深陷憂鬱症或精神空虛的。可以這麼說，金錢是一種工具，讓我們擁有更多的選擇，但它並不是唯一的目標。真正的幸福，應該來自於內心的富足與生活的滿足，這就是蔣公所提出的：物質生活的進步，與精神生命的進步。我們要記取蔣公的教誨，永遠學習，永遠進步，在生活與生命上，爭爭日上，生生不息。 

Feeling Safe or Trying the Potential Challenges
Feeling safe is a fundamental human need, vital for both mental and physical health. Safety provides a sense of security and freedom from fear or anxiety, enabling individuals to thrive and function optimally.It influences how we navigate the world, form connections, and pursue our goals. The significance of feeling safe cannot be overstated. This essential aspect of the human experience does shape our daily interactions and activities. That is, when we feel safe, we find it easier to relax, do all the things that comfort us, and focus on our relationships and the work or study we need to do. By contrast, trying the potential challenges is a force that it pushes us to get out of our comfort zones. We don’t like it, of course, unless we are compelled to do it. We all are humans and we expect too much from our life. Sometimes, we feel disappointed when our expectations are not met. Life is a complicated path full of challenges, hardships, and barriers that might be difficult to overcome.While some people appear to glide around life with comfort, others are continually fighting to overcome one obstacle after another. One of the main reasons why life might be challenging is its unpredictability. Life is packed with a surprise both good and terrible, so it can be difficult to predict what will happen next. This uncertainty can lead us to anxiety and tension. The desire to succeed is another reason that life can be challenging.We are taught from a young age that in order to live a happy and meaningful life, we must work hard, obtain high grades, and succeed. This pressure to succeed can be overpowering, especially when we fail to reach our own or others’ expectations. Financial difficulties make life difficult, too.Money issues can result in tension, anxiety, and even despair. Financial difficulties really constrain our alternatives and chances, making it tough to pursue our objectives and goals. Next,relationships are also a cause of stress in our life. Navigating the complexity of human connections, whether in love relationships, friendships, or family interactions, may all be difficult. Tension and stress could be caused by miscommunication, misunderstandings, and upset feelings. Moreover, life still can be made more challenging by health issues. Chronic illnesses, accidents, and disabilities would reduce our physical ability and make it more difficult to accomplish the things we enjoy. Depression and anxiety are two mental health conditions that let us make things hard to get along and enjoy life. Finally, in our society, discrimination, such as homophobia, sexism, racism, and other kinds of prejudice, create hurdles and limit possibilities for particular groups of individuals. In sum, life is challenging for a variety of reasons. Life’s unpredictability, pressure to perform, financial difficulties, marital challenges, health concerns, and social problems all make life difficult.   
    In terms of feeling safe, home is where we can spend a large amount of time to feel secure and safe there.At home, we don’t have to be perfect and worthy to gain love and care. Our family members always accept us and support us no matter how many times we make mistakes or we are imperfections.At home, we are easy, cozy and comfortable. We take care of our physical and mental health at home. We prioritize our sufficient sleep, a balanced diet, regular exercise, and we spend time with our family members who genuinely love us so much. These actions establish a stable foundation for us that reinforces both our emotional and physical well-being. Except for that, we still can choose to go outside. A strong sense of community is important for building feelings of safety and belonging. We can join groups that align with our values or interests, such as hobby clubs, support groups, or volunteer organizations.We, then, build relationships by engaging in open, honest activities with others. When we are surrounded by people who we really trust and our supportive friends, we are strongly feeling safe. Everyone deserves to experience the peace and empowerment that come from feeling safe. It’s not just a basic human necessity; it’s the right. Feeling safe is a way of life that allows us to thrive, to achieve our goals, and to live with confidence and purpose.
   However, not every day is perfect. When we are forced to go down the unknown path, the less trodden path, what would we do? Definitely, it will be challenging and it will be difficult. Can we accept the challenges and learn a whole lot of new things? I would like to say that, perhaps, taking the path less travelled might be exhilarating, exciting and quite an adventure, but there is a cost to be paid. People only talk about obstacles when they are threatened by the new path. Once they realize that it is not the comfortable place, they could easily give up.As we have learned that fear and the unknown will make people scared, the new path will, absolutely, let us work so hard and break us down. Nevertheless, it is an irresistible need for us not to follow the same rules that everyone else is. That is to say, if we want to get ahead in the new path, we have to find ways to stand out from others. Williams James, the founding father of psychology, said, “Most people live in a restricted circle of their full potential.” Whether we use 5% of our brains or 50%, there’s no arguing that most of us never get close to what we’re actually capable of achieving. Likewise, experiences have taught us that, sometimes, the situations which challenge us the most have the hidden gifts to give us the reservoirs of strength and courage. In other words, trying the potential challenges lets us live our lives more deeply and bravely.
Therefore, we need to trust in ourselves that our capacity for life is larger than what we’ve estimated to be. While we may have been in situations where we’ve felt that we lack the resources to meet our challenges, what we really lack is the self-trust to look within our inner resources. As Victor Frankl wrote, “When we are no longer able to change our situations, we are challenged to change ourselves.”It’s impossible to predict, and to much less fully plan for our lives. Nevertheless, whatever it happens, we always get to choose one way to go. Trusting that potential within us will always transcend and solve the problems. After all, when we trust ourselves to handle anything, it liberates us for everything. By the way, in order to prepare ourselves to take on the challenges of life and to help others face their challenges, firstly, we ought to take care of our physical needs, such as adequate sleep, good nutrition, and physical activity.Then, caring for our emotional needs is also necessary. Regular self-care, enjoying hobbies or activities, taking regular self-compassion breaks, and taking time to be kind toward ourselves are, indeed, essential to us. When we finally overcome the difficulties during those challenging times, we will find out that how much we have grown up from these experiences. We, then, gain the increased awareness, the new perspectives, a better appreciation for life, and a greater sense of purpose.Challenges in life are inevitable. Notwithstanding, as we seek to understand and apply healthy ways of coping, such as eliminating overthinking, working from our strengths, taking time for self-care, and finding meanings in our experiences, we will be more prepared to face these potential challenges with peace and confidence for sure.

Hope Is the Most Daily Comfortable Deed
Hope, for us, is crucial in times of uncertainty, and in dealing with adversity.However, hope is not optimism, which is a belief that everything will work out. Hope is much more active, a feeling and a mindset that we have to work at in order to achieve our goals despite difficult circumstances.I would like to say that in our mundane life, hope is the most daily comfortable deed.It is a sense of trust, of caring and being cared for what comes from within and outside, and is based on relationships and being connected to the world. Hope might come from many places: our doctors, our friends and our family members; but having the will to keep going and to get through it with supports, it is, definitely, the hope in our minds.Hope is our sweetest sleep and dream. Hope is eating the delicious food. Hope is enjoying the nice space. Hope is practicing the favorite activity. And hope is taking action repeatedly but never feeling tired.Hope is important to us all when there is great uncertainty and fear during the tough times. Nevertheless, hope, no doubt, drives us to approach good health, effective goals, excellent quality of life, and true well-being.
   First of all, hope is our sweetest sleep and dream. In this hustle-and-bustle world, we tend to burn the midnight oil, sacrifice sleep for work, and tell ourselves that we’ll catch up on rest later. But most of the time, we postpone to take a rest. A fascinating new study has revealed a surprising connection between sleep and some of the most sought-after aspects of human experience: gratitude, resilience, and overall flourishing. In other words, sweet sleep can bring hope, happiness and gratitude. A good night’s sleep leaves us feeling refreshed and energized. Sleep improves the positive aspects of life like feelings of purpose, hope, and gratitude. Sleep do help us gain the resilience. Resilience is crucial for navigating life’s challenges and maintaining a positive outlook. It is the ability to bounce back from adversity. Our sweet sleep and dream can let us get the resilience, and further, enhance our hope.
Secondly, hope is eating the delicious food. Isn’t it very hopeful when we take a bite of the warm cupcake, a sip of hot chocolate or even a spoon of our favorite food?People who enjoy eating and experimenting with different kinds of foods are the luckiest people in the world. In fact, eating is a great way to have hope and socialize with loved ones. Foods and festivities usually go hand in hand for any celebrations. Certain places, situations, or people often remind us of foods that we crave. We think about them, imagine the taste, and then plan on how to procure the foods. The whole process is the sense of hope. Our favorite foods vary from person to person, and even culture to culture. But,whatever we eat, it is the memories of love, care, and comfort that are attached to the foods.
Then, hope is enjoying the nice space. While driving the car to the destination, the most marvelous thing for us might be to find a parking place as soon as possible. That is our daily hope. In fact, travel is also a powerful experience to reach hope. It connects cultures, sparks curiosity, and invites people into new ways of seeing the world. Travelers and tourists, indeed, play a profound role to present hope. At its heart, travel is the desire to seek out something new, and to leave the familiar behind in search of something extraordinary.Travelers are driven by curiosity and the belief that there’s always more to discover, learn, and appreciate. This experience forces the travelers out of their comfort zones, allowing them to confront biases, navigate unfamiliar surroundings, and develop patience. In return, many feel inspired to have hope and show respect for cultural traditions.As the matter of fact, every journey has the potential to enrich not only the travelers’ lives, but also the hope to value diversity, learning, and sustainability.
   Fourthly, hope is practicing the favorite activity we love. Our lives always consist of various emotional parts. Each day won’t be the same. Some day we feel exhausted, and the other day, we may act stupidly and make mistakes. We never know our future. Therefore, our passion and self-realization are the most important things to make our lives better. When we engage in activities we are passionate about, motivation flows naturally. That is the hope. Passion is like a wellspring of energy that propels we forward, enables us to overcome challenges and to persist in the face of adversity.Whether we’re artists, scientists, athletes, teachers, or any other professionals, the intrinsic motivation that comes from doing what we love leads us to higher productivity, creativity, and innovation. Actually, engaging in activities we are passionate can reduce stress, anxiety, and depression, while it also enhances our overall sense of happiness and satisfaction. When our work aligns with our passions, it often becomes less of a burden and more of an enjoyable part of our lives. We could say that innovations emerge from the desire to solve problems or create something new, and these breakthroughs are the far-reaching hope of our lives.
   At last, hope is taking action repeatedly but never feeling tired. Hope is the thing that keeps us positive and moving. If we remain optimistic, not only are we able to overcome difficult times, but we are also able to make meaningful use of every moment of life. Yet, one of the reasons people give up on life is that when we face the tough times, it feels as if time will never end, and we will always remain in the same situation. Notwithstanding, when we think of all the fairytales, such as The Three Little Pigs, The Three Billy Goats Gruff, andthe Three Bears... etc., the number three works very well for repeating something. The repetition matters. In other words, hope makes the repetition meaningful in one sense. Practice makes perfect. Repetition is generally used to help us go through the key points. It is significant for success.Imagine that, in our microcosm, the little corner of our world, we can make it better, if we are doing things toward it repeatedly and we never stop. It is, exactly, the hope. Hopeful people are always at work, are succeeding, and are working tirelessly. Martin Luther King Jr. said, “We must accept finite disappointment, but we must never lose infinite hope.” Anyway, for everything in the world, we have to continue to move forward with hope that the best is yet to come.

To Act and Be a Hero
A Psalm of Life
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
 
Tell me not, in mournful numbers,
Life is but an empty dream! —
For the soul is dead that slumbers,
And things are not what they seem.
 
Life is real! Life is earnest!
And the grave is not its goal;
Dust thou art, to dust returnest,
Was not spoken of the soul.
 
Not enjoyment, and not sorrow,
Is our destined end or way;
But to act, that each to-morrow
Find us farther than to-day.
 
Art is long, and Time is fleeting,
And our hearts, though stout and brave,
Still, like muffled drums, are beating
Funeral marches to the grave.
 
In the world’s broad field of battle,
In the bivouac of Life,
Be not like dumb, driven cattle!
Be a hero in the strife!
 
Trust no Future, howe’er pleasant!
Let the dead Past bury its dead!
Act--act in the living Present!
Heart within, and God o’erhead!
 
Lives of great men all remind us
We can make our lives sublime,
And, departing, leave behind us
Footprints on the sands of time;
 
Footprints, that perhaps another,
Sailing o’er life’s solemn main,
A forlorn and shipwrecked brother,
Seeing, shall take heart again.
 
