The author | Lin Xiaoxi Source | Lin Xiaoxi (ID: mrlinxiaoxi)
You in front of the screen:
See the letter as you see.
Hello wow, I'm Lin Xiaoxi.
Friendly reminder: Today's article is more suitable for "eating" with the soundtrack.
Some years later, letters were no longer written, and the era of writing with a pen was replaced by the computer keyboard.
I can't remember when I last wrote a letter, so long that I can't find a specific number of years in my memory.
I only vaguely feel that many years have passed, and the thing of writing letters has slipped away with the time of youth.
Writing a letter is really a very juvenile thing.
Nowadays, my daily writing is free time to practice words, and more time is spent on typing on the keyboard.
Open the document page and consciously or unconsciously watch as characters jump out of your fingers, forming text that you see or can't see.
The writing of the computer gives us the opportunity to delete and modify, no longer like writing on paper, and the wrong writing can only be crossed out.
Having said all that, I have not yet said why I wrote this "letter" today.
Today I want to talk about a book I saw at the end of 2021 , "Letter from Yu: 30 Questions on "How to Live This Life".
Author Zhu Yujie, pen name Zhu Xiaotu, she has many identities, such as writer, curator.
In this book, she and some philosophers, scholars, poets, writers, directors, artists, etc., through letter exchanges, from their own confusion, to ask questions to friends to seek answers.
Topics discussed include, but are not limited to, love and loneliness, gender bias, individual values, art and writing, craftsmanship, identity anxiety, idealism, etc.
Perhaps we can all benchmark ourselves from this book, better understand life, and find our own answers.
In fact, the book was already read in mid-January. I have been excused to be busy (lazy) and have not written it down.
After such a long time to read the contents of the book, the notes at that time no longer had the feeling of that time.
Let's talk a little bit about "writing letters" today!
This is also the origin of today's "letter".
Since the beginning of this year, I have restored the rule of only writing original articles, and no longer do meaningful reprinting.
And I also know that in today's rapidly changing era, if you can't do it, you will be drowned in the flow of information, sinking deeper and deeper.
However, I've found that occasionally new readers follow this account, which surprises me.
It also made me believe that although what I am writing is only my own life experience and experience, on a certain level, we are common, and the kind of emotion I want to convey must also touch you at a certain moment.
I always feel that the encounters between people are extremely fortunate things.
Sooner or later.
Even if some people can only accompany you through a short journey, they are worth cherishing and grateful.
And "faith" is a way and channel of communication; "faith" is also a kind of interaction between you and me.
Therefore, I am writing this "letter" today in anticipation of your "reply".
We may be connected by the Internet alone, not knowing where we live in each other's homes or by their last names.
However, there is always a part of the thing that is interconnected, and you and I know it well.
In addition, when it comes to "letter", I think many people will also think of Mr. Mu Xin's poem:
"The old days became slower, the cars, the horses, the mail were slow, and there was only enough to love one person in a lifetime."
With the advancement of science and technology, we can contact our acquaintances anytime, anywhere.
Fish passing rulers, sending plum blossoms, Hongyan passing books, and cars and horses are already far away from our daily lives and seem out of place.
But even if the technology is so developed, the distance between people has been deepened.
The torrent of life pushes us forward, not allowing us to slow down and listen to our own voices.
I used to have a time when I felt anxious without a job, anxious without money, and anxious at a certain age if I didn't meet the so-called "social standards".
Later, I began to read books, read a lot, but found a lot of solace in the books.
Those confusions, anxieties, peer pressures will dissipate at some point in the reading.
Although they occasionally make a comeback inexplicably, their hearts are strong enough to resist invasion and reach reconciliation and self-consistency.
I want to send you a sentence I have seen recently: Reading is the axe that cuts into the frozen sea inside us.
Similarly, reading is a refuge to carry with you.
Reading and writing are both means and ways of constantly reconciling with myself, and I would like to recommend them to you.
There is always a way to slow us down, to calm down, to take a closer look at our inner selves.
Today's "letter" is not only written to you, but also to yourself.
As it is said in the "Letter from Yu":
It is a spontaneous question, but also a self-purification,
Suitable for people like me whose thoughts are chaotic, let the inner voice flow out,
Through the fog cover of clouds and mountains, pull out the layers of thorns, and gradually see a real self.
May we all find ourselves and live fully!
Good night. Best wishes!
Lin Xiaoxi
February 26, 2022