1¡¢Youseethiswatercarefullycontainedonmyhand?ItsymbolizesLove.Aslongasyoukeepyourhandcurlyopenandallowittoremainthere,itwillalwaysbethere.However,ifyouattempttocloseyourfingersarounditandtrytopossessit,itwillspillthroughthefirstcracksitfinds.Thisisthegreatestmistakethatpeopledowhentheymeetlove.Theytrytopossesit,theydemand,theyexpectandjustlikethewaterspillingoutofyourhand,lovewillretrievefromyou.
2¡¢WithequalpassionIhavesoughtknowledge.Ihavewishedtounderstandtheheartsofmen.Ihavewishedtoknowwhythestarsshine.AndIhavetriedtoapprehendthePythagoreanpowerbywhichnumberholdsswayabovetheflux.Alittleofthis,butnotmuch,Ihaveachieved.
3¡¢Ilikethesubtlefriendshipthatdoesnotholdpeopletogether.Instead,anoccasionalgreetingspreadsourlongingsfarbeyond...
4¡¢Ilikethesubtlewind.Inspring,itstealsakissonmycheekinautumn,itcaressesmyfaceinsummer,itbringsincoolsweetsmellinwinter,itcarriesacrispchilliness...
5¡¢I,naturally,shouldwantmosttoseethethingswhichhavebecomedeartomethroughmyyearsofdarkness.You,too,wouldwanttoletyoureyesrestonthethingsthathavebecomedeartoyousothatyoucouldtakethememoryofthemwithyouintothenightthatloomedbeforeyou.
6¡¢IfIwerethepresidentofauniversityIshouldestablishacompulsorycourseinHowtoUseYourEyes.Theprofessorwouldtrytoshowhispupilshowtheycouldaddjoytotheirlivesbyreallyseeingwhatpassesunnoticedbeforethem.Hewouldtrytoawaketheirdormantandsluggishfaculties.
7¡¢Ifyouhavepeopleyoulove,allowthemtobefreebeings.Giveanddon#39texpect.Advise,butdon#39torder.Ask,butneverdemand.Itmightsoundsimple,butitisalessonthatmaytakealifetimetotrulypractice.ItisthesecrettotrueLove.Totrulypracticeit,youmustsincerelyfeelnoexpectationsfromthosewhoyoulove,andyetanunconditionalcaring.
8¡¢Loveandknowledge,sofarastheywerepossible,ledupwardtowardtheheavens.Butalwayspitybroughtmebacktoearth.Echoesofcriesofpainreverberateinmyheart.Childreninfamine,victimstorturedbyoppressors,helplessoldpeopleaburdentotheirsons,andthewholeworldofloneliness,poverty,andpainmakeamockeryofwhathumanlifeshouldbe.Ilongtoalleviatethisevil,butIcannot,andItoosuffer.
9¡¢Noraretheinsightsofhappinesslimitedtowhatisneararoundyou.Unhappy,withyourthoughtsturnedinuponyouremotionalwoes,yourvisioniscutshortasthoughbyawall.Happy,thewallcrumbles.
10¡¢Soonerorlater,thetimecomeswhenweallmustbecomeresponsibleadults,andlearntogiveupwhatwewant,sowecanchoosetodowhatisright.Ofcourse,alifetimeofresponsibilityisn#39ealwayseasy,andastheyearsgoon,it#39saburdenthatcanbecometooheavyforsometobear.Butstillwetrytodowhatisbest,whatisgood.Notonlyforourselves,butforthosewelove.Yes,soonerorlaterwemustallbecomeresponsibleadults.Nooneknowsthisbetterthantheyoung.
11¡¢Subtlefriendshipistruesubtlegreetingsareenoughsubtleloveistendersubtlelongingisdeepsubtlewishescomefromthebottomofyourheart...
12¡¢Temptationcomestoallofus,whetherornotwesuccumbdependsonourabilitytorecognizeitsdisguise,sometimesitarrivesinaformofanoldflame,flicheringbacktolift,oranewfriendwhocouldendupbeingsomuchmore,orayoungchildwhowakensfeelingswedidn#39tknowwehad.Andsowegiveintotemptationallthewhileknowingcomemoring,we#39llhavetosuffertheconsequences.
13¡¢Thelongvistaistherefortheseeing.Thegroundatyourfeet,theworldaboutyou----people,thoughts,emotions,pressures---arenowfittedintothelargerscene.Everythingassumesafairerproportion.Andhereisthebeginningofwisdom.
14¡¢Thishasbeenmylife.Ihavefounditworthliving,andwouldgladlyliveitagainifthechancewereofferedme.
15¡¢Deathsinevitable.It#39sapromisemadetoeachofusatbirth.Butbeforethatpromiseiskept,weallhopesomethingwillhappentous,whetheritisthethrillofromance,thejoyofraisingafamily,ortheanguishofgreatloss.Weallhopetoexperiencesomethingthatmakeourlivesmeaningful,butthesadfactis,notallliveshavemeaning.Somepeoplespendtheirtimeonthisplanetjustsittingonthesidelines,waitingforsomethingtohappentothem,beforeit#39stoolate.
