MAO'S LAST DANCER

My favorite book of this year is "Mao's Last Dancer." I have such a connection with this book and the story it describes. It feels so mine: the emotions, his thoughts, and his dreams. He used the same words to push himself that I said to myself as a little girl. The feelings that he shares in the book, I still feel them now. The only difference is that he accomplished his dream and I have not yet. 

I saw the movie based on this book one day at the International Cinema. This is one of my favorite things to do at BYU. The day when this movie was playing for the last time, the cinema was packed. If you ever have the need to be truly inspired, I recommend this movie. This movie led me to read the book. And even though I had tests, homework and work, I made the time to read this book in two days. I could not put it down.

This is the story of Li Cunxin, one of the greatest ballet dancers of China. Despite how poor his family was, Li was chosen to be part of Madame Mao’s Dance Academy. He worked really hard in China for 7 years and became famous when he came to the USA. It is a true story. 

 In this post, I am only going to share 10 of my favorite parts of the book and what they mean to me:

1.  “Write down your achievements, mistakes, discoveries, even the combination of dance steps, every day in your diary" – Advice given to Li by one of his most admired ballet teachers. I believe that if we would do this in regards of anything we are pursuing we could learn a lot.
2.  "Great things do not come easily" “Nothing comes easily. There are no shortcuts. Things only come when one works for them." We all know this- there is nothing more to say about this.
3. "I responded well to gentle encouragement" (This is me) 
4.  "I slowly moved from the back of the class to the front." – This is Li after he figured out his love for dancing. I believe we can do this once we learn to do something with passion.
5. "We were starved for knowledge." – I love this phrase. This is young Li speaking.
6. "Cunxin, you are privileged. You are lucky. Go forward. Don't be afraid and don't look back. There is nothing back there, only your family's unconditional love that will always propel you forward." Now for the first time, this voice wasn't my brother's voice. It wasn’t my dia's (father in Chinese). It was not my beloved niang's (mother in Chinese). This voice was my OWN.” – I love this! This is Li when he was leaving from China to the USA the second time and he did not know when he was going to be back. This time it was not his professors, brother, parents encouraging him to achieve his dream, this time it was his own voice! 
7.  "Cuxin, nothing is impossible for a determined human being. Physical imperfections are easier to overcome than mental deficiencies. Remember the archer fable? Nothing is impossible if you put your heart and soul into it! Let's make your family proud! Become the greatest you can be! Starting next year I do not expect anything less from you. Hard work, determination, and perseverance. Don't let any outside influences pull you off track. I do not want you to be the best at your class. I want you to be the best in the world." – It says enough for itself.
8.  "Have your country in your heart and the world in your vision" –  Li was told this by one of his teachers.
9.  "The dream I had once been too afraid to dream had at last come true." – I love this! We need all to say this ourselves! 
10. “The rode I had traveled so far had had so many detours. Nothing had been smooth or easy. I knew the road ahead would not be smooth or easy either, but the possibilities are so vast. The pursuit of my dreams, the determination to achieve them, had given me a miraculous career and an enchanted life. No matter what lay ahead or behind, I had the love of my life (his wife), my niang (mother), mi dia (father), and my brothers.”

I cannot express how much I loved this book. My best friend and I have often talked about China and its beauty.  Each culture has its own splendor and this book adds to the one of China.  

INDEPENDENCE DAY...

This week was Freedom Week here in the United States. Early Monday morning I went running and I saw the hot air balloons already floating in the sky in honor of this week. There was ice cream in blue, white and red and everywhere clothing in these colors was being sold. There was a running competition called "The Run for Freedom." Many of my friends participated in it. Every house was dressed up with the American flag colors, especially in the suburbs.  The BYU stadium was ready for its big event, “The Stadium of Fire” in which the biggest fireworks in Utah are displayed. In all this ensemble of events and colors, it is hard to avoid thinking of the meaning of freedom. What is freedom?


Today, freedom has a different meaning for me. It has a profound significance that is different than in  any other years. I learned that freedom is a God-given right and no one can take it away from us. I am born with it and I die with it. The principles freedom is based on are not from this earth. We are the only possessors of this eternal gift. Freedom is more than not being in prison. One can be freely walking in the streets and be jailed in spirit, in mind, and emotion. 


