2016年4月15日星期五

Making Connection

I don’t like walking the beach but the seafront;

I can’t swim but take pleasure in soaking my feet in the waves;

I ‘m not interested in sea cruises but enjoy watching the churning white water at the tail of a sailing ship.

Why? That must be to do with my genes passing down from my ancestral origin. I believe the sea is where we came from and so did other living creatures. It is the beginning and possibly the final destination. Having such a belief, I am amazed why I never succeed in learning to swim. As a consolation, I do acquire the skills to dive, just deep sea diving without surfacing though.

On the third day afternoon of this Lunar New Year, I took the liberty to have a lazy stroll along the nearby seafront, to break away from the daily demands of living. It was still unusually cold but I made the correct decision as there were few people as crazy as I were and most of the businesses were still closed.

The wind was brisk and piercing; the sky was dull and gloomy. In return, I was welcomed by a free choral concert by the sea gulls together with a display of flickering green and blue colours from the jittering sea. I felt connected somehow. Connection and finding it, I believe, was the original reason I was there then.


Well, that particular connection didn’t last too long. The grey palette changed into a colourful and gigantic exhibition of objects and installations, each telling a great story of mankind and how their makers are connecting with the sea.


I feel let down whenever I look at these pictures taken on that cold grey afternoon.  I am sorry not because of the floating rubbish but why I would bother to take these images instead of the things I set off to. I am so disappointed how easily I can break the connection with the things I most yearn for and lose focus on what is already in my hands. A scar on the face of a beauty always gets the most attention, not the fine curve of her cheeks, the suppleness of her lips or the silkiness of her skin. That should explain the unconscious battle I lost while taking those pictures. In a way they represent how usually we connect with the sea - our origin and future destination. We eagerly take what we are given of from her. In return, we prize her with what we once desired most and what we are most apt to produce but without asking if they are wanted. I am ashamed that I even found beauties in some of these pictures. How pathetic!


Many a time, being disoriented in the flow of time, I still long for reconnecting with the sea. There must be better ways to do so. Surely, walking the seafront and watching the white churning water are ways I can enjoy. Hope that I can hang on to it. How about yours?  

26 則留言:

  1. 假如當我一心想好好享受一下海灣景色、但見到的竟然是大堆浮游垃圾嘅話、就啥興致都消失矣!

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    1. 説得對!其實當天眺望遠方,雖然是大陰天,光影交錯景色真也不錯,但那漂移物件場面卻令我很意外和失望!祇怕夏天來時除了浮游垃圾外,更會香氣沖天!可惜!
      祝週末安好。

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  2. Gravel,你好, 我相信是期望越高失望就越大,若然將標準放低點,可觀性自然會高一點,你說是嗎?

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    1. 小猴,當天本沒有期望有甚麽多景色可享受,衹想吹吹風、散散心,尋找點點的寧靜。意外的是當見到那漂浮場面時心神卻被吸引過去,心中被一種强烈矛盾感覺蓋過而矣。
      祝週末安好。

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  3. 幸好我們這邊海灣算是清潔的。小時兩位姐姐也帶我去作水上活動,雖然我也不懂遊泳,但愛海的心情不減。

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    1. 秋葉阿姨,那你真幸運!能在清潔海灣散步真是一件樂事。可許正因為你愛海的心情,哪上天給就給你一處讓你開心地方。
      祝週末安好。

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    2. Gavel, 經歷過那多的環境變遷,終於遷到到這個好山好水的地方,上天倒也待我不薄了。
      願您也生活愉快,幸福安康!

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    3. 秋葉阿姨,我也祝願你毎天生活愉快,幸福滿溢!

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    4. Gravel, 這首似水流年很幽冷動聽。可是這篇的垃圾都擺放很久了,請問可以找些時間做另一篇新的網誌嗎?

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  4. Gravel!看到那一海垃圾真的很反胃,或許港灣以外的海邊會清潔得多,浪漫是需要對手也需要尋覓適當境地的......:)

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    1. 翔流,當天我倒沒有反胃,因為沒有吃午餐,真好彩!OK,下次我再帶埋一對手要浪漫時,邊處是適當地點?
      祝週末更享受浪漫!

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  5. 如坑溝般的海傍 , 嘔心!!

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    1. 除了嘔心外,還有可惜、失望和可鄰(那些飛鳥)!
      祝週末快樂!

