Snapshot 1: I'm lining up at the cashier in a supermarket. When my turn finally comes, I exchange pleasantries with the cashier lady while she scans my items (a pack of four tubs of yoghurt, a bottle of fruit juice and a snack bar). She then totes up the prices on the machine and asks me if I have a loyalty card. I don't have one. She hits the final enter key and the sum is displayed. I study the amount on the small screen, reach into my pocket for my wallet... it's not in that pocket. I fumble in another pocket, then another. I find it. I open my wallet and pick up one of many credit cards. I insert it into the slot on the credit card terminal. The cashier reminds me that I've put it in the wrong way round. I apologise, pull it out and reinsert. Ha, it seems to have registered. I'm very efficient: While we are waiting, I pack my stuff into a shopping bag. That's done. The queue behind me grows. I turn round and give the shoppers behind me a friendly nod... not an apologetic nod, just a friendly one: For a brief moment, I wonder why they are all looking at me. I'm sure I look alright. We are all friendly people, aren't we? We like eye contact. Mmm, eye contact is so reassuring! After about 30 seconds, the machine still doesn't respond. On the cashier's advice, I withdraw the card and reinsert it. Another 30 seconds later, the printhead of the terminal starts working. I sign the receipt. End of transaction. I exchange thank-you and goodbye with the cashier. And off I go!

Snapshot 2: I'm lining up at the cashier in a supermarket, wallet in hand. I'm doing some preliminary calculations in my head for the items in my basket. "Next!" shouts the cashier. I quickly step forward and offload the contents of my basket onto the tiny space in front of the cashier. Without looking up, the girl mumbles "Good evening" and starts swiping my items over the scanner with one hand and throwing them into a shopping bag held open with her other hand. One bag is soon filled up. She opens another one and at that point, I notice that she's actually sorting the items into different bags. Suddenly, she stops, as the barcode on one item has obviously been damaged, so it doesn't scan properly. She buzzes for her supervisor, shouts something unintelligible across the shop and then continues scanning the remaining items. Eighteen seconds later, the supervisor is still nowhere to be seen. I grow impatient, as the cashier has finished her work and is also waiting. On the 20th second, the supervisor appears, holding another of the item with the damaged barcode. He courteously asks me to step aside, punches a key on the cashier's terminal, waves that item above the infrared beam and, as he hears the beep, walks off without a word. The cashier pushes another button. The sum is displayed. I hand her the banknotes from my wallet. Within seconds, the change is in my hand. The transaction ends with a quick thank-you to each other.

Snapshot 1 was taken in a supermarket in Ferney-Voltaire, France; Snapshot 2, in Hong Kong.

Recently, I realised I don't have a "hobby", something that I enjoy doing, something to kill time with that doesn't have a clear "purpose". Everything I do is either work or has a definable (usually "good") purpose, martial arts included.

I remember my father had a hobby, which he developed soon after he came out of prison. If I think about it now, he must have been deeply traumatised by his imprisonment and he developed that hobby to balance his state of mind. His other channel of "escape" was being with the fishermen, teaching them how to breed freshwater fish artificially, how to cultivate pearls and how to increase crab yield, among other things. He used to praise the untapped intelligence of fishermen's kids and attributed their cerebral excellence to eating copious amount of fish. He was later proven right, as scientific findings indicate that there's a correlation between the intake of sufficient phosphorus, which abounds in fish, and high IQ.

His hobby, which I'm talking about, was making miniature furniture, or models of furniture, like fancy tables and chairs, on a miniscule scale. He would make small parts, fit them together (with sockets and dowels, rather than screws and nails), sand them down, paint over them (first with clear varnish, followed by coloured paint), and lay a veneer over the top surface... everything that would go into a normal piece of furniture. After it was done, he would place them on a table, scrutinise them every day to see where he could make improvements next time and make more, better ones later. He also started cooking more and he honed his culinary skills to perfection. He practically monopolised the kitchen. "Get out of my way!" was his much-repeated mantra to hound me and my mother out of the kitchen.

That's why after his death, it took mother quite a while to get used to taking care of herself.

I landed in London around 6 am. As we were still in the air, about 3,000 m above sea level, I looked down and saw London (and its sprawl) in the twilight. It was a huge expanse, dark for most parts, but streaked with dense, meandering canals of lighting.

