Spiritual travel is a kind of healing for me, a way to settle my thoughts. In this busy city, I need to get away from the hustle and bustle once in a while and enjoy some quiet time alone. This time, I chose to go to a small town called Jinshan. I didn't know what was so special about it, but I heard from my friends that it was a quiet place to relax.
I found an inn to stay in, and the first impression of the whole town was peaceful, as if time had frozen here. I wandered aimlessly, occasionally brushing shoulders with the locals. I saw an old man with gray hair and a hobbling gait, but smiling. He saw me, greeted me with a smile, and I responded politely to him.
On this day, I was in a very happy mood. But when I got back to the inn, I got a phone call from my brother. On the other end of the phone, my brother told me the news that shocked me: my mother had suddenly suffered a stroke and was rushed to the hospital. The news made me instantly anxious. My mother has always been physically tough, how could such an accident happen?
I hurried to the hospital and saw my mother, who was pale and lying on a hospital bed. My brother told me that my father had been dead for several years and that my mother was living alone, coping with everything in life on her own. This sudden stroke was a test for our whole family. I breathed a sigh of relief and silently prayed for my mother's speedy recovery.
Living next door was a young doctor named Wang Ming. Wang Ming, an American medical doctor, chose to open a clinic in this small town after returning from studying abroad to treat local residents. Wang Ming and I happened to pass by, and when we greeted each other, I knew his identity and felt his love for medicine. He told me that my mother's condition was not very serious, and that she just needed to recuperate and care for herself.
Residents of this town are full of praise for Wang Ming's clinic, saying that he is a good doctor who knows how to take care of patients. I am grateful to have such a kind doctor who helped my mother so much when she was sick.
However, it was at this moment that I received another shocking news. That is, Aunt Liu, who lives upstairs in my house, had a stroke at some point and was rushed to the hospital in a very critical condition. Aunt Liu is a mild-mannered person, and her son is a medical doctor who studied in the United States and now works abroad. His son is supposed to be talented, but he works in a foreign country and is unable to fulfill his filial piety. It's really ironic that a medical doctor studying in the United States can't return to China in time to take care of his dying mother.
What followed began to get confusing. On this trip, I thought I could get spiritual healing, but I didn't expect to face such an unexpected event in my family. What should I do? I feel like I should do what I can to help my family through this difficult time. My mother and Aunt Liu, no matter where they are, they are all my family. I'm going to do everything I can to get them through this together.
The mood at this moment is complicated and heavy, and I need to think about what I should do next.
The next morning, I hurried back to my mother's hometown. There, I met her siblings, all of whom were my aunts and uncles, but I didn't recognize them after years of not seeing them. They were also suspicious and distant from me. "You haven't come back to visit your mother for so many years, and now you suddenly appeared, did you come back because your mother was sick?" my uncles questioned me, and I was shocked and aggrieved. I have repeatedly explained that they are too busy with work to take care of their loved ones, but they are still skeptical.
At this time, another relative called me and told me that Aunt Liu, who was upstairs in my house, was in critical condition and needed emergency surgery. I came to the hospital distraught and saw Aunt Liu's son, Li Ming, in a hurry, accompanied by a doctor. When Li Ming saw me, there was indescribable embarrassment on his face, and we looked at each other speechlessly. Li Ming began to ask the doctor for details of the operation, while I followed behind him, silently praying that everything would be well for Aunt Liu.
Suddenly, the doctor said to Li Ming: "There may be some complications from the surgery, and you need to decide whether to agree to it as soon as possible." Li Ming fell into deep thought, and his heart seemed to struggle fiercely. And I can't help but wonder that a medical doctor studying in the United States is hesitant at this time. My heart began to ripple, and I also began to have doubts and dissatisfaction with Li Ming, a cousin who was far away.
In this series of events, I gradually felt that I was being pushed into a vortex of contradictions. A series of conflicts and problems in the family began to surface, and I felt a tightness in my chest. How do I deal with all this, how do I defuse this sudden crisis?
When I was confused, Dr. Wang Ming gave me some encouragement. "The mutual love and help between family members and loved ones is very precious," he said. I was inspired by this statement.
I went back to my mother's bedside and looked at her still pale face, and my heart was very heavy. I decided to stay with my mother and do my best to get her well as soon as possible. During this time, Aunt Liu's condition also had some relief, but the doctor said that she would need an expensive surgery to fully recover. And Aunt Liu's son's work and life in the United States made it impossible for him to rush back immediately. Before he left, Aunt Liu's condition had been unstable, which also made me feel entangled.
That's when I got a call from my brother. After receiving the call, my brother told me that there was a problem with one of the companies he ran and that I needed to rush over and help solve it. This incident made me hesitate and conflicted. I didn't know how to deal with such a complicated situation: my mother was seriously ill and needed help, Aunt Liu needed help, my brother was in need of help in an emergency, and I was under tremendous pressure myself.
I felt powerless to handle everything, and I needed to think calmly. Both my mother and Aunt Liu needed my help, but at the same time, I couldn't give up my support for my brother. What should I do? Everything in front of me made me feel helpless like never before.
I came home with a heavy heart. My mother is slowly recovering, but the contradictions in my heart have not disappeared with it. At the same time, I was also worried about Aunt Liu upstairs, and her condition has not improved. We used to be upstairs and downstairs neighbors, and we usually greeted each other, but because of family personal reasons, our relationship had a conflict last year.
