Naked / 赤裸裸

有點難，但是學會就解放了。

Is kind of hard to learn, but it's liberating as soon as you let go of all concerns.

What to hang on the wall? / 牆上掛什麼好呢？

Don't be afraid of mistakes / 不怕犯錯

花很多時間畫30M大的帆布，感覺沒有盡頭，錯了便蓋上新一層顏料，重新再來，剛開始對於老是重畫的過程有些焦急，但是想到錯誤會帶領我走上對的路，而最後的成品會被如此珍惜，我便能夠放下腳步，畫出的每一筆都帶著喜悅，閉上眼睛我可以想像它最後的美好。

I've spent much time drawing three 30M-large canvases. It feels endless. Whenever I make a mistake, I reapply a new layer of acrylics. In the beginning, that kind of wore out my patience. By reminding myself that the mistakes will lead me to the right path in the end and that the finished work will be cherished, I can thus slow down. Every brushstroke is done with joy, and I can even imagine its beauty with my eyes closed. 

I see you / 我看得見你

春天到了，花朵紛紛綻放，樹木也冒出嫩葉，最近經過楓香樹，總不禁流連樹下，觀察新葉的顏色和葉脈的分布。

Spring is in the air. Flowers blossom one after another, and the tender green leaves on the trees transform the cityscape. Lately when I pass by a sweet gum tree, I can't help lingering under it to observe the color and veins of new leaves. 

        年初去拜訪台北市最老的楓香樹，最近卻聽說帶我們去的大哥生病了，當初他告訴我們說，老楓香也一度生病，經過樹醫生治療才又恢復生機。我想春天裡，老楓香一定也萌生無數新葉，我寄了一幅畫給大哥，希望他能儘快康復。

   Earlier this year I had visited the oldest tree in Taipei, a sweet gum tree, but recently I've learned that the gentleman that took us there fell ill. He told us then that the old tree had once become sick. It was with the tree doctor's help that the tree survived. I bet in spring, the sweet gum tree must look rejuvenated again thanks to the canopy of young leaves. To cheer up our tour guide, I sent him a painting, hoping that he will get well soon. 

        人和植物的生命循環有同樣的模式，最近在看一本書叫「植物看得見你」，作者認為植物有知覺也有記憶，如果是這樣的話，我想老楓香樹會關注大哥。而我，下次千萬不要亂摘花。

   There are similar life patterns in humans and plants. I've been reading a book titled What a Plant Knows. The author thinks that plants can feel what is going on in the world. If so, I believe the sweet gum tree will secretly look after our guide. Well, as for me, I shouldn't pick flowers randomly from now on. 

Threesome 2 / 三個人 2

前幾天和爸爸媽媽去武陵農場，早上捕捉到令人醉心的陽光。

I  traveled with my parents to Wuling Farm a few days ago. This is the intoxicating sunlight I capture with my camera.

        台灣的山脈太迷人，回家之後怎麼樣都要記錄我腦海中的美景。

   The mountains in Taiwan are so magnificent. I can't do without recording the awesome images in my mind after the trip. 

        這是三個人的日出版，送給剛生小嬰兒的娜娜。

   This is the sunlight version of Threesome, part II, for my friend Nana, who just gave birth to her dearest son. 

Genuine bliss / 真的幸福

從英國回來整整一年，雖然這一年比在倫敦開心許多，但是以一個幸福感如此強烈的人，我只能給自己打上60分。

It has been a year since I came back from London. I know I have found my place, but I give myself a 6 out of 10, given the fact that I've always been full of joy. 

    剛回來時因為整個人煥然一新的感覺，同事問：你是不是好事近了？我說還沒，但是看著朋友一個接著一個走進婚姻生小孩，我也相信這是我該走的路，雖然我總是坐在家裡作白日夢。

   I had that brand-new feel from head to toe right after I returned. One of my colleagues asked, "Do you have any good news?" I said no, but seeing almost all of my friends head into marriage one after another, I was made to think of it as the path I should take as well. (The truth was that I did nothing but daydream at home all the time.) 

    這當中我有一些情緒要面對，可是沿途我聽了很多人的故事，覺得上帝一直在給我修練的機會，春天結束時我找到答案：我怎麼能依賴另一個人給我全部的快樂？與其不斷預期將來會如何，我應該要面對現在這一刻，全心全意活在當下。

   I had to confront some conflicted emotions in me. Fortunately, I heard many stories along the way, and it felt like God was giving me opportunities to gain my perspective. I found my answer at the end of spring: How can I depend on someone I don't know well for all my happiness? Instead of predicting what my future will hold, I should turn to the present and live in it.