Suddenly, the picture reminded me of a plain at the foot of an invisible volcano, irrigated by molten lava!

I wish I had taken a picture. Will do next time.

On my new smartphone, there's a game called Jawbreaker. It's addictive! This is what Microsoft says abou it:


Jawbreaker
With Windows Mobile 2003™ software for Pocket PC you also get the great new popping puzzle game Jawbreaker™. If you thought Solitaire was addictive, then just wait until you try Jawbreaker!

How shall I describe it? Well, it's basically a matrix of 11 x 12 balls that come in five colours. They are randomly arranged in each new game. You remove them to score (1 point per ball for a pair cleared; two points per ball for a trio cleared; three points per ball for a cluster of four balls; and so on and so forth, creating potential for exponential scoring). But they are removable only when at least two are stuck together (i.e. adjacent to each other). The object is to clear all of them (which is simply impossible for beginners like myself) or to score as much as possible.

I've never played computer or video games really, due to a natural aversion to activities that are unrelated to work, knowledge accumulation or health enhancement. But this game is a special one.

In fact, I believe all the secrets to wealth generation are embedded in the game. Your predisposition, intellectual and, to a lesser extent, physical, is the colour. You may not know your strongest colour initially, but by comparing them against each other, you will soon identify some potential strengths. You then build up the critical mass of that particular colour by strategising every move. And preferably, you work from bottom up. The balls also represent the career opportunities that are out there. You identify your forte (i.e. the colour for which the largest cluster already exists) and build on it by bringing more balls of the same colour to the cluster.

The initial layout is random, analogous to our aptitude. You accept it and work on it. In fact, my higest scores were achieved in games where the opening looked depressingly unfortunate - the balls were evenly scattered and, therefore, there was no critical mass to build on.

In a word, it's a game rich with morals.

今天发现，其实穿高跟鞋的人永远是在走下坡路。看一下她们脚的角度就知道了。

接着再来谈谈《达芬奇密码》中的一个细节：

"The Bible represents a fundamental guidepost for millions of people on the planet, in much the same way the Koran, Torah and Pali Canon offer guidance to people of other religions. If you and I could dig up documentation that contradicted the holy stories of Islamic belief, Judaic belief, Buddhist belief, pagan belief, should we do that? Should we wave a flag and tell the Buddhists that we have proof the Buddha did not come from a lotus blossom? Or that Jesus was not born of a literal virgin birth? Those who truly understand their faiths understand the stories are metaphorical."

If the story did exist that Buddha had not come from a human womb, but had sprung from a lotus flower, it would be as... er, irrational (let me not say "preposterous"), for want of a better word, as that famous Christian myth.

But to my knowledge, which is infinitely finite I have to concede, that so-called story about Buddha's holy, uncontaminated origin is not a widely known one. I believe most Buddhists and those who have a rudimentary knowledge of Buddhism are aware that he was a prince, born of a very human father and a very human mother (a mortal king and his equally mortal queen). Yes, he did seem to have a penchant for lotus flowers or for sitting on one, but I don't believe there was any serious attempt to celestialise his parents or to simply negate his earthly lineage and supersede it with the object of his floral preference.

The author's religious inclination is rather apparent. By the look of it, while he was exploding the "immaculate conception" myth of Christianity, gingerly, he was also trying to drag other religions down with it. Perhaps to strike a balance.