Let us, then, be up and doing,
With a heart for any fate;
Still achieving, still pursuing,
Learn to labor and to wait.
“It is not the years in your life, but the life in your years that counts,” said Adlai Ewing Stevenson (美國政治家). The point, Stevenson illustrates, is a reminder of how it’s easy to lose sight of living a meaningful life. It’s an interesting phenomenon that we invest the amount of time, energy, and money in living healthier, longer, and happier lives. Nevertheless, we still often feel unsatisfied with our lives that are devoid (沒有的) of meanings. When it comes to living a meaningful life, there are no exact answers all over the world. What makes life meaningful is unique to each and every person.Meanings may come from many different avenues. Unlike happiness, which stems from receiving or doing things for ourselves,meanings of life come from giving or doing something for ourselves and others as well. Perhaps, for some people, meanings of life come from fostering close family relationships. For a few, they are about choosing fulfilling careers that involve helping others through teaching, nursing, counseling, or coaching. Others find meanings by giving back to their communities. If it still isn’t enough to satisfy our quests for a meaningful life, we might try to step outside our comfort zones in exchange for something more fulfilling, uplifting, and meaningful. 
A hero, indeed, is a person who has a meaningful life and does good actions for him and others. Since our ideas of the hero are often framed by the stories we see on the big screen, or read in comic books and novels, it is not uncommon that, in our society, we have military heroes, sports heroes, political and civil rights heroes and business heroes. They are all courageous. In other words,a hero is a person who acts courageously. A hero is not someone with superpowers, superior intellect or physical ability. On the contrary,a hero is someone who has recognized a need, counted the potential cost, and decided to act in spite of what might happen to be hurt. For example, a military hero is someone who risks his life in order to save the lives of his fellow warriors. A political or civil rights leader is someone who stands up for what he/she believes to be right even though he/she may lose his/her position, credibility and connections. Furthermore, a hero at home is a mother or a father that sacrifices herself/himself for the good of the family. They all act heroically and deserve the titles.
It takes both skill and self-confidence to rush into places which others fear to tread. It means that a hero has the courage to act out.While facing the crisis, heroes always have an intrinsic belief that they are capable of handling the challenges and achieving success no matter what the odds are. Thus, a person who rushes into a burning building to save another person is not just extraordinarily brave; he/she also possesses an ability to overcome fear.Those who do leap into action are typically, more likely, to take greater risks in multiple aspects of their lives. They are real heroes. Therefore, to act and be heroes give us meaningful lives.
Besides, persistence is another quality commonly shared by heroes. They are often more patient and will keep working on their goals, even after multiple setbacks. If we want our lives meaningful, we have to be heroes.Heroes learn and share good mindset in their meaningful lives, such as persistence, empathy, heroic imagination, special training and habitual helping. Heroes take action persistently. They are going to stand up and do the right thingscontinuously. They are also more easily able to expand empathy to others who are beyond their social circles or comfort zones. Moreover, those who help others in dangerous situations usually have sometraining that gives them confidence. Heroes are trained to have heroic behavior as repetitive actions on behalf of others. They are healthy and formed the habits of doing good things to helpothers.
Too many people wait for something before they are willing to take positive action. We choose to delay the tough decisions and live with more misery or discontent, rather than deciding to act and make our world better. We always make excuses like “waiting for the perfect moment,” “waiting for when the person will be feeling better,” “waiting for the momentum to shift,” “waiting until after Christmas,” “waiting until he leaves,” “waiting until she quits,” “waiting until he gets promoted,” “waiting until the boss gets fired,” or “waiting until I’m retired.” The list can be endless. In fact, the status quo might be so comfortable to many people who would rather choose the ordinary today over a powerful future of new (yet unknown) possibilities. But, it’s the prime time for us to act out and be heroes to live meaningful lives.Otherwise, “life is but an empty dream!” Taking action is crucial. Some people don’t know what they want to do, so they do nothing. Some people know what they want to do, but still do nothing. And some people spend heaps of time and energy going to seminars, reading, and learning about what they want to do, but they never actually take any action on what they learn. If we take no action, it doesn’t matter how much we learn or know, our actual lives are not going to be benefited. Everyone has the ability to take action. It doesn’t take money. It doesn’t take experience. And it doesn’t take anything except for the desire and willingness to go ahead and do something. To act is to do things at once.
As a matter of fact, through repetition, the action that caused us discomfort becomes a habit.Every learning needs to develop. We, then, have the opportunity to do a different action that is beyond our comfort zones. This is how we all continue to develop and grow. Now we can structure our days by blocking out time in our diaries to do specific actions. This is where discipline comes in. The beliefs that we have about our abilities shape our entire lives. Self-efficacy (自我勝任感) is the strength of our belief in our abilities to achieve goals. People with high self-efficacy approach challenging tasks as things they can master. Thus, here is a committed action plan that successful people practice weekly:
1. Identifya clear reason for a desired goal.
2. See this desired outcome as a positive change.
3. Developa routine of self-discipline, focusing on progressing toward our desired goals.
4. Usetime management to prioritize our goals daily.
5. Assess the clarity of our plans, and write down the action plans with completion dates.
6.Reward ourselves weekly for staying on track.
It’s really up to us to let our desired outcomes shine, and infuse our lives with actions. We have to start our plans, and make progress daily in life. Indeed, no race was ever won without a beginning. So, let’s start right now.

Butterflies and Roses
I Fluttered Brightly as a Butterfly
Jenny Chu
 
I fluttered brightly as a butterfly
That flies everywhere in the charming gardens,
When all the time I saw
A cluster of flamboyant roses;
Besides the alleys, beneath the trees,
Swaying and swinging in the breeze.
 
Continuous as the honeybees that roamed
And wandered in the parks,
They searched and hunted the everlasting colors
Of red, pink, purple and yellow roses in large pieces of ground.
One million I watched all of a sudden,
Dancing together were butterflies, honeybees and roses.
 
The green grass beside them danced, too.
They were all smiling and sparkling in glee.
I could not but be gay,
In such a pleasant company.
I gazed and thought of these lovely friends,
What wonderful wealth they had brought to me.
 
For oft, in my room I stay
With relaxing or cozy feelings,
My inner heart just flashes upon that gorgeous butterfly
Which is blissfully transformed from a tiny caterpillar;
And then how pleasurable it fills in my memory,
And dances with the roses.

I learned the inspiration from William Wordsworth’s “I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud.” I enjoyed reading Wordsworth’s poem of these wonderful words, such as “cloud,” “stars,” “waves,” “daffodils” and “dances.” I, then, thought of butterflies, honeybees and roses in the front yard and backyard of my house. If Wordsworth can use his beautiful living surroundings to create such profound poems, I, too, could grasp my own favorite scenic spots for poetry. Thus, it is the main idea for me to finish this poem, “I fluttered brightly as a butterfly.” Among insects, I like butterflies the most. Butterflies are everywhere in my house from morning till night. I guess that because we plant a lot of flowers around the house, we allure (引誘) butterflies and honeybees into our gardens. By the way, in terms of flowers, roses are my best favorite. I love roses no matter what colors they are. For example, they are red, pink, purple, and yellow roses to name a few. That can also be the perfect explanation of “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet” in William Shakespeare’s play Romeo and Juliet. Therefore, I got the insight to connect butterflies, honeybees and roses altogether in my poem, and I would play and dance with them all the time in my imagination.
All roses have a long flowering season. Butterflies and honeybees are really attracted to roses for their fresh pollen. According to rose growers, single roses with five petals have their very own charm. The best known single rose is “Dainty Bess,” which produces clusters of pink blossoms. The roses always change colors as they age, so that at any one time, the rose bushes would be covered with different colors from light pink to reddish pink. And, butterflies are, no doubt, attracted to red, pink, purple and yellow flowers for sure.
Watching butterflies on top of roses is, indeed, a thrilling experience as well. I like to look for a butterfly fluttering till it gets friendly and sits on a nearby flower as if sitting for a portrait. How beautiful it is! When the butterflies take flight at their slightest movements, I, then, quickly follow them to other colorful flowers. Honeybees also have their preferences. All the time, they chase glittering blossoms and roses. Such a picture is the beauty of nature. In fact, those of us who wish to attract butterflies and honeybees to our gardens have to keep the needs of these lovely flowers of the air in mind. We do take care of flowers and plants as possible as we can for butterflies and honeybees. Furthermore, butterflies and honeybees love the sun. They want to have landing places where they can open their wings and take a rest. All it takes is a clear space and a few flat stones for them as their landing field. Besides, like any living creature, butterflies and honeybees adore water. A small pond with fish and shallow water is perfect for butterflies and honeybees. In my house, we, our family members, try our best to create these amiable environments for butterflies and honeybees.
Moreover, in my imagination, butterflies and honeybees are mutual good friends in the garden. They might invite roses to dance together all around here and there. Their movements, gestures and the wings are shown to be graceful to greet the rocking roses, and also welcome my moves with them. It is as if all of us follow the melodious notes of the wind, so gently and softly, to perform marvelous dances collectively. How romantic it is for me to dance cheerfully with butterflies, honeybees and roses! In this scene, my heart is suddenly filled with tremendous joy and delight. I feel I am so blissful, actually, to have such a great time in my memory. It’s really my blessings to possess such miraculous moments of joy while I am alone. I am grateful enough, and I appreciate deeply the generosity of Mother Nature toward me.

Eating Is Gorgeous
The pleasure of eating is not mere gourmet. If we know the people whose vegetables have grown beautifully and healthily, perhaps, we will have such a memory with the food, and enjoy the pleasures of eating. It means thatthe knowledge of the good healthy food relieves and comforts the eaters.The same goes for eating meat. The thought of the attractive pasture and the strong calves contentedly (滿足地) flavors the steaks. In other words,we eat every day to sustain our bodies with understanding and with gratitude. It’s better that we go to the traditional marketplaces and cook in the kitchens by ourselves. In this way, we choose the freshest food and guarantee the best available standards of our health. Anyway, eating with the fullest pleasure does not depend on others. In this pleasure, we experience and celebrate our independence and gratitude.
However, eating out at our favorite local restaurants with friends and family can be fun, too. It is also the pleasure of eating to have great meals and good food services with well-prepared food safety and sanitation practices.Most restaurants and food service operations value the customers’ health, and work very hard to prepare tasty and safe foods for eaters. Nowadays, our government even asks the local health departments conduct routine food inspections to make sure that the food is being handled properly from start to finish. This includes that the food is purchased from an approved source, is in the best and safest conditions, and is properly cooked, cooled, stored, and reheated. We can also look at the food service facility and its equipment to make sure that everything is clean and secure in working orders. By keeping these things in mind when we go out to eat, we would protect ourselves from the possibility of getting sick from food that has been improperly handled, and appreciate so much the pleasures of eating.
By the way, when dining in a well-reputed restaurant, we expect the food to be presented exquisitely (精緻地). The world’s greatest chefs are not only masters of flavor, but also the artists who use the plates as a canvas to be savored. Food tastes better when it looks good. Plating a dish artfully is about more than just aesthetics. Visual presentations act a powerful tool for improving the overall experiences and flavors of food. That is,beautiful food always gets attention. Studies have shown that food is often perceived to actually taste better when presented in certain graceful ways. When eating out, for the most part, we really want pretty and tasty food. Furthermore, when it comes to food, it seems that we are willing to pay quite a bit for attentive labors of ingredients.So, making a plate look lovely is important, not just elegant or fancy. Recently, photography in cookbooks and on social media, Facebook or Instagram in particular, has certainly served as a source of inspiration for those who just cook for themselves or their families. Of course, the key to a good-looking plate lies in the love at its core. Whenever the cook prepares and dishes up something made with care and attention, the results, definitely, are destined to be delicious.
Life is short. It’s OK to enjoy food! Our relationship with food can be complex. Yes, no doubt. We and food are stuck together for life. Putting it simply, food might be the most complicated relationship in our lives because we have to eat three meals every day without exception.Have you ever noticed that you’ve just eaten something, but can hardly remember what it tasted like? Our busy and stressful modern-day lifestyles may have to do with this. Or, our minds are so busy planning the next move, so that we don’t allow time to savor the food we eat. It only takes 10 minutes for our brains to detect (覺察) the body’s signals that we’re feeling full. Therefore, eating quickly can mean that we could easily consume too much food before our bodies tell us to stop, leaving us feeling uncomfortably full. In fact, the “grab-and-go” meal has become a common means of refueling the bodies for many people who think that there’s never enough time in a day. Nevertheless,it is really important to be aware that we are in control of our own eating habits. Even though we may be short on time, there is no excuse not to be mindful of the foods we’re putting in our bodies and how we consume them. While having eaten, we have to enjoy sensations, flavors, sounds, smells and sights at a time as if we’re having a great time of tasting.Eating is one of those simple pleasures that we’ve lived in this world. It cannot be overemphasized that eating mindfully is a way to get back in touch with the pleasure of food, and it comes with many benefits to our health and well-being as well.
Food nourishes us. Food helps us stay alive. Food is fuel. And, food is tied to our experiences and memories. Yes. Food can bring us back to the laughter shared between us and the loved one. Food connects us! Cooking unleashes (解開) the imagination and has given us countless ways to enjoy food.Eating indeed brings genuine happiness to our lives and foster feelings of comfort, peace, and care. It is amazing that food does so much for us. In reality, all of these magnificent foods truly give our bodies the nutrients we need to grow, develop and live, and foster so many pleasurable, loving, and meaningful experiences to us. Cheers! Let’s have a lot of joys of eating. 

