Chinese in Action 5

Chinese in Action 5

Newsletter 002

March 17 - 31

The weather on Chongming Island is forever changing. At times, it is struck with thunder and heavy clouds; at other, the glowing sun radiates from high up in the sky to bring us warmth. Such variation mirrors our feelings when we are experiencing an inward journey of discovery, sometimes excited and sometimes saddened.

Horris Leung :“The thought of coming to CinA5 together with Fung Ming as a couple had been a major hesitation in my decision. I was always asking myself – what happens for clashes almost inevitable every once in a while between the 2 of us? Getting along this time had been easier than I thought, clashing with each other broke out Wednesday morning this week nevertheless. With emotions inside the each of us, we joined with the quiet time whose theme was “Wounds of life, also windows of life”. In his further explanation, Teacher Liu said wounds can somehow be seen as imperfections, and accepting imperfections in life is a perfection in itself. A believer of perfectionism myself, I doubted but I went to the river bank for my quiet time. I asked myself what was the imperfection/s I found of my wife Fung Ming, and of myself and what perfection it can do of me if I can accept these imperfections. Then, there came a tiny little voice asking, “Isn’t it true that you are more inclusive if you can accept the imperfections of Fung Ming, and perhaps that of yourself too? Isn’t it the kind of person you have always wanted to become, and isn’t it a perfection, although it may be little, in itself?” With this, I went to the sharing of quiet time happily apologizing to my wife Fung Ming.”

Fung Ming: “ On Friday, 29 Mar, it was my turn to deliver a 20-minutes Life Lecture. In Hong Kong I talk in English and Cantonese much more than in Chinese. The topic I talked was “Seeing My Mother’s Life”. I talked about my mother, what I could ‘’see” from what she had gone through in her life. By “seeing” them, I reviewed what I had inherited, what I should keep, and where I could do it differently. The audience was amazed that I could finish the talk, as I am still not fluent in Chinese. Content wise, I could only touch on many facts, without much on mother’s feeling or emotion. Teacher Liu suggested that I could put myself into mother’s shoes, looked at what had happened in different stages of her life, to feel her, to understand her, from her perspective as a woman. Therefore, on the Day of Quiet, I decided to use the whole day to feel my Mother’s life, as I often had difficulty in connection with her on the emotion side.”

On quiet day, we let everyone review the earliest 25 years in life, setting each 5 year as one stage, and to have a conversation with the inner child at each stage.

Xia Yuchun :“I realized, for the first time, that I was already full of scars and wounds at the age of 4. The lonely, helpless and desperate little girl was so longing for the company of mother. My mother was a patient of mental illness. Since I was a child, I could not accept separation with my mother and I did not understand why there would be separation in the world. I can feel how sad and distressed my 4-year-old self was and she was really missing mum badly. Today I told myself ‘Dear baby, I see your sadness, distress and desperation, let me give you a hug. You can let your tears flow. I will be here with you and there will be no separation.”

He Yan: “When we started learning about Deep Healing, the first session was to have a deep bonding with mother. Each life starts from mother. For me, the mere sighting of this theme made me so nervous that I was almost out of breath. I sensed that mother felt very wronged. Then we connected with mother and during the meditation, I saw my mother who, at the age of 10, helplessly had to look after the gravely ill grandmother, and once she got home had to look after her younger sister at a very tender age. I could feel how helpless my mother was, helpless indeed. When I expressed my thoughts to my mother, telling her that I saw her feelings, my mother replied very angrily ‘Stop trying to get love from me. How can I give you something I have never received myself?’ I was aggrieved and angry, and on the brink of collapse I ran out of the door to cry loudly, the long suppressed emotions over the years are now seen.”

Tony Liu: “My father passed away when I was 2. Maybe I could not decide my birth, but I can slowly accept my fate. Although God brought my father away since I was very young, God also gave me the ability to have conversation with myself, letting me know that I am actually not alone, that I actually have love, and I am a child worthy of being loved. Thank God for leading me to join Chinese in Action, giving me the chance to better understand myself.”

Finance

We are much grateful for the support and blessing given us to date as the accumulated support has reached 2,211 units from 1,934 since the last report.

The estimated program budget for CinA 5 is US$260,000. Half of it is covered by participation fee while the remaining US$130,000 will be raised by us.