Sigh, Dan Brown 哪，Dan Brown，做人要“吼”道！

今天工作时主讲者提到富士康公司，我知道有个很熟的英文名字，就在嘴边，但那一刹那就是想不起来，只好跟着他把中文名字报出来。过后才想起，是Foxconn。真遗憾。
另外还有“餐标”一词，我愣了一下，本来估计是指预先定好的配餐预算标准之意，但他说不同的餐标，利润率是一样的，我纳闷了。脑子一转，这一秒钟就过去了，只好翻成：不同的餐，利润率差不多。我现在还是没完全弄懂，餐标不同，利润率怎么可能一样？鱼翅海参大餐跟蓝领快餐的利润率肯定不一样。不过，他的公司专门做机构送餐，因此餐标差得不会太多，而在这个范围内的差异，对利润率影响不大，因此公司只要一门心思多拿订单就行了。可能是这个意思。做交传可以问，做同传卡壳就是卡壳，没辙。
离开会场时，一位日语同事过来问我（用相当不错的、带日语腔的普通话）：你是香港人吗？我说：不是，我是江苏人。在南京出生和上学，扬州长大。她说：哦，扬州。我爸爸是北京人，妈妈是山东人。我表示惊奇。她加了一句：我是华侨。
她走了之后，我更惊奇了，因为她的外貌是个不折不扣的日本人！
这个会一连开了四天，做了十几场，只有一家公司的一位管理人员离场时，对我们这个方向遥遥地、含蓄地点了点头，算是打了个招呼。但日本同事做完每一场，日本公司的管理层离场时一定是挨个儿九十度鞠躬致谢。同事当然也欠身回礼（翻译箱太小，来不及站起来，更不能九十度，否则一定头撞玻璃板，咚地一声，又痛又丢人现眼）。

Nearly everybody talks of a "buzz" that characterises Hong Kong. It's the "noise" of bodies cutting swiftly through air: Faster, double-time, presto! This picture says it all.

二号去山顶散步，看到一只青蛙。是一只“变色”青蛙，背部跟树叶像极，要不是跳了一下，还看不出来呢！有照片为证。

九月一日曾替一位来自美国的知名牙医做交传（香港各大报章和有线电视台到场采访），学到了不少东西。比如说，普通人的口腔里有300到500种细菌，这不可怕，关键是保持平衡。但一旦牙齿周围出现“牙周袋”（gum pockets)，那就不好玩了，因为厌氧细菌就会在这些阴暗的角落里疯长，打破口腔里的微生物平衡，牙周炎就来了。我回忆了一下，他说的一些要点如下：

Tips for keeping your teeth healthy:

(1) Oral health is key to overall health. Dental disease may be part of the cause of, or is at least associated with, diabetes, heart disease, pre-term child birth and stroke.
(2) Brushing teeth is a misnomer. One should brush the "gum line" (where the tooth meets the gum), not just the teeth. Therefore, use a soft-bristle, small-headed brush. Replace your brush whenever the bristle starts flaring (sticking outwards).
(3) If bleeding occurs during brushing, it means there's something wrong with your gum. KEEP BRUSHING THE GUM LINE every time you brush your teeth, until the bleeding stops in a few days' time. Do NOT be put off by the bleeding and be too "scared" to brush there again.
(4) You must use dental floss every day and use it thoroughly.
(5) You must see your dentist at least twice a year, for checkup and for cleaning, whether you feel there's a problem or not.
(6) If you have not seen a dentist for a while, book an appointment right away.

看到这首诗，试着翻译了一下：

失落的时候
我就扬起脖子
用鼻子使劲去嗅
收集空气中弥散的
对你的思念
然后任它罩住我
任何伤痛任何芥蒂
都在这种爱的感知中慢慢淡化

寂寞的时候
我就翻开记忆
用大脑努力去追
曾经触摸到的温度
对你的爱一点一点加重
之后我便没有剩余的爱再给了

我交出受伤的心
你看
你来之前
我等你等得伤痕累累

In a moment of loss
Craning my neck
I sniff, in earnest
To draw in the dust of yearning
For you
That permeates the atmosphere
Then succumb to its enveloping embrace
And let fade all pains and vexations
Amid this sensation of love

In a moment of loneliness
I leaf through my memory
Groping for the once-tangible warmth
Feeling my love for you
Grow weightier by the second
Until I have no surplus affection to dispense

I give you my bruised heart
I invite you to look here -
Before you came
I had been waiting
Waiting for you
Till wounds crawled all over me

我在英国曾参加过一家传销公司的会议。有一次一位钻石经理从美国飞来，一口的美国腔，硬说自己是英国人（可能小时候在英国呆过）。后来才知道，公司是故意这么宣传，让英国人感到同胞能做到，我也能！她说，做生意一定要看好势头就入行，等到后来别人赚了钱再挤进去，你就没钱赚了。然后举例：几十年前有人发明了一种饮料配方，商品化之后销售成绩不错，这家公司从无到有、从小到大，后来上市了。有些人胆子大，买了这家公司的股票，后来就发了。有些人胆儿小，没买，观望，后来再想买，没门儿了。

