The Unthinkable...

Did you ever have dreams about going to school without your backpack? This nightmare had followed me for years until long after college... I remember every time waking up from the nightmare, I felt that the event was so unthinkable that it would never happen to me in real life.

Well, the unthinkable did happen to me this morning, in real life!!

I was dragged out of bed by the alarm clock at 6am.  I planned to go take some special photos of the red maple leaves.  The place was about 35 miles away from my home. I rushed through everything and got into the car... When I arrived at the location, I realized that I forgot my camera bags -- two of them, carefully packed and put by the doorway last night.

Wow, can you imagine that?  For a few seconds, I really didn't know what to do -- Do I go home to get the camera bags?  Do I even have time to come back to catch the first light??  Should I just forget about the whole thing???  

What should I do???  Wait, didn't I just learn to accept imperfection?  With that, I pulled out my iPhone and snapped 1 shot -- just to record the first sunlight shining through the fall leaves. 

Not perfect, but it captures the sentiment... 

Hoffman Estates, IL

October 24, 2020

Sound of Autumn (2)

Knowing how precious, fragile, and unpredictable lives are, what I've learned over the past 6 months is to accept imperfection -- it's okay to take a trip without producing perfect photos; it's okay to take a photo without perfect lights; it's okay to frame an image without the leaves perfectly lined up...

Life is actually perfect when you allow yourself to step outside of your own world and be able to enjoy it thoroughly -- in whatever shape or form.

Door County, WI

October 10, 2020

14 hours covering 612 miles

 

Sound of Autumn

Have you ever let yourself step outside of your world, blend into the colorful falling leaves, close your eyes, and just listen to the sound of autumn?  I did, yesterday, and it was an amazing experience...

Door County, WI

October 10, 2020

 

32 years ago...

Today was the 32-year anniversary of me being in this country.  I found the 2 diary entries I made right before I left Beijing and right after I arrived in Chicago -- pretty incredible how we dared to drop everything and just came to a strange place...

1988.9.13（二）

 

到了最后的时刻，也许这是我在中国的最后一篇日记了。

几经周折和苦难，终于要出国了，这对我到底意味着什么呢？要走了，离开这温暖的家，离开妈妈，这对我到底意味着什么呢？

明天下午上火车，15日到上海，19日从香港飞美国。这期间的艰难旅途无人知晓…

这本日记到这里就结束了。留给我的后代，但这对他们又会意味着什么呢？

别了，旧日的生活；

别了，养育我的家；

别了，妈妈…

创业艰难！

 

1988.9.21 （三）

一切梦想都成了现实，

在这现实之中，

生活竟好似梦幻一般。

9月19日下午4点到芝加哥，我像仍在飞机上漂然，完全在梦中了。无意中踏上了梦寐以求的土地... 这是新生活的开始。尽管我根本不知新生活会给我带来什么，但我深深地意识到，这种新生活对我整个一生的影响都是无法估量的！

Venturing Out (3)

It feels like Fall now, especially early in the morning.  There is this crisp, fresh coolness in the air that wakes you up, especially when you're out in the middle of nowhere... 

After 2 hours and 113 miles, we arrived at a vineyard in Michigan.  The old couple greeted me with warm smiles and directed me to the location of 2 specific types grapes I was interested in: Concord and Jupiter. It was a sunny, beautiful day with mild winds spreading the sweet smell of the concord.  It reminded me of my childhood days when concord grapes were our family favorites.  Little Jupiter grapes were not only tasty, but also beautiful -- hanging there waiting for you to envy them and love them back. At that moment, the world returned back to normal.  The sun was still shining, the wind was still waving, the gentle sweetness in the air was still enticing... The grape-picking experience was calm, pleasant and relaxing -- you'd take your time, pick your favorite bunch of grapes and let your mind wondering freely... 

Why is this not heaven on earth???

Vineyard, Michigan

September 18, 2020

 

 

Venturing Out (2)

Not sure if I'm going to document every small, insignificant trip I make during the 2020 pandemic... I might, simply because they have become such rare events now.

This is the second time since mid March that I ventured out beyond grocery shopping.  Made a little kayak trip today, and I am so proud to have driven 84 miles for the day!!  Many of my friends asked me how I'd adjusted the significant change in my lifestyle -- staying home for months without any personal or business travel.  Strangely, I really didn't feel that the change required any efforts. I love it, and I am totally at peace to stay home all day, every day!  Maybe this is how the world should be -- human beings probably don't really need to fly around and "appear" to be so busy. 

Again, I really, truly appreciate the opportunity over the past 5 months to slow down and settle down.  To have the time and interest to ask myself a few simple questions and allow myself to reflect every day on what's really important in life... When you think about it, do we really need to rush through life -- like how we've done over the past many years????

Live the life you love, love the life you live!

Lake Barrington, IL

August 23, 2020

The Precious 10%

It's been 5 months during which many people's lives have been turned upside down. I feel so sorry for those who lost their family and friends, or even those who were infected.  I tried to take my responsibility by staying home as much as possible and wearing masks when going out...

Other than that, having a big chunk of time to stay home is a blessing. It forces us to slow down, to listen to ourselves and to be truly productive.  For me, the most significant accomplishment was to finish digitizing and processing our family photos.  From more than 9,000 photos (1988 to 2004), I selected about 850 pictures, less than 10% of the total, to process and keep. The rest? Letting Go!!  I've already thrown away 11 huge albums (from the attached piles).  More actions to come.

I have a hard time to understand why we took so many family pictures, especially for Michelle.  Thanks to the technology, all photos after 2004 were digital.  When you think about it, is it true that we only need 10% of the STUFF that we've accumulated over the years? Is it true that less is more?? Is it true that we often cherish the precious 10%??? Going forward, simplicity and minimalism will be the guiding principles for life.