Two Things Are Infinite

"Only two things are infinite, the universe and human stupidity, and I'm not sure about the former."

-- Albert Einstein

Quote from "Shawshank Redemption"

When "Andy" plays "Marriage of Figaro", narration by "Red" (Morgan Freeman):

"I have no idea to this day what those two Italian ladies were singing about. Truth is, I don't want to know. Some things are best left unsaid. I'd like to think they were singing about something so beautiful, it can't be expressed in words, and makes your heart ache because of it. I tell you, those voices soared higher and farther than anybody in a gray place dares to dream. It was like some beautiful bird flapped into our drab little cage and made those walls dissolve away, and for the briefest of moments, every last man in Shawshank felt free."

Four Attitudes About UNKNOWN

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"Who are we? Where do we come from? Where are we going?" After several thousands years of civilization, the question remains as the same as beginning: we still face that mysterious world of UNKNOWN.

Probably, the attitudes (driven by different thinking styles) toward this UNKNOWN divide us in different types of people: rational, irrational, superstitious, skeptical, or something else. Below is what I could think of now about four different attitudes toward this UNKNOWN.

1. To understand the existence of UNKNOWN and accept it, to admit there is a immense part of Universe that is beyond our current (or even future) understanding, to suppose we human may or may not eventually understand this Universe, is an attitude of rationality;

2. To irrationally affirm the "knowledge" of UNKNOWN, to factualize UNKNOWN, to mystify or decorate UNKNOWN as human wishes, is an attitude of religion, or "conventional" superstition;

3. To hold our reason firmly as a solution to everything, to deny the existence of UNKNOWN, or to believe that just because we have known a great deal so we will know everything sooner of later, is an attitude of modern "religion" - worship of science;

4. To absolutely deny any possibilities to reach the truth of "UNKNOWN", to disbelieve completely about science in terms of discovering the truth of universe, is an attitude of agnosticism, which is also irrational, because it kills "HOPE" (or possibility) - the only thing that perhaps will be always "alive" (as long as the Universe exists).

Two Conditions That Produce Life Misery

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If we agree that being able to be ourselves is the most essential condition of our life happiness, two other conditions will destroy this condition:

1: Trying to be someone else other than ourselves.

This "ambition" is built on illusion - "someones else" are mistaken for "ourselves". The causes of such illusion are multiple and complicated, but I believe a very important cause is false parenting/education.

When we held this "illusion", life is inevitably on the route towards misery, because (at the best account) even if we succeeded this "ambition" at certain level - i.e. we successfully turned out to be "someone else" - we could still not be truly happy because our true nature (or true "selves") will always be hungry at our unconscious level.

The only way to change this condition is "enlightenment" - realizing we are on the wrong track. As soon as we reach this enlightenment, happiness will naturally emerge to our life.

However, the danger of this condition is, if the condition stays too long with us, (also depend on how strong our "true selves" and "other selves" are) we might eventually forgot who we truly are, hence it is almost impossible to get our "true selves" back.

2. Knowing who we are but could not become who we are.

This condition is also created by complicated and multiple factors: false parenting/education, physical diseases, wars, social systems, or ultimately, fate.

I found this is the most commonly struggled condition of life. The ways to cope with such condition are numerous and complicated, and there will never be a single universal solution to this problem, because no one has the completely same life course as others, . However, to simplify the tanglement I would say there are two major pathways to get out of trap: fight and acceptance*.

If there is one thing worth fighting for in this world, it would be "happiness". However sometime the "enemy" can be some unconquerable monsters, such as powerful side of our relationship, or powerful social classes, or even "fate"; sometime the fighters -"we" - can be too fragile to fight, either mentally or physically, such as individuals against groups, fatal diseases, etc. In such cases, negotiation, or acceptance need to take place.

So after all, I think wisdom lies in the balance between "fighting" and "acceptance" - those who know when to fight and when to negotiate will eventually win the happiness, no matter what condition is.

However, since happiness is worth fighting for, I would say:

(If we really know what we want) Never negotiate without a fight.

*I have used "negotiation" and "acceptance alternatively, but I do know they do not have identical definition. The difference between them would be a relatively serious topic in which I do not wish to evolve.

Ellen Degeneres - A True Genius of Love

If people asked me who was my favorite actors or actress, I might not have an immediate answer, but if people asked am who was my favorite comedian, my answer would be straight and simple: Ellen Degeneres.