The Magic of Serendipity
“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans,” John Lennonpresciently (預知地)wrote in his song “Beautiful Boy” on his final album, and it is found to be quite accurate. Fortunately, the unexpected can also work out favorably, sometimes taking us in an entirely new and happier direction. Serendipity is defined to be the occurrence and development of events by chance in a happy or beneficial way. In other words,the idea of serendipity allows us to think that there is always a grand design to life for a reason. In fact, life does happen to us while we’re making other plans. Accidentally, we might place more value on the role of serendipity in shaping our future. It may be just the statistics or odds of chance, but, curiously, we can’t help but think that serendipity is magical, a mystical force that occasionally makes its presence known. Rather than spend so much time and energy trying to engineer what lies ahead, we may be better off just opening ourselves up to the possibilities of tomorrow.
A postcard. A first-time visit to the new restaurant. A flower on the sidewalk. A last-minute decision about where to travel. These are only little things with little in common. But they all have a role in starting something good in a small way, such as happy accidents, coincidences, luck and randomness.However, serendipity isn’t just about something lucky or good happening to us.We have to do something about it, too. When something good happens in such a random way, we don’t know. We can’t quite figure it out. That’s the beauty of serendipity. Nevertheless, in our minds, we do have the subconscious or unconscious anticipations.
Magic is like the wind in spring. It’s all around us, but normally we can’t see it. That means that, sometimes, life gets overwhelming and the magic seems to disappear. In those moments, it’s as if the shine goes out of life. In this sense, we just need to remind ourselves how to recognize magic once more. Maybe, there are still small possibilities of magic continuing to happen all around us. Then, all we have to do is to remember how to recognize them.In our daily lives, we all want some magic to transform our lives into something better. Someone wants magic for getting a job for which he/she has been struggling long. Someone looks for magic to get past the illness that has been troubling him/her for so long. And there are people who only want magic to be happy and free of depression no matter what life unfolds for them. Living a magical life with a perfect job, health, relationships, money is what everyone seeks.Notwithstanding, how can we meet the magic of serendipity? Perhaps, we require having an outside force or the motivation source to do it for us.
In today’s society, it is more important than ever to focus on our futures. With so much complexity and change in the world,we should prepare for everything. We must explore the unknowns and discuss them at all levels in our brains.We’re constantly surrounded by a multitude of unknown variables, like climate change and inequality. In the past, we have merely viewed futures as things that can be solved with business plans or the government’s decision-making. But this isn’t enough anymore.To meet the challenges of tomorrow, we ought to anticipate and prepare for the unknowns. This means that we require a mindset shift towards embracing uncertainty instead of trying to eliminate it. That is to say, we can’t simply ask futures into existence. It’s something that we have to work towards. For example, if we want specific kinds of futures, we must become more inclusive and allow for different types of people to have a say in what futures looks like through experimental planning. This way, we’re building the skills to adapt well in an age full of radical change and uncertainty. We have to create structures that are flexible enough to adapt quickly to new circumstances. We also require a proactive (主動的) mindset so that we are more likely to take risks and experiment with solutions. We don’t know the wonders of magic and serendipity. But if we build the adaptive capabilities to navigate the upcoming radical uncertainty, we will, definitely, be lucky enough to encounter beautiful things in our lives.

Following Our Hearts, Not Our Words
Follow means that something or someone else is going to lead us. So to follow our hearts is to listen to us right now. To follow our hearts sounds innocent, pure and good. That is, to follow our hearts suggests that we are going to let our feelings and emotions be our guides.
There are two ways to see whether we are “following our hearts” or not. The first one is that we are following the desires that our hearts are calling us, and the second one is that weare truly listening to our hearts.
     The first one is about our desires and our words, but not exactly our hearts. Our society today is driven by our minds and our fears. We do not place as much value and emphasis on passion, love, fulfillment and spiritual purposes. Rather, it is about external success, money, security, stability and reputation. As a result, many of us do not feel that it is so important to really tune in to our hearts, and hear what they want. Instead, we are too busy trying to get ahead and make something of ourselves in this world. The head is practical and analytical and is often driven by fear. Our heads would tell us what needs to be done to remain safe in the world. Nevertheless, we can never be who everyone else wants us to be. Even if we want to dedicate our whole lives to serving the world or others, we wouldn’t be able to do either in an honest way until we operate from a source of knowing our internal hearts. The outcome we’re ultimately seeking is to listen to our hearts by focusing on what makes us feel expansive, and to let go of anything in our lives that leaves us feeling negative. Compared to the head, the heart is free and wild, and is driven by love. Thus, the second one is about our hearts. We should look at our lives honestly, and really evaluate what parts of them we love. It means that we ought to listen to our deep inner voices, rather than the loud forceful voices of the outer world.
Indeed, the decision to follow our hearts is a journey. If we have been living a life that is not heart-driven, we may experience feelings of confusion, self-doubt and even regrets for our actions. I believe that it is time for each of us to wake up, listen to our hearts, and connect with what we really want. And then we act on it. We, thus, dare to take risks and have the courage to move towards our hearts fearlessly with 100% commitment. In order to do this, we must be willing to be different, to do things differently, and to challenge the expectations that our hearts want us to do. Yes, a life of following our hearts may be challenging, but the rewards we receive would be enough to make it all worth it.In fact, humans are not always intellectual beings. We’re all emotional beings who allow our feelings and emotions to guide our lives.
However, in our daily life, we usually make decisions on our heads. It is the intellect in our heads to have the rational analysis, where we weigh the pros and cons of a particular situation. Besides, we also listen to people’ opinions. They would look at things from their perspectives and give us advice. Still, there’s more facts than they see. Therefore,we cannot totally depend on our intellectual and logical thinking to make decisions. In this sense, we try to approach our intuitions. Our hearts are all the best intentions in the world. Our bodies, very often, tell us everything that we need to know. By bringing our attention to our emotive landscape, we are learning to turn off our analytical mind to get in touch with what’s true for us at the deepest level. We listen to our hearts when we’re trying to decide whether or not we want to meet up with specific people, engage in activities, or determine what to do next when making decisions in relation to our life, career, and spiritual practices. Our bodies give us all of the information that we need when we’re quiet and aware enough to feel our emotions and bodily sensations.
Emotions provide us with a shortcut to our truth. If we do not get to know ourselves in the absence of the analytical mind, or external (familial, cultural, or societal) expectations that seemingly govern our choices, we’ll continuously feel lost, frustrated, and out of alignment with what is real and true for our life journey.It is suggested that both meditation and yoga are powerful practices that can assist us with getting in touch with our bodies, emotions, hearts and the truth within us. If meditation or yoga feels like too much, we can just simply sit quietly and pay attention to our hearts.When we’re trying to decide what to keep or let go of in our lives, we don’t actually need to think about anything;all we really need to know is how the decision makes us feel. We have to sit quietly until we’re fully relaxed. Once relaxed, we, then, simply drop our heads down as if we’re trying to look at our hearts.If we start thinking or analyzing the results, instead of how we’re feeling in the moment, we’re already allowing the mind to take over and rationalize a different choice, which moves us away from our truth. Our bodies do know what we need. In order to continue getting to our hearts, perhaps, we have to be willing to give up everything we thought we knew about ourselves, and what we thought we wanted or needed. Eventually, we’ll be experts at following our hearts and listening to them fully.Again, studies have shown that bodily signals—particularly from the heart—offer good guidance about potential choices. We all have a voice inside our hearts. The little voice tells us what to do, how to be, and how we should feel about things. This voice can be a powerful influence on our lives. When we listen with our hearts, we’re able to really connect with us on a much deeper level, and understand our feelings and needs. This can be tough to do, especially when we’re feeling overwhelmed or stressed, but it’s so worth it. When we truly follow and listen to our hearts, we build stronger, more intimate relationships with ourselves based on trust, respect, and understanding.

重講故事，讓自己開心
     快樂不一定是一切都很美好了，而是，我們不再在意那一點點的不美好，而願意在懂得不美好中，找到美好。其實，我們就是讓自己開心就好！
     當我們還是小孩子的時候，通常都是比較喜歡卡通動畫這類情節性較強的故事，相較之下，我們會去注意到發生了什麼故事，而不會去注意故事裡面人物的觀點。長大後，當我們再閲讀一些故事時，我們可能又有不同的觀點了。
     我們每一個人，在不同的年齡階段，都會有建構屬於自己不同的人生故事。我們都曾回憶過自己從小到大的一生，並各自擁有敘述自己人生故事的方式。在審視自己的人生時，一般人會覺得，人生是由無數零散的碎片組成。然而，心理學家認為，一個人的人生故事，不單單只是流水帳式的傳記而已，更是將那些事件或事實，打散和分類，重新在腦海中編碼並整合，進而形成有意義的故事。所以，我們的人生故事，是由自己敘述出來的。
     我們在一生中，發生的事件，不勝枚舉，然而，在敘述我們的人生故事時，我們會選擇哪些事件，來作為素材的元素呢？我們會用什麼樣的方式，來描述這些事件呢？我們在講述自己故事的過程當中，是否塑造了另一個「我」？敘事心理學家認為，我們的一生，就是一個不斷追求自我身份的過程。在講述自己故事的過程中，我們就對一系列的生命事件，進行了自傳式的因果推論。例如，有兩個人，可能遭遇了一樣的瓶頸，如考試失利、戀情觸礁或職場不順等，他們在講述這些事件時的方式，可能不盡相同。一個人可能會把這些事件，歸因於外部不幸的因素；另一個人，則可能把這些事情，歸因於自身的人格特質，解釋為自己的宿命。因此，不同的敘事方式，代表著各自不同的人格特質，同時也不斷塑造各自未來的經歷。
     我們並非天生就會講故事的，隨著自身變化的轉變，我們講述自己人生故事的方式，也會隨著年齡的增長，而不斷發展。不論是否針對同一個事件，當我們重新評估和敘述過去的經歷時，它會影響我們對過去事件的記憶方式，因此，我們可能會講出一個全新的故事來。同時，隨著年紀的增長，我們對自己人生故事的敘述方式，也會越來越穩定。到了晚年，我們講出來的自己一生的故事情節，應該是最為固定。
     沒有一個人有超能力，可以去改變已經發生的事實，但是，我們卻可以決定自己要如何去回憶它。心理學家認為，被父母家暴、被情人分手、或失去工作等，種種悲劇式的過去，都不能直接影響我們是誰，應該說，我們如何理解、記憶和講述這些過去，才是真正塑造了「我」這個人。一般來說，我們很少意識到，每個人記憶一段過去的方式，各有不同。但是，透過改變對過去的理解和陳述，我們將能扭轉過去對我們自己與環境所造成的影響。儘管我們無法重寫過去的事實，但是，至少，我們可以重講故事，讓自己開心。
     我們總會在不知不覺中，變得太在意得失。想要的，通常都是不在我們的手中，而在我們手中的，卻都是不想要的。人生就是在獲得與失去中，慢慢成長；在前進與跌倒中，逐漸領悟。我們對於很多事情，如果釋懷了，就不會讓那些已經歷的過去，困住自己，我們也能坦然去面對未知的將來。人生的經歷，很像是一次又一次的新陳代謝，那些發生的、開心的與痛苦的，都會過去，舊的人事物結束，又會有新的再覆蓋過來。不好的，終將結束，而結束，卻又是另一個新的開始。畢竟，我們的能力有限，不可能抓住人生中，所面對的全部事物，我們該慶幸的是，自己還有選擇的機會；我們該珍惜的是，自己還能夠擁有事物。我們真的不必太堅持，自己非得走什麼樣的路，太擔心自己找不到方向。因為，我們的人生，並沒有地圖與使用手冊，可以參考，看圖索驥。我們所走的路，常常跟自己預想的，很不相同。我們每個人，都是這樣子，讓自己慢慢摸索接下來該走的方向的。如果人生如戲，我們這齣戲，並沒有劇本可以排演，但是，該慶幸的是，主角永遠是我們，表演得再糟糕，都不必擔心會被換角，所以，我們想怎麼演就怎麼演，反正不能NG重來，不如好好享受當下，選擇讓自己開心的方式表演下去。
     我們真的要每天，重講故事，讓自己開心就好。我們如能心平氣和地去看待那些不好的事物，或許，我們會發現，原來，事物並沒有自己想像中的那麼糟糕。改變心情、轉換念頭，去面對眼前的事情後，我們的心情會變好，結果也就好了。心態對了，事情就對了。試想，我們在旅行中，最累的，就是行程緊湊，疲於奔命，最怕的，就是走錯路，找不到方向。所以，我們在人生的旅途中，需要學會去調整、去感悟，不要把自己逼得很緊，也不用什麼都想要得到，要用從容的心態，去欣賞人生路上的風景，就算走錯路了，也可以好好欣賞這段老天希望我們看到的景色。心態，決定了我們人生的狀態。有平常心，我們就可以從容地面對一切；有同理心，我們就可以體恤別人；有包容心，我們就可以容納別人與自己的差異；有謙卑心，我們就可以不斷進步，不會自滿。或許，我們現在過得並不開心，但是，這並不代表我們永遠都不開心，經歷過一些不開心的時期，我們會更珍惜可以開心、放心的日子。
 

