A Moment In Time

A Moment In Time

Many years ago, we had a chance to see our “past”, “present”
and “future” in Golden Gate Park.


Dahlia Garden, Golden Gate Park

We were taking an early morning walk in the Golden Gate Park on a
weekday in the Fall. We came cross the Dahlia Dell, which is tucked
below the Conservatory of Flowers. It is a garden laboratory of
prize winning dahlias of every possible variety. The dahlias were in
full bloom and in an array of diverse colors. After strolling around for
a while, we found a vacant bench and we sat down there continuing
to enjoy this beautiful Dahlia Garden.

While turning my head to the right side, I saw an old couple in their
mid 70's, sitting on the bench next to ours. Together they
concentrated working on their crossword puzzles. I also noticed
another couple, likely in their 80's to 90's, quietly resting on the
other bench to the left. The man was holding a bag of French fries
and putting a single fry one by one into the woman's mouth. I was
very impressed and touched by all of these scenes.

With these images still in my mind, I saw a young couple in their early
20's standing by those beautiful dahlia flowers directly in front of us.
The boy was holding a camera and kept changing his position while
making hand gestures to the girl, obviously trying to seize the best
photo opportunity.

I then switched my attention to my wife and stared at her for a while.
Then I said to her: “Today, I see our future, our past and our present!.”

While the past is long gone and the future has yet to come, I see my
present as being the most precious moment I can ever feel. I shall
live totally in the present and enjoy each and every moment of it.


Yeh Tze

蕭蕭雙耳聽"桉"風

蕭蕭雙耳聽"桉"風

The wind, in and of itself, is not really that interesting, merely air in
natural motion moving across the earth surface. However, the
ancient Chinese scholars or poets had found it to be pleasant and
enjoyable, especially the wind in the pines. They called it 松風, or
松濤.

They either heard "閣上風來松有聲", or "耳聽松風眼看泉". They
"蕭蕭雙耳聽松風", "聽徹松風晝夜聲" and described the wind in the
pines as "萬松青一色，濃濤喧大壑" , and even "枕中雲氣千峰近，
床底松聲萬壑哀".(北宋曾公亮, 夜宿江蘇甘露寺, 斗室睡臥中.)

This morning, we experienced a different kind of “tree wind”,
that is "桉風", the Eucalyptus wind. (桉樹, Eucalyptus, 又名尤加利樹)



We went on our weekly “gentle” hiking in the nearby Westwood Hills
just after dawn today. It was a windy morning in the Valley. While we
were strolling through the "Eucalyptus Canyon", we heard the roaring,
rustling and occasional creaking sounds coming down from the top of
the grove. Their trunks swayed back and forth, and periodically
struck each other making a unique crispy percussion sound, or the
sound of “tree knocking” (wood knocking).

This was a wonderful scene from nature and an example of nature’s
symphony.


Yeh Tze

Stop and Smell the Roses

Stop and Smell the Roses A few years ago, one of my wife's best friends, WDL, whom she had known since her youth, came from Taiwan and visited us in the Valley. It was spring time. We took her to see the Bay Area. While strolling in the Golden Gate Park, we came to the Rose Garden, where she stopped and started to smell the roses one by one. As she did this, she had a pleasant smile on her face. Upon seeing this beautiful action, my wife and I both realized the genius of her encounter with nature. It allowed her to take time, slow down and appreciate the beauty and scents of nature, which is a wonderful and mindful experience that most of us do not take the time to do in our busy lives. Inspired by her, we did the same thing and it turned out to be an extremely unique experience for us! It was a helpful reminder from her that we needed to slow down, relax, and experience the beauty and essence of nature. Rose Garden, Golden Gate Park "Stop and Smell the Roses" by Mac Davis (1974): Hey Mister, where you going in such a hurry Don't you think it's time you realized There's a whole lot more to life than work and worry All the sweetest things in life are free And they're right before your eyes You've got to stop and smell the roses You've got to count your many blessings everyday You're gonna find your way to heaven is a rough and rocky road If you don't stop and smell the roses along the way ............................................ ............................................ You've got to stop and smell the roses ............................................. Yeh Tze