她说：这家公司就是可口可乐。

然后她问：假设现在可口可乐公司刚上市，你有先见之明，知道它一定会非常成功，那你是不是很想买它的股票哇？想买的请举手。我是全场唯一没有举手的。我心里想：可口可乐对人体健康弊大于利，多少年来不知让多少人患了蛀牙、得了多动症、甚至是糖尿病，又让无数的人上瘾，简直是十恶不赦，我干吗要买它的股票？我给我的上线写了一封信，说我来自第三世界国家，到西方来希望能掌握一点对自己国家有用的本领，而不是为了自己赚钱而把西方一些莫名其妙的玩意儿卖给温饱还没有完全解决的同胞们。我的上线是非洲人，在英国行医（骨外科大夫），看了我的信很惭愧。后来就没什么联系了，他也没有给我施加任何压力。他毕竟跟其他一些眼睛发红、善于狡辩的上线不一样。

我记得他曾经跟我讨论过当时一本红得发紫的书：《圣景预言录》（Celestine Prophecy），说到书里描述的有关人体之间能量交流的一段，他说是第一次听说，好像很神奇。我就教他如何用两手得气、如何感受。他悟性极高，手心相向，挤拉了几下就噔地一下站起来了，连连说：我的天哪，我的天哪，我前半辈子白活了，我不敢再弄了，我要回去细细体会，然后好好想想，这是怎么回事儿！

这就是我跟传销的一点关系。后来那家公司倒闭了，原因是（挺讽刺的）发展过快，公司结构不到位、后勤也跟不上，结果轰然崩溃。

Tonight I saw the best flamenco dance ever... well, the star of the night was the lead dancer, Sarah Baras. Flamenco, when done well, is typically breathtaking. But Sarah was so mesmerising that she was, quite literally, heart-stopping. It beat description and beat commonsense - the feet are so far away from the head, but how can she control her feet with such minute precision? The answer is obvious: Her feet are much closer to her heart and when she dances, she becomes the rhythm and her feet, and her hands of course (which are quiet, therefore noticed less), are the mere externalisations of that tempo. As her hands wove an intricate pattern of lines and curves and thrusts and caresses in the air, in the spatial dimension, her other extremities tapped and thundered alternately on the hard floor, in the temporal dimension. It was a total and complete expression and, for the audience, a thoroughly absorbing and stirring experience.

When the show began, the curtain was raised. The musicians emerged from darkness and the two singers starting clapping, to beat time, as they would normally do. I guess people in the back rows didn't quite see that. They heard the clapping and thought - right, this must be the first round of welcome applause. They started clapping. When they started clapping, the rest of the audience felt compelled to join in.

The effect was good, though, and I think the performers found it heartening.

帽子

前阵子香港一个慈善机构派发免费的“平安米”，结果许多老人因在高温下等待过久感到不适，有的还送医院诊治，更有一位高龄老妪绊倒后因心脏病发作归西。那个机构成众矢之的，感到很委屈。 几天后，香港迪斯尼乐园为公益金筹款进行试运行，有两万九千多人蜂拥而至，迪斯尼招架不住，方寸大乱，游客怨声载道，第二天报章通栏标题，说昨天在迪斯尼发生的一切“惨过”派平安米。这里“惨”的意思是 miserable或 that which causes agony。 去年，某公司促销活动内容之一是免费赠送一批“水晶”（估计就是透明塑料做的）麻将。当天大雨滂沱，排队者甚众，且无处避雨，自然又是多人不适（其中老人居多）。 昨天同事说，几年前香港马会曾经发过免费的帽子，当时亦造成多起群殴事件。我边听边摇头叹息，同事还加了一句： “我记得，那些帽子还是绿色的呢！”

At today's conference, one speaker recounted his childhood memories, of what "entertainment" meant in those days and how it evolved over the years.

He is from India. When he was little, the only broadcast platform that his family and fellow villagers could access was "All-India Radio". The "all" part of the radio station's name was something of a misnomer, as even in his village, the audibility of the broadcast very much depended on the direction and force of the wind!