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  6. '' A scar on the face of a beauty always gets the most attention, not the fine curve of her cheeks, the suppleness of her lips or the silkiness of her skin. '' ( That should explain the unconscious battle I lost while taking those pictures. ) In a way they represent how usually we connect with the sea -

    I don't want thinking about this ...

    OH, dear ..... Please let me Crying with the sea -

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    1. Josephine, Sorry that this writing upset you a bit. You don't have to cry with the sea but do spend more time with her and respect her with honor, just like what you were doing in your recent blog.
      Despite the way she has been treated, I think she still wants to converse with whoever gets close to her.
      Have a great week.

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  7. What a horrible scene! This is the ugliest combination of colors I have ever seen. Ask if they would allow their own backtyard be shrewd with rubbish, you would definitely hear a unanimous NO. We wallow in the sweetness of affluence but never stop for a moment to reflect on how much we owe Mother Nature for her generous bestowal but disgrace her with our ignorance, selfishness and ingratitude. If anything, human beings are the only living species that does not deserve a place in nature.

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    1. Yes, you are quite right. I was shocked by the scene on that afternoon. I thought it might be because of the lunar new year holiday and people were getting a bit wild and inconsiderate in their festive moods and so the drink's cartoons and plastic bottles could not find their ways to the litter bins. However, I went back two weeks later, the scene was as great, if not more magnificent, as the first day afternoon. What have we become?

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    2. Sorry for typo erro. "Shrewd" should be "strewn"

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  8. ykk is a strange guy. I read your photos from the end to top. In glancing the last picture, it is special, but afterward it floats a question on my mind, why the crane stand alone on the floating platform. When I continue to ready the other images respectively, I know the answer, that is the trash all around the sea! Grave, you did a good job, tells the really story of our sea.

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    1. Long time no see, ykk. Thank you for dropping by. Hope you are doing well.
      You are not a strange guy! I think you are a real good writer - reading the whole writing from last line back to the beginning, my appreciation to you. I felt quite sorry for the sea birds and the cranes.

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    1. What a shame! Have to learn mindfulness to ignore them - the floating colours!

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  10. The explanation you seek may perhaps be found in evolution: we originally came from the sea: Proof?
    Human blood has the same salinity as sea water.
    Human semen is just a little tadpole like fish ole which must swim to reach its destination.
    Babies retain the ability to swim in the sea, hold its breath underwat4er and switch off the use of its lungs until 6 month after birth.
    Why your attention was caught by the dirt and rubbish instead of the beauty you originally sought?
    Dirt signifies the risk of possible injury and damage to the healthy functioning of the human body. Beauty is the creamy topping of a healthy life. The evolutionary priority is survival before enjoyment. Hence the default setting of our psyche is "look for signs of danger and risk to life", not "look for things which may produce the optional extra" of esthetic enjoyment beautiful harmony in an otherwise chaotic world. No survival, nothing to be ecstatic about finding beauty!

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    1. El, what can I say...? You are a true philosophy scholar - turning my casual writing into an evolutionary analysis of my subconscious reaction to this unintended happening by the sea. For this I must say thank-you for your interest to read trough the passage. Just one thing - is survival and psychic fulfillment (I would like to expand esthetic enjoyment to psychic fulfillment if it is logically sensible.) always bound by such temporal sequence? I am not too sure above that.
      Hope you have a great week.

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  11. Hi, good evening Gravel ! Happy Birthday to one of my dear friends. Hope you have a day as wonderful as you !

    Did you always go out during the third day of Lunar New Year? I do remember your previous writing that the lovely monkey was dressed in grey on the same day in last year or the year before. And this time you enjoy walking the seafront.

    Please don’t mind the rubbish in the sea, the streets were littered with rubbish so don’t always let the rubbish or anything spoilt your mood. I like lying on the beach and watching the sky, star and listening the gently sound of waves lapping.

    I would like to share with you that I get full marks in my assignments. And I’m apologize for missing to reply your response.

    Have a nice day !

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    1. Thanks very much Joyce. You are really thoughtful and spent all the efforts to work out my real birthday.
      I learned that you are working very hard on your study. Full marks in assignments - a very rare thing in schools or universities these days. I hate to think that most people have a lot of chance to study but many seem just to buy a qualification. So a big Congratulations to you! You should be proud of yourself.

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Thanks for your sharing...