A long time ago, I heard someone say that if a person is poor here in the United States, it is because they want it that way. The reason for this, he explained, is because there are so many opportunities to succeed here. To succeed in the U.S, one only needs education and to work hard. The U.S has opportunities for both, he said. I was thinking a lot about this as I was coming back to my apartment this week when I saw a beggar walking in the street. He looked very tired. He was young but his steps resembled the steps of a very old person. They were so slow that it felt to me that he was carrying a bigger burden than the bags he was actually carrying. His face displayed tiredness; not a tiredness after a long day of work but a tiredness of life. My mind returned to what my friend had said long time ago about people being poor because they want it that way here in the United States. If this is so, what happened to him? What happened to this young person, a citizen of a country like the United States? He was walking freely in the street. He is a U.S. citizen. He has all the rights and freedoms that Barack Obama and Bill Gates had when they were that young. What made the difference? What is his "prison" - the jail that prevents him from flying like anyone else? Is he really free? I will leave the answers to you. 

My mother loved the book by Henri Charriere called Papillon. It is the story of a felon and a fugitive trapped in the penal colony of the French Guiana. The book is the story of his many attempts of escaping the many prisons he was put in. The determination of this man to be free was something that my mother admired. One of my mother's favorite parts was when he was sent to solitary confinement as a punishment for trying to escape. He spent more than two years in a little dark cell with almost no sound and no company. Many of the other prisoners went insane with this type of punishment, but Papillon was determined to keep himself sane by using his mind, his imagination. Even as a prisoner, Papillon was free in his mind and that was where his real power came from.

Nelson Mandela, former South African President and a great thinker, is another person my mom would mention. He was also in jail, but he was free in his mind. He did not let the opposition of the world get in the way of his calling, of the mission he was supposed to accomplish. He was strong because of this. He treasured and valued freedom. He understood its principles. His autobiography is a piece of work I treasure. It is by reading his book that I have come to understand what William Ernest Henley meant in his poem:

“… It matters not how straight the gate,

How charged with punishments the scroll.

I am the master of my fate:

I am the captain of my soul.”

My mom would tell me these stories and teach me about the power of the mind. She would teach me that our circumstances do not determine how free we are but the way we think does. I did not realize the deepness of this idea before and its true meaning until recently. Until recently, I did not realized that when I let sadness, fear or any other power intervene in my life, I am creating a prison for myself. I am not free. I am walking like a beggar in the streets in a “time of unprecedented freedom. Freedom as we know it has been experienced by perhaps less than one percent of the human family in all the history of the world.”

As I come to understand more about freedom and the principles it is based on, I begin to see its power and the power I have within me. The more I learn about freedom, the more I value it and my desire to defend it increases. The Declaration of Independence of the United States says:

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness.”

Freedom is a God-given right and no one can take it away from us. We are born with freedom and we die with it. The principles freedom is based on are not from this earth. We are the only possessors of this eternal gift. Society, governments and people can't take our freedom away unless we let them.. 


Leadammy

Fractal

Jolie figure non ? Ceci est une version complexifiée du triangle de Sierpinski, le plus célèbre des fractales. Qu'est qu'un fractal ? Un fractale désigne tout simplement un objets dont la structure est invariante par changement d’échelle. Non sérieusement... Pour faire simple, lorsque l'on prend une partie d'un fractale, dans celui de Sierpinski c'est un triangle, la portion prise est exactement identique au tout. Pour en savoir plus ou si vous n'avez toujours pas compris voici un lien qui vous dira tous sur ces merveilles des mathématiques : http://www.futura-sciences.com/fr/definition/t/mathematiques-2/d/fractale_7969/ . Bien sur celui-ci est plus une œuvre artistique qu'un réel fractal mathématique. Le plus connu, symbole des fractals est l'ensemble de Mandelbrot qui est aussi assez jolie à voir. Un fractal peut être utilisé dans tous les domaines scientifiques économique et géographique. Ne me demandez pas comment ça serai vraiment trop long à expliquer... Et surtout trop complexe !

Pourquoi je vous parle de ça ? Et bien car notre monde, notre univers n'est qu'un immense fractal ! Comment expliquer.... Par exemple bien sur ! Je suis dans ma période un peu scientifique donc je vais continuer dans le scientifique ! Regardons un atome : c'est un noyau positif autour duquel tourne des chargent négatives. C'est exactement la même configuration que notre système solaire, ainsi que notre planète et toute celle du système solaire ! Notre système solaire tourbe lui même autour d'une immense concentration d'étoile et d'un trou noir qui forme notre galaxie, et ainsi de suite.... Lorsqu'on prend une partie la portion mise est identique au tout, comme un fractal...