The Best Editors to Change the Stories and Perspectives
     When people hold tightly to their positions or beliefs, direct attempts at challenging them typically result in defensiveness and resistance. However, if we are “just telling a story,” there is nothing to defend against or resist. When we meet someone who has an entrenched (根深蒂固的) view or perspective of another person, and can’t see any alternative perspectives, we know that a direct approach to offering a different perspective would be met with resistance or defensiveness. In this situation, “opening a closed mind” stories are designed simply to stimulate the listener to take the first step in considering a new perspective. That’s the rationale behind telling someone a story about how someone discovered that an idea or perspective he/she thought might be actually incorrect. In fact, there are some stories where we “knew” we were right about something, but, then, we discovered that we were wrong.
Sometimes, when we describe the perspective in such a way that resonates with the “of course, this is the way it is,” we know this type of person who seems to only think of themselves and not consider how their actions are going to affect other people. We all know that most stories are told from a single perspective. Therefore, it’s fair and necessary to tell it from more than one person’s point of view. It’s natural that giving others’ opposing points of view allows us to explore our subjects, settings, and moral gray areas from a wider variety of perspectives. Nevertheless, it’s hard to do so.In other words, if our story is told in the first-person from the point of view, we might not see the story in a whole new way. In this case, we should switch among others’ perspectives to get multiple opinions in the story.In reality, we are the editors to change the perspectives if necessary.
Since the dawn, stories have played a central role in human civilization. Our perspective of the world and ourselves has been dramatically influenced by narratives ranging from ancient myths and folklore to contemporary novels and films. Beyond mere amusement, however, stories can profoundly alter our lives and impact our personal growth. Fundamentally, stories give us a framework for making sense of our experiences. They allow us to investigate various viewpoints, delve into strange settings, and connect with different people. We experience a broad spectrum of emotions, hardships, and victories through storytelling, frequently mirroring our growth-related adventures.
     The power of stories to uplift and drive us is one of its most astounding qualities. Additionally, stories can influence our viewpoints and beliefs. They can contradict our preconceptions and present different points of view. We broaden our vision and better grasp the nuances of the human experience when we immerse ourselves in diverse stories from various countries, ethnicities, and historical periods.This widening of the lens encourages us empathy and aids in forging closer relationships with others. Moreover, stories can also foster our increased emotional intelligence and compassion by connecting with our emotions.Furthermore, stories can influence us emotionally and intellectually, and provide us with inspiration and direction, too. Notwithstanding, it’s very crucial to understand that our stories can take many different shapes. They can be found in writing, motion pictures, television programs, oral traditions, and our lives.Every tale we hear can impact our development as people, influencing our worldviews, values, and beliefs. We encounter people from various ages, backgrounds, cultures, and professions. Their stories, too, teach us more about their varied experiences, difficulties, and worldviews. That is, stories really provide us with a complex dynamic fabric that enables us to explore and comprehend a variety of emotional experiences.
     Still, stories challenge and broaden our viewpoints by presenting alternate narratives and urging us to reevaluate our presumptions. We have to develop the ability to challenge our presumptions and biases by immersing ourselves from different viewpoints.We should examine our constrained views and the applicability of different interpretations and worldviews. Thus, we can have the power to face the societal issues, inequalities, and structural issues that are frequently ignored or taken for granted. We, then, learn how our societal, cultural, and personal backgrounds affect how we perceive the world and the limitations of our viewpoints. Thanks to the deep understanding of changing the perspectives, we, as the best editors, can negotiate uncertainty and comprehend the complexity of the human experiences.
For example, stories of resiliency and development frequently emphasize the value of endurance and inner fortitude. They include people who show steadfast resolve and tenacity in the face of hardship, refusing to give up. These stories show us that we can endure and succeed even in the most hard circumstances.Besides, stories greatly influence our quest for self-discovery. They act as mirrors, reflecting our inner struggles, feelings, and experiences. Real-life stories, like memoirs and autobiographies, give us a window into our difficulties and experiences, too. They allow us to think deeply and reflect on our behavior.To sum up, stories act as mirrors that show us our paths to self-discovery. They give us insight into our identities, values, and aspirations because they align with our experiences, feelings, and internal conflicts.
In addition, sharing our personal experiences, struggles, and victories gives a window into our distinctive experiences. Our experiences encourage people going through similar difficulties, giving them courage, hope, and the conviction that they can overcome challenges and build a better future. By telling our tales, we add to a bigger picture that values variety, promotes conversation, and supports social change.That is, telling stories makes room for conversation, comprehension, and connection. We develop empathy, cross barriers, and promote cooperation by making these connections.
     Likewise, stories can also be used to spread knowledge and increase awareness.We raise public awareness of social problems, inequalities, or systemic problems and inspire people to take action by sharing stories. We, then, develop a collective consciousness via storytelling, which inspires movements and promotes constructive social change. Hence, we are all editors to change the world, and shape the world to be the better place to live.

要有耐心
      耐心或許不是每一個人天生都擁有的，不過，耐心是可以慢慢培養的。法國作家歐諾黑·巴爾扎克說：「人類所有的氣力，只是耐心加上時間的混合而已。所謂強者，既有毅力，又會等待時機。」耐心等待機會，我們就能在意想不到中，獲得成功。我們做任何事情，都要有耐心。耐心的解決問題，耐心地完成功課，及耐心的去了解、探索各種新事物。愛迪生曾耐心的花了整整十年，去研製蓄電池，期間，不斷遭受失敗的他，還是一直咬牙堅持，經過無數次的試驗，終於取得成功，發明蓄電池。梵谷執著他的繪畫夢想，雖然在生前，他的作品，沒有受到人們的欣賞，但在那世人漠視、窮困潦倒的環境下，他仍堅持自己的夢想，畫著自己想畫的畫，這也著實非常人所能。只要有耐心，有堅持，我們就可以有一個成功的自己。
     每一個人對自己都有期望，希望自己像德雷莎修女一樣，悲天憫人，希望自己像顏回一樣，好學深思，希望自己像諸葛亮一樣，足智多謀，希望自己像比爾·蓋茲一樣，有創意又多金。是的，如果我們從小事，就開始培養耐心，我們就能讓自己，成為一個有耐心的人，逐漸累積，最後我們終將成就大事！
     創造美好人生的人，都會認同，「耐心」絕對是清單上數一數二的要點。若不經常運用「耐心」這項特質，就創造不出美好的人生。那些成就非凡的人士、感情關係融洽的人、公認是智慧導師的人，……等等，如果我們仔細觀察他們，就會發現，他們真的很有耐心。有耐心，就能看清周遭情況，把事情弄清楚，做出理性的決定。然而，耐心不是一夜之間，就能獲得的，好比鍛練肌肉，每天都是要努力的。我們要成就大事，最重要的是，須兼具毅力和耐心。而且，唯有不斷實踐，才能做到，沒有耐心，就有可能放棄。面對難關，要練習耐心以對。一旦掌握耐心的訣竅，在下一個難關出現時，我們就能輕鬆通過，在不知不覺中，耐心就會成為我們潛意識的反應，反覆去做，就能培養耐心。
     看看大自然，種子的發芽，帶來植物的成長，雲朵的衝撞，帶來暴風雨。這些都是逐漸累積而成的，總是必須先有許多小事的累積，最後才會有莫大的成果。種子若不先種下，並澆水，怎能生長綻放呢？想要改變，獲得內在的行動力，我們一定要有耐心，我們要化日常須做的事，耐心完成，養成習慣，然後，等待時間，一定可以成功。耐心絕對是我們在一無所有時，很需要的心態裝備。有耐心，就會持續。比如，減重需要耐心。準備國家考試，需要耐心。在公司等升遷，需要耐心。從零存到一百萬，需要耐心。等待投資機會，需要耐心。看流星，需要耐心。寫一本書，需要耐心。種一顆樹，需要耐心。教育好小孩，更需要耐心……等等。
     我們都很喜歡有耐心的人，也很願意做有耐心的人，但是，我們自己，並不容易做到。例如，在交通擠塞時，我們可能很容易感到煩躁，如果我們快遲到了，就更難保持冷靜。受到冒犯時，我們也可能很容易發脾氣。所以，我們要很努力地培養耐心。有耐心的人，有什麼好處呢？首先，有耐心的人，不會輕易發怒。當承受壓力，或被人冒犯時，會保持冷靜。其次，有耐心的人，在等待時，能保持平心靜氣。如果等候的時間比預期長，有耐心的人，會盡力避免焦躁，或不耐煩的態度。再來，有耐心的人，不會魯莽。當然，在某些情況下，我們需要迅速採取行動。但是，有耐心的人，在做一件重要的工作時，不會匆匆開始，也不會草草了事。他會先花點時間，好好計劃，再用充分的時間，把事情做好。最後，有耐心的人，會盡力忍耐，不會抱怨，保持正面積極的態度。耐心可以幫助我們跟别人相處得更好，也會讓我們認真聽别人説話。我們對别人有耐心，人際關係會更好，群體也會更團結。我們有耐心，就能作出很多明智的決定，我們會更快樂、更冷靜，在身心方面，都會很健康。耐心雖然不容易，但是，靠着毅力與信心，在耐心等待下，我們終必成功。

尊重與服務
     叔本華說：「我們要尊重每一個人，不論他是何等卑微、可笑」。尊重是一種美德，每個人都渴望得到別人的尊重，但也得尊重別人。因此，尊重十分重要。談尊重，首先，我們要學會尊重自己，因為尊重自己，是尊重別人的開端。例如一個人本來就有工作的能力，讓自己過得很好，卻因為挫折而氣餒，那就不尊重自己了。正所謂「人必自重，而後人重之」，假如我們認真地生活，尊重自己，也就是對他人最大的尊重了。在學校，我們要尊重老師、同學、校工等等。上課時，要細心聆聽老師教的內容，按時提交功課，同學之間，要互相幫助、包容。在社會上，我們要回饋社會。社會給予我們良好的資源，提供充足的食物，我們要好好珍惜，要讓座給有需要的人，安守秩序，遵守交通規則，在工作崗位上，要負責盡職。尊重，讓我們保有自己的自尊，同時也保有他人的自主。
     每個人的價值觀都不同，如果無法尊重別人不同的價值觀，就會有衝突，起爭執。尊重的定義，就是高度關注，或敬重對方的觀點與感受，並能肯定對方的能力與內在特質。尊重得以讓我們相互保有主體性，不會讓關係破裂，而且，尊重是可以學習的。心理學家霍勒曼(Holloman)與耶茨(Yates)歸納出11 種表達尊重的語彙：
1. 鼓勵的語彙
2. 寬容的語彙
3. 引導彼此的語彙
4. 講出願意尊重彼此的語彙
5. 講出擁抱更高期望的語彙
6. 經常談論對未來的期望
7. 把愛說出口
8. 直接分享心情
9. 表達對對方的理解
10. 表達彼此是合作或互助的一體
11. 表達重視彼此的責任
表達尊重的方式有很多種，但最重要的是要表達出來。我們給對方的尊重，不能只是被動用「不否定」或「不干預」的方式，而是要透過更積極的方式，用我們的對話，來營造彼此尊重的氣氛，讓互動直接充滿尊重的氣息。無論我們有多麼不同意對方，甚至不喜歡對方，我們仍應遵守基本的禮節，給予對方尊重和禮貌。美國歌手瑪丹娜說：「很多人不敢講出自己要什麼。就因為這樣，他們才得不到想要的。」 我們都想要以自己值得的方式被對待，但是，前提是，我們都要先懂得尊重別人。我們要試著把注意力集中在對方所說的話上，而不是想對策或反駁。我們要避免滔滔不絕，自顧自地說話。同時，我們也要用禮貌的方式，回應對方的惡意。己所不欲，勿施於人，每個人都希望得到基本的禮貌對待。良好的舉止，是表達對他人的尊重，但其實也是對我們自己的尊重。
     再者，有了尊重的心態外，我們還要有服務的行動。「服務」與「幫助」，基本上是不同的。幫助是基於不平等；它不是一種基於平等的關係。當我們用自身較高的力量，去幫助那些不那麽有力量的人，我們總是在幫一些沒有比我們更優秀，更需要的人。這樣的心態是不平等的，當我們助人時，我們有可能對他人的剝奪，比帶給他們的更多，我們甚至降低了他們的自尊與價值感。然而，當我們去服務時，我們並不認同條件的優劣，而是用我們自己所有的經驗去服務。我們服務生命，並不是因為他們是破損的，而是因為他們是神聖的。當我們服務時，我們的感覺是感謝，它是雙向的。隨著時間流逝，幫助會耗竭，我們會燒盡自己。然而，服務是更新的，當我們服務時，我們的工作自身，就會維持我們。從服務的觀點來看，我們全都是連結的， 所有他人的受苦，就像我們的受苦；所有他人的喜悅，就像我們的喜悅一樣。例如，通常，我們對工作不會感恩，會說「我不喜歡我的工作」，但又無法離開，在我們自己創造的兩難中，工作變成了一個負擔。但是，如果我們可以對工作說：「非常感謝你到目前為止，帶給我的一切，你已經為我做得夠多了」，那就意味著，我們不會繼續抱怨自己的工作。因為我們有意識要保留它，我們就會從一個被動的受害者，變成一個主動的承擔者。感恩是非常有力量的，而且不需要花一毛錢，我們只需要放下驕傲和抱怨即可，我們就可以尊重他人，服務大眾。願我們每個人，都能學會時時尊重，處處服務。

