STOP HESITATING 不再猶豫

Years ago when I was still studying at the university, there was a chance for a half-year exchange programme in Denmark lying ahead of me. To help with my decision in going or not going, I got several travel books about Denmark (including a Lonely Planet), and I asked many of my friends for their opinions. Nonetheless, I eventually gave up this precious opportunity. May be I was just feeling too insecure to break out of my comfort zone. Thanks to this personality, I’ve been missing a lot of opportunities in whatever aspects throughout my life. Now I’ll promise not to hesitate that much. I shall no longer waste others’ efforts, but shall endeavour to follow my mind.

故事追溯至年多前的暑假，我正為應否到丹麥交流半年而踟躕。我捎來了好些與丹麥有關的書籍，比如是這本Lonely Planet的旅遊書；我詢問過好些朋友的意見，包括那些曾往北歐留學的學兄、學姊，然而最後，我還是放棄了這個機會。歸根究底，都是因為我猶豫不決的性格：思前想後，左顧右盼，最後踟躕不前。也許你也料到，這件事只是冰山一角，在我的生命裡，還有許多的人事物，都因我尋求安全感的傾向，統統擦身而過。為何忽爾回首前塵呢？我想說的其實是，對於某些事情，我不會再在岔口踟躕，不再辜負別人的心意，盡力去試。我如此承諾。

SUNRISE, SUNSET. 如陽光

I am so surprised when I found the screenplays for two contemporary classics, “Before Sunrise” and “Before Sunset”, my all-time favourite, in a bookstore. Casually flipping the book, I am again touched by the immediate and life-altering connection between two strangers, Jesse and Celine. I was so depressed to know that nothing really happens between Jesse and Celine in “Before Sunrise”, but was then awakened by “Before Sunset”, its sequel nine years later, which describes the strangers’ reunion in Paris. They spend the afternoon quickly reestablishing the connection they experienced on their first meeting and lamenting the way life has unfolded. Romantic, poignant, understated, and often profound, these two screenplays are always my classics in romance.

情人節將近，正打算翻看平生最愛的經典愛情電影《Before Sunrise》和《Before Sunset》，卻在書店偶爾瞥見電影的劇本，才翻了幾頁，頃刻間便再次被這對陌生人在異地相遇而迸發的愛情觸動。電影裡Jesse和Celine邂逅時的浪漫激情，以至他們九年後重逢的和煦溫馨，都彷彿重現眼前。我曾經為他倆在維也納同遊後沒能走在一起而若有所失，但當我讀到兩人在巴黎重遇時細密而動人的對話，就倏忽驚覺，原來這種細水長流的愛情（甚至不是愛情），也能教人回味萬分。

HAVE A LITTLE FAITH 只要你還未有失去熱情

Failure and despair may block our ways as we chase our dreams. We might begin to doubt whether our dreams may come true despite all the efforts we’ve made. Mitch Albom’s “Have a Little Faith” is perhaps the best companion when you lose your belief. It is a book about life’s purpose; about losing belief and regaining it again; about the divine spark inside us all. Next time during adversity, try not to complain or give up - just have a little faith and hold on to your dream. The best is yet to come.

你和我都嘗過，在追尋夢想的過程中，因著屢試屢敗，而感到氣餒，打算放棄，甚至不肯繼續相信夢想。Mitch Albom的《Have a Little Faith》會是這段昏暗時期的最佳良伴。我們都無比相信自己的能力，認為自己可以戰勝一切，但在好些困難的時候，我們需要作的，也許正是把自我放下，相信希望，如同我最喜愛的日本電視劇《悠長假期》裡那一句經典對白：「遇到失意的時侯，就把它當作是上天賜給你的一個悠長假期。上天會好好的給你安排一切，當悠長的假期過後，就會是機會的來臨，人生的轉變。」我們應當如此相信。

BEAUTIFUL SOUL 又寂寞又美好

Sometimes I love to read the picture books by famous Taiwanese illustrator Jimmy Liao so much, and his “Beautiful Solitude”, written when he was chronically sick, is my all-time favourite. Illustrated in black and white, the book is an opposite of his previous works emphasising the use of colours. With a perfect combination of prose and exquisite illustrations, Jimmy’s work touches my heart deeply. Really thanks for your mental healing, Jimmy.