    放下期望和慾望，我覺得很輕鬆，上週泰文老師發了兩本佛經解釋，讀完化普樂寫的「佛陀的啟示」，我的幸福指數飆高到90分以上，我很喜歡其中的一段話：

   Letting go of my expectations and desires, I feel relieved. Last week my Thai teacher gave us two books on the lessons taught by the Buddha. After reading What the Buddha Taught by Walpola Rahula, I felt I could score a 9 on the scale of happiness. I love one excerpt a lot:

    不論在做什麼事情的時候，動手也好，日常起居也好，從事公私工作也好，要時刻念茲在茲了了分明於你的每一舉動，你或臥或立或坐或行，或安眠，或曲臂伸腿，回顧前瞻，穿衣吃飯，言談靜默，大小便利，凡此一切以及其他種種活動，你必須時時刻刻了了分明於你所作的每一動作。也就是說，你必須生活在當前的瞬間中、在現在的行為中。這並不是說你不應想到過去未來。相反的，你在與眼前的時刻行為有關的方面，一樣可以想到過去未來。

   Another very important, practical, and useful form of 'meditation' (mental development) is to be aware  and mindful of whatever you do, physically or verbally, during the daily routine of work in your life, private, public or professional. Whether you walk, stand, sit, lie down, or sleep, whether you stretch or bend your limbs, whether you look around, whether you put on your clothes, whether you talk or keep silence, whether you eat or drink, even whether you answer the calls of nature--in these and other activities, you should be fully aware and mindful of the act you perform at the moment. That is to say, that you should live in the present moment, in the present action. This does not mean that you should not think of the past or the future at all. On the contrary, you think of them in relation to the present moment, the present action, when and where it is relevant. 

    一般的人，並不生活在他們眼前的生活中，他們都生活在過去或未來裡。雖然看外表他們似乎是在此時此地做著些什麼，實際上，他們是生活在他們思想中的另一世界裡，生活在虛構的問題與苦悶裡。通常他們是活在過去的記憶中，或對未來的欲望和懸揣之中。因此，他們並不生活在他們目前在做的工作裡，也不樂於這工作。所以他們就對現況不滿、不開心，而自然而然的不能對當前像是在做的工作，獻出全部的身心。

   People do not generally live in their actions, in the present moment. They live in the past or in the future. Though they seem to be doing something now, here, they live somewhere else in their thoughts, in their imaginary problems and worries, usually in the memory of the past or in the desires and speculations about the future. Therefore they do not live in, nor do they enjoy, what they do at the moment. So they are unhappy and discontented with the present moment, with the work at hand, and naturally they cannot give themselves fully to what they appear to be doing. 

今天有機會問了小朋友一個問題：你在急什麼？你為什麼要趕到下一階段的人生？看起來好像是我在輔導別人，其實我也在問自己同樣的問題。

Today I had a chance to ask Sophy the questions: Why are you hurried? Why do you want to rush to the next stage of life? It looked like I was counseling her, but I was asking myself the question.

英國的生活離我越來越遠，但是我從來沒有如此確定這就是我要做的工作，這就是我的人生，而我的任務就是擴大我的幸福感，因為還有好多人不知道這三個字的意思。

I am leaving behind my British life, but I have never felt so sure that this is the job I want to do and that this is my life. My mission is to expand my bliss because there are so many people out there who have no idea how it feels.

現在，我是真的幸福。

Now I feel truly blissful.

Law of the universe / 法則

每天都有一些人和我說他們的故事，以前會想，我知道這些故事的用處為何？而現在，我從裡面看到很重要的人生法則。

Every day people come to tell me their life stories. I used to wonder what was the use of knowing so much, but now I've come to see some very important rules and patterns of life. 

這兩天學到的一課是：世上的人事物都有其位置和它們之間的平衡，不要強求。打開心好好體驗，也許可以因此創造新的平衡。

I've learned an important lesson lately: All the objects and people in the world have their places and balance among one another. Don't ask for what doesn't belong to you. Instead, open your heart and feel  what life wants to say. I believe we can thus create a new and better balance through introspection.
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Always there / 沒有離開