I always say that the only certainty in life is an uncertain life. For those of us who have just experienced 2020, perhaps we can better understand the meaning of this sentence. People can't step into the same river twice, but hope to find a relatively certain situation.
In linear time, every specific moment has a specific meaning. So it is also meaningful to review and summarize at the beginning of the new year.
Of course, all memories should not be a kind of painful self-pity, nor should they be a kind of narcissistic show-off, but let us look forward to the future and not go astray in the future life choices.
During the Spring Festival of 2020, I made many exciting plans for myself, including writing and reading. As a result, a sudden outbreak interrupted all plans. Like many people, I am full of fear, anger and complaints, and then I slowly began to think about why there are these negative emotions.
In fact, all this stems from the fact that I can't accept the uncertainty in my life. In the Internet age, we are too used to controlling our lives. As long as there is a mobile phone, WiFi and electricity, we feel that everything is under control. We hate all accidents that spoil the plan. Accidents make us fall into fear of the future, which is an unreasonable fear and makes all actions meaningless.
But many times, these accidents are actually a normal state of life. I gradually feel that instead of living in complaints, anger and accusations, it is better to do something within my power. After all, only by doing so can we fight against our inner fears and try our best to fight against the uncertainty of tomorrow.
We are really small as individuals, and no one can live on their own completely independently. We must accept our limitations before we can shake off our fears. During the epidemic, many students were trapped at home. I thought, maybe we can fight this fear by reading, so I organized a special reading activity and invited the school teachers to lead us to read. At that time, I wrote a paragraph on the official WeChat account:
In the past few days, maybe you are in fear and worry from time to time like me. We are worried about the spread of the epidemic, we weep and sigh for the people in the disaster area, and we are deeply moved by the heroic responsibility of medical staff.
We know we shouldn't panic, but there is a huge gap between knowing and doing.
However, mankind has never been far from the threat of various risks. In human history, plagues have occurred one after another, constantly reminding human beings of their own limitations. People are always afraid of things that they can't control. What people should fear most is fear itself.
Therefore, in the face of diseases, we should actively respond and do the necessary protection. The rest is to accept everything with a calm heart, and don't forget our daily things because of fear.
Maybe you are brushing Weibo WeChat every day, worrying about all kinds of information, but there is nothing you can do, and you are living in vain.
We invite you to study together and spend this special time together.
Montesquieu said: reading is the best way for me to dispel the unhappiness in my life. There is no distress that reading can't dispel.
Come, pick up a book, talk to the great human soul, transcend our daily troubles and limitations, and accept all the challenges in life calmly.
Therefore, we read four books in the special reading activities during the Spring Festival.
The first book is Haruki Murakami's Tokyo Qitan Collection. There are many seemingly accidental things in life, which are actually inevitable. Maybe there is no accident in life, only fate again and again.
The second book is Camus's Plague. Life seems absurd, but how to find the courage to live in an absurd world is an eternal topic.
The third book is Kong Feili's Soul. In a society lacking the protection of the rule of law, no matter where you live, you have no sense of security. Everyone is eager to share power and its leftovers, and it is inevitable that the bottom will hurt each other.
The fourth book is Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment. I wonder if this book can help you get out of the so-called progressive views such as superman philosophy, utilitarianism and nihilism, understand your inner darkness and understand the true meaning of life.
There are many frightening moments in human history. During World War II, the Dutch House Library in London, England, was bombed into ruins after being attacked by the German Air Force, with steel bars, cement and rubble everywhere. As a result, when the smoke was filled, three gentlemen were reading quietly in the ruins.
Harrison Fox Photo Co., Ltd., 1940. 10.23
In fact, in a sense, everyone will find that the more difficult it is, the more important it becomes to pursue spirituality. Only when you realize what you have to do now can you overcome the anxiety and fear caused by uncertainty.
2.
In 2020, I received an unexpected script and opened an account in Mile Mile, which was recognized and paid attention by more and more people.
When something comes, the initial feeling is that you are caught off guard, and then you will start to look for the meaning of this thing and bear the consequences it brings.
