Category: Reflections

Deeper thoughts and musings

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Morn shall tearless be

O love, that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in Thee;
I give Thee back the life I owe,
That in Thine ocean depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.

O Light, that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in Thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.

O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to Thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain,
And feel the promise is not vain
That morn shall tearless be.

O Cross, that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from Thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.


Lyrics: George Matheson (1842-1906)
Music: Albert Lister Peace (1844-1912)

哦，那不肯放我之爱，
我將疲魂安息於你；
我把所欠余生归来，
好使牠在你这深海，
得更丰满洋溢。

哦，那照耀我路之光，
我將残灯带来交你；
我心因得你光復亮，
牠的日子藉你太阳，
得更光明美丽。

哦，那苦中寻我之乐，
我心不能向你关闭；
我在雨中彩虹寻得，
知你应许不会空说，
天亮便无泪涕。

哦，那使我抬头十架，
我不敢求与你稍离；
今生虚荣死葬土下，
那土长出生命红花，
永远开放不已。

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Unspoken

This is a poem I wrote for Mum in 2003, when I was at university. People say, “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone,” and I wanted Mum to know that I really appreciated all she was and all she did for us all, even though I couldn’t find the right words.

Mum talked to Dad before she died about what she wanted at her funeral, and she wanted me to read this poem. It will always be very special to me as an expression of our love for each other.

So much unspoken
So much to say
So many words
So much love
So much
Unspoken

Love that never changes
Care that never ends
Life given unconditionally
Unselfishly in love
So much love
So much
Unspoken

A lifetime is not enough to speak the words unspoken
Love knows no language but the heart
To say, ‘Thank you’ is too little
To leave it unsaid is not enough

I hope you know
I hope you understand
I hope you believe:

I love you

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Reflections

When the wind stirs the water, the ripples distort the reflection. When everything is calm and still, that’s when there’s the greatest clarity.

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Safe stopping distance

When I was taught to drive in England, my teacher taught me how to drive safely by keeping space between the cars in front and behind. “If you’re in traffic and the car behind is impatient and starts driving really close behind your car, you might be tempted to speed up to get further away from them,” he said. “In fact, that’s the worst thing to do, because it brings you closer to the car in front, and if the car in front stops suddenly, you’ll have to stop suddenly too, and then impatient car behind you will crash into the back of you. The most important thing is to have plenty of space in front of you, so if the car in front does something unexpected, you’ll have plenty of time to react.”

The key word here is unexpected. In England, almost all drivers do what is expected of them. If there’s a red light, they stop. If they’re in a right-turn only lane, they turn right. If they’re driving down a road at 30 mph with lots of cars around them, they’ll keep going straight, slow down gradually, or indicate a change of direction. Of course, sometimes someone won’t do these things, and that’s the unexpected factor. But you have to have an expected way of behaving before you can have anything unexpected…

Continue reading “Safe stopping distance”

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Information density

I saw this sign in an office when waiting to hand in some paperwork. What really struck me was how much information you can squeeze into a small space using Chinese characters! Most everyday Chinese words are one or two characters, whereas most English words need four or five letters.

This sign is a great example. The English six-letter word, ‘closed’, while giving you the essential meaning, doesn’t match the information content of the Chinese. A literal translation of these six Chinese characters might be:

This counter is temporarily not accepting applications.

That’s a lot of meaning from six characters! Much more than from our six-letter word.

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Do androids dream of electric sheep?

As AlphaGo demonstrates that artificial intelligence (AI) can beat human intelligence in complex situations, what does this mean for the future? Will robots be our willing servants so we can relax and take it easy while they do all the work, or will they rise up and fight against us? What about space travel, genetic modification, clean energy? What would society look like if the future could be predicted? Or if death could be reversed? Or if our own intelligence could be modified or augmented?

Science fiction stories in books and movies explore these kind of questions, and by exploring different types of society, they show us truths about own society. What insights about the world we live in can we gain by looking at alternative worlds?

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Mother’s hand is waiting for yours to hold

Chinese people have a saying: “尊老爱幼,” which means, “Respect the old and cherish the young.” These traditional attitudes and priorities are part of the reason I really love Chinese culture, but many such ideas are being eroded in modern society, often by the influence of western culture.

The story below was in my reading textbook this week, and it really touched a nerve with me. I’ve included the whole story, and translated it into English as best as I’m able.

Continue reading “Mother’s hand is waiting for yours to hold”

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Worrying story of Chinese teenagers abroad turning to crime and violence

Story from the BBC

As I read this story, I felt very sad at the attitudes of the teenagers and their parents. These three young people are being punished for doing horrible things to another Chinese teenager, and their response is that it’s their parents’ fault for not bringing them up better. Sure, that’s probably true, and a sad reflection on the parents and the modern society that allows this to happen, but it’s like the kids are trying to absolve themselves of all responsibility: “It’s not my fault I’m a horrible person, blame my parents, blame society.” This seems all too familiar and pervades Western attitudes to crime and punishment. Surely the truth is that we all have choices to make? We are strongly influenced by so many things, true, but when push comes to shove, or to kick, then we have the choice to make in that moment. No one else makes that choice for us, and we can choose a better way.

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My Dream 我的梦相

In my spoken Chinese class this week, each student gave a speech titled My Dream. This is a very important idea in China, and many young people speak of their Dream almost as a loved one: it is their inspiration, their source of strength and courage, and their hope for the future.

My Chinese is still pretty basic, but I was pleased with what I was able to say. After the spoken class, I wrote down my speech in more formal language (and got my teacher to correct the mistakes for me!)

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