A little stream flowed down from a high mountain far away through many villages and forests, until it reached a desert. The stream then thought, “I’ve been through countless obstacles. I should have no problem crossing this desert!” But soon she found herself gradually disappearing into the mud and sand. After numerous tries, she found it was all in vain and was very upset. “Maybe it’s my destiny! I’m not destined to reach the vast ocean in the legend.”

At this time;a deep voice came, saying, “If a breeze can cross the desert, so can a river.”

It was the voice of the desert. Unconvinced, the little stream replied, “That’s because a breeze can fly, but I cannot.”

“That’s because you stick to what you are If you’re willing to give it up, and let yourself evaporate (蒸发) into the breeze, it can take you across, and you can reach your destination,” said the desert in its deep voice.

The little stream had never heard of such a thing. She could not accept this idea. After all, she had never experienced anything like it before. Wouldn’t it be self-destruction to give up what she was now?

“How do I know if this is true? and will I still be what I am now?” asked the little stream.

“Yes, and no. Whether you’re a river or invisible vapor, your inner nature never changes. You stick to the fact that you’re a river because you don’t know your inner nature,”answered the desert.

Deep down, the stream vaguely remembered that before she became a river, it was perhaps also the breeze that had carried her halfway up a high mountain, where she turned into rain and fell onto the ground and became what she was now. Finally the little stream gathered her courage and rushed into the open arms of the breeze; which carried her to the next stage of her life.

The course of our lives is like the experience of little stream. If you want to surpass the obstacles in your life in order to head for the destination of Truth, Virtue and beauty, you should also have the wisdom and courage to renounce (放弃) your ego (attachment to yourself).

Perhaps you can try asking yourself these questions: What is my inner nature? What is it that I cling to? and, What is it that I really want?

Paul O’Sullivan lounged around his Baltimore apartment one evening in 2014,feeling bored. So, like many others, he logged on to Facebook to find out just how many others on the social network shared his name. Moments later, dozens of name twins from around the world filled his screen. On a whim, he decided to send friend requests to them all.

Many of his fellow Paul O’Sullivans ignored him, but a few felt too curious to pass up his invitation. As Baltimore Paul scrolled through the other Paul O’Sullivans’ profiles, he noticed something four of them had in common: They were all musicians. Like Baltimore Paul, Rotterdam Paul sang and played guitar. Another Paul in Manchester, England, played bass. And Paul from Pennsylvania was a drummer. Baltimore Paul had an idea. Wouldn’t it be funny, he asked the other musical Pauls, if they formed a band called The Paul O’Sullivans? Yes, they all agreed,

Starting a band across multiple time zones proved to be tricky. Shaky Wi-Fi and other technical difficulties meant they were often out of sync. And being even half a second off from one another wrecked their sound. To fix this, they created a sort of musical assembly line. Baltimore Paul and Rotterdam Paul wrote and recorded a basic track, then e-mailed it to Manchester Paul.

“I listen to the song over a few days,” says Manchester Paul, to get a feel for what bass arrangement seems most appropriate.“ Once he recorded a bass track, he e-mailed it back to Baltimore Paul, who then built it into the main song. Later, Pennsylvania Paul added the drumbeat. Round and round the track went, with each member adding on his own layer until they achieved the sound they want.

The Paul O’Sullivan Band released its first original song, “Namesake”, in March2016, which was about long-distance relationships. And when COVID-19 slowly shutdown the world, the Pauls didn’t miss a beat. After all, the band had already got the hang of remote work. They used their time during the pandemic to record their first EP.

Titled Internet Famous: A Retrospective, it was released last April.

“What are the odds,” says Baltimore Paul, “that a random Facebook request would lead not only to new music but to lasting friendships as well?” “Some things are just meant to be.”

As a child, I had a library phobia. I associated going to the library with doing research for a school project or a book report. I defined reading as work, and books came from the library, so going to the library for fun was out of the range of my thinking. As hard as they tried, my parents could not get me interested in reading. They purchased a few of the Hardy Boys series.

The books collected dust. The closest I came to wanting to read was The Big Green Book by Robert Graves, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak, a gift from my aunt. Its lead character, a boy of about 8, my age, discovered a book of magic spells. I was fascinated spells were not in the book, but I drew an imaginary magic circle with a long stick in my bedroom, stood inside the circle, took three deep breaths and made up my own spell. I never became invisible, which was my goal. This was my favorite book. I read it again and again. Certainly no need to go to the library.

Eventually, I started reading novels in my 20s. To avoid going to the library, which was only seven blocks from my Brooklyn home, I joined various book clubs. I didn’t mind having to buy a book a month as long as I didn’t have to go to the library.

My library phobia was cured 23 years ago when my family moved to Long Island. The East Meadow Public Library, a two-block walk from our home, became a regular destination for me and my family. My children were introduced to books through the children’s section with free programs that even my wife and I enjoyed. My children made friends, and my wife and I made friends with the parents.

My library card is faded, the edges are ragged and I renew my membership time and time again. I have given up mail-order books, and when I go to a store that sells books, I snap pictures of the book jackets that enthral me and put the book on reserve at the library.