Thursday, January 20, 2022

日落民谣

 

香港首富李嘉诚重病时日不多,并在床上写了“日落民谣”,他对很多事情都为时已晚感到遗憾。看来世间真正的平等是死亡,不管是首富还是贫民。此前李嘉诚迷信长寿药,注射一针几十万,也不能延续他的生命。

他今年92岁

多年来一直是首富

他是一个工作狂,著名的企业家

在2018年才宣布退休

退休后,他开始享受生活

现在,他有空闲时间,他写了本《日落巴拉德》,与所有人分享!

1、天定人生是个零,过方过圆都不行。从零开始走向零,顺其自然心态平。

2、晚年莫想富有余,来者糊涂走者迷。生前死后啥属你?应该醒悟莫骗己。

3、能知足,便常乐,晚年过的要快活。富莫喜,穷莫愁,顺其自然享自由。

4、莫强求,莫相争,人生如梦似烟云。天也空,地也空,人生渺茫在其中。

5、日也空,月也空,江水奔流永向东。田也空,房也空,不断更换主人翁。

6、爱也空,情也空,到头全进高烟囱。金也空,银也空,死后哪样握手中?

7、名也空,利也空,双眼一闭美梦终。胜也空,败也空,人生如戏梦一通。

8、官也空,权也空,无人一生坐朝中。富也空,穷也空,人生如此要想通。

9、春去夏来秋又冬,潮涨潮落永无终,看破红尘好心胸。家家有本难念经,莫把烦恼挂心中。

10、养儿育女是义务,尽力帮衬乐其中。儿孙自有儿孙福,莫让儿女困笼中。只要晚年身体好,一生活在幸福中。

11、朝到西,晚到东,世人如同采花蜂。采花酿蜜为谁甜,终生辛苦一场空。看得宽,想得通, 与世无争长寿翁。

12、远看医院像天堂,救人无数;近看医院像银行,敛财无数;走进医院是牢房,不如提前去预防!

13、健康是无形资产,保健是银行存款,疾病是贷款还款,大病会倾家荡产,莫把此言当调侃,待到真时悔已晚!

14、宁可站着自保健,绝不躺着被人骗!不养生就养医生,不保健就养医院!爱家人要爱自己,爱自己才是远见!

15、一辈子太短,别在金钱上心烦!家财万贯,也买不来太阳不落山。黄金万两,也换不来身体的康健。生死有命,富贵在天!命里有时终须有,命里无时莫强求!儿孙自有儿孙福,莫为儿孙作马牛!一辈子太短,要看轻看淡!功名利禄,不过是浮云一片;荣华富贵,不过是一时盛宴。眨眼之间青丝换白头,一切往事皆成云烟,何必时时放在心间,何必处处钻牛角尖!

送十个开心秘方

看开,想开,舍得,放下,退让,宽容,理解,放弃,甘心,善良。

………………李嘉诚的这文章写得非常好,值得一读


https://zh.m.wikipedia.org/zh-my/%E6%9D%8E%E5%98%89%E8%AA%A0


My Time Is Too Short

 “I counted my years and found that I have less time to live from here on than I have lived up to now. I feel like that child who won a packet of sweets: he ate the first with pleasure, but when he realized that there were few left, he began to enjoy them intensely.


I no longer have time for endless meetings which achieve nothing. I no longer have time to support the absurd people who haven't grown up.

My time is too short: I want the essence, my soul is in a hurry. I don't have many sweets in the package anymore. I want to live next to human people, very human, who know how to laugh at their mistakes and who are not inflated by their triumphs and who take on their responsibilities.

Thus, human dignity is defended and we move towards truth and honesty. It is the essential that makes life worth living. I want to surround myself with people who know how to touch hearts, people who have been taught by the hard blows of life to grow with gentle touches of the soul.

Yes, I'm in a hurry, I'm in a hurry to live with the intensity that only maturity can give. I don't intend to waste any of the leftover sweets.

I am sure they will be delicious, much more than what I have eaten so far. My goal is to reach the end satisfied and at peace with my loved ones and my conscience.

We have two lives and the second begins when you realize you only have one. "

-Mario de Andrade

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

God In Us

 

I LOVE THIS ANALOGY. 

- When GOD wanted to create fish, he spoke to the sea.

- When GOD wanted to create trees, he spoke to earth.

- But when GOD wanted to create man, he turned to HIMSELF.

- So GOD said: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. " *Note.


Note:

- If you take a fish out of the water, it will die; and when you remove a tree from the ground, it also dies.

- Likewise, when man disconnects himself from GOD, he dies.

- GOD* is our natural environment.  We were created to live in HIS presence.

- We must be connected to HIM because only with HIM does life exist.

- Let us remain connected with GOD.

- Let us remember that water without fish is still water, but fish without water is nothing.

