An Inspiration from a Peacock Video:
Recently, I watched Yang Liping's peacock dance and was completely amazed! It was so powerful! Everyone said that they thought it was a real peacock 🦚 performing!
After being so deeply impressed, I couldn't help being moved by her dedication to art.
She was born for the peacock dance.
She chose a unique path in life - no marriage, no children, even removing her ribs, just to make every movement reach the ultimate stretch and beauty.
Over sixty years, she devoted all her efforts to the stage. Behind those breathtaking moments lies thousands of scars and the lifelong persistence in solitude.
Not only is it the pinnacle of art, but also this "doing one thing for a lifetime and doing it to the extreme" purity of life.
In an era that seeks speed in everything, this almost obsessive focus is like a mirror, reflecting the floating and wandering in our hearts.
The Struggles of Ordinary People: Why Can't We Find or Hold On to What We Want?
Yang Liping was fortunate. She found her true love early in life-becoming a dancer . For many others, their daily lives are like this:
- Searching in vain: Like groping in the fog, they never touch the career that can stir their souls throughout their lives.
- Achieving but not maintaining: Perhaps they once touched their passion, but under the pressure of reality, doubts from the outside world, and self-doubt, they gradually let go.
Thus, life often gets stuck in a sense of powerlessness where "we want everything, but we are like lost flies, stumbling around aimlessly".
What we might lack is not opportunities, but that "craftsmanship spirit" - the deep patience of devoting all the energy of one's life to a single point.
Han Hong's kind of perseverance: Following one's own path amidst the hustle and bustle
If Yang Liping represents the vertical depth of "finding true love and achieving perfection", then Han Hong demonstrates another kind of horizontal strength of persistence.
Han Hong is a singer. She grew up with her grandmother and faced many hardships before finally achieving fame.
For over two decades, she has been engaged in charity work, receiving both praise and criticism.
She has been hailed as a hero but also accused of being a fraud.
In the face of overwhelming public opinion, she often chooses to remain silent and merely bows her head to do what she believes is right.
"Doing a good deed is easy, but the hard part is to keep doing good deeds throughout one's life."
She demonstrated to us through her actions that the essence of persistence often lies in enduring loneliness, ignoring distractions, and using actions rather than words to defend oneself.
In the end, what remains is not necessarily the most intelligent person, but definitely the most "stubborn" one.
The Awakening of Consciousness: Starting Points Differ, but the End is Determined by "Understanding"
We cannot choose our starting point.
My English teacher once told us: His childhood was spent sitting on his grandfather's lap, growing up in an environment where he attended board meetings with his grandfather.
While I, in my thirties, still felt nervous when signing a lease contract.
Yes, some people start with good cards in their hands, while others have to forge ahead in the dark.
But the race of life is a marathon, not a sprint.
What determines the ultimate height is often not the position of the starting line, but when the awareness awakens.
"Late-blooming flowers are still fragrant.
The one who reaches the end is not necessarily the one who started the fastest."
The important thing is, from the moment you recognize the direction and decide to run for yourself, the real race has just begun.
On the road: To persist in oneself is already the meaning
Perhaps throughout our entire lives, we may never become someone like Yang Liping, a "genius" who has reached the pinnacle in a certain field.
But this does not prevent us from becoming "perseverers" in our own lives.
The true meaning lies in:
- Have you been constantly seeking the thing that can ignite you?
- When you finally find it (or even if it's just a suspected discovery), are you willing to devote yourself to it and stick to it, even if it means taking just a little longer journey?
- Can you cultivate a focused mindset in your daily life, and do your best to achieve the utmost perfection in the present matter?
The state of "on the way" itself is the most sincere tribute to life. It means that you haven't become numb, still have desires, and are still growing.
Find your own rhythm: Reconcile with yourself
The pace of life varies from person to person.
Some achieve success in their youth, while others achieve great things later in life; some climb straight up, while others take a winding path.
What matters is not to follow the pace of others, but to find your own rhythm.
Focus on your small daily improvements, celebrate each breakthrough in your understanding, even if it comes later than others.
The detours we have taken, the holes we have fallen into, and the pains we have endured are not in vain.
They are like sharpening stones, gradually eroding our shallowness and impetuosity, allowing true wisdom to gradually emerge.
Conclusion: It's never too late to start
No matter which stage of life you are in now, or what your starting point is, the moment of awakening of consciousness is the beginning of your true life.
Find the career that you are willing to devote your entire life to.
Treat it like Yang Liping did with dance and Han Hong did with charity, and polish it with the spirit of a craftsman.
Don't compare, don't be anxious. Follow your own rhythm, clearly understand, and continuously surpass.
This, perhaps, is the most simple and profound meaning of life.