有些時候，特別愛讀著名台灣插畫家幾米的書，比如是他在生病後、成名前創作的這本《又寂寞又美好》。這本書跟之前色彩繽紛的幾米作品有很大的差別，黑白的色調、無言的吶喊、沒太多修飾的畫面，迸發一種動人而真誠的張力，傳達創作者寂寞蕭瑟的心境。我們都寂寞，但懂得處理這份寥落感，世界仍然美好，謝謝幾米。

MERE EXPOSURE 日久生情

Let’s talk about love, again. We all want to know what causes love. I always longed for the lesson on love when studying social psychology in my undergraduate life. According to Robert Sternberg, a psychologist who wrote the book “Psychology of Love” to present the full range of psychological theories on love, mere exposure effect can lead to interpersonal attraction. That means, if you are frequently ‘exposed’ to someone, you will quite possibly be attracted by him/her. This is a scientific proof on the phenomenon that secret lovers always try to stay close to his/her loved one. But, I doubt if a romantic relationship arisen from mere exposure effect can last long, especially when the lovers stop being ‘exposed’ to each other as time goes by. Isn’t it too cruel?

繼續談情，順道說愛。也許我們都想知道，愛情究竟由甚麼構成？在大學唸社會心理學時，最期待的，莫過於那剖析愛情的課堂。心理學家Robert Sternberg在《Psychology of Love》一書提過許多分析愛情的理論，比如單純曝光效應(mere exposure effect)，簡單來說，就是當只要一個人不斷在自己眼前曝光，自己就愈有機會喜歡上這個人。這不正是我們常說的日久生情嗎？難怪好些人總愛在自己暗戀對象附近團團轉，讓他察覺自己的存在，這原來也有科學根據。嘿，不過我又會懷疑，這種因不停相見而萌芽的愛情，會因為不再頻繁相見而凋零啊。

WHEN WE TALK ABOUT LOVE… 關於愛情，我所說的其實是…

I don’t know why many of my dearest friends are recently struggling in love troubles. Every time when we talk about the issue of love, I can’t help thinking of the novel “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love”, written by renowned American author Raymond Carver. It seems that he is trying to depict the truth behind love by extracting every trivial matter from a mundane life, yet indeed illustrating the alienation and lonesome of modern people through simple narratives. Sometimes I really wanna persuade my friends to decisively escape from this kind of troubles, yet it is destined to fail. The reason may be simple: Loneliness is something we can never withstand.

不知是因為聖誕節剛過去，抑或是情人節即將來臨的緣故，身邊好友的感情煩惱特別多。每次跟他們若有其事地談論愛情時，我都想起著名美國作家卡佛的小說《當我們談論愛情時我們在談論什麼》。故事情節簡單，都擷取自生活的零碎片段，看似是描繪愛情的本相，但實質卻是借愛情敘述來折射出現代人的疏離、寂寞。每當看見友人愁眉不展，便想劈頭跟他們說一句，既然殘酷是愛情的真相，那為何還要一頭栽進去呢。呃，原因也許簡單不過：我們都寂寞。

THE BEST IS YET TO COME 最好的尚未來臨

I seldom read picture books yet artist b.wing’s “There’s a dark dark wood inside my head” does mean a lot to me. "The best thing about dreaming is that you don’t really need to wait for it to come true, just go through life imagining it, hoping it, wanting it. Quite free. Quite happy. Isn’t that good enough?" This quote from the book often inspires me so much and gives me courage to pursue my dream whatever the possible outcomes are. The best is yet to come, I still believe.