I was so impressed by her early stand up shows (I even ran for a live one in Northampton, Mass). All her early stand up shows were incredibly hilarious and philosophic! Reminding me lot of Taoist ideas about life. She was the first American person (I know of) I consider as a Taoist.

The first stand up show I watched was "New Beginning" - the show she performed on her first tour after she came out from her "down time" (her hollywood career was destroyed by her coming out in 90s). I watched this show on VHS type. Now it's on youtube:

It is a true inspiring piece about life.

Later, her new stand up show "Here and Now" came out:

"Here and Now" is all about the "boring" "procrastination", but by my opinion this is a true masterpiece of Taoism about time and life. I highly recommand who ever interested in Taoism and Ellen as a genius thinker (she actually only had high school diploma) watch these brilliant comedy stand up. You will not be disappointed!

Quotes from "Les Miserables"

Innocence wears its own crown, Monsieur; it needs no added dignity; it is as sublime in rags as in royal robes. p54

...since natures vary, we must agree that all the beauties of human excellence may be fostered by faiths that we do not share. p65

What more could he need, this old man whose little leisure was divided between daytime gardening and night-time contemplation? Was not that narrow space with the sky its ceiling room enough for worship God in the most delicate of His works and in the most sublime? A garden to walk in and immensity to dream in - what more could be ask? A few flowers at his feet and above him the stars. p68

Man is so constituted that he can endure long periods of suffering, both moral and physical, without dying of it. p96

Curiosity is a form of gluttony: to see is to devour. p183

There is a prospect greater than the sea, and it is the sky; there is a prospect greater than sky, and it is the human soul. p208

Spiritual Reality - Journey Within

A friend of mine sent me this video presentation about Buddhist concepts such as Meditation, Knowledge, Energy, Consciousness, Life and Death, etc.
Not sure how superstitious you would find, I found it both inspiring and superstitious. Several interesting quotes from video:

Sleep is an unconscious meditation; meditation is conscious sleep;

Meditation is nothing but a journey of our Consciousness toward "self";
Knowledge is nothing but experience;
Consciousness is a combination of Energy and Knowledge.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QFRRB81dlCM&feature=related

About "Social Differentiation"

It is everywhere true that those at the bottom of the social hierarchy are the majority. ...Why then does the majority remain deprived? The minority at the top may have a near monopoly of force, but force alone is not the answer. A system of social differentiation must be found in which all believe, not just some.

---Charles Van Doren: A History of Knowledge

Jack Nicholson and His Movies

Cover of The PledgeJack Nicholson has been always one of my favorite actors. After watching three his movies in a raw, now I must say I am a huge fan of his. His acting is superb!

"About Schmidt", "The Bucket List" and "Pledge"(2001) are what I have watched recently. I absolutely love everyone of them, however, I would especially mention "Pledge", an unusual mystery directed by Sean Penn. The story is based on a novella written by a Swiss writer. This is not an usual mystery with fast paced story line, but rather a slow paced and drama-like movie, yet highly suspenseful, with an end that is unexpected, pitiful, and eventually thought provoking.

For me, this movie not only depicts an obsession of a detective to his promise, but also reveals a truth of life, which I personally more and more believe: real truth is often beyond our "masterful" hands. We are helpless on this fact.

Well, does this mean we better live in illusion? I don't know, but it might be.

"If I Know A Song Of Africa"

"If I know a song of Africa, of the giraffe and the African new moon lying on her back, of the plows in the fields and the sweaty faces of the coffee pickers, does Africa know a song of me? Will the air over the plain quiver with a color that I have had on, or the children invent a game in which my name is, or the full moon throw a shadow over the gravel of the drive that was like me, or will the eagles of the Ngong Hills look out for me?"

— Karen Blixen ("Out of Africa", 1985 film)

"Evidence"

Image via WikipediaEvidence: the "facts" that support our beliefs.

As soon as people's minds are settled with some belief systems, all existing facts become "evidences" to validate/consolidate those beliefs. The facts that disprove their beliefs are either nonexistent or, simply invisible.

So, it is almost impossible to change people's mind by presenting "evidences".

Quotes for "The Bucket List" (Film, 2007)

Image via WikipediaCharter Chambers: (My pastor always says) our lives are streams flowing into the same river towards whatever heaven lies in the mist beyond the falls. Find the joy in your life, Edward. My dear friend, close your eyes and let the waters take you home.

