Slow life
Insights from foot injury
On the second day of the Lunar New Year, the weather was extremely sunny. The sunshine was like a thin layer of golden gauze, covering the streets and pedestrians, bringing with it the unique warmth of the New Year. As usual, I wanted to walk out of the house briskly, but unexpectedly, the bruise on my right foot was still aching. This made me deeply realize that being able to “walk as fast as flying” is actually a very happy thing. This realization may come from taking a slower pace despite the pain, or maybe because a few days of recuperation gave me the opportunity to calm down and appreciate the details around me.
During the Chinese New Year, many people are busy paying New Year greetings, having dinner parties or traveling. I also want to take advantage of the sunny weather to go out and feel the long-lost outdoor sunshine. However, you have to be careful every step you take. Movements that I had never cared about now reminded me of the preciousness of health. Over the past few days, my seemingly inconvenient mobility has given me another kind of freedom: I have begun to observe life in slow motion, spent more time listening to my inner voice, and even gained a little more inspiration to pick up the pen again and write something.
So, between this warm sunshine and some inconvenient footsteps, I gained a new understanding. Perhaps, life does not require such spectacular achievements. As long as we can truly feel a few small blessings, we can obtain the endless warmth in the ordinary.
The sun was quite bright on the second day of the Lunar New Year. The light outside the window penetrated the glass and spilled into the room, as if inviting me to go out and bask in the warm sunshine. I knew my steps were not as brisk as before, but I still wanted to get close to the soft sunshine, so I put on my coat and walked outside step by step. Due to my unhealed foot injury, I walked a little slowly along the way, but it was this slowness that gave me the opportunity to notice the overlooked details in life: a few shops on the roadside opened their doors early to welcome customers, and the doorways were filled with flowers and fruits; the red Spring Festival couplets in the alleys were swaying in the light wind; and the sound of motorcycles and bursts of laughter coming from the distance, all revealed the joy of the New Year.
In this slow pace, I seem to see my mentality slowing down. The streets, corners and buildings that I walked through in a hurry now have a gentler flavor. So, I no longer complained that I couldn’t walk fast, but I was grateful that I could walk steadily. Even a small step is solid and meaningful.
Inspiration for watching dramas and creating
I have been recuperating at home these past few days, and naturally I have watched a lot of Japanese and Korean dramas. One after another, the plots are fascinating, and the characters’ personalities and fates are unfolding on the screen one by one. Modern people rely more and more on audio-visual entertainment, and mobile phones, tablets, and laptops have become part of life; but while watching TV dramas, I once again felt the unique attraction of the world of words.
So, imaginations of various characters and scenes kept flashing through my mind, and I started thinking: What would it look like if these plots were adapted into novels? If I want to create a unique story, where do I start? These questions are like small flames, burning my long-dormant creative impulse. To a certain extent, words can touch people’s hearts more, because they require readers to imagine and fill in the blanks. Those unfinished words can actually inspire richer associations.
Discuss text analysis with school girls
In addition to watching dramas, I also started reading some books today. In the evening, a girl from my doctoral class asked me about text analysis, so we had a rather in-depth discussion. She wanted to know how to choose suitable texts, how to classify and summarize them, and how to establish the focus of research. For me, this is both a review and a good opportunity to re-examine myself.
In this process, I deeply realized:
- The source of the text does not have to be limited to a specific media or platform. As long as it echoes the purpose of the research, it is worthy of consideration.
- The setting of the research question must be clear so that we can find accurate and useful data in the vast sea of information.
Just like the seemingly simple text analysis method, it actually contains multiple steps: data collection, screening, comparison, induction, and finally echoing the research goals. Many people think that text is a book or newspaper. In fact, modern social media, blogs, video subtitles, and even personal online speeches can all be part of text. The key is, do we know what we are looking for? And what conclusion do you want to present?
While everyone was celebrating the New Year, the two of us were discussing our papers across the screen. I think this is a very new experience for me and my schoolmates! I hope that through this exchange, I can give her some guidance, and I will also take this opportunity to review the basic principles of research methods and further confirm the importance of research methods in writing papers.
In addition to discussing homework, today I am also busy writing a new lesson plan to send to students who purchased my correspondence course before. Writing lesson plans is a tedious and fulfilling task, especially when it actually helps others, I feel a sense of relief.
In the past, some people often regarded teaching as a one-way output: teachers giving lectures and students listening. However, as I continued to accumulate experience in teaching and corporate training, I discovered that teaching is actually a part of learning. When I try to break down a complex concept to make it easier to understand, or use examples to help students get started quickly, I have to first make sure that I have mastered all the key points. In this process, I am actually constantly consolidating my knowledge base.
When writing lesson plans, I also review the cases and theories I have collected before, and then adjust them according to the needs of different students. Some people may pay more attention to practical operations, while others may be more interested in theoretical context; some want to obtain results faster, while others pay attention to the stability of the foundation. Meeting so many needs does not happen overnight, but every time I deliver teaching results, it seems to give me an opportunity to confirm my efforts: “Look, these are the culmination of my many years of experience. I hope I can pass them on to more people in need.”
