One of the joys of many about living in China is that we get two New Years a year; one Solar, one Lunar and that they are spaced just a few weeks apart. So if there was a false start to New Year plans and resolutions the first time around, come late January or mid- February there is a chance to refocus those end of year goals. I am not sure that that is quite how I have approached this New Year but with a few extra days at my disposal and a change of environment, with a quick trip to the Chinese capital, a period of reflection has been allowed. All is well. ps. Beijing’s not bad but Xi’an’s still the city for me, though a Bookworm, a 26 metre high sandalwood Buddha and a couple of trendy hutongs wouldn’t go amiss in Xi’an’s where to hang out, what to do landscape.
Now, with some relevance to the former point and maybe even to the latter, recent discussions with friends have on a couple of occasions orientated around how plans are made and/ or targets, short or long term, are set. Some noted the importance of setting unobtainable targets so the striving is ceaseless and one’s ambitions and achievements are accordingly forever stretched and challenged. Others discussed the clear need for focused aims and a clear set of sub-targets to help achieve those aims; targets that are clearly monitored and that do require a timescale attached to them.
Another perspective and the group or category I have generally fallen into, particularly as I have got older, patient and more reflective, simply orientates around having a sense of personal evolution and development. Which can be understood through a judgemental looking glass that is made up of a simple synthesis between self-awareness, acceptance and motivation.
This manifests in reality as the achieving of achievable acts; the origins of which could be said to arise from a collaborative internal process that includes belief, interest and necessity. But, instead of adding up to a seeming lack of ambition, does when observed collectively from a wider perspective, for example the following end of year period of reflection, actually add up to a pleasant sense of fulfilment and progression. A wider macro sense of self (awareness, acceptance, motivation) influencing and being in turn influenced by its manifestation on the micro level (belief, interest, necessity); with a subtle, hardly intelligible interchange continuously occurring.
Where might the end point of this process of judgment be? God only knows but for my own sense of existence or for my own sense of sanity, I shall endeavour to reserve judgement until I am laid upon my deathbed or sofa. And then, who knows what may seem worth believing in.
ps. Without wanting to submerge myself completely into the world of rambling observations and generalisations, I will still continue by noting from anecdotal experience that the Beijingese are not a bad bunch but the Xi’anese are a friendlier more helpful lot, though it could well be said that I am biased on this particularly issue. We could do however with relocating a few of these Beijing Theatres and Art Spaces to Xi’an, as well as adding a Summer Palace or two… though with girlfriend or now fiancée (a result of some crazy bended knee behaviour in the middle of a frozen Summer Palace lake) along here for the ride let’s not mention IKEA… too late!
Tags: Chinese New Year
The images are from Kashgar- here they link to the China News Page.
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Social Networking in Xi'an
秦始皇
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