順其自然的美好Let All Things Happen Naturally
     人生所有的事情，都來的很自然，人生百態，順其自然是最適當的心境。其實，萬事不必太在意，擁有時請珍惜，失去時不說遺憾，過多的在乎，會將人生的樂趣減半，看淡一切，也就增添生命的盎然。有緣無分、有分無緣，都是生命中不圓滿的缺憾，它不應成為我們人生的途中，走不出的困惑和茫然。有失敗，就會有成功，有完美，就會有遺憾，且讓一切順其自然，保持順其自然的心境面對生活，面對記憶，或面對正在發生的人事物吧！曾經擁有的，不要忘記，已經得到的，要更加珍惜，屬於自己的，不要放棄，已經失去的，就留作回憶，想要得到的，就要更加努力。
      順其自然，是處之泰然。人無完人，每一個人都是在失敗和錯誤中，不斷的摸索，變得更聰明，更成熟、睿智的。當然，萬事隨緣，並不是在看破紅塵後，一切無所謂，更不是遊戲人生，而是培養一種博大的淡薄情懷，開闊的平靜精神，樂觀向上的心態，溫柔善良的性格，和一顆寬容的心！
      順其自然，是把握每一個瞬間，試着去做，去面對每一個昨天、今天和明天。事情總是有因有果，人與事、事與人，總有千絲萬縷的聯繫。有些事情，並沒有我們想像中的那麼複雜，當然，也不都簡單快樂，只要我們過得開心，健康，平安，這才是最重要的。現代許多人，忙於生計，心情浮躁，晝夜顛倒，長時間超時工作，於是，便積勞成疾。我們要在這世界上，活得灑脫，當內心產生憂愁之際，順其自然，就是最佳的選擇，順乎本性，不失為聰明之舉。凡事順其自然，不必刻意強求，反倒能有一番收穫。俗話說：「有心栽花花不開，無心插柳柳成蔭。」順其自然，就是冥冥之中，自有天意的安排。
     有一個佛教故事中說，禪院裡的草地，有一大片枯黃了，小和尚有些著急，對他的師父說：「我們趕緊撒點草籽吧，實在是太難看了！」師父告訴他：「不急，甚麼時候都能撒，隨時！」中秋的時候，師父把草籽買了回來，交給小和尚去播種。秋風起了，草籽邊撒，就邊被風飄走了。小和尚這時十分焦急地對師父喊：「不好了，許多草籽，都被吹走了。」師父很平靜地說：「沒關係，吹走的多半是空的，撒下去也發不了芽。擔甚麼心呢？隨性！」撒完草籽，小和尚發現有許多小鳥飛來啄食。他非常驚慌地告訴師父：「草籽都會被小鳥吃了，這下沒戲唱了！」師父依然很平靜：「沒關係，種子多，吃不完！隨遇！」半夜的時候，下了一陣暴雨，小和尚一大早就衝進禪房，「師父，這下真的完了！好多草籽，被雨水沖走了！」師父說：「沖到哪兒，就在哪兒發芽。隨緣！」一個星期過去了，原本光禿禿的地面，居然長出許多青翠的草苗，一些原來沒播種的角落，也泛出綠意。小和尚高興得直拍手，師父點頭：「隨喜！」
     由此看來，當遇到困難之時，找不出好的解決辦法，就讓它順其自然。畢竟「謀事在人，成事在天。」老子在《道德經》中說：「人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然」，意思是說，人受制於地，地受制於天，天受制於規則，規則受制於自然。自然就是客觀存在的世界，及不變的規律。道法自然，就是做事的方法，必須順應大自然的規律。古詩中說：「春有百花秋有月，夏有涼風冬有雪。若無閒事掛心頭，便是人間好時節。」一年四季都有很多讓人開心、喜悅的景色，但也有人絞盡腦汁，殫精竭慮，寢食難安，徹夜不眠。其實，與其百般思量，不如順其自然，反倒能柳暗花明又一村。「人算不如天算」，一切都是最好的安排。
We are doers, creators of our destiny, and we make things happen. But, imagine that, we might see a man who had his life turned upside down by a heart attack; the woman who lost her father to death and had to drop everything; the family who lost their home to a hurricane; the entrepreneur that was doing well until the economy collapsed, and the cyclist who was hit by a car. Things happen every day, where we think we’re in control but we’re really not. There’s so much out of our control that what we think is control is really an illusion.
Stepping back and allowing things to happen means things will take care of themselves, and our needs will also be met. And we’ve done no work. We don’t have to worry about shaping things, about controlling something that doesn’t want to be controlled. We don’t have to push, and fix leaks, and put out fires. We just let things work on their own. They happen. We might want things to go a certain way, to a certain outcome. But, things will happen, but it’s not the way we planned. The outcome might be completely different than what we’d hoped for. When we calm down, and accept that the outcome is different, it would even be wonderful and surprising. Surprises are good. Instead of trying to make things work the way we want them to work, we just watch them work. We’ve seen things work well without our controlling.
Let all things happen naturally. What we are looking for will naturally find us. Don’t force anything. Let all things unfold because that is the only way we can do. Letting things happen creates freedom, not force. There is no need to rush things, and no need to control the situation. Let the universe deal with it. If things are supposed to happen, they will happen. And if they aren’t meant to happen, they won’t. One of the biggest mistakes we make in life is that we try too hard to control situations and people. We worry about things like “When will he finally ask me out?” or “What am I going to say when she tells me she’s leaving the company?” We try to picture how a situation should go, or how someone should react, and then we set out to make those things happen. Life doesn’t work that way. Things don’t go according to our plans and they never will. We often upset others and wind up getting hurt by our own actions. And in the end, we have no one to blame but ourselves. The truth is that we have no way of knowing how a situation will unfold, so all we can do is trust ourselves and trust nature.

開懷高唱
    2025年「民歌50高峰會」最終場，最後一次，為民歌高峰會而唱，最後一次，在民歌高峰會相聚。在最璀璨的時刻，向民歌致敬，用最摯愛的歌聲，流淌50年的歲月，勾起塵封的記憶。2/12、2/13、2/14台北小巨蛋，和2/15高雄巨蛋，15組最具代表性民歌手，在2025年，與我們唱響全台。2025年，將是「民歌高峰會」最後一次舉辦。感謝所有曾經參與演出的歌手們，為歷年演出所付出的努力。我們大家，將一起擁抱這片美麗的土地和文化，一起寫下音樂史上最璀璨的一頁！
    很多歌迷經常說「謝謝你們不間斷的一直唱下去！」，其實，最應該說謝謝的人，是我們大家。沒有大家的鼓勵，就沒有「民歌高峰會」的誕生，沒有大家的支持與肯定，「民歌高峰會」無法走到今天。正因如此，即使在疫情期間，民歌仍盡力在政府許可的情況下舉辦，克服一切大環境的艱難，只盼實現與大家「年年見面」的約定！「民歌高峰會」自2006年至2025年，總共20個年頭，而今回首，一場又一場的演出，投入大家對民歌的熱愛，而堅持唱下去的動力，是無數真摯的眼神，和深深的感動！透過「民歌高峰會」，我們大家讓民歌的精神和價值，能夠延續、擴展，是初衷，也是使命。即便經歷挫折、考驗，即便曾萌生退意，大家仍披荊斬棘一直往前，而今，希望近20年的演出，大家能替民歌音樂盡綿薄之力，在我們生命中的一小塊拼圖，有著熱血純真的年少時光，洶湧澎湃的炙熱情感，更有凝聚那逐漸淡去的過往。
    「民歌50高峰會最终場」將秉持初心演出，15組歌手，齊聲演繹最經典的民歌，在告別之餘，大家全力籌備、盡力歌唱，帶來最後一場超乎想像的表演。「最终場」並非代表民歌的結束，而是在這閃耀的時節，總結「民歌高峰會」20年的時光。離別雖然傷感，但只要繼續聽民歌、繼續創作屬於民歌的音樂，50年的燦爛、50年的回憶，會細細品嚐，細細回味，珍惜與大家最後的相聚，一起放聲高歌！謝謝每位曾參與其中，成為「民歌高峰會」一員的你、我、他。
卡司陣容：
施孝榮、殷正洋、楊耀東、周治平、王中平、王瑞瑜、李明德、羅吉鎮、鄭怡、金智娟、于台煙、王海玲、許景淳、趙詠華、陳艾湄
    「中華音樂人交流協會」是在1995年「民歌二十」活動之後成立的。後來又分別辦了「民歌三十」、「民歌四十」與「民歌四十五」的系列活動，現在，「民歌五十」就在眼前。這個團體並非商業機構，辦活動是從文化與歷史的角度去規劃與設計的。在公布「民歌五十」系列活動起跑的此刻，年近八十的陶曉清，慶幸自己活得夠長，還能再一次跟大家一起參與。
     1975年6月6日民歌之父--楊弦，在台北中山堂，舉辦現代民謠創作演唱會，從此，為現代民歌揭開序幕，經歷金韻獎、民謠風、大學城，在華語歌壇中，具有獨特性、時代性、歷史性的意義，其創作風氣，帶動後續整個華語流行樂壇百花齊放的年代。民歌即將邁入五十週年，「中華音樂人交流協會」將於2025年2月12日，於台北小巨蛋連唱三天。「民歌五十」演唱會，一生只有一次，民歌盛會，演出陣容龐大，邀演歌手橫跨不同世代，三天演出，超過50組歌手，100多首曲目，猶如民歌音樂節，穿越時光，一起歡唱！唱出回憶、唱出感動、唱回青春。 
   民歌五十：
-楊弦：也許很多年輕一代沒有參加過，那麼這次就是一個機會！
-陶曉清：民歌五十對我的意義是，哇真好我還活著，還可以去參與。
-李建復：民歌五十除了是一個很棒的嘉年華，更重要是傳承！
-丁曉雯：民歌五十的列車開動了，很榮幸我還在車上！
-于冠華：那是滋養心靈的養分，啟蒙你我彈唱細胞裡自我表現的衝動。
-木吉他合唱團 (江學世/李宗盛/張炳輝/陳秀男/黃慶元/劉因國)：大家都老了，可是還能再聚在一起，很棒。
-王新蓮：它幾乎是我大半生的一個美好的回憶！
-王夢麟：時間怎麼過的這麼快！
-吳貞慧(江念庭)：身為民歌手讓我深感驕傲與榮幸。
-吳楚楚：我是第一代民歌手，參加民歌五十，要保持好的身體才辦的到。
-李麗芬：陶姐，謝謝您造福了這麽多人。
-周治平：民歌五十是一個里程碑，希望大家一起來慶祝！
-周秉鈞：希望大家永遠記得我們那個時候的感情與熱情！
-林佳蓉：感恩因為音樂我和淑絹能夠攜手參與民歌演唱會。
-林隆璇：「民歌運動」是「90年代華語黃金」時代的推動者。
-林瓊瓏：民歌本來就是一個傳承的東西，尤其是精神上的傳承。
-邰肇玫：民歌讓我實現我的青春、我的夢想，然後唱自己的歌。
-侯德健：非常珍惜與大家擁有同一個五十年的記憶。
-金智娟：我們一起經歷過這些歲月，唱自己的歌，唱著唱著唱出了一個世代。
-金韻合唱團(王文珍/英秀青/張瑞薰/黃韻玲)：民歌五十對我們來說，是一個個青春的記憶。
-凃佩岑：感恩這世界有那麼多民歌知音，活在飛揚的青春裡。
-姚黛瑋：能夠在奔六的年紀參與民歌五十盛會，終於可以上台演唱了！
-胡藝芬：這些熟悉的民歌乘載了我們成長當中非常美好的記憶。
-范怡文：身為音樂人非常榮幸一起走過民歌崛起的年代。
-范廣慧：希望大家能夠共襄盛舉，我們一起來歡唱！
-殷正洋：民歌五十真的是不容易啊，希望大家不要錯過！
-馬宜中：只要講到我是民歌手，都會讓我感到非常的驕傲。
-許淑絹：感謝大家陪伴我們五十年，我們還要繼續相約一起唱下去…
-許景淳：民歌讓我的生命有了不一樣的色彩和意義。
-曾淑勤：因為有你們，民歌五十更顯得意義非凡，獨一無二。
-黃仲崑：搭上民歌列車五十載，希望未來我都還能繼續唱歌給你們聽！
-楊耀東：50年，凡走過必留下痕跡。沒有遺憾，只有感恩!! 這就是人生~
-楊祖峮：1976年我們推動唱自己的歌，唱自己的歌不是終點是起點。
-萬芳：五十，是新的開始。珍惜並且擁抱。
-葉佳修：大家都知道我喜歡民歌，就這麼一個簡單念頭，活過這開心50年。
-董運昌：民歌是華人流行音樂的一個代表性的高峰，美好的回憶！
-靳鐵章：民歌五十對我的意義是…我的頭髮變少了。
-廖柏青：用最簡單動人的樂音，伴隨成長中喜怒哀樂的記憶，彌足珍貴！
-趙樹海：如今一晃即將50年，希望民歌的種子永留人間！
-齊豫：民歌20、30、40、50都是致敬，向那些年的精神與堅持致敬。
-潘越雲：民歌的文學與音樂結合，很榮幸我許多的作品也都參與其中。
-鄭怡：每次民歌演唱會就好像是同學會，大家歡聚一堂。
-賴佩霞：It’s my life！我的童年，因為有民歌所以我很快樂。
-謝宇威：民歌對整個華人音樂圈影響深遠，非常榮幸能夠參與其中。
-藍麗婷：一首首民歌就像是一朵朵的花朵，在我的生命中成了一座美麗花園…
-蘇來：不知不覺都五十年了，我很慶幸我參加民歌，你也跟我們一起！
   校園民歌(英語：Campus folk song)是台灣在1970年代發展出的流行音樂風格。起初在大專院校校園的學生活動中產生，風格各異，背景不同。在中華民國政府的國際關係，漸漸處於不利的前提下，藝文界的參與，及電器業者和大眾傳播媒體的推廣，從「唱自己的歌」的口號，到以「校園民歌」的名稱，被社會大眾熟悉，並引發後續的創作風潮。1960年代後期，至1970年代初期，在學校社團及救國團營隊活動中，已可見到學生創作歌曲的先例，比如〈萍聚〉據稱創作於1967年；當時就讀台大中文系的吳統雄，和山野服務的朋友們，共同創作的〈偶然〉，據稱創作於1973年；小歌的作者，創作〈盼〉的周興立，其創作據稱始於1972年。另外，透過學校社團及傳播媒體，發表歌曲的例子，有當時就讀東吳大學政治系的葉佳修，在1974年寫下的處女作〈流浪者的獨白〉，他透過吉他社聯誼的場合，被廣播人凌晨聽到，引介到「平安夜」廣播節目發表。廣播人陶曉清更開放自己的節目，讓年輕的音樂創作者，有一個發表的平台。1977年，陶曉清邀請吳統雄、吳楚楚、楊祖珺、胡德夫、楊弦等民歌手，灌錄唱片《我們的歌》，大大帶動校園民歌風潮。陶曉清因此也被視為台灣民歌發展的重要推手。1977年，新格唱片投入音樂市場，推出「金韻獎」，1978年，海山唱片創辦「民謠風」。這兩項民歌創作比賽，及比賽合輯的出版，將民歌帶向商業化。很多民歌時期著名的歌手與創作者，都經歷過上述的比賽：由「金韻獎」比賽出身的民歌手有，陳明韶、包美聖、黃大城、李建復、王海玲等人；葉佳修、蔡琴是「民謠風」的代表人物；齊豫、蘇來則是跨越兩個陣營。王夢麟、楊祖珺、趙樹海等人，也搭上這一波比賽出輯的風潮，進入唱片市場。潘安邦、陳淑樺、芝麻龍眼等，具清新風格的流行歌手，也以民歌曲風推出專輯。民歌的特質，是歌詞通俗而真摯，曲調優美而樸質、節奏明朗而生動，結構簡短而自然，使人聽了有身歷其境的感覺。歌謠具深刻思想內容，反映社會的光明面，及純正價值觀。民歌能夠表現出國家民族命運和遭遇。藉著民謠，亦可加強民族意識和國家觀念，其功效無可限量。台灣民歌，充分表現出先民的奮鬥、進取、樂觀開朗的精神。在台灣各地流傳的民歌，包羅萬象，例如：歷史故事、民間傳說，道德教化、農耕漁牧、家庭倫理、男女情愛……等，都是民歌題材，內容非常豐富。

