Spring Garden

I'm catching the spring fever. The above is a painting of peony flowers in full bloom, done by an unknown artist (at least, unknown to me!). In China, there is a true appreciation of such art, as can be seen in many homes and restaurants. As a tourist walking in a crowded street or eating in a restaurant, you may be approached by peddlars selling paintings.

How do you translate the untranslatable? This is the main problem for Chinese scholars and literature critics when they come across words or phrases that are just impossible to convert to English. This is especially so when trying to translate their aesthetic feelings on art and nature.

All art elements, including poetry and paintings, since the time of ancient China, are based on two aesthetic notions: the present mood and the scenery. The Chinese believed that any form of philosophy that is inhuman or antithetical to nature or natural human sentiment and inclination has gone astray. Similarly, a person who is detached and aloof is said to be wuch'ing or 'to have no heart'. Concerning scenery, it is closely related to human mood. For example, the artist feels the spirit of autumn coming when the there is a chill in the air and the leaves turn golden. Similarly, there is the spirit of early spring when the flowers are budding. It is said that nature, when seen through a painting or a story or even a reflective thought, is more beautiful than the reality itself.

This is the first part of a series where I will try to reveal the secrets of nature, in Chinese vocabulary, as related to the four seasons. I will carry this through, especially based on the book 'The Importance of Living - A Lyrical Philosophy' by the late Prof Lin Yutang.

Some of the beauty characteristics of spring are as follows:

brightness (ming): as in a bright moon or brightly dressed woman. This is different from clever, as we would like to say in English, like a bright student.

gorgeously beautiful (yen): as in peony flowers (see in the above painting). Don't they look dazzling and gorgeous to you?

vitality (ling): If you noticed their paintings, they are not tight or compact. A painting is said to have vitality or looks alive when there is abundant use of empty space.

graceful, delicate, slender (hsiu): Bamboo trees have this kind of delicate beauty. I am sure you have watched the movie Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. I liked it so much, I saw it several times. Not long ago, people used to make movies in China that way. I will always remember the part where the actors were springing from one bamboo tree to another and flying on rooftops. Now, that's delicate!

Forest Canopies

The world is indeed fragmented. Many souls are broken. If you read the daily news, it may get even more depressing. 10% of all my walk-in patients have some form of chronic anxiety or deep-seated depression. Throughout my postings, I try to present the positive aspects of life, and to put things in balance. The world is completely out of balance, out of sync with the flow of spirituality. We have to connect with the divine to be able to overcome the stress in our lives. I try to do this by engaging the right brain with images so that the left brain, which deals with logic and words can better understand what it already knew subconsciously. It's a bit difficult to understand my friend, but my main purpose, even as I am treating your ailment with medication, is to try to bring peace to your heart and soul, with my pen (my keyboard, to be exact) and brush. We can overcome all our adversity if we learn to bring into harmony the right and left brain thought processes. Frankly speaking, apart from divine intervention, this is one of the best ways to bring about this theme of balance in life.

That Icing on the Cake

About the painting

Yup, its another cold, cold scenery. Brrr! I felt like having to wear winter clothing while doing this. I just love to paint in the snow. Perhaps I should join the bakery one day!

Some advice on physical exercises

Do you feel you need a new resolution on dieting after indulging in some heavy meals during the recent long holidays? Do you go to a gym? Do you exercise at all? Some people tend to put on weight if they don't exercise or cut down on their food after 2 weeks.

Exercising everyday is like increasing your computer processor raw speed and power (think Intel Dual Core) - more stamina and your heart pumps better. Its like putting an upgrade to the memory RAM and video graphic card (better mental well being and mobility of joints). Just like the latest upgrade to Microsoft Vista is said to provide more stability, exercising will reduce your chances of getting a nervous breakdown.

(Note: I'm not promoting Vista operating system. I think Windows XP is quite reliable for now, unless you are an addict gamer! It may give you a headache as some programmes may not run on Vista)

However, the analogy stops here. We cannot upgrade our body mechanism like a computer system. We can only slow down the aging process. If we do not learn to live a healthy lifestyle, we will fall prey to a multitude of irreversible disease processes many years later (for some, it may be sooner than you think!). Diseases that can cause your immune system to go haywire, clog up coronary arteries, induce abnormal cell growth - these are just the tip of the iceberg.

I run about 2 km everyday except Saturdays and public holidays. It takes just a mere 20 minutes effort or after listening to 6 songs, if you like! No point splashing on a massage chair or radiofrequency slimming programme. Not only does it make you lazier, you are slowly believing the advertisers' mantra that tells you there is no need for physical workout. Although the massage chair is evolving to become 'better and better' with all sorts of accompanying gadgets, the user is being led to believe that the cocoon of virtual relaxation reality is their ultimate salvation to health. The best form of rest is still sleep, and deep sleep you only get through some form of exercise.

Nature has a check and balance system as regards to our health. We do not gain better health and vitality by immersing in things that are antithetical to natural process. If we do not allow ourselves to do physical things, nature will determine a payback time at the end of the day.

Life holds no certainty. We are like foam froth, riding upon an infinite ocean. However, we have to make sure to take care of our God-given bodies and not to abuse them further. We just need to keep them in optimum good shape by regular exercises. Nothing more, nothing less and nothing else will do.