从图书馆借来一本书，《丰子恺谈名画》。喜欢他的文字，那种简单和洒透出的慈善。正如他的文字，他是一个多么简单又慈善的老人呀。Always like his words, and, what a simple and kind person he was! The first one he started with in the book, is Jean Fransois Millet(1814 - 1875).
"他心中非常难过。回到家里， 把身体躺在床上，他的眼中流出眼泪来了。"
"画中的人多么辛苦，多么善良，这样子使人人看了都要感动。"
The gleaners, the cultivators. How they moved me, since I once did exactly the same work when I was a kid.
My daughter is a born carnivore. And I become a carnivore too. We eat a lot of meat every day. Since it is hot in summer, we eat duck and pork. As winter sets in, we would turn to lamb and chicken. I love beef also, but can't always find prime quality at the local groceries and the nearby market.
Fortunately they sell good lamb in the market. Fresh sheep carcasses hanging neatly from wrought iron hooks, strong and pleasant aroma of raw lamb full of the whole space. Here sheep are raised on grassland, not on industry farms, so the meat is natural and very delicious.
I usually buy the whole rack of a sheep at a time, or a whole leg plus sirloin, because they don't sell in smaller cuts. The old man wearing a white cap cuts out what you want with a sharp knife. If he is not busy, he would remove the fat and lymph glands so that I can prepare more easily at home. But there are still many work left for me to do in the kitchen.
I feel like in some way, I am growing together with her.
我是一个小小的孩子
在大地的怀抱里成长
当满天的星星眨起眼睛的时候
我把脸颊贴在大地温暖的胸膛
天籁之声围绕我的梦境
露水打湿我的睫毛
当清晨的阳光抚摸我的头发
我感到凉凉的空气里
满满的爱的气息
当我赤脚在温润的土地上
自由奔跑的时候
风声如歌
我是大地的小小的孩子
(on Mother's Day)
"My life is very monotonous," the fox said. "I hunt chickens; men hunt me. All the chickens are just alike, and all the men are just alike. And, in consequence, I am a little bored. But if you tame me, it will be as if the sun came to shine on my life . I shall know the sound of a step that will be different from all the others. Other steps send me hurrying back underneath the ground. Yours will call me, like music, out of my burrow. And then look: you see the grain-fields down yonder? I do not eat bread. Wheat is of no use to me. The wheat fields have nothing to say to me. And that is sad. But you have hair that is the colour of gold. Think how wonderful that will be when you have tamed me! The grain, which is also golden, will bring me back the thought of you. And I shall love to listen to the wind in the wheat…"
The fox gazed at the little prince, for a long time.
"Please – tame me! " he said.
…
So the little prince tamed the fox. And when the hour of his departure drew near –
"Ah, " said the fox, "I shall cry. "
…
"Then it has done you no good at all! "
"It has done me good," said the fox, “because of the colour of the wheat fields."
I read the book Democracy in America, by Alexis de Tocqueville(1805--1859).It is online.
It's interesting compared with what is going on here. As I read it, what attracts me is how people think and act. I pay attention to the spirits and views of ordinary people, rather than political events. I like to see the world through ordinary things. This book provides an angle and some examples.
I realized long time ago that democracy is not just about a regime or social system. Democracy is the attitude of people. It is how we see the world and ourselves. It is self-respect and respect for others. Democracy resides in our own heart, and guides our behavors.
Equality is at the core. Just like the author writes, "equality of condition is the fundamental fact from which all others seem to be derived...".
Sadly, most people in our society haven't realized the value of equality. They think of themselves as being either superior or inferior. It is totally the outcome of being misguided.
Things are changing rapidly here, along a different track, or more precisely no track at all. No one can tell what will happen next. I guess if one day we finally obtain the dream of democracy, most likely it is very different from that of other countries. We have so heavy burdens on our back, from the past thousands of years.
Today is the winter solstice, the shortest sunlit day of the year. This day, in the northern hemisphere, we are tilted farthest away from the sun.
We celebrated the winter solstice when I lived in the countryside years ago. We would make an ear-shaped food on this day, to wish we go through winter safely and well. According to folklore, eating it would keep our ears from freezing. We know that, as the coldness accumulates, the coldest time of the year is coming. But, days begin to lengthen, and warmth is just ahead.