Plato tells us that every profession has its own unique pursuit. When you pursue the original intention of the profession itself, its incidental result may bring fame and fortune, but a person can't do something for fame and fortune, otherwise you will lose its proper meaning.
If a doctor with excellent medical skills regards fame and fortune as his only pursuit in life, he may end up as rich as an enemy, but his medical skills may stagnate and he will no longer be regarded as a good doctor.
I have always positioned myself as a teacher, and my greatest expectation in my career is to be called a good teacher, or a good legal person with greater and higher expectations. As a teacher, one of the challenges I face is teaching indiscriminately. I often reflect on myself. I was stupid when I was a child, but my teacher was willing to spend time teaching me. It is difficult to teach without class, but try to teach without class.
I often think, Socrates and Confucius, the greatest teachers of mankind, if they were alive today, would they open accounts and become owners?
People often hear me mention a man named epiktetos, who is a slave of Rome. Some people say that he was born lame, while others say that his leg was broken by slave owners. Epiktetos accepted his fate calmly, only did what he had to do, and eventually became one of the greatest teachers in the Roman Empire.
Epiktetos (ε π？ κτητο? ) picture
He once said: We should know what we can do in this life, and we can only do what we can. We are optimistic about what we cannot change; We should be cautious about what we can control.
In the past 2020, I found myself a celebrity. I was recognized at the airport and welcomed at the hotel. To tell the truth, this feeling is very strange, and there is an extreme vanity. I always think of a line in The Devil's Advocate: vanity is the devil's favorite original sin.
Vanity is definitely my favorite sin.
Whenever I am vain, I will also think of my grandfather's teaching, "You should feel inferior and don't be arrogant."
In fact, many outsiders seem to be proud of the spring breeze. Only they know the pain, and they can't tell others. Someone also asked me what the bad worry is in 2020. I said that bad things that can be said to outsiders are not called things. The real bad things will only be said to the tree hole and the closest people.
When this darkest hour came, all the applause, all the honors and all the glory became meaningless.
Only then will you feel small and helpless. You will feel that life is hard, and every day is like a year, but you still hope to have the strength to move on.
Therefore, I am grateful that there are always friends and relatives I can rely on when I am in pain. They can give me the strength to move on, so I also hope that I can help others like others when they are helpless and miserable.
Life is not easy. Only after experiencing darkness can we be grateful for everything in life. All ordinary happiness is truly great happiness.
In Leiyang dialect of Hunan Province, the pronunciation of "yesterday, today and tomorrow" is "bad day, difficult day and good day". I think this is the wisdom of the ancients. Today is difficult, but will tomorrow be better?
When we say that tomorrow will be better, we are only deceiving ourselves. Tomorrow may not be better, because for many people, if you pin your hopes on tomorrow, they will only be dashed again and again. Then you will move towards complete nihilism.
We have no ability to control tomorrow, we can only try our best to live today. The more people focus on tomorrow, the more they are afraid of tomorrow, so that they lose the confidence and motivation to live today well.
In Putonghua, the pronunciation of "Jin" and "Jing" is also very close, which reminds us that today is difficult, but today can also be wonderful. In linear time, eternal echoes can be heard every day. Live the present, do what you should do today, and do what you can.
In my career pursuit, being a competent teacher is enough. As a famous law teacher, it is really enough to really spread the concept of the rule of law and let the seeds of the rule of law really be buried in everyone's heart. Although there are many responsibilities in life, my biggest responsibility for my personal career is to be a qualified teacher.
I am still standing on the stage of popularizing the law, hoping to play this script well and pass this baton to those friends in Qian Qian who are absolutely willing to be the light of the rule of law.
Finally, happy new year. Students often hear me quote from Kung Fu Panda: "Yesterday has become history, tomorrow is still unknown, but today is a gift."
We all live in borrowed time, and every moment is a gift. Thank you very much for giving me such a precious gift in the past year, because our time is slipping to the end.
I hope we can all be honest with each moment,
Touch eternity with every chess piece,
Use every piece to do what you have to do,
Love the people around you with everyone,
Use each chess piece to convey warmth,
Especially in such a cold winter.
I wish you all a happy new year, smooth work and peace!
Thank you all.