Shells on the Beach

Greed, strong desire emotion, according to the Bible, is the original sin to human beings. And along with it, it is fear. With greed, we can not judge the situation objectively. We are blind by the temper. We ask for more, though this should not be blamed. The expectation is getting higher and higher to an extent we can no longer afford. And then the fear occurs in time. We fear to lose, to lose what we have already got.

We are making choices now and then in the daily life. While under the control of greed and fear, we lose the objectivity and prudence, which are inherent originally. The question is no longer as simple as the original. The depictions turn to be blurry and the answers are implicit. But we still have to choose, don’t we? On most occasions, we survive by fluke.

I believe in God, but I confess that I am not as devout as my granny. I remain my judgment and attitude toward the objectivity and existence. That’s why I appear to be cynical, stubborn, or bold. However, even now, I can still seek peace in praying. I confess to God, pray for help, support and wonder, and feel the power recurrence. Put the desire aside, and a thankful mind and clear soul remain. Then we are full and renascence.

You Raise Me Up -- Josh Groban

When I am down and, oh my soul, so weary;

When troubles come and my heart burdened be;

Then, I am still and wait here in the silence,

Until you come and sit awhile with me.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

There is no life - no life without its hunger;

Each restless heart beats so imperfectly;

But when you come and I am filled with wonder,

Sometimes, I think I glimpse eternity.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

You raise me up, so I can stand on mountains;

You raise me up, to walk on stormy seas;

I am strong, when I am on your shoulders;

You raise me up: To more than I can be.

“Dial M for Murder” is one of the best-known films directed by Hitchcock. Why we called him as the master of fine surprises? I think the reason is he focused on the anxiety which we give to the characters. Different from other directors, he would like to give the answers to us beforehand and we could just follow the clues and care about the fate of the characters. We are eager to know what will happen next with our own thinking or expectation.

“Dial M for Murder” depicts a perfect murder or assumed to be a perfect murder. Hitchcock convinced me at the first hand that the plot would work. But as the character said, the perfect murder just happened on the paper. When the murder was proceeding, some small suddenness happened, which change the murder to another direction. The character tried his best to fix it and almost reached his goal, but a tiny mistake ruined his scheme at last.

Apart from the movie, I found the distance between the reality and the imagination is huge. I like to fancy things. Due to seeing a lot of movies, I dreamed a lot of big movies like those famous director did, romantic, lovely, ethical, and even scary. I also prefer to plan beforehand but seldom was stuck to it. I planed some activity a week ago, but on Saturday I got an errand to do and on Sunday the participant got a headache, thus I had to forget the whole plan for good. Something trivial or unexpected broke the whole plan, not mentioning the hot weather or lack of time.

No matter how hard to plan, you have to adjust the plot according to the situation. Other than the novel, in which the plot is according to the author, the situation always changes in the real life. But sometimes we still feel the helplessness and frustration when facing those unexpected. After a long expectation and preparation and at last it doesn’t work, what will you feel?

Maybe that’s why we call the destination, the fate? Maybe that’s why we should pray for everything going on wheel? Maybe because we haven’t enough ability or just because of the bad luck? Well, one thing is for sure, that’s why we would like to enjoy our time in a good movie. And let's just face the reality...

After several busy days, it is very enjoyable to sit and watch some TVs during the holidays. Lie to Me is a quite good one. Sci-fi, criminal, deliberate plots, all make it interesting. Though it sometimes exaggerates and forms a hero like most American shows, the writer depicts a very good story to us, convincing. Each episode cites references like the thesis does. A calm wise man, Cal Lightman, is built, who is good at reading people and long con. I am thinking why he always wins? Apart from the plot setting like that, I think there are other reasons.

Every case is almost the same. He hides in the dark, telling who is lying by reading body language. Yes, hiding is important. You will feel unfair in that position, which you know nothing about him but he knows everything about you. This makes me recall my roommate’s comment. You should look like amiable, but a very strong heart, concealing your feelings. I don’t want to be cynical again. But it is a really safe way.

Treating friends or close people, you should be honest and sincere. But such friendship or relationship is hardly to achieve in the reality. White lies cover hurts. Truth may trigger the mine. I don’t believe a guy who always tells the truth is popular. Think it over. Why and on which condition we will tell lies? Why we find pretexts to cover lies or even claim that we are honest? What makes us not feel guilty?

It’s hard to conceal true feelings. Expressing our feelings to others is ok. Why do we do that? What are we expecting for? Will we feel insecure and frustrated after telling the truth? Or should we be more strong and sophisticated?

One thing is true, once get hurt we will recoil. And there are some lies we would rather to believe...

The mango theory reminds me of an article about giving gifts which I once argued. But this one is more extensive which can be applied to our daily life.

Supposing that you like to eat mango very much, then someone gives you a mango and then also gives you pears, apples, oranges, etc. You will be definitely delighted and think s/he is thoughtful and cares about you very much. But if s/he gives you a lot of fruit, pears, apples, oranges but merely lacks mangos. And the interesting part is meanwhile, there is someone else who just gives you a mango. What will you choose?

Well, let’s observe the same issue in this way. Supposing a pear has more benefits than a mango, which helps you remain health or else. Then someone gives you a pear instead of a mango and you realize his intention. What will you think then? When I notice the same situation can be explained in quite the opposite way, I swear with no sound.

And the timing is everything. When you are very full, someone still gives you a mango. Will you be overjoyed? Or, if someone gives you a mango which is distasteful, will you still think this action is nice?

To do a decent thing in order to make someone happy isn’t easy, I must say. There are a lot of factors mingling together: whether the thing you do s/he likes, whether the thing you accomplished has a good ending, whether the timing is correct when you are doing the thing...

But one thing is sure. When you don’t have a high expectation, and there is a mango in front of you, even if it’s tiny, you will be happy.

The application of  the mango theory is too complicated, because it all depends on subjective feelings. So, let’s just hope our credits others can realize.