Some years later, Radio Ceylon came into being. It had a music-on-demand slot between 8 and 9 o'clock in the morning. It was the most popular slot, understandably. In fact, it was so popular that before long, the number of songs they could play in that one-hour slot dwindled from 20 to three - the DJ spent most of the 60 minutes reading an ever-growing list of names, names of those who requested the songs and names of those to whom the requested songs were dedicated.

Then, at one point, he got hold of a tape recorder. When his favourite song came on, he would push the "Play" and "Record" button simultaneously. Slowly, he built up a collection of "pirated" copies of music this way. But they were invariably of poor quality.

In his late teens, some of his wealthier peers were able to buy records. He would then borrow from them and play them at home. That marked a major upgrade of his experience of "entertainment".

The rest is history.

Today, he stood on the podium as a renowned expert from the software industry. At his fingertips is an inexhaustible pool of entertainment resources, readily available at the click of the mouse, transmitted at, literally, lightning speed. And the quality is not compromised by the transmission, over any distance.

昨天最大的收获：买到了金山词霸2006，关键是这个版本与繁体中文或英文的操作系统兼容，unlike the 2005 version。而且新版本的汉英词典大为改善，跟旧版相比，简直是两重天。可以说，用这个版本武装之后，笔头翻译时八成以上的词典使用可以依靠金山词霸了，剩余的两成用Google或Answers.com帮补一下即可。

今天最大的收获：“企业练内功”或者说企业增长不能单纯依赖外延，主要应靠“内涵”发展。这里的“内功”或“内涵”这层意思该怎么翻？

国航的投资关系部主任饶女士用了 "to boost the company's productivity"。妙！

她还将“我们认为公司实现了良性经营”译为 "we see the company as a well-managed entity".亦是可圈可点。

大陸原來流行一首順口溜：

不到北京，不知道自己官小
不到香港，不知道自己錢少
不到海南，不知道自己身體不好 （極言那裏色情行業之繁榮）
不到大連，不知道自己結婚太早 （極言大連女孩子之動人）

現在有人給加了一句：

不到臺灣，不知道文化大革命還在搞 （極言如火如荼的不事生産的意識形態鬥爭）

現將它試譯如下：

Till I got to Beijing, I'd never realized my position was so lowly
Till I got to Dalian, I'd never realized I had married too early
Till I got to Hainan, I'd never realized my health was such a letdown
Till I got to Hong Kong, I'd never realized my fine garb was a ragged gown
And, alas,
Till I got to Taiwan, I'd never realized that the Cultural Revolution was still raging, all around town

I came across this message...

... a few months ago. It was posted on Guangdong TV BBS, which is no longer operational.

For me, it answers this question: What is a "heart of gold"?

尊敬的记者：

你们好！

我是你们的忠实读者，下面我所说的事，都是真的，请你们不要嫌我啰嗦，把信看完。

大概在半个月前，广州市环市东路水荫路口交通银 行门前的公交车站多了二个乞讨的人，一老一小，像所有乞讨人一样，他们面前也摆放着一个装钱用的快食面盒子，还有一张求援书。老 的坐在一边愁眉苦脸的，小的仰脸朝天躺在地上，两腿蹬得很直，看得出来，小孩的腿有病，不能弯曲，从求援书上得知，老人的儿子在 2000 年时在工作时触电死了，媳妇也改嫁了，家里只剩下祖孙二人，后来孙子（就是躺在地上的小孩）得了脑瘫，生活无着的他们也沦落到以 乞讨为生。

在乞丐为数不少的广州，这样的乞讨人早已见惯了，每天下班匆匆路过，他们也不会引起我特别的注意。一天午饭后，我照旧在公司周围 四处闲逛，偶尔看见那二个乞讨的人在吃饭，他们的饭菜的份量虽然很少，只有一点青菜没有肉，却很干净，看得出是自己做好从住处带 来的，老人抱着小孩很细心地喂饭，我的直觉告诉我，他们不是职业丐帮。我开始留意他们，并不时地给他们一些钱。有天晚上下班路过 ，看到乞讨的那个老人抱着小孩逗他玩，老人很自然地亲吻小孩，眼前的一幕令我很感动，作为一个母亲，我能体会到那一吻是发自内心 的对孩子的爱，是装不出来的。那老人很疼爱孩子，尽量把孩子收拾得干干净净，给孩子穿上袜子，虽然袜子很旧，而且二只袜子都不同 颜色，下雨后，地上很凉，老人就把孩子放到婴儿车上（婴儿车大概也是好心人给的），而不像一般乞讨人那样不管刮风下雨也把孩子放 在地上装可怜博同情。