Here's the thing, Aunt Liu's son was in a car accident when he was studying in the United States and was seriously injured. When I learned the news, I felt very sorry and took the initiative to send condolences to Aunt Liu. I've always felt that neighbors should care for each other like family. However, I didn't expect Aunt Liu to misunderstand my intentions. She thinks that I am coming to express my condolences out of conceptual hypocrisy, and I have no real heart.
It hurt me that I felt that I genuinely cared about her, but it was misunderstood as hypocrisy. After that, we never communicated again, and we didn't even greet each other when we met in the community. This contradiction has always haunted me, and I hope to have the opportunity to solve this misunderstanding with Aunt Liu.
Now that Aunt Liu is sick, I feel a little guilty and worried at the same time. I wanted to visit her, but I didn't know how to say it, I was afraid that what I would get was her indifference. My mother sensed my state of mind, and she said softly, "Son, every family has a scripture that is difficult to read. There will always be some stumbles in life, and the most important thing is to have a good heart to resolve the conflict. My mother's words warmed me, and I was determined to face this former neighbor.
The next day, I brought a bouquet of flowers to Aunt Liu's doorstep. I knocked on her door, my heart pounding for fear of embarrassment. Aunt Liu opened the door, and when she saw the flowers in my hand, a hint of surprise flashed in her eyes. I spoke my heart with sincerity, expressing my concern and apologies for her mother. After listening to this, Aunt Liu's eyes were red, and he began to tell her troubles and complaints, it turned out that she had been complaining that her son could not come back to take care of herself. Listening to her, I deeply felt the pain in her heart, it turned out that her loneliness and helplessness were far more important than I had seen.
We talked for a long time, tearing apart the pain in each other's hearts, and it turned out that we were both victims of the same inner conflict. This dialogue gradually brought our relationship back to the way it used to be, and the conflicts between neighbors were resolved. In this interweaving of family and emotion, I finally understood that tolerance and understanding are the only shortcuts to resolve conflicts.
Walking out of Aunt Liu's house, I felt a sense of relief and relief in my heart. This experience also made me deeply realize that conflicts between family members often stem from misunderstandings and lack of communication. I am willing to continue to work hard for the relationship between my mother and my neighbors, and I hope that in the days to come, we can all live in harmony in an environment of understanding and tolerance.
I was engrossed in my mother's side, asking her about her condition from time to time, and bringing her her favorite foods and fruits. My mother's condition gradually stabilized, and the doctor told us that as long as we recuperate, it would not be a big problem to recover as soon as possible.
Suddenly, I received a phone call from my cousin. He told me that my family's ancestral home was destroyed beyond recognition by a sudden flood, and that almost all of my family's old house was washed away. I almost couldn't believe the news, that old mansion carries a lot of memories of our family. This unbearable pressure almost suffocated me. This sudden accident made me feel sad and anxious, and I didn't know what to do with the elderly people in my family. I decided to rush home right away and see what I could do for them.
But when I got home, I was completely stunned by what I saw. Aunt Liu, who was supposed to be sick in bed, actually appeared at my house. My cousin told me that the mother and son had returned to their hometown from the United States to take care of Aunt Liu. My cousin mentioned that she took care of Aunt Liu's residence herself, treated and cared for her, and hoped that she would gradually recover. Although I am very grateful to my cousin for this behavior, there is also a trace of mixed emotions hidden in my heart.
At this point, I felt as if I had become an outsider who could not do anything about it. I am away from home, but I can't really take care of my family. At the same time, the attitude of my cousin and cousin also invisibly highlighted my sense of powerlessness in this family. I was deeply trapped in self-blame and struggle, not knowing what I should do about the changes in this family.
I realized that all of this made me reflect on my relationship with my family. What seems to be a family bond for granted is actually full of uncertainty and contradictions. I needed to understand the needs and care of my family more deeply, and I wanted to be able to really do something that would make them feel warm and comforted. The contradictions in my heart were intertwined, and I fell into deep contemplation.
After my mother recovered, our family returned to our separate lives. My memories of Jinshan Town have long faded, and I have returned to the busy city and become troubled by trivial matters. However, one chance evening a few months later, I received a phone call from Aunt Liu's son.
He told me that Aunt Liu had recovered and been discharged from the hospital, and that he had now returned to China to take care of her. The news gave me a little comfort, but with it came a new contradiction. It turned out that Aunt Liu's son had been working in the United States, and he had always felt deep guilt in his heart for not being able to return to China in time to take care of Aunt Liu. And during this time when he returned to China to take care of Aunt Liu, he found some things that he couldn't let go.
Aunt Liu lived in a nursing home for a while, during which she was carefully cared for by nurses, and she recovered very well. But it was during this time that Aunt Liu developed a very close relationship with the nurse. For the filial son, seeing his mother so dependent on the nurse made it impossible to accept all this. Aunt Liu's son is very conflicted about this, he believes that his estrangement has led to his mother's loneliness, and at the same time he has a hard time accepting this dependency.
I was shocked by the news. Compared with my family problems, the conflict in Aunt Liu's family is more profound and more thorny. I don't know how to give advice to this MD, I just know that no matter how big the conflict and problem, the understanding and tolerance of the family is always the most important.
This night, I fell into deep thought. In this world full of divisions and entanglements, I seem to see more people's inner struggles. Perhaps, every family needs to go through all kinds of tribulations, and only by going through these can we better understand the preciousness of home. As for Aunt Liu's son, I don't know if he will be able to overcome his inner contradictions, but I hope that their mother and son can find their own answers. Conflicts in life may not be completely avoidable, but I firmly believe that through understanding and tolerance, we can find solutions to problems.