- The soil without the tree is still soil, but the tree without the soil is nothing....

- God without man is still God, but man without GOD is nothing.

- If this message reaches you and you share it with others, that's called evangelization, but if you don't share it, it would be a waste.

Learn to Detach

 Profoundly well written, something for us to reflect upon. 

Quoting the last few lines,

" You can only sleep in one bed , live in one room . Any more of it merely for watching and playing "

So what is the takeaway ?

 Learn to detach .

A lady (85) is thinking of leaving Mumbai and shifting to a senior citizens colony near Pune. Her husband passed away many years ago. 

She educated and married her three daughters who are now US citizens. They have  two kids each who are now in High School/College. The lady travelled to US on her own many a times. She lived there for six months or more on six occasions when her daughters delivered babies.

The other day  she became emotional and disclosed her plan to settle for assisted living in 

an old age home here and that she had no intention to go back to US for some reasons. One  feels very sorry for her life in sun set years.


Please read the article below. The lady was feeling the same way as the author of the article. 


'Relocating to Nursing Home (in Western Countries, Retirement Homes are called Nursing Homes):*


This is an article on the internet that  has caused many to reflect over their own lives. The author is a retired writer, and she expressed emotion when she was about to go to a nursing home.


I'm going to a nursing home. 

I have to. 

When life gets to where you are no longer able to take care of yourself completely, your children are busy at work and have to take care of their children and have no time to take care of you, this seems to be the only way out.


The nursing home is in good condition, with clean single rooms equipped with simple and practical electrical appliances. All kinds of entertainment facilities are complete, the food is fairly delicious, the service is also very good. The environment is also very beautiful, but the price is not cheap.


My pension is poorly able to  support this. But I have my own house. If I sell it, then money is not a problem. I can spend it on retirement, and the rest will be left as an inheritance for my son. 


The son understands very well: "your money and your property should be enjoyed by you, don't worry about us." 

Now I have to consider preparing to go to a nursing home.


As the saying goes: Breaking a family is worth tens of thousands, which refers to many things. Boxes, bags, cabinets, and drawers are filled with all kinds of daily necessities: clothings for all weathers and beddings for all seasons.


I like to collect. I have collected a lot of stamps. I have also hundreds of purple clay tea pots. There are many small collections, and such small items as pendants of emerald and walnut amber, and two small yellow croakers. 

I am specially fond of books. The bookshelves on the wall are full.


There are also dozens of bottles of good foreign wine. There are full sets of household appliances; various cooking utensils, pots and pans, rice, oil, salt, noodles, floue,spices, various seasonings, in fact the kitchen is also full. There are also dozens and  dozens of photo albums..., looking at the house full of things, I'm worried!


The nursing home has only one room with a cabinet, a table, a bed, a sofa, a refrigerator, a washing machine, a TV, an induction cooker and a microwave oven -- all the things I will really need. 

There is no place to store the wealth that I have accumulated throughout my life.


At this moment, I suddenly feel that my so-called wealth is superfluous, and it doesn't belong to me. I just take a look at it, play with it, use it. It actually belongs to this world. The wealth that come in turns are just passing by. 

Whose palace is the Forbidden City? The Emperor thought it belonged to him, but today it belongs to the people and society.


You look at these, you play with these, you use these but you can't take them with you in death.


I really want to donate the things in my house, but I can’t get it done. To deal with it has now become a problem. Very few children and grandchildren can appreciate what I have collected. I can imagine what it will be like when my children and grandchildren face with these painstakingly accumulated treasures of mine: all the clothes and bedding will be thrown away; dozens of precious photos will be destroyed; books will be sold as scrap. Collections? If you are not interested, you will dispose of them. The mahogany furniture is not practical and will be sold at a low price.


Just like the end of the Red Mansion: only a piece of white left, so clean.


Facing with the mountain of clothes, I only picked a few favourites; I only kept a set of pots and pans for kitchen supplies, a few books that are worth reading; a handful of teapots for tea. 

Bring along my ID card, senior citizen certificate, health insurance card, household register, and of course a bank card. Enough!


It's all my belongings!  I'm gone. I bid farewell to my neighbours, I knelt down at the door and bowed three times and gave this home back to the world.


Yes! In life, you can only sleep in one bed, live in one room. Any more of it is merely for watching and playing!


Having lived a lifetime, people finally understand: we don’t really need much. Don’t be shackled by superfluous things to be happy!


It's ridiculous to compete for fame and fortune. Life is no more than a bed.


*For people over 60 years old, shouldn’t we think carefully about how to take the last journey in life? *

Let go of fantasies and baggage, and of those things that can't be eaten, worn, used.


