12th Chinese story:《Tai Chi: Great Wisdom in Slow Movements》 Early in the morning, the child walks through the park with Grandpa.清晨，孩子和爷爷一起走过公园。 The air is fresh.空气很清新。 The trees are quiet.树也很安静。 Near a small lake, some people are moving slowly.在小湖边，有一些人正在慢慢地做动作。 Their arms rise and fall.他们的手臂慢慢抬起，又慢慢落下。 Their feet step lightly on the ground.他们的脚轻轻踏在地上。 The child watches for a while.孩子看了一会儿。 “Are they dancing?” he asks.他问：“他们是在跳舞吗？” Grandpa smiles.爷爷笑了。 “They are practicing Tai Chi.”“他们在练太极。” The child tilts his head.孩子歪了歪头。 “It is so slow. Can slow movements be powerful?”“动作这么慢，慢动作也会有力量吗？” Grandpa says, “Watch a little longer.”爷爷说：“你再看一会儿。” The child tries to copy the movement.孩子也学着做了一个动作。 He lifts his arms quickly.他很快地抬起手臂。 Then he turns too fast.接着，他转身转得太急。 His body begins to shake.身体一下子有点晃。 Grandpa gently holds his shoulder.爷爷轻轻扶住他的肩膀。 “Slow down,” Grandpa says.爷爷说：“慢一点。” The child feels a little embarrassed.孩子有点不好意思。 “I thought I could do it easily.”“我以为这个很简单。” Grandpa says, “Things that look easy may need a calm heart.”爷爷说：“看起来简单的事情，也许需要一颗安静的心。” The child tries again.孩子又试了一次。 This time, he moves more slowly.这一次，他动作慢了一些。 His feet feel the ground.他的脚感觉到了地面。 His hands feel the air.他的手也感觉到了空气。 He begins to understand that slow does not mean empty.他开始明白，慢，并不等于没有内容。 Grandpa points to the lake.爷爷指了指湖面。 A breeze moves across the water.一阵风从水面吹过。 The water is soft, but it can carry a boat.水很柔，可它能托起一条船。 The wind cannot be held in the hand, but it can move the branches.风不能被握在手里，却能吹动树枝。 Grandpa says, “Tai Chi teaches gentle strength.”爷爷说：“太极讲的是柔和的力量。” “Being gentle does not mean being weak.”“温和，并不表示软弱。” The child looks at the willow branches.孩子看着柳枝。 They bend in the wind.它们在风里弯下来。 But they do not break.可是它们没有断。 The child thinks about this.孩子认真想了想。 Maybe strength is not only about pushing hard.也许，力量不只是用力往前推。 Sometimes strength means knowing how to bend, wait, and stay steady.有时候，力量也意味着懂得弯一弯，等一等，稳一稳。 Grandpa teaches the child one simple movement.爷爷教孩子一个简单的动作。 Open the arms.手臂慢慢打开。

Did you know that "goodbye" is religious? 😯 *The Early Origins of Goodbye As far back as the 14th century, English speakers were saying “God be with you” when they parted ways. It took a little while for them to land on a suitable shortening of the phrase, but they got there by the mid-16th century. In 1575, per the Oxford English Dictionary, godbwye appeared in print for the first time, in a letter from English scholar Gabriel Harvey. “And then to requite your gallonde of godbwyes, I regive you a pottle of howedyes,” he wrote. In today’s English, Harvey’s poetic sentiment loosely translates to this one: “And then to reciprocate your gallon of goodbyes, I give you back a half-gallon of howdies.” (Howdy, by the way, has its roots in how do you do?) *How We Landed On Goodbye But the evolution of God be with you to godbwye and then to goodbye wasn’t linear—people seemingly spelled the expression however they wanted to. Examples include God be wy you, God buoye, good bwi’t’ye, good b’ w’ y, and so on. Shakespeare alone wrote it at least three different ways in three different plays. As for how God became good, it’s generally believed that people were influenced by all those other good phrases: Good day and goodnight had already been around since the 13th century. While God be with you remains a relatively common utterance in religious circles, goodbye—which started cropping up in the early 1700s—eventually supplanted it as a secular farewell. In other languages’ versions of goodbye, however, the religious connection is still crystal-clear. Both the French adieu and the Spanish adios literally translate to “to God.”

I’m in a camping place near Mt. Fuji. I come here 3 years straight! My favorite place!!

Mine is 🇫🇷 France