夕日餘暉

#2019-0917

Cengjing kanguo xiyang wushu ci; gandong zhi yu, ye zuo-le bushao tu-wen lilu:

2011 nian 2 yue 22 ri de Xiyang zhi Mei;
2011 nian 3 yue 13 ri de Guanshan Xizhao;
2014 nian 1 yue 11 ri de Yangguang de Meili;
2016 nian 11 yue 16 ri de Cai Yun;
2017 nian 4 yue 4 ri de Xiyang Hong;
2018 nian 1 yue 16 ri de Linyuan Xizhao.

2009 nian 8 yue, yuefu shengbing zhuyuan qijian, wo xie-le yi pian Wuhou Yangguang; 2013 nian 12 yue, jiafu zhu Qingsong huli zhi jia, wo xie-le yi pian Zhongtou Xi Lu. Na liang pian wenzi ye gen xiyang you miqiede guanlian. A! Wode yuefu han jiafu dou yi lishi duonian le; rujin nianmaide yuemu ji jiamu shenti ye daburuqian. Jintian bangwan sanbu dao fujinde "Minzhu Caoping" (民主草坪) shifeng xiyang xixia, wo wang-zhe na hongtongtong de xiri yuhui, neixin bujin gankai wanqian!

Tangchao shiren Li Shangyin (李商隱) shuo-guo: "Xiyang wuxian hao, zhi shi jin huanghun." (夕陽無限好，只是近黃昏。) Wo zhen xiang gai ge shuofa: "Sui shi jin huanghun, xiyang wuxian hao!" (雖是近黃昏，夕陽無限好！) Ni shuo ne?

草坪風光

#2019-0916

最近常散步到「立法院中部辦公園區」南側的草坪，即所謂 "The Democracy Lawn"。昨日傍晚再次與琴同行，到那「民主草坪」發現草地剛修剪過，聞得到「草」的芬芳。抬頭一看，令人更驚喜的是，正上方的藍天白雲，宛若一幅地圖，清楚描繪一處海灣，有半島伸出，引人遐想；而西面天際的一大片霞彩，因某緣故，竟呈現輻射狀的藍與橙 (blue and orange) 罕見的光帶，一路延伸、渲染開來，堪稱奇景一方，乃十分可貴之「草坪風光」。

Before the Moon Festival

#2019-0912

On the day before the Moon Festival,*
We were so happy to gather
At the same table
For coffee
And a meal simple
So as to share with each other
Something really special; for example,
Memories of our days in NNCS** -- a high-school vocational.

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Notes:

* The Moon Festival, or the Mid-Autumn Festival, is the 15th day of the eighth month according to the Chinese Lunar Calendar; it is regarded as a day for family reunion.

** NNCS is National Nantou Commercial School. Quite a few of my "former colleagues" there have now become my "close friends."

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相關文章 (See also)： Happy Birthday, Brother

Old Photos

#2019-0909

Old Photos

Behold, the photos taken four years ago* 
That I've retrieved from among thousands of
      pictures old...

Four years can be just a short time, or long,
      for you and me;
But it's brought huge changes to this house of coffee* 
And made a big difference to the old
      and babies --

While my grandsons grew bigger and bigger,
Much weaker became my wife's mom and mine
      in their late eighties!

Oh, well ... sure -- things must be different
      than before:

Even if A-Li-Man* won't be open anymore,
Even though our moms are getting so old and weak,
Such pictures of the happy moments -- I'll forever keep.

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* Footnotes in Chinese: 照片拍攝於 2015 年 10 月 29 日，地點在芬園鄉的「阿里曼人文咖啡館」。聽說該館今已歇業，深感可惜。也感慨這四年變化之大，尤其對老人家而言，當幼童一天天長大的同時，老者竟已日漸衰弱，如將殘的燈火，又如凋零、飄落中的花朵！...... 心血來潮，進入《維基百科》查閱「阿里曼」(Ahriman) 條目，發現它是瑣羅亞斯德教（祆教）中一惡神的名字，與善神阿胡拉 ● 馬茲達 (Ahura Mazda) 為敵。不禁對這家「阿里曼咖啡館」命名的由來，感到相當好奇。

  

Happy Birthday, Brother

#2019-0905

A few words popped up on my computer screen, meaning that today is my former colleague (and good friend) Mr. Yongcong Lin's birthday, so -- "Why not give him birthday wishes?" the message seemed to ask.

Yes, I should try to contact him right away. We haven't seen each other for months. Both he and I seemed to have been too busy to meet as often as before.

Last year we got together once per month or at least twice every three months. He would naturally call me (or I would call him) by phone or through LINE; and then we would come to a small "cafe-restaurant" for brunch. If we already had breakfast at home that morning, then we would just share a pot of coffee or two in there.

How enjoyable it would be to have this kind of "coffee hour"! -- Coffee is obviously our favorite drink. For us, coffee is something like wine, always making us more eager to talk, whether to have some simple, everyday chitchat or a more profound conversation!

This morning I was surprised to see the message about his birthday while I was browsing online. "Today is Yongcong Lin's birthday. Remember to give him birthday wishes." Oh, I would like to do something special today. Instead of making a telephone call, I collected a few pictures that I thought would be interesting to him. And I sent -- more precisely, copied and pasted them on the Facebook of 林永聰 (Lin Yongcong), hoping that these old photos (see below) would remind him of those "good old days" when we worked together in the same school.

All of a sudden I remembered that Mr. Yongcong didn't read or write on Facebook very often. I searched for his Chinese name on Facebook, and I found there were four 林永聰 -- Oh, I'm still very confused: Are there four people whose names are the same? Or does my good friend Mr. Yongcong Lin has created more than one "facebook"? ... Some of the four facebooks do not show the owner's personal photos or self-introduction, so I don't really know whether I sent the Birthday Wishes to the right person or not. -- Gosh, it's really a shame!