Be healthy and be happy

*With Best Wishes


A GOOD POST WORTH READING

Monday, January 17, 2022

The Sky Gets Dark Slowly

 

Zhou Daxin’s latest novel, THE SKY GETS DARK SLOWLY, is a sensitive exploration of old age and the complex, hidden emotional worlds of the elderly in a rapidly ageing population. 👴🏼👵🏼

In it he writes, “…Many elderly speak as though they know everything, but of old age they are in fact as ignorant as children. Many elderly are in fact, completely unprepared for what they are to face when it comes to getting old and the road that lay ahead of them.😔😕

“In the time between a person turning 60 years old, as they begin to age, right until all the lights go out and the sky gets dark, there are some situations to keep in mind, so that you will be prepared for what is to come, and you will not panic.


ONE. The people by your side will only continue to grow smaller in number. People in your parents’ and grandmothers’ generation have largely all left, whilst many of your peers will increasingly find it harder to look after themselves, and the younger generations will all be busy with their own lives. Even your wife or husband may depart earlier than you, or that you would expect, and what might then come are days of emptiness. You will have to learn how to live alone, and to enjoy and embrace solitude.


TWO. Society will care less and less for you. No matter how glorious your previous career was or how famous you were, ageing will always transform you into a regular old man and old lady. The spotlight no longer shines on you, and you have to learn to contend with standing quietly in one corner, to appreciate the hubbub and views that come after you, and you must overcome the urge to be envious or grumble.


THREE. The road ahead will be rocky and full of precarity. Fractures, cardio-vascular blockages, brain atrophy, cancer…these are all possible guests that could pay you a visit any time, and you would not be able to turn them away. You will have to live with illness and ailments, to view them as friends, even; do not fantasize about stable, quiet days without any trouble in your body. Maintaining a positive mentality and getting appropriate, adequate exercise is your duty, and you have to encourage yourself to keep at it consistently. 


FOUR. Prepare for bed-bound life, a return to the infant state. Our mothers brought us into this world on a bed, and after a journey of twists and turns and a life of struggle, we return to our starting point – the bed –and to the state of having to be looked after by others. The only difference being, where we once had our mothers to care for us, when we prepare to leave, we may not have our kin to look after us. Even if we have kin, their care may  never be close to that of your mother’s; you will more likely than not, be cared for by nursing staff who bear zero relation to you, wearing smiles on their face all whilst carrying weariness and boredom in their hearts. Lay still and don’t be difficult; remember to be grateful.


FIVE. There will be many swindlers and scammers along the way. Many of them know that the elderly have lots of savings, and will endlessly be thinking of ways to cheat them of their money through scam phone calls, text messages, mail, food and, get-rich-quick schemes, or enlightenment… basically, all they want is to get all the money. Beware, and be careful, hold your money close to you. A fool and his money are soon parted, so spend your pennies wisely.

😌😑😏

Before the sky gets dark, the last stretches of life’s journey will gradually get dimmer and dimmer, naturally it will be harder to see the path ahead that you are treading towards, and it will be harder to keep going forward. As such, upon turning 60, it would do us all well to see life for what it is, to cherish what we have, to enjoy  life whilst we can, and to not take on society’s troubles or your children’s and grandchildren’s affairs for yourself. 

Stay humble, don’t act superior on account of your own age and talk down to others – this will hurt yourself as much as it will hurt others. As we get older, all the better should we be able to understand what respect is and what it counts for. In these later days of your lives, you have to understand what it means, to let go of your attachments, to mentally prepare yourself. The way of nature is the way of life; go with its flow, and live with equanimity.


For all of us, a nice read, very beautiful, very true!


Hardly the day started and … it is already six o’clock in the evening.

Barely arrived on Monday and it’s already Friday.

… and the month is almost over.

… and the year is almost up.

… and already 50 or 60 or 70 years of our lives have passed.


… and we realize that it is too late to go back…

So…Let’s try to take full advantage of the time we have left …

Let’s not stop looking for activities that we like…

Let’s put color in our grayness…

Let’s smile at the little things in life that put balm in our hearts.

And yet, we must continue to enjoy serenely the time that remains.


Let’s try to eliminate the ‘after’…

I do it after…

I will say after…

I will think about it after…

We leave everything for ‘later’ as if ‘after’ was ours.

Because what we do not understand is that:

after, the coffee cools…

after, priorities change…

after, the charm is broken…

after, health passes…

after, the children grow up…

after, the parents get older…

after, the promises are forgotten…

after, the day becomes the night…

after, life ends…

And all that ‘after’, we find it’s often too late…


So… leave nothing for ‘later’…

Because in always waiting for later, we can lose the best moments,

the best experiences,

the best friends,

the best family…

The day is today…The moment is now…

We are no longer at the age where we can afford to postpone until tomorrow what needs to be done right away.

So let’s see if you’ll have time to read this message and then share it.

Or maybe you’ll leave it for…’later’…

And you will not share it “ever’ ’’

Even share with those who are not yet ‘seniors’.

May you be well and happy…