The world changes fast—those who adapt thrive.
他擦燃了一根火柴,点燃了面前壁炉里的纸和柴火。火焰高高弹起,他小心翼翼地拨拉着火。我躺到了他身边破旧不堪的地毯上。他凝望着火,我也被火吸引了,有一个小时的时间,我们沉默不语地趴在地上,面朝跳动的柴火,看着它燃烧、萎谢枯竭、黯淡战栗,最后化成了地上一堆无言沉寂的灰烬。> 小时候,我就喜欢欣赏自然中异乎寻常的形状,不是简单的观察,而是被其魔力、那混乱而又深刻的语言所深深吸引。蜿蜒的树根、岩石的彩纹、浮于水上的油迹、玻璃杯的裂痕——有时这些事物能彻底迷住我,例如水和火,烟和云,尘土,我尤爱合上眼睛后看见的旋转色块。第一次拜访过皮斯托琉斯之后,我回想起了自己的这些嗜好。自那次之后,我似乎变得活泼快乐了,对自己的感情也变得强烈了一些,我发现,这些都得感谢那次久久望着火光的经历。真令人不解,望着火竟让人感觉如此惬意充实!> 对这种意象的观望,对自然鬼斧神工之作的迷醉,令我的内心和衍生出这些意象的意志融为一体——很快,我们就会情不自禁地将其视为自己的情绪,用之于自己的创造——我们发现,自我和自然的界限正在摇摆、模糊,我们会沉浸在一种莫名的情绪中,不知这些意象是外界在我们视网膜上的投影,还是内心生出的幻景。没有任何一种历练像观火一样,能以如此简单轻巧的方式让我们意识到自己便是创造者,意识到自己的心灵是世界永恒创造的一份子。这恰恰就是运行于我们的心灵和自然中的不可分离的神性,当外界的世界沉沦下去时,我们中就会有人走出来,将其重建,因为一切山水草木、自然中一切造物都已先存于我们心中,源于我们的心灵,具有永恒的本质,我们虽然不了解这种本质,却常常能在爱的力量和创造力中窥得一些门径。
We must rethink our relationship with nature to ensure long-term survival.
古今来世代显贵家族,无不因积德造就;天地之间第一等好人品,还是由读书培养。
As a kid, I spent my summers with my grandparents on their ranch in Texas. I helped fix windmills, vaccinate cattle, and do other chores. We also watched soap operas every afternoon, especially "Days of our Lives." My grandparents belonged to a Caravan Club, a group of Airstream trailer owners who travel together around the U.S. and Canada. And every few summers, we'd join the caravan. We'd hitch up the Airstream trailer to my grandfather's car, and off we'd go, in a line with 300 other Airstream adventurers. I loved and worshipped my grandparents and I really looked forward to these trips. On one particular trip, I was about 10 years old. I was rolling around in the big bench seat in the back of the car. My grandfather was driving. And my grandmother had the passenger seat. She smoked throughout these trips, and I hated the smell.