Inspiration from information collection techniques
When it comes to transferring knowledge, books are naturally an excellent medium. This morning I unexpectedly found three good books that I had long forgotten in the bookcase. They were like little treasures buried in my memory. I was a bit surprised. I want to take advantage of the Chinese New Year to review it. One of the books is “[Japanese Top Knowledge YouTuber Information Compilation Technique: Collect X Interpretation )》. Although the title of the book is very straightforward, some of the methods and key steps mentioned in the book are very practical.
The author Yukihisa Oikawa particularly emphasized that in an era of excess information, how we select, interpret and express effectively is the key to standing out. Many people are afraid of “finding the wrong information” or “inefficiency”, which leads to a waste of precious time, and ultimately they are overwhelmed by a massive amount of information. To solve this problem, Yukihisa Oikawa offers several practical principles:
- Before collecting information, set a clear purpose: the clearer the purpose, the faster and more accurate the information screening will be.
- Make good use of imagination and concentration: Before starting the search, imagine the results or conclusions you want to achieve. This can help us judge the appropriateness of the information more quickly.
- Rumination and induction in the mind: Information is not just read, but requires precipitation and reflection. Only through repeated thinking can the information be truly internalized and become one’s own knowledge.
Next, there are corresponding steps for interpreting information:
- Try to confirm whether it is first-hand information. The earlier and more original information is usually more credible and less likely to be “misrepresented”.
- If there is no way to find first-hand information, it is recommended to cross-reference with at least three different sources or media.
- Build your own electronic library or database to avoid finding information from scratch every time.
- Come up with a hypothesis or theme first, and then let the collected data “automatically queue up” instead of being piled up randomly.
Finally, when presenting information, you must also pay attention to the principles of “first seven minutes” and “40 key words”, because modern people’s attention span is very limited, and the most critical information must be delivered in the shortest time. After reading these contents, I couldn’t help but think that when making presentations or articles, I often cram in too much information in pursuit of “richness”, which leads to unclear key points. I think these suggestions from Yukihisa Oikawa can help me output ideas more efficiently in future teaching or creation.
The rewards of slowing down
This injury taught me a lot. Some may ask: Is an accidental fall worthy of such a big deal? In my opinion, this fall is not only a physical bruise, but also a precious reminder - “Slow down to see the scenery that you have ignored in the past.” I used to live in a hurry, busy writing manuscripts, teaching, and various tasks in life; a foot injury forced me to slow down during this period, but I unexpectedly gained different levels of gains.
- Reconnect with myself: After spending more time alone with myself, I discovered that many thoughts and dreams that had been suppressed or forgotten were quietly waiting for my attention. *Reorganize professional knowledge: By answering the students’ questions, I once again examined my academic research foundation and methods.
- Strengthen creative impulse: Those scenes inspired by the plots of Japanese dramas seem to have planted seeds in my heart, waiting to sprout.
At the same time, I also realized that health really cannot tolerate any slacking off. Just a slight mistake will affect many aspects of life; however, it is precisely because of this painful reminder that we will stop busy and feel the tranquility and warmth that should belong to us.
During this holiday break, I think about the care I received and the little things I learned. I want to turn these feelings into a warm current that will continue to flow into my future daily life. Falling or being injured is not terrible. What is terrible is that we do not reflect on it, or we are still as exhausted as usual after recovery, forgetting the benefits of slowing down.
“Walking as fast as flying” is of course great, but occasionally “walking slowly” can also allow us to see too many precious moments that have been ignored. As long as you are grateful and willing to explore, there are beautiful things worth recording everywhere in your life.
As the Japanese intellectual YouTuber Oikawa Yukihisa emphasized - “collection, interpretation, expression” is a cyclical knowledge chain. When we continue to absorb information without rigorous interpretation and examination, the knowledge is only a superficial taste; if we do not know how to express it clearly and powerfully, no matter how much knowledge we have, it will be difficult to transform it into substantial value. Similarly, if we are just busy but do not know how to ruminate on experiences in timely “rest” and “empty space”, creativity will gradually wither in the busyness.
I hope this article can bring you a little warmth, and I also hope that more people can see the “forgotten beauty” in life after “slowing down”. Whether from the perspective of research, teaching, or creation, curiosity and care for life and the environment are inseparable. Let us remember together: the real power is not necessarily the speed on the surface, but the soft but firm passion in the heart.
If health is the cornerstone for our body to move forward, then gratitude and creation are the driving force for the mind to keep moving forward. With this momentum, I will continue to walk in the new year, slowly and steadily, see more beautiful scenery, write more good stories, and cherish every kindness and warmth around me. On this road, I may encounter new challenges, but I firmly believe that as long as I maintain my love for learning and creation, I will be able to harvest my own light at every stage of my life.
Finally, I wish all friends who read this to experience life at their own pace in the new year, discover happiness, and gain full gratitude and joy. May we all find the rhythm that makes us shine, capture the shadow of happiness in every day, and continue to pass on these touches to more people.