Edward Cole: Carter and I saw the world together, which is amazing when you think that only three months ago we were complete strangers. I hope that it doesn't sound selfish of me, but the last months of his life were the best months of mine. He saved my life, and he knew it before I did. I'm deeply proud that this man found it worth his while to know me. In the end, I think it's safe to say that we brought some joy to one another's lives, so one day, when I go to some final resting place, if I happen to wake up next to a certain wall with a gate, I hope that Carter's there to vouch for me and show me the ropes on the other side.

Out of Africa - Journey of Man

Cover of The Journey of Man: A Genetic OdysseyThe origin of human: where did we come from, is certainly one of the most important/enchanting questions of history. Recently I watched a series of documentary videos and one of them seemed to have unraveled this riddle, at least to a certain extent.

It seems to me, that the "theory" of all people on this earth originated from Africa is not a foreign to most of us, but I did not know that up to date, scientists already have concrete evidences, such as DNA, to prove this "theory". Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey, a documentary movie based on book with the same name (published in 2002. How behind I am!) written by Spencer Wells (an archeologist and geneticist), has advanced investigation on this subject. After his comprehensive researches Wells reached an absolutely certain conclusion with (DNA) evidences that we human, all came from Africa.

No wonder I have such fascination with Africa!

Thank Wells for the brilliant job. I am not a professional historian but I consider this finding a milestone in history study.

Of course, still, this discovery only reveals our physical origin, that much more mysterious question - where is our "spirit" (I am not satisfied with biological answer such as "brain function") come from - is still out there.

Crop Circles - Art of mystery

Image by frankdasilva via FlickrLong time ago I watched TV news about crop circle hoax. Since then I never bothered again with this "phenomenon". I do not remember details of this news but roughly recall two men were busy working in the field under moonlight. Just recently I "accidentally" watched some videos about this subject from youtube. This time, I was absolutely stunned by the beauty of these amazing "formations".

By my spontaneous nature I immediately dove into some mysterious causes of these beautiful "creatures". One of documentaries from youtube was especially fascinating - it tells that one of crop circles was obviously responding to the (binary?) message that NASA sent to out space over 20 years ago (Crop Circles Decoded?). Beside such kind of amazing ideas, the perfect geometries, the precise design and the allegedly short time of their appearance, really overwhelm me. And I cannot help to wonder, how could people on this earth stay so calm?

It proves it is not so hard to stay calm. After I did some "researches", my attitude started leaning to another side: they are all man-made. I cannot say I am 100% convinced, but most likely the chance of being otherwise is slim.

There are also many "scientific" facts about these formations have been claimed by many "experts", such as energy changed, or "the composition of soil was completely changed"*, etc. I am not a scientist so I cannot disprove those claims.

One thing I am quite certain about is, these formations are not designed by people who are solely "artistic", nor by some simple/playful motive, but with extremely good artistic taste and high intelligence, because all these formations show incredible design sense, and all of them (for what I saw on internet) made with incredibly geometrical precision. Personally I don't not believe they were made by random amateurs. But how did this technique and unique design talent spread over the world, is simply a mystery to me.

It was said the creators of crop circles have never claimed authorship because they want to "sustain the mystery"*. Based on the article "Crop Circle Conundrum"*, one of experts said:

"In our culture, art is all to do with artists: it’s about whodunit, not about what art does. With the circles, it’s about the effect they have on people." This certainly makes a good point but I am not convinced that this is the reason they stay in hidden. But if it is, I am sure they are having great fun.

*Crop Circle Conundrum

Freedom Is Not Free

Freedom is something beautiful and sound, but not "free". It requires independency, a high price that many people are incapable to pay.

Sometime it is easier to die codependently than live independently.

Differences vs. Discrimination

Image via WikipediaDifferences (which factually exist among us) do not necessarily lead to discrimination, but arrogance does. "I am different from you" is not a biased statement, but "I am superior" is.

"Dumb" or "Smart"?

Image via WikipediaThere are some people mix up "kindness" and "dumbness", confuse about "intelligence" with "treacherousness", or "guile". The reasons for such idea might be either they are not smart enough to be guileful, or, they are smart but choose to be dishonest in favor of their utilitarian life style.

I further believe, that honesty is a choice, intelligence (and smartness) is not. There is a distinguish line between intelligence and smartness, also a big difference between the honesty by choosing or by "force".