我很同情他们，可以我的能力，却不能帮他们摆脱困境，我也是个打工的，月薪不到1500元，丈夫因为年纪大而且右手残疾找不到工作，只好在家里带只有10个月大的孩子，平常我一般都会用三到四块钱解决午餐，现在我每天用1.5 元解决午餐，把省下的钱给那以乞讨为生的一老一小，有时候也会买几个肉包子给他们，我每天看到他们都想哭，天天都在祈祷有好心人 去帮助他们收留他们，每天晚上想起躺在地上的那个孩子都会睡不着觉，那孩子太可怜了，那么小就过着苦难的生活，食不裹腹衣不蔽体 ，有病也没钱医治，每天躺在尘土飞扬的马路边等待好心人的施舍，因为家穷，因为有病，因为无父无母，不得不生活在水深火热之中， 挣扎在死亡线上。

我很想帮助他们，却又无能为力，焦虑之下，我想到了你们，无冕之王——记者，在我的心目中，你们神通广大，富正 义感乐意助人，我请求你们帮忙呼吁一下，看有哪个好心人愿意给那个老人一份工作，那个老人还没到老态龙钟的地步，还能干力所能及 的工作，比如看车、看门、看更、看仓库，这些工作可以让老人一边照顾孩子一边工作，那老人现在最需要的并不全是好心人的施舍，他 最需要的是有一份有固定收入的工作，我相信，有了工作，那老人就不用带着带孩子天天日晒雨淋地在马路边乞讨，那孩子也不用躺在地 上像吸尘器那样吸路人踢起的灰尘。好心的记者，请你们帮帮他们吧。

一个多事的读者：黄丽芳
联 系 电 话：13676213359
2005年4月28日

Subject: Chat with GOD...

God : Hello. Did you call me?
Me: Called you? No. Who is this?
God : This is GOD. I heard your prayers. So I thought I will chat.
Me: I do pray. Just makes me feel good. I am actually busy now. I am in the midst of something. God : What are you busy at? Ants are busy too.
Me: Don't know. But I can't find free time. Life has become hectic. It's rush hour all the time.
God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it.
Me: I understand. But I still can't figure out. By the way, I was not expecting YOU to buzz me on instant messaging chat.
God : Well I wanted to resolve your fight for time, by giving you some clarity. In this net era, I wanted to reach you through the medium you are comfortable with.
Me: Tell me, why has life become complicated now?
God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it > complicated.
Me: Why are we then constantly unhappy?
God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That's why you are not happy.
Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty?
God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional.
Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty.
God : Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional.
Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer?
God : Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life become better not bitter.
Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?
God : Yes. In every terms, Experience is a hard teacher. She gives the test first and the lessons afterwards.
Me: But still, why should we go through such tests? Why can't we be free from problems?
God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons (to) Enhance Mental Strength. Inner strength comes from struggle and endurance, not when you are free from problems.
Me: Frankly in the midst of so many problems, we don't know where we are heading.
God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight.
Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the right direction. What should I do?
God : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work w ith the compass. Let others work with the clock.
Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
God : Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing.
Me: What surprises you about people?
God : When they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me" Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth
Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can't get the answer.
God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation.
Me: How can I get the best out of life?
God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear.
Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are no t answered.
God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO.
Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.
God : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!"

My comments on some parts of the conversation:

> God : Sure. Activity gets you busy. But productivity gets you results. Activity consumes time. Productivity frees it. -- This is not God, this is a business management Guru. Productivity is "efficient activity", but the yardstick of "efficiency" is very tricky. What makes this world crazy is often NOT inefficient activity, but excessively efficient activity whose object is detrimental. Being busy is a choice; its motive force is sometimes invisible to the conscious mind.