歲末爽吃
    2024年的一整年，即將進入尾聲了，我發現我和大家最喜歡談論的話題，就是爽吃。「吃」真的是超愉快與療癒的，在我們的記憶與印象中，「吃」帶給我們的回憶，不勝枚舉，永遠也談不完。我們的生活，少不了吃，人生更不能沒有美味，讓我們在歲末年初時，好好爽吃一頓吧！
豬：日式豬排，打拋豬，炸豬排，鹹豬肉，蔥爆豬肉，泡菜豬肉，滷豬腳，薑燒豬肉，蒜泥白肉，筍絲滷爌肉，蠔油肉片，馬鈴薯燉肉，醬燒豬，豬肋骨，豬心，豬肝，豬腸，松阪豬，豬蹄膀，東坡肉
雞：炸雞，烤雞，雞腿，雞翅，雞爪，粉蒸雞，腐乳雞，蘆筍雞捲，啤酒雞，蜜桃雞柳，鹽焗雞，桶仔雞，人蔘雞，香菇雞，雞蛋，茶葉蛋，宮保雞，雞排，甕缸雞，窯烤雞，三杯雞，鹹酥雞
鴨：片鴨，薑母鴨，冰糖醬鴨，當歸鴨，芋頭鴨煲，廣東烤鴨，鹹菜鴨，鹹水鴨，煙燻鴨，櫻桃鴨，北平烤鴨，甘蔗鴨，鴨賞，鴨血，鴨蛋
鵝：白斬鵝肉，鵝肝，涼拌鵝肉，鵝腸韭菜，滷鵝掌，西芹鵝肉片，燻茶鵝
牛：和牛涮，和牛炙燒，和牛壽喜燒，爐烤牛排，蔥爆牛肉，滷牛腱，紅酒燉牛肉，清燉牛肉，牛肉片，紅燒牛肉，醬燒牛肉，牛筋，牛肚，牛腱，牛肉火鍋
羊：炒羊肉，沙嗲羊肉串，咖喱羊肉捲，腐乳羊五花，清蒸羊肉，藥膳羊肉鍋， 麻辣羊肉，羊肉爐
魚：鮭魚，午仔魚，鮪魚，生魚片，虱目魚，和風鮭魚煮，普羅旺斯煎鱈魚，三杯炒旗魚，宮保魚片，糖醋魚，薑絲魚，烤魚，鱸魚，土魠魚，酸菜魚，炒鱔魚，鰻魚，黃魚，白帶魚，比目魚，烏魚，烏魚子
海鮮：牡蠣，干貝，蝦，蟹，蛤蜊，鮮蚵燴豆腐，蘆筍炒透抽，滑蛋蝦仁，芙蓉炒螃蟹，醬炒鮮干貝，炸蝦，小卷，中卷，軟絲，魷魚，章魚，烏賊，炒花枝，花枝丸，魚漿，海蔘
米飯麵：肉粽，油條，春捲，蛋餅，漢堡，洋蔥圈，薯條，乾麵，米苔目，米粉，碗粿，肉圓，粉條，飯糰，肉燥飯，廣東粥，鹹粥，蛋包飯，披薩，咖喱飯，燉飯，涼麵，炒麵，炸醬麵，麵疙瘩，烏龍麵，大滷麵，水餃，飯捲，壽司，蔥油餅，火鍋，蔥肉餅，肉包，水煎包，小籠包，粉粿，燒餅，麵線，煎餃，鍋貼，竹筒飯，餛飩，韭菜盒，義大利麵，拉麵，涼麵，豆腐
蔬菜：蔬菜湯，酸辣湯，沙拉，玉米濃湯，空心菜，大陸妹，地瓜葉，波菜，白菜，花椰菜，青江菜，黃瓜，苦瓜，辣椒，四季豆，茄子，香菇，海帶，高麗菜，芥藍菜，豆芽菜，南瓜，紅蘿蔔，韭菜
水果：橘子，蘋果，木瓜，鳳梨，紅龍果，酪梨，柳丁，西瓜，水蜜桃，奇異果，香蕉，哈密瓜，楊桃，芒果，草莓，蕃茄，百香果，葡萄，檸檬，梨子，紅柿
甜點：八寶甜湯，現烤蛋糕，乳酪蛋糕，千層派，餅乾，奶酪，果凍，布丁，仙草凍，堅果，巧克力，珍珠粉圓，蛋塔，鬆餅，紅豆餅，吐司，麻糬，麵包，磅蛋糕，蛋捲，湯圓，愛玉，煎餅，月餅，年糕，龜苓糕
飲料：奶茶，紅茶，綠茶，咖啡，果汁，豆漿，牛奶，可樂，冰淇淋，霜淇淋，奶昔，可可亞，木耳汁，杏仁茶，雪糕，優格，優酪乳，冰沙，蓮藕茶，青草茶，蜂蜜，蓮子湯，紅豆湯，綠豆湯，薏仁，紅棗湯
    美食可以讓人開心，吃了之後，會解開心裡的不愉快。餐點的形狀、氣味、色彩，都十分的不一樣，因此，食物的好吃與色香味，都受到大家的喜愛。每種食物，代表的意義都很不同，就像吃起來的口感，有著酸甜苦辣的感覺一樣。如果食物是酸酸的，可能表示心情很困擾、生活很忙碌。甜甜的食物，代表情緒開心，都沒煩惱。苦苦的食物，蘊涵著人生非常辛苦，而辣辣的食物，則包含了不快樂的事情，例如：檸檬蛋糕、紅豆餅、苦巧克力、麻辣鍋等。美食確實讓人無法拒絕，常常使人無法抗拒，因為它在很多時候，都對我們有著撫慰心靈的效果，可以立馬免除飢餓，讓心情變得更好，緩解負面情緒等。美食在我們的生活中，是種享受的動力，我們要多多保持美好的心情，享受美食，才能體驗生活的樂趣。