我是那種獨愛咀嚼文字的怪人，故此很少讀繪本。即使讀繪本，受感動的，也通常出於內裡細膩而動人的文字，比如是藝術家b.wing在其英文繪本《There's a dark dark wood inside my head》就說過，「最美好的事情就是你真不需等待夢想成真，而是在生命中幻想、希望、期待它出現的過程中，已感到自由、快樂」。這句常在我心裡打轉徘徊的說話是真是假，都不相干，最重要的是，無論如何我依然會堅持追尋我的夢想，並為它付出我的一切氣力。無論最終成功抑或失敗，我仍舊偏執地相信，最好的尚未來臨。

THE ARCADES PROJECT 商場研究企劃

Strolling in shopping malls is undoubtedly one of the best holiday activities. You might enjoy the decorative installations in the malls, or get a holiday gift for your beloved ones. How enjoyable this experience is! Nonetheless, consumption might not be the only purpose of strolling in the malls. Walter Benjamin, a German philosopher, has an Arcades Project, which was an unfinished lifelong project, an enormous collection of writings on the city life of Paris in the 19th century, especially concerned with the iron-and-glass covered arcades. The shopping malls in Hong Kong nowadays are just like the arcades in Paris at that time. So, try to observe what is happening around when you are shopping in the malls next time, you might get new inspirations from that.

你或許會同意，逛商場是長假期的最佳消閒活動。的而且確，一邊欣賞商場的大型節日裝飾佈置，一邊為摯愛挑選心儀禮物，滿載而歸，許是消磨假日時光的好去處。不過，逛商場的目的未必僅限於消費，德國哲學家本雅明就曾在巴黎開展拱廊研究計劃，以旁觀者身份觀察拱廊裡出現發生的事物。當年巴黎的拱廊，地位、功能就如今天香港的商場，故此下次當你逛商場時，不妨也多留心商場這場所的種種，比如是，各大商場結構的共通之處。這麼，也許你能發現更多。

A CHRISTMAS CAROL 快樂頌

The long-awaited Christmas finally comes! I am ready to be flooded by tons of books this weekend, such as the classic A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, who transformed the humiliating experiences of his childhood and his sympathy for the poor into a tale which successfully rejuvenated the old Christmas traditions of England. It not only brings to the reader images of light, joy and warmth but also strong and unforgettable images of darkness, despair, coldness, sadness and death. So, I really hope that you won ’ t forget to care about the poor and needy in this festive moment!

聖誕節終於來臨。這個假期，我已作好被書海淹沒的準備了！而最應節的讀物莫過於大文豪狄更斯的《聖誕頌歌》。作者將童年回憶並對弱勢社群的關懷全然傾注於文字之中，讓讀者不單感受聖誕節歡愉而暖煦的氛圍，亦能從書中所描繪，暗啞灰敗的情節中，反思聖誕的意義。聖誕節的確不僅是個購物和狂歡的節日，但願你在佳節也沒遺忘身邊有需要的人吧！

EIFFEL TOWER AS MYTHOLOGY 鐵塔穹蒼下

I really don't know why I suddenly think of Paris, the city of romance. As the symbolic and iconic representation of Paris, the well-known Eiffel Tower inevitably appears in my mind. "Like man himself, who is the only one not to know his own glance, the [Eiffel] Tower is the only blind point of the total optical system of which it is the center and Paris the circumference." Roland Barthes wrote in his book “ The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies ” . It ’ s so true! To grasp the perfect scenery, you should avoid getting too close to the Tower; you should view from a distance. This philosophy in appreciation of matters can also be applied to various aspects in daily life. Got it?

別問我忽爾想起巴黎啊，我可沒法一一言詮。談到浪漫的巴黎就必然想起艾菲爾鐵塔，而提到鐵塔便不自覺憶起羅蘭巴特在《The Eiffel Tower and Other Mythologies》 一書中關於它的論述：「置身鐵塔就如落在視網膜中的盲點，是在巴黎市中唯一無法看見艾菲爾鐵塔的地方。」說得真妙。要留存最明媚絢麗的圖景，只需遠眺欣賞，一旦步到太近，甚至置身其中，原來的美景便會自然陷落崩坍。情況有若置身巴黎鐵塔中，極目遠望，只會瞥見老舊的建築和傲慢的人潮啊。