> God : Stop analyzing life. Just live it. Analysis is what makes it complicated. -- Excellent point, God!

> Me: Why are we then constantly unhappy? -- Wrong. We tend to be more aware of our unhappy moments than of our happy moments. That's why. When I don't have a headache, I don't even notice I have a head.

> > God : Your today is the tomorrow that you worried about yesterday. You are worrying because you are analyzing. Worrying has become your habit. That's why you are not happy. -- Wrong question, right answer? Hardly.

> Me: But how can we not worry when there is so much uncertainty? -- That's a very good point. That's why the answer immediately above is flawed. Being able to worry is a faculty we have that has evolved over millions of years (from a Darwinian point of view) or a faculty invested in our species by God (from a creationist point of view). It's very useful. You shouldn't overdo it, that's all.

> > God : Uncertainty is inevitable, but worrying is optional. -- Yeah, depending on how you define "worrying". Being "alert" is a form of "worrying". Try and live without alertness!

> Me: But then, there is so much pain due to uncertainty. -- What? I see a blinding lightning descending from the skies and whether or not I'll be hit by it is uncertain… but there's no pain whatsoever, until it hits me. So, it's not the uncertainty that causes pain; it's the certainty of being hit by it that does.

> > God : Pain is inevitable, but suffering is optional. -- This is a good answer to a bad question, although it's clear that the author posed the question in order to lead to this answer. I can't agree more.

> Me: If suffering is optional, why do good people always suffer? -- Bad people suffer, too! But "good people" are those we like; "bad people" are those we don't like. Since we don't like "bad people", we can't bear to see them having even a moment's luck or happiness.

> > God: Diamond cannot be polished without friction. Gold cannot be purified without fire. Good people go through trials, but don't suffer. With that experience their life become better not bitter. -- Bad people also go through trials, and some choose not to suffer, but they allow their minds to be clouded by petty, selfish thoughts. With that experience, their life becomes bitter.

> Me: You mean to say such experience is useful?
> > God : Problems are Purposeful Roadblocks Offering Beneficial Lessons -- Let me rephrase it, God: Problems are comparable to roadblocks that MAY offer beneficial lessons, provided that you consider them as sources of beneficial lessons. Dear God, please don't take credit for what is naturally there. What is a problem? A problem is an obstacle you encounter when you try to alter the current mode of existence. A problem is the subject matter of an "effort". When something is moving at even speed and you go along with it, you have no resistance, no obstacle and, therefore, no problem. But if you wish to accelerate or decelerate the motion, you need to exert an effort and the moment you do that, you sense there is a "problem". It is pure physics and there's no "intention" or "will" behind the phenomenon, although we, as emotional beings, tend to read "purpose" into such a phenomenon.

> God : If you look outside you will not know where you are heading. Look inside. Looking outside, you dream. Looking inside, you awaken. Eyes provide sight. Heart provides insight. -- Here's a lovely story to echo this message: Once, an old woman dropped her needle. A passer-by saw her searching in her garden and offered to help. After looking for some time without success, the kindly stranger asked the woman exactly where the needle had fallen. He was amazed to learn that she had dropped it inside the house. "Then why are you looking out here?" he asked, "You will never find it." She replied, "My house is too dark, but there is more light out here." (Yoga Mind & Body, Vedanta Centre)

> Me: Sometimes not succeeding fast seems to hurt more than moving in the > right direction. What should I do? -- Again, an unconvincing, illogical and blatantly contrived question raised in order to lead to the answer…

> > God : Success is a measure as decided by others. Satisfaction is a measure as decided by you. Knowing the road ahead is more satisfying than knowing you rode ahead. You work with the compass. Let others work with the clock. -- This is a very condescending comment. Who is "you" and who are "others"? This is a very arrogant God. Of course he/she can afford to be arrogant, because presumably he/she doesn't need to be fed with physical sustenance, which is grown and harvested ONLY through hard work on the ground against the clock! I mentioned earlier that this is a management guru, not a spiritual god, because it is highly redolent of the rhetoric about leadership versus management, the hunter versus the herder. It's all very plausible, but one must strike a balance on the spectrum from inspiration to exertion. "Road ahead" and "rode ahead" is just a silly little play on words, which, I'm sure, the author was quite pleased with. The first part of the answer, though, is an equivalent of the Chinese adage, "Happy is he who is content".