Gifts Giving from Santa Claus 聖誕老人送禮物
    「聖誕老人」此一神秘人物，帶給小孩子們禮物的概念，衍生自4世紀生活在土耳其的主教聖尼古拉。北美洲，荷蘭和英國，把這一傳統，融入聖誕節日的慶祝，荷蘭語的聖尼古拉，傳進英語，成為「Santa Claus」。在英裔美國人的傳統中，聖誕老人總是快活的在聖誕前夜，乘著馴鹿拉的雪橇到來，他從煙囪爬進屋內，留下給孩子們的禮物，並吃掉孩子們為他留下的食物。聖誕季期間，在美國和英國的很多超市裏，都有小孩可以向其要禮物的「聖誕老人」出現。現今，
在許多國家裡，聖誕節前夕，孩子們會準備好空的容器，或在壁爐上懸掛聖誕襪，以便聖誕老人可以裝進一些小禮物，如玩具或糖果等。聖誕節（Christmas）的日期是每年12月25日。天主教教徒會在12月24日的平安夜（Christmas Eve），舉行子夜彌撒，慶祝耶穌的誕生。基督教徒會舉辦聖誕感恩禮拜，慶祝這個重要的節日。聖誕節（Christmas），又稱耶誕節，起源與基督教有關，主要是基督教紀念，和慶祝耶穌的誕生。耶穌誕生的故事充滿異象，是因上帝為體恤人們，拯救苦難，而差遣耶穌來到世上。為了紀念與表達對耶穌的敬愛，便開始慶祝聖誕節。聖誕老人(Santa Claus)的傳說，可以追溯到千年前。當時有位樂善好施的紅衣主教叫聖尼古拉，他經常行善，幫助許多貧困家庭。有一次，聖尼古拉遇到了一位即將遭到變賣的貧困女子，他藉由在夜晚時間，爬上他們的屋頂，將帶來的金幣，往煙囪丟進去，這些金幣剛好掉進掛在壁爐旁的襪子裡，從此之後，就逐漸衍生出聖誕老人從煙囪爬進房子，將禮物放在聖誕襪的由來。吃聖誕大餐，是聖誕節的重頭戲，這天是家人親友團聚歡度時光、分享美食的重大日子，象徵著愛和溫馨的聖誕大餐，每年不變。和家人、朋友和情侶間交換禮物，有著分享喜悅的含義，透過精心挑選禮物，傳達更多的關愛和關心。聖誕卡片的故事，可以追溯到19世紀初的英格蘭。當時英國藝術家約翰·赫斯基斯(John Horsley)，設計了一張描繪著歡慶的場景，並附有祝福詞句的聖誕卡片，這被視為聖誕卡片的開端。後來，聖誕卡片的設計變得多元，也成為互相關懷、表達祝福的習俗。
送禮是人與人用來表達心意的一種方式，而禮物是主要關鍵，不需要太貴，也不用很頂級。俗話說：「千里送鵝毛，禮輕情意重。」我們收到禮物時，要抱持著感恩的心，生在福中很幸福！「禮物運動」是從史賓賽．強森博士著作《禮物》得到的靈感，書中年輕人用盡方法，四處探尋，渴望找到老人所說能讓他快樂的「禮物」。直到有一天，年輕人決定暫時放下這一切，不再汲汲營營地盲目追尋，他才赫然發現，那份禮物，原來一直就在他的身邊，就在當下。我們每一天，都可以得到禮物，也可以當個送禮物的人。一句問候、一句讚美、一句關心的話語，都可以是禮物，在簡單的語言之間，送禮物的動作已經完成了。面對挫折、挑戰與困境，也只需要換個心境，抱持著「一切都是好極了」的心態，以積極的思路，去解決問題，逆境也是一份禮物。只要我們的眼睛，都看見美好的、能給生命帶來光明快樂的東西。每一天，我們都會從「聖誕老人」手中，得到最美好的禮物。
     Santa Claus is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Christmas Eve. Santa Claus is generally depicted as a portly, jolly, white-bearded man, often with spectacles, wearing a red coat with white fur collar, and a red hat trimmed with white fur, carrying a bag full of gifts for children. He is popularly associated with a deep, hearty laugh. Santa Claus strives to find a way to bring joy into the lives of all children all over the world, and eventually invents toys for them. Santa Claus is really the cultural icon who is all about peace, joy, giving, and caring for people. Children sometimes write letters to Santa Claus, with a wish list of presents that they wish to receive. Right now, writing letters to Santa Claus has the educational benefits of promoting literacy, computer literacy, and e-mail literacy. A letter to Santa is often a child’s first experience of correspondence. Santa Claus is an iconic figure in popular culture that has been celebrated for generations. He is best known for delivering gifts to children on Christmas Eve, often coming down chimneys and leaving presents in stockings hung by the fireplace. He is associated with joy, generosity and kindness and symbolizes the spirit of giving. Santa Claus is also seen as a symbol of hope, which makes him more important during times of difficulty or distress. He appears in Christmas stories as an example of how to remain positive and generous despite adversity. Santa Claus reminds us that it is possible to make miracles happen if we come together and put our faith in the spirit of goodwill and kindness. In today’s modern world, Santa Claus has become a symbol of Christmas cheer and family fun, bringing joy to children and adults alike. Every year, children still write to Santa Claus sharing their Christmas wishes and dreams. These letters are filled with joy and optimism, and they serve as a reminder of the magic that Santa Claus brings to Christmas. Santa Claus, now, is an iconic and beloved figure that has become an important part of Christmas traditions around the world. His image has been embraced with his superb spirit to evoke feelings of peace, hope, joy and generosity in people of all ages and backgrounds.

Empathy 同理心
     台灣的花蓮縣，正經歷著令人難以承受的天災，連續幾天的濕、冷，再加上地震，為人們的身、心，帶來極度的不安穩，威脅到生命最基本的「安全」需求。當我們聽到有人大聲疾呼：發揮同理心、人溺己溺、人飢己飢等訴求時，我們似乎可以感受到正在寒凍中受苦的人，急需我們的關心與幫助。哲學家說：「在烏托邦裡，不存在同理心」，是的，同理心的原意是 to suffer with，不只是理解他人的感覺，而且還要與他人產生連結，經歷他人的傷痛，然後，才有能力給出關懷。在日常生活裡，同理心，簡單地說，就是跟他人一起感受(to feeling with)，與他人產生連結，拉近人與人之間的距離。通常，要同理跟我們親近的人，是比要同理陌生人來的容易，也就是說，我們更容易同理相同性別、類似遭遇，或身處相同環境的人。這樣的相似性，讓我們較容易設身處地站在對方的角度看事情，從對方的角度，來體會對方的感受。人們常說，「設身處地」，就是要透過耐心的陪伴與傾聽，真正聽見、明白他人的處境，瞭解他人的傷痛。
     每個人都有同理別人的能力，但是，能否將同理心付諸行動、徹底執行，則取決於幾個面向：我們有多少資源（時間）、對方是誰，陌生人還是家人、朋友，及我們心裡認為的同理心的意義和價值。其實，只要有心，同理很簡單。首先，我們必須放慢步伐，試著與他人靠近，開啟連結；其次，透過陪伴與傾聽，設身處地的感受他人的狀態與情緒；最後，經由適當的語言，與非語言的方式，回饋給對方，讓他人體會到我們的意願與陪伴。
    同理心其實並不是一件容易的事，同理心是需要訓練的，它是一種能力。很多人在成長的過程中，並沒有受到這樣的訓練，導致他想要同理別人，也不知道該怎麼做，尤其是小孩子。小孩子一向都是自我中心的，他們都是希望別人配合他，而不可能去配合別人的。然而，我們要如何訓練同理心呢？同理心的本質是「換位思考」，也就是設身處地的為別人著想，把自己放進別人的情境裡，去思考別人可能遭受到的感受。如果我是他，我處在那樣的位置和處境，我會有什麼感覺呢？人性是共通的，我們會有什麼想法，別人也會，思想是相通的。同理，不是同情，人同此心，心同此理，我們同的是道理，而不是情感，所以同情跟同理，是須分開的。當我們站在對方的位置，去體會他，一起感受時，就是同理心的換位。然後，我們要把事情，放在第三者的視角，來發現他人的問題，內心的流程，與事件的結構。我們要用概括性、俯瞰式的角度來瞭解，才能引出對方不但聽得懂，又能找到解套的對談。
     In a world of such violence, hatred and brutality as the present one, we are all aware of what is going on in the world: the competition, the ambitions and frustrations, the extraordinary brutality, hatred and violence arising from the conflicts between political parties, and among certain countries. There is an extraordinary amount of cruelty in a world where a small group of people takes charge of millions of others, and directs their lives through tyranny, such as Mainland China, South Korea, Russia and Iran, etc. There is not a matter that we can be lightly dismissed. We need to seek security, and perform certain functions to save the world. Empathy helps us see things from other persons’ perspectives, sympathize with their emotions, and build stronger relationships with others.
Empathy is the ability to see things from others’ perspectives and feel their emotions. Putting ourselves in other persons’ shoes would lead us to act with compassion and improve the situations. Empathy isn’t just about hardships. When our children are excited about something, we feel their joy. When our friends are laughing at jokes, we experience their amusement.Empathy allows us to deepen our relationships as we connect with our friends’ and loved ones’ thoughts and feelings, and they connect with ours, too.Empathy can also extend to people we don’t know as well. If we see someone sitting alone at a party, for example, we might empathize with his/her loneliness and chat with him/her. If we see images of other people suffering on the other side of the world, we might be moved to donate resources to alleviate their suffering. On the other hand, when we see a crowd roaring with joy on TV, we, too, have our high spirits. Their delight becomes our delight.
Nevertheless, unlike empathy, sympathy doesn’t involve sharing what someone else feels.When we’re sympathetic, we care about the person’s problem or misfortune and feel sorry for his/her suffering, but we don’t fully feel his/her pain. Sympathy is more of a feeling of pity for the person, while empathy is more a feeling of compassion for them. In this sense, empathy has an important role to play in our life. First, it can strengthen our bonds with the people we interact with. As we try to understand others, we also make them feel heard and understood. They’re then more likely to take the time to empathize with us as well.Because empathy leads to better relationships, it can be a key component to building a more satisfying life.
Furthermore, empathy can motivate us to take actions that improve the lives of others. These actions might include anything from donating to a charity to encouraging a friend to seek help for alcohol abuse, and to simply comforting someone with a hug.In social situations, empathy can help us decide on the wisest course of action. Once we have a better understanding of someone else’s perspectives, it’s easier to move on to proposing the compromises. On the other hand, if we have low empathy, we might have a lack of patience when dealing with people who are in distress. In this sense, we never seem to have the time to listen to other people’s perspectives or reflect on their emotional states.
Moreover, being empathetic requires us to make ourselves vulnerable. This demands us to reflect on our own emotional states as well as to practice being open with others. When we communicate intense emotions, including shame, jealousy, and grief with others, other people will be more willing to open up to us in return. People are more likely to feel empathy toward people who are similar to them. We don’t necessarily have to agree with every perspective we come across. However, taking the time to simply listen with an open mind can help us see the humanity in people with different backgrounds or views.As we engage with people of different backgrounds, we’ll likely find that many of our earlier notions of them were inaccurate. It’s okay to admit to being wrong. It’s also true that building empathy is a way to expand our social circle and boost our happiness. Empathy really has a ripple effect.As we take the time to truly listen to others, we’re making it easier for them to trust, comfort, and empathize with us and even more people.

Self-presentation and Self-achievement 自我表現與自我成就
We all want others to see us as confident, competent, and likeable. In fact, we make dozens of decisions every day to get people to see us as we want to be seen. Success requires interacting with other people. We can’t control the other side of those interactions. But we can think about how the other persons might see us and make choices about what we want to convey. 
Self-presentation is any behavior or action made with the intention to influence or change how other people see us. Anytime, we’re trying to get people to think of us a certain way. It’s an act of self-presentation. Generally speaking, we work to present ourselves as favorably as possible. We want to make sure that we show up in a way that not only makes us look good, but also makes us feel good about ourselves. To some extent,every aspect of our lives depends on successful self-presentation. For example, we do want our families to feel that we are worthy of attention and love. We present ourselves as studious and responsible to our teachers at school. We want to be fun and interesting at a party, and to be confident at networking events.
In order to achieve the results that we want, it often requires that we behave a certain way. That is, we do certain behaviors that are desirable in certain situations. In this sense, matching our behavior to the circumstances enhances us to connect to others, and attune to the needs and feelings of others.According, we might feel surprised when people don’t present themselves in a way that is consistent with the demands of their roles. For instance, in the classroom, if we are the presenters who are responsible for explaining the main ideas of the handout to students, we cannot only read the passages without any further interpretations.Perhaps, we are shy and get nervous in front of people, or we just don’t fully prepare to speak up. Nevertheless, that is not the enough reason. As a result, we can see that teachers and students are very disappointed with us. In this situation, we hardly accomplish our duties completely.
Because we spend so much time with other people in society, and our success largely depends on what they think of us, successful self-presentation is one of the most important factors when we interact with others. Some people are particularly concerned about creating a good impression before others. Therefore, we have to provide evidences that we are the best persons in every aspect. At its heart, self-presentation requires a high-level self-awareness and empathy. In order to make sure that we’re showing up as our best in every circumstance, we have to be aware of our own motivations as well as what would make the biggest differences to others.
Again, take presenters in the classroom as an example. To carry out the best self-presentation, first of all,we need to know well for our roles to have the oral presentation. Weread overthe handout in detail, and distribute the content of the handout to group members.Secondly, we discusshow to teach and point out key elements of the handout with group members. We, then, get feedback and suggestionsfrom other group members. Thirdly, we ask all the members to brainstorm together for creating the review sheet according to the handout. We, next,share our viewpoints with one another. At last, we should rehearse all the oral presentations in English in order that we can present the best teaching materials in class. Anyway,self-presentation is defined as the way we try to show off in front of others,but it’s just as much about how we would see ourselves, too. Consciously working to make sure thatothers could see the very best of us is a wonderful way to develop into the persons we want to be.
Furthermore,self-achievement is also very important for students in the classroom. When students focus better on their own progress, they, thereby, develop a stronger sense of achievement. Achievement, in positive psychology, is about more than getting top marks in class. When students can see their own progress in learning, and mastering a subject or skill, they will feel a sense of achievement. Self-achievement for students requires clearly defined objectives, goals and expectations. Once, students, themselves, have a strong understanding of the goals to complete, they, just then, acknowledge and build self-achievement. Studies have shown that feeling a sense of accomplishment is an important element in developing positive wellbeing for students. Research also points out thatpeople with a strong sense of purpose, persistence and accomplishment perform better at school and work. For some students,submitting assignments on time, or showing up to every class might be important markers of progress and their achievement of a goal. We do appreciate them to have their self-achievement. Self-achievement really helps students to have confidence in their school lives. Therefore, the importance of self-presentation and self-achievement cannot be overemphasized. All in all, self-presentation brings self-achievement, and self-achievement approaches toward success. Thus, we, including teachers and students, have to recognize our earnest efforts to accomplish thingsin our lives, andbe proud of what we are doing with our whole hearts.