Harry's Law

I was not much in TV shows but since my chronic health problems prevented me from more "meaningful" activities, I have to "condescend" myself to watch some and found them very entertaining. One of them is "Harry's Law".

Cathy Bates is my all time favorite actress. In this show, she plays the leading role Harriet Korn, a lawyer who is fired and starts her own law firm ("Harry's Law") in a very dangerous neighborhood. By several "interesting" accidents she encounters several "interesting" people and unwillingly hires them to work together. Each episode is about some different individual cases they deal with.

I am not that into law business. Personally I even had quite unhappy experience with lawyers, so I did not really count too much on this show, but Cathy Bates made it different. She is always so natural, cordial and intellectually funny, even in this boring lawyers' business. What also made me like this show even more is that this show reveals a fact/problem which I found is so true in this country, or elsewhere, that there is no "justice" in justice system (of course MUCH better than in China).

It's a good show. I have only watched a few episodes but already hooked.

"Art" - A Decoration of The "Glorious Era" of China

A WikipediaThese couple of days I just heard two important things happened in Chinese art circle: 1, Ai, Weiwei, a famous artist has disappeared, most likely in custody; 2, the new world record of auction sale of Zhang, Xiaogang's painting "Love that lives forever" (my own translation) was sold for over $10 millions.

Just a while ago I had some thoughts about the difference between artists and thinkers. What initiated that thought mostly was this modern Chinese art market - so unbelievably "prosperous' that somebody even compared it with Renaissance in European history. I know there is not much comparable in between these two different art periods, because among modern Chinese artists, we rarely see sincerity, the pure passion in art creativity (I am not say there is none, but indeed it is rare, especially compare with the population of artists in China). Most contemporary Chinese artists produce massive amount of works just for money and fame. And they are all very successful, maybe more successful than any time in history and anywhere in the world.

I have no right to judge Zhang, Xiaogang's art. Zhang is a good artist with excellent skills, but he is also a very shrewd "businessman" when in handling art market. If we consider Chinese art market is nothing more than a huge complicated interpersonal network, Zhang is the one at the axis of this network. Around him, there are many art critics and artists who pursue "success". I am sure there are some sincere artists among them but most of them, just like Zhang, know very well what/when to paint, what not to (not only they will not offend Chinese government, they also know very well how to please art dealers, or western art critics). And when get famous, they know what to say, what not to.

Ai, Weiwei is one of different persons. He seems to care about something. I don't know him as much I know Zhang, but based on what I read online, he seems to be a honest person, which is rare within artists circles. And of course this "caring spirit" gave him trouble.

China is at her peak time in economy, and many people consider this period as her most glorious time in history (the signs of "glorious era" flash everywhere in China), as economy is only thing matter to many Chinese people. And art, both the art with and without quotation marks, seems to be a perfect decoration to this "glorious time" - when everybody is happily slaved!

Who said that art is not practical?

Dear Theo - letters of Van Gogh

Image via WikipediaI finished reading Irvine Stone's Lust for Life within one day like finishing a page turner, but I finished reading Dear Theo - letters of Van Gogh after a long time reading - each time I turned the page, I heard myself saying: slow down, take time, and digest every word slowly, as if the sooner I finished reading, the quicker the joy of being with him would vanish.

Van Gogh struck the world with his paintings, he also touched my heart with his words. If we take language as a vehicle of thoughts, Van Gogh deserved to be remembered as a great thinker. Through his words, I saw a man with deep contemplation, a soul that had a close connection with nature by every visible detail: trees, mountains, sky, even every inch of crop field.

If Van Gogh instilled his passion in all his art works, he recorded his thoughts in his words. We see frenzy colors in his paintings, but we will meet a lucid mind in his writings. He was not crazy, like many his contemporaries believed, he was just a special being with some simple needs which the world failed to satisfy. In other words, the world was/is sick, not Van Gogh. Yet he offered to the world a tremendous amount of treasure. The world gave him grief, but he returned with the brilliance of Sunshine.

It has been over 25 years when I read this book. Dear Theo was one of my precious collection, and it shaped my view on art and life: an artist has to be true to him/herself before to be "great". By my opinion, Van Gogh may not be the most "skillful" (from traditional view) artist in history, but he was the most talented, and the first one who depicted himself without any "decoration" - such as techniques or concepts. He was completely “naked” in his works.

And I believe, the world would be different if we were all “naked” like he was.