> Me: In tough times, how do you stay motivated?
> > God : Always look at how far you have come rather than how far you have to go. Always count your blessing, not what you are missing. -- It doesn't answer the question, does it? Is this not called "resting on one's laurels"?

> Me: What surprises you about people?
> > God : When they suffer they ask, "why me?" When they prosper, they never ask "Why me". Everyone wishes to have truth on their side, but few want to be on the side of the truth. -- Another play on words, plausible and seemingly deep at first blush; but it stops making sense if you really go deep. And most of us ARE grateful for every little blessing we have, but we try not to make a song and dance about it, for valid reasons. When we are down, we ask "why me" because we feel the pain and we want sympathy. From sympathy, we siphon energy, which helps us get back on our own feet again. That's what community is for.

> Me: Sometimes I ask, who am I, why am I here. I can't get the answer.
> > God : Seek not to find who you are, but to determine who you want to be. Stop looking for a purpose as to why you are here. Create it. Life is not a process of discovery but a process of creation. -- The first part is existentialist. Not necessarily wrong, but it may be an expediential way of saying - I don't know what the purpose is. As for the second part, if discovery includes learning, then I'm afraid this applies to God only: we mortal beings have to "discover" and "learn" in this life, otherwise we don't even know what to create. Children are natural creators, but look at what they create… mostly fantasies based on REALITIES, the knowledge of which is acquired and accumulated in this life.

> Me: How can I get the best out of life?
>> God : Face your past without regret. Handle your present with confidence. Prepare for the future without fear. -- Excellent advice. This is the formula of "success", for good or for bad. So, maybe add a fourth sentence: Meditate and pray daily. This is to make sure that your success is conducive to your own health, emotional balance, spiritual well-being, and the peace and welfare of your society and the world.

> Me: One last question. Sometimes I feel my prayers are not answered.
>> God : There are no unanswered prayers. At times the answer is NO. -- Yes, agreed.

> Me: Thank you for this wonderful chat.
>> God : Well. Keep the faith and drop the fear. Don't believe your doubts and doubt your beliefs. Life is a mystery to solve not a problem to resolve. Trust me. Life is wonderful if you know how to live. "Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take but by the moments that took our breath away!" -- Sigh… last quote ruins the whole message. What if my life is tranquil and uneventful, devoid of breathtaking moments? Does it mean my life is crap? Does it mean someone who is always living on the edge definitely has a better life than I do? Never mind, point taken.

Can't think of what to write to "initiate" my Blog. Maybe this...

"The Grail is literally the ancient symbol for womanhood, and the Holy Grail represents the sacred feminine and the goddess, which of course has now been lost, virtually eliminated by the Church. The power of the female and her ability to produce life was once very sacred, but it posed a threat to the rise of the predominantly male Church, and so the sacred feminine was demonized and called unclean. It was man, not God, who created the concept of 'original sin', whereby Eve tasted of the apple and caused the downfall of the human race. Woman, once the sacred giver of life, was now the enemy... This concept of woman as life-bringer was the foundation of ancient religion. Childbirth was mystical and powerful. Sadly, Christian philosophy decided to embezzle the female's creative power by ignoring biological truth and making man the Creator. Genesis tells us that Eve was created from Adam's rib. Woman became an off-shoot of man. And a sinful one at that. Genesis was the beginning of the end for the goddess." (The Da Vinci Code)

易传在文字中以男女对应天地。在生生万物的过程中，天地具有同等的功劳；在繁衍子孙的过程中，男女具有同等的作用。所以，易传以同等的口气对天地、男女的贡献作出了同等的评价：“大哉乾元，万物资始。”“至哉坤元，万物资生。”“天地氤氲，万物化醇。男女构精，万物化生。”

鄙视妇女的“男尊女卑”，首见之于《列子。天瑞篇》。长期以来，把“男尊女卑”强加在孔子所创立的儒家头上是没有根据的。孔子主张，从结婚第一天起，夫妻之间的关系是“男女同尊卑”（《礼记。昏义》）。
（以上摘自《寻找元文化》，刘明武著）