Great Things Don’t Come Easy
Life is not always easy. We have to work hard to get what we want.There will be times when we will feel down, and think that there is no hope for our future. And, life is not all about the ups, there are downs, too. It’s during these difficult times to remind us that the only way to get what we want in life is through hard work and dedication. It takes perseverance, self-discipline, and hard work to achieve success. The best way to learn is to have a belief in ourselves.Some of the most successful people in the world had to overcome many obstacles on their ways to success. They never gave up, they never backed down, and they always believed in themselves. Belief is one of the main principles we should live by to lead a worthwhile life. We should never give up on our dreams, stay persistent in life and business, and always believe that good things don’t come easy.
Anyway, failure is not the end of the world. Itis an opportunity for growth, learning, and improvement. Some people may view failure as a negative thing, but it can also be seen as a positive thing. Failure can lead to new ideas and opportunities that we never would have thought of before. We need to take baby steps slowly toward success. The time we wish for something might be out of our reach. Albert Einstein had been working on a theory for the relationship between space and time for years, but had made little progress. He was again stumped, so he decided to get some fresh air, and hopped on his bike for an excursion through the quaint streets of Bern, Switzerland. When he gazed at the clock tower, he had a sudden moment of clarity. Time can beat at different rates through the universe. It all depended on how fast we moved. There is a belief that we are fortunate to have these sudden realizations and attribute our breakthroughs to them, but are they really so sudden? The answer is not. In fact, it is not so much a sudden moment of insight, but rather takes a long time from experiences. Slow leads to progress, success, and breakthroughs. With patience, discipline, and hard work, eventually, we’ll stumble upon a breakthrough. All good things take time.
Besides, getting distracted isn’t a bad thing, as we saw from Albert Einstein. Sometimes, we enjoy, take breaks, and let things happen organically because, very often, it is in these unsuspecting activities that our minds truly open up.It doesn’t matter if we do a little or a lot on a daily basis. The only measurement is that we are getting closer to our dreams every day. We might take a break and let the subconscious take over for a while. Then,slow and steady wins the race.“I walk slowly, but I never walk backward,” Abraham Lincoln. Ultimately, no matter how small or slow it feels,little efforts add up far quicker than we’d realize.
The road to success starts within a heart that wants to be the best at something–a heart, mind, and soul that does not want to be ordinary, but extraordinary. Winners never look for the easy way out.They simply look at the impossible, and say to themselves to set their hearts upon lofty dreams, and chase after them with their whole hearts. The truth is that the road to success is narrow, and many will miss it because the road to failure is broad and easy. Any ordinary person can stay ordinary, butthose who work hard, doing a daily routine, become extraordinary people. If we want to reflect a spirit of excellence in everything we do, hard work should become the second nature to us. Hard work is one element which helps us achieve our greatest dreams.A farmer goes out and works hard to plant his crop. He waters it, weeds it, and even fertilizes his field. His hard work will pay off at harvest time. If the farmer did not water, weed, and fertilize his crop, it would yield very little. Similarly,if the athlete will not plant a crop of hard work, he, too, will yield nothing for his effort. All of these take time. The farmers, as well as the athletes, earn great rewards from their continual efforts. Again,great things don’t come easy.Time and hard work will prove them, and we believe in ourselves fully. 

上台表演這件事
    「好棒喔～下星期五就要表演了，我終於要把這件事完成了。」「上台表演會有一點壓力，對吧？」「不只一點，還蠻多的呢！」「妳會不喜歡嗎？」「不會啊！我很期待。」小朋友的對話，讓我們學跳舞的成人，真的想了很多。每一次去跳舞，我們成人都得花上大半的時間練舞；每一次，我們都是一直練習、一直練習，但是，我們從來就不敢站上舞台，真正表演。
    上台表演這件事，需要有上台的慾望、表演的渴望、持之以恆的耐性與毅力，還要有責任心。其實，跳舞是必須承受一點小小的壓力的，我們是要被訓練，站在舞台上，獲得台下觀眾的熱烈掌聲的。但是，身為成人的我們，哪有勇氣上台啊！勇氣是對自己的要求與負責，勇氣也是對自己學習的信心。但是，是否愛跳舞的業餘成人們，沒有勇氣，沒有信心呢？
    其實，上台表演的意義，是呈現自己學習的成果，並藉此與他人分享。上台表演，真的不必像上戰場一樣，那麼嚴肅，那麼可怕。相反地，多一點上台表演的機會，會累積「戰力」，我們不僅可以磨練技巧，訓練膽量，克服緊張，更能與人合作、互動，培養默契，在排練和演出的過程中，學習表現自己與成全別人。也就是說，上台表演，不只是個人的活動，也是學生與老師、學員與朋友之間相處的機會。有過上台經驗的人都知道，在台前台後所獲得的友誼、建立的態度、增進的技術、和通過的考驗，是對自己的學習與生活，受益無窮的。
 
    另一方面，上台表演，也是學習成果的檢視。舞台上，表現好的一面，是我們事前點滴努力的成果；而表現未能盡善盡美的地方，則是我們要繼續努力的目標。我們如能把握每一次認識自己、結交朋友的機會，便能為自己創造更多進步的空間。學習是一條漫長的道路，而上台表演，是鼓勵自己不斷努力、克服困難、共融共好的過程，且亦可留下無以磨滅的深刻回憶。每次看到那些穿著漂亮衣服，上台跳舞的舞者，我們都好羨慕。她們微笑地面對觀眾，抬頭挺胸，笑容可掬，好不甜美，就算有舞步不對，觀眾也不會因為她們的失誤而取笑啊！所以，只要站在台上，我們就是舞台上的主人，就是要給今天在場的每位貴賓，一個舒服的演出饗宴。我們一定要有自信的微笑與舉止，走路不疾不徐，敬禮，並微笑地注視台下的觀眾，謝謝他們願意空出時間，前來鼓掌。因此，在我們努力練習，到了上台表演完後的那一刻時，請放自己一馬，抬頭挺胸，用自信的眼神，和誠摯地微笑，告訴觀眾：「這段時間，我們很努力準備了，感謝大家來看我們的成果發表，謝謝大家的掌聲。」相信，上台表演這件事，是我們對站在舞台上的負責，也是我們對在場的觀眾，表達我們深深地、滿滿的誠意的演出。

信念與預期Thoughts and Predictions
      人類天生渴望認同和讚美。當我們對別人懷有期望，他們通常會因此而更努力的達到這個期望，以獲得認可，進而強化自我價值感。因此，不管我們或別人，若能抱持正面的期望和讚美，將會促使我們與他人更有動力，進而提升生活與工作效能。這就是「信則有、不信則無」。
      畢馬龍效應也叫「自我應驗預言」，源於古希臘神話的一位雕塑家畢馬龍，他依據自己心目中女神的模樣，雕刻出他覺得世界上最美的女人，但因為實在太美了，他每天凝望著雕像，最後情不自禁的愛上自己雕刻出來的雕像，他開始日夜祈求，希望愛神維納斯能讓雕像成為他的妻子，最後，愛神深受他的真誠感動，於是賜與雕像生命，使她活了過來，兩人從此結為夫妻。於是，人們便將由期望產生實際效果的現象，稱為「畢馬龍效應」。心理學家認為，這是我們的預期心理，所能達到的心想事成。也就是說，我們要在腦海裡，時時有很多正向的信念，然後，真誠熱情的祈求，一定會讓我們夢想成真的。
      The Pygmalion effect gets its name from the Greek myth of Pygmalion. Pygmalion was a sculptor who carved a statue of a beautiful woman he later fell in love with. He wished that he could find a woman as beautiful as his sculpture to marry. Aphrodite, the goddess of love, granted his wish and transformed his sculpture into a living, breathing woman. Just as Pygmalion’s fixation on the sculpture allowed it to come to life, our focus on an expectation even can impact the outcome in a given situation. The Pygmalion effect is a psychological phenomenon that describes how others’ positive expectations of us can also become a self-fulfilling prophecy, improving our performance.
The Pygmalion effect happens when we expect success from someone else. We are likely to give him/her greater support in order to help him/her achieve that success. Similarly, if we believe someone has high expectations of us, we will work harder to meet those expectations. Expectations act as a prophecy because they become motivators for hard work.According to the Pygmalion effect, higher expectations lead to higher performance. Therefore, this concept suggests that when someone believes in us and expects us to succeed, we are more likely to work harder, overcome obstacles, and achieve our goals. If we constantly doubt our abilities and hold low expectations of what we can achieve, our beliefs can hinder our progress, and prevent us from fulfilling our potential. But, if we cultivate a positive mindset and set high and achievable expectations, they can really motivate our behaviors to reach those lofty expectations. In other words, we only need to make sure that we fully believe in the potential of our predictions and abilities.
Researchers have conducted numerous studies to explore the Pygmalion Effect in various settings, such as education, workplace, and athletics. For instance, research in the field of education shows thatwhen teachers hold positive expectations for their students, they provide them with additional support and encouragement, and consequently, the students are more likely to thrive academically. Similarly, managers who have high expectations of their employees and provide them with opportunities for growth and development often witness improved performance and job satisfaction.
The Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) who wrote the play Pygmalion (1913), and later in 1964, adapted to be American musical comedy-drama film My Fair Lady (《窈窕淑女》) proves to be a successful example of the Pygmalion Effect.
Summary of the story: Two old gentlemen meet in the rain one night at Covent Garden. Professor Higgins is a scientist of phonetics, and Colonel Pickering is a linguist of Indian dialects. Professor Higgins bets that, with his knowledge of phonetics, in a matter of months, he will be able to transform the cockney speaking Covent Garden flower girl, Eliza Doolittle, into a woman as poised and well-spoken as a duchess. The next morning, the girl appears at Higgins’ laboratory on Wimpole Street. For a number of months, Higgins trains Eliza to speak properly. Two trials for Eliza follow. The first one occurs at Higgins’ mother’s home, where Eliza is introduced to the Freddy family. The son Freddy is very attracted to Eliza because he thinks she is a real lady. The second trial, which takes place some months later at an ambassador’s party, is a resounding success. She really behaves that she is a perfect, elegant lady in London high society.
Although the Pygmalion effect is subconscious, it demonstrates that others’ expectations can greatly influence our performance. When someone thinks highly of us, we would work hard to maintain that reputation. In this way, the Pygmalion effect does act like a self-fulfilling prophecy because our beliefs and thoughts, definitely, encourage us to take the necessary steps to meet others’ high expectations.We are much likely to push ourselves harder because we believe that we can achieve success, too. Once we understand how expectations impact the behavior of both ourselves and others, we will properly mediate those expectations for the best possible outcomes.
Then, how can we use the Pygmalion Effect to improve our confidence and performance?
1.    Set high expectations, but not too high. When we set high expectations, we need to have some stretch, but, at the same time, be realistic.
2.    Use confident language. We can express our confidence when we start thinking that we can do things. We have to believe in ourselves all the time.
3.    Celebrate achievements. “Success breeds success.” When we take the time to celebrate our achievements, it not only reinforces the accomplishments and builds our confidence, but also motivates others to want more of that success.
4.    Promote positive gatherings. We can set a positive example by using meeting time to compliment and build the confidence of our friends.During the meetings, we can share positive accomplishments they are proud of. We can also encourage our friends to compliment and express appreciation to others.
「天生我材必有用」，在浩瀚的宇宙中，我們來到這個世上，都佔有一個獨特的位置，其中，我們有長處與優點，是別人無法取代的。我們每個人都有與生俱來的優勢，經由後天的學習，轉化與加工，我們都可以將生活過得有意義，讓自己變得有魅力。我們要用開闊的心，去相信自己和別人的讚賞。自信是發自內心的力量，它無法衡量，但卻可以讓人有勇氣去面對一切挑戰。「鼓勵」也是讓人前進的動力。接受自己和別人的讚賞與鼓勵，就會信心滿滿。好的事情，美的事物，大家都喜歡。我們所呈現的一切，都是內心的信念，「相信我們真的很好」，並常常預期好人好事，都是提升我們繼續成長的重要動能，透過一句句的讚賞與鼓勵，我們真的可以預期未來，將能越來越好。