A person's experience is limited; life is a continuous process of learning. However, as knowledge accumulates and experience settles, we begin to think within fixed patterns, view new things with rejection, use past experiences to deny new encounters, and cling to traditions instead of seeing the world, letting the springs of new knowledge flow away in vain.
To have faith is to be young; to be filled with doubt is to be old. To have confidence is to be young; to be filled with fear is to be old. To have hope is to be young; to be in despair is to be old. Time only etches your skin, but if you lose your passion, your soul will no longer be young.
When facing setbacks, it is essential to find someone to talk to. Even if you abstain from alcohol and tobacco, you must occasionally break that discipline. Relaxation is better than suppression; a healthy personality is a powerful weapon for facing the next challenge.
A clock can return to its starting point, but it is no longer yesterday.
Now, there is no longer you by my side to gaze deeply into my eyes or watch the rush of others. Standing by the lonely stone bench, watching countless yellow leaves fall, a sense of melancholy—like the end of a song—always rises in my heart.
I could have chosen any theme, could have painted my life as a completely different sketch or watercolor; my life could have had different encounters, if, on that July afternoon, as you walked quietly past the lotuses in the fresh rain, you had not looked back.
Those who know how to drink find feeling; those who know contentment find happiness; those who know how to let go find freedom; those who know how to cherish find bliss; and those who know how to care find friends.
