Chapter 20 close to goosegrass

There are fewer and fewer fields in the strict sense. Leaving the city and moving along the highway, what we see is boundless farmland, or artificially constructed orchards and fish ponds. Relatively reluctant - because there is almost no wildness. It turns out that it is easy to see weeds and flowers in the gaps in the city. When I was in primary school, after school, I often stopped to play with my classmates under the walls of hutong courtyards. One of the games was to pull wild grasses from the gaps in the walls. Pick up goosegrass and pull each other hook game.The trunk of goosegrass is very tough, and there are three-pronged or four-pronged green whiskers at the top. The whiskers are actually its flower spikes, but the tiny flower bodies are very inconspicuous.You take a goosegrass, I take a goosegrass, form a cross with each other, then bend and hook, grab the two ends with both hands and pull desperately, whoever breaks the other's goosegrass will win.Relevant childhood memories often make me maintain a warm memory of the simple life.

The world is rapidly integrating, and its characteristic is that our lives are surrounded by overwhelming industrial products. All wild things are being wiped out intentionally or unintentionally. Wild animals are facing a situation of sharp decline and extinction. , Weeds and wild flowers are always mercilessly mowed down.Our lives are indeed richer, but the pungent smell of chemical paints and adhesives often exudes from our renovated houses for a long time. In our public green space downstairs, there are trees, flowers and grass, but we can only watch them. Dear ones, the road keeps sending car exhaust into our nostrils, and the air conditioner cools our house but increases the heat outside at the same time.We feel lonely in the crowds of the city, but we are constantly approached by strangers who distribute small advertisements. Our living habits and aesthetic posture are seduced by the gorgeous advertisements and promotional techniques of the merchants and become complicated. We deliberately pursue packaging, like Fighting for beauty, constantly buying goods, and constantly making garbage, and the external vanity triggers the inner hatred of the poor and the rich, as if walking on a single-plank bridge that is shining with golden light but is extremely narrow, the psychology is always out of balance, and often Yes, food and clothing are safe, and miscellaneous bits and pieces are piled up in the room, but it is still difficult to be happy.

I went to visit Sister Rui that day. She is a retired old editor who lives on the ground floor of a tower.I saw some foxtail and goosegrass in the pottery vase on her coffee table, and I couldn't help shouting: "Ah! Where did you pick it? It's so strange!" She said with a smile that it was in the corner of the park, and the greening industry was still there. Praise her for helping them pull up weeds.She told them that, in fact, in some parts of the park, it is still necessary to preserve some of these weeds and wild flowers like hyacinths and dandelions, which are not only conducive to soil conservation and slope stabilization, but also have another poetic flavor.After chatting with her for a while, I said with admiration: "Nowadays, people in some developed countries, facing the social status quo of materialistic desires and general anxiety, put forward the idea of ​​'living a simple life'. You can say that you live a life like this. It can be said that it is a simple life. Sister Rui said to me with a smile: "I also read a few books written by Americans and Japanese advocating a simple and poor life, which are very interesting; but I don't think they can explain it clearly. I think the beauty of simplicity , first of all is the simplicity of heart, what I am happiest now is that I have recovered my childlike innocence."

I discussed with Sister Rui: "Although children's hearts are pure, they are immature. With such a mind, how can they cope with today's colorful and even grotesque and complicated society?" , and then return to childlike innocence, it is as if glass has been melted and turned into crystal, which is transparent, simple and solid. For example, in the view of wealth, as long as children have enough food and clothing, love from their parents, and education, then they will find it in the weeds. If he buys a piece of goosegrass, he will feel that his world is very rich and splendid; now some adults have already owned the necessary property, even married and have children, but they still feel that some people live in a bigger and better house than themselves , Earning a lot of money is easy, but it is hard to fill the desire, and the anxiety is overwhelming; if you can work hard in your career

Under the premise of basic stability and family satisfaction, if you return to the childlike innocence of being close to goosegrass, your eyes will be clear, your heart will be comfortable, and you will feel that no matter how rich others are, it is his business, and it has nothing to do with you, and there is no need to compare. On the wedding anniversary, it may be a very simple gift from the spouse, or when the child is crawling on his lap and acting like a baby, when the family orders a few affordable and delicious dishes in a small restaurant, it seems like Pulling the goosegrass is the same as winning, and there is no limit to happiness!So I say, to live a simple life, you must first purify your mind! "

Coming out of Sister Rui's house, playing with a goosegrass taken out of her clay vase, my heart was filled with pure and joyful emotions.