Gratitude for Life-- thoughts on the capsizing of the Yangtze River

Thoughts on the capsizing of the Eastern Star passenger ship on the Yangtze River

In June, summer flowers are gorgeous and shady.

In the twilight of the sunset, I like to walk under the flowers of a tree. There is a faint fragrance of flowers in the air, surrounded by green, fat, red and thin. See the flowers, see the green, be grateful that there are always so many beautiful things in life, flowers, trees, you, I, the years are quiet, the time is quiet and beautiful, the heart is also full of endless joy.

Suddenly heard a news, a Yangtze River passenger ship Oriental Star, carrying more than 400 people, at more than 11:00 on June 1, suddenly encountered a tornado, capsized in the Yangtze River and Hubei Province!

Hundreds of people, ah, I dare not imagine, how vivid life, in an instant, suddenly freeze! How sorrowful and desperate will they be? The heart is full of compassion, dare not think, dare not think.

If there are ships in heaven, I hope to cross them safely. There will be no more tornadoes, there must be calm, those with sunshine accompanied by the smell of flowers, they in that distant place, there will be no more bad luck to befall their heads.

Life is like a drifting boat. On the way, there are countless unknowns ahead, wind and rain reefs, stormy waves, you can never predict what will happen next second. Maybe a lot of good things are not too late, maybe the dream is still going on, all of a sudden, a turning distance, heaven becomes hell. Life is impermanent, the world is unpredictable, life itself is a kind of bearing, life is a riddle, if it can not be explained, it comes down to fate.

May the dead rest in peace, and that everyone who walks on the uncertain journey of life will walk and cherish it.

However, no matter how piously we pray, there is nothing we can do to save more than 400 lives. All we can do is observe a moment of silence for the dead and pray for the living.

So where on earth can it be safe? Is it foolproof to stay at home if you are afraid of accidents by plane, fear of dumping the river by ship, fear of derailment by train, and fear of collision by car? A mother from the next-door neighbor died a few days ago, under the age of 60, with terminal cancer. In the father-in-law class, two consecutive colleagues, both in their 50s, were scared to death for ten days from the discovery of illness to his death when he knew that he was at an advanced stage.

Sometimes think, ah, in the face of nature and birth, old age, sickness and death, is so fragile and powerless, it is as light as dust, light as a feather. Yes, we can't control fate, nor can we prevent disaster from coming. The only thing we can control is our heart. When we can love, love well, when we can be happy, cherish every second and every minute.

The impermanence of life, the fragility of life, when you experience more and more, you will suddenly have an epiphany of the meaning of life, all the tribulations and setbacks, so that life back to the original color. Very often, it is not that we do not understand, but we still can not put down so much when we understand. It is easier said than done, easy to persuade others, difficult to persuade ourselves. In fact, what you lack is a lost opportunity.

Used to see too much life and death in the world, but also learned to use a calm heart, to face all this. The most precious thing is life, and the most important thing in life is health. Sometimes to love yourself is to love your family. When bad luck comes, you will understand that safety is the greatest blessing, and when faced with illness, you know that health is the greatest wealth.

Learn to be grateful, be grateful for this only one life, learn to cherish it, cherish everything you have, and live up to this beautiful time.

(Lian Yun / tr. by Robert Taylor)