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相關文章 (See also)：
1)  The 60th Anniversary of NNCS (情縈投商一甲子)
2)  An Exciting Visit to My Former "Leader"

Reflections (省思 / 回顧)

#2019-0903

九年前的今天 (9/3)，我寫了一篇《生活的樂趣》標記著當時自認為最美好的生活模式 (the BEST lifestyle)：

B = books (including The Bible)
E = exercise
S = sharing (esp. short stories)
T = traveling

在那日的前一天 (9/2)，我發表了幾張自認為有趣的照片，標題《裸體的樹 -- Why Is the Trees Naked?》；在最末張照片上方，我寫了兩行話：

「是不是老了就比較怕熱？
　還是有了年紀就不在乎別人的眼光？」

而再往前一天 (9/1) ，對我而言，真是個值得紀念的新起點 (a brand new beginning)：2010 Nian 9 Yue 1 Ri。當我正式宣告不再續任「補習班主任」，也不應聘「研發主任」這個幾乎為我量身訂做的新職時，我整顆心，就像「飄遊自在的雲、流動自如的風」突然變得格外的輕鬆..........似乎能擺脫一切，開始過一種所謂「雲遊自在／風動自如」的生活了。

算一算，前後已滿九年。這九年來，我的 BEST life plans (最佳生活規劃／生存方案／生命進程表／藍圖) 實現了多少呢？若不經一番省思、回顧、和查驗，恐怕很難有個「譜」或「數」的！

大前天，趕在八月底前，我繳交一份 "Personal Reflections" 給 Friendship 季刊的主編 Ms. Catherine Lee ---- 她先前向我邀稿，希望我針對兒子決志投入教會工作，唸神學院，一直到被按立為聖公會牧師的整個歷程，寫出我身為父親的「看見」與「心得」。

前天，2019 年 9 月 1 日，傍晚時分，突然下起一場豪大雨，我心有所感，寫了一首不像詩的小詩 (a poem that doesn't really look like a poem) 題目叫做「人生方程」。所附的插圖取自 2012 年 9 月 3 日的舊作，而七年後的今天 (9/3)，我在臉書上把《人生方程  / Life Equation》給分享了。

啊！太陽底下果真沒有新鮮事麼？----- 我 2012 年 9 月 3 日的圖文分享，源自於前一天的「小組團契 ● 健行活動」，當時 (2012 年 9 月 2 日) 教會的一些弟兄姊妹到霧峰來 "爬山"，我們所走的路線，正好跟我與月琴昨天 (9/2) 所走的一樣；也跟九年前 (即 2010 年 9 月 4 日) 我在 Mookoo's Home 發表的圖文《中心壠步道》所描述的路線，完全一致。

試問：同樣的路，在不同的時間裡，跟不同的人一起走，你的感覺如何？

再問：下面這張照片中的弟兄姊妹，還記得整整七年前的這次「雨中行」嗎？

三問：關於上述 "BEST life plans" 你有什麼看法？建議？或分享？

人生方程 (Life Equation)

#2019-0901

人生方程 (Life Equation)

圖／文： Mookoo Liang

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雨，下個不停-----
這說下就下，下個沒停的
大雨......令人心煩？欣喜？或辛苦？

兒子小時候（剛唸小學三年級吧）
對我說，他最喜歡雨天了，
我當時給的反應：
「你是小詩人嗎？.......」

幾日前，同樣的雨
在不同的窗格子外，狂下
永不停歇似的；
有一位年近七十，玩音樂
玩一輩子的友人
也說，她最愛「雨天」

喔！雨給人們的印象
有多麼不一樣：
雨天究竟帶來
　心煩？欣喜？或辛苦？

時過境遷，我已學會了
一種「比例 ● 加總 ● 換算」的功夫

今天下午
一杯、兩杯、三杯
咖啡，有如美酒下肚；

霎時** 那許久前發生過的
與當下之耳聞眼見
　攪和、參雜、跳接、翻滾
激盪出.........類似

21% (x) + 42% (y) + 63% (z) ≥ 1.234567890

的............................人生方程

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** 附註：網路上有人問道：「霎那」與「剎那」哪個更快？ 有位帳號為「連江一點萍」的回應，說：沒有「霎那」，只有「霎時」。霎時：極短的時間。或作：霎時間。幾分鐘或十幾分鐘的時間，都可以用 "霎時"。而「剎那」來自佛經。一 "剎那" 只有 0.018秒。所以，「剎那」更快。-----這位「連江一點萍」還指出：一剎那為一念，二十念為一瞬，二十瞬為一彈指，二十彈指為一須臾，一日一夜有三十須臾。據此可推算出，一晝夜有八萬六千四百秒；那麼，一 "須臾" 等於二千八百八十秒；一 "彈指" 等於七點二秒；一 "瞬間" 等於零點三六秒；一 "剎那" 卻只有零點零一八秒。我原先對這些細節毫無所悉，卻覺得這些「換算」蠻有趣；據我所知，「霎」的本義是「小雨」，而今天下午的雨卻大得可以，說下就下，下個沒完沒了。我的身子被困在屋子裡，但「霎時」之間，那不受控的心 (my heart or my mind or my soul) 跳入豪雨中，隨著嘩啦啦的雨聲飛舞、翻滾，終於遇見（或覓得）這樣一個有點無俚頭的「人生方程」(Life Equation)。

插圖： 2012 年 9 月 3 日 拍攝於霧峰

（取自 Small Group Fellowship (B) -- 走在雨中）

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