I used to sit by the Han River at the end of the day, trying to subdue my fear about the uncertain future. There were many questions and no answer. The belief that answers will eventually be revealed was not at all comforting. Now that I have lived through what was my 'future' previously, my best advice to my former self: you do not need courage, you do not need to be a person of courage, all you need is to face your fear head on.
This is the third spring after pandemic started and probably the last. Korea is going to further relax its pandemic control measures from May 1. After being away for a long time, I do not feel I am familiar with the place anymore. It would be nice to say distance breeds fondness but reality is the opposite. The further apart the less you have attachment to anything until nostalgia bites.
Changdeokgung Palace many springs ago (2015):
During lockdown when almost all activities came to a stop, nature quickly reclaimed its rightful space. Grasses and weeds were allowed time to grow tall and flower. The surrounding became so much more pleasant when green patches were carpeted by full bloom inflorescences swaying in the wind. Then grass-cutting resumed and everything was efficiently trimmed down and orderliness faithfully restored. The opposite of order is not strictly chaos; it can be nature, culture or anything that blooms. Everything can flourish if allowed time and space to grow.
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| 파리 길에서 둘러보다가 봤던 큰 벽화 하나 |
There are things we do not know why we did it when we did it. Maybe we do know something but the answer may not be clear enough at that point in time to pin it down. I have taken many photos without much thought but many years later I realize I was capturing season in motion.
There is difference between pleasure and happiness. Pleasure requires 'stimulation' whereas happiness arises from 'ínhibition'. Less is definitely more. A city needs a wide open and quiet space for worn-out soul to recover and heal.
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| Yishun Dam |
"Do you have any regret?"
This one question sent me looking back at my life for an answer.
If I have regrets, I will have stories to tell but I am not telling.
'Regret' is an unnecessary burden. Whatever I have done and not done and the subsequent outcome of my actions are nothing more complicated than a result of my passage through life.
Life is not perfect but that does not mean we have to live with 'regrets'. No, I have no regret but I don't mind hearing yours.
Who doesn't like walking in a garden with beautiful blooms? 너Tube has abundant of videos which take viewers to some of the world most beautiful gardens. No background music, no narration and no cinematic editing, just plain walk-around videos. But seeing is never the same as feeling. There is always a need to establish an emotional connection to a place before we can say how we feel about it. Perhaps on one fine day when the flowers bloom, I can visit Keukenhof.
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| Moonlight Garden in the Garden of Morning Calm |
The sky has a beautiful blue hue when movement of people was restricted during lock-down. These days, the blue sky has taken on a grayish tone as human activities return. Sky is like a canvas, no subject looks nice without a beautiful canvas. The day of beautiful sky blue may return if all internal combustion vehicles are eventually replaced by electric one.
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| A medieval keep from a previous château in the front yard of Château de Chenonceau |