Outre la physique, jetons un œil à l'organisation humaine du monde. Nous somme sur une terre. Cette terre est séparée en différent pays qui possèdent chacune leur lois, leurs organisation, leur caractère, etc... Ces pays sont séparé pour la plus part en régions ou un équivalent, qui possèdent aussi son caractère son organisation, son économie, ses lois, etc... Ces régions sont certaines fois divisés en d'autres portions plus petites qui obéissent à la même configuration. Puis on a les villes ou village, toujours le même système. Après c'est le foyer, personnel ou familiale. Après le foyer vient le membre du foyer, la personne. La personne est elle même divisée en différente parties, psychique ou biologiques.... On pourrai remonter encore loin ! Qui ne s'est jamais amusé à définir sa position exacte ? "je qui dans ma chambre, dans ma maisons, 5eme arrondissement, à Paris, en île de France, en France, en Europe, sur la terre, dans le système solaire, dans ma galaxie, dans mon univers...." C'est la représentation parfaite du fractal universel. À différents niveaux tous marche de cette façon...

Voilà pourquoi il faut prendre exemple des choses, êtres, concepts, supérieur ou inférieur lorsqu'ils on réussit, car ils obéissent à la même configuration, et grâce à eux on peut apprendre et s'améliorer. La gestion d'un état par exemple peut tout à fait nous inspirer et nous aider dans la gestion de notre foyer. Amusez vous a chercher tous les fractales de la vie courante. Cherchez bien ! Vous serrez surpris découvrir à quel point ils sont nombreux !

Voilà... C'est tous ce que j'avais à dire je suis en période de cour donc je ne peux pas écrire très régulièrement.

Merci d'avoir lu !

More Than I Had Imagined...

In this entry, I am going to talk about an experience that it is dear to my heart. I do not know if it will matter to you. We all have things that make us different and who we are and this is an experience that makes me who I am. :) So, if you want, you can skip to the next entry and forget about this one. :) 


Last Friday, I went to the concert of The Piano Guys. If you do not know who they are, you should definitely looked them up in Youtube. It was a magical experience!


The concert was in Saint George, Utah. The drive from Provo to Saint George is beautiful at this time of the year! I cannot explain how beautiful with words. Pictures do not make it justice! The mountains and trees were so green that it felt like we were driving  through tropical forests. It was just perfect! Me and my friend drove down listening to talks and having conversations about the meaning  of freedom. It matched very well with the scenery we were driving through. That contact with nature together with our conversations was truly liberating! 

The concert was situated into one of the most beautiful places I have seen on earth! It was surrounded by beautiful red rock mountains together with green trees of every shape and form. The place was far from the city so there was a beautiful silence matching up the beauty around. Because of a miscalculation we arrived 15 minutes late but it was all fine. We had front row seats and the music was already playing as we entered the concert. Oh...! I cannot describe the way I felt! The piano! The cello! The music made just magic in my soul! I have been listening to the Piano Guys's music since last year. Since my best friend introduced them to me. Their music has been a companion in my hard times, it reminds of the beautiful friendship I have with my best friend, and it always transports me to magical places! 

The Piano Guys played their most acclaimed songs. They played a little of the new arrangements they are working on and each, John Schmidt and Steve Sharp Nelson, played their best solos in their own instruments. It was amazing how the piano and the cello became toys in these men hands. It was the first year anniversary of their group so after the show, together with a big cake, we took pictures and they stayed for more than two hours talking and taking pictures with everyone. They had cake for all 300 hundred and more people! I was amazed! I was even more touched when it was the mothers of the Piano Guys who had arranged this party for everyone after the concert. We talked to them as we were getting our piece of cake. They were so sweet and kind with us. Afterwards, my friend made a very interesting comment about this. He said, "It is easy to see that they do not play for fame and money. What other artists stay hours taking pictures, talking to everybody and in the top of that bring cake for  so many people?" It felt like we were all family. It was very sweet! I really appreciated this comment because I could see the sincere and pure heart these men have. I know that they do not play for fame or money. They play because they love what they do and their vision, as it is said in their Facebook page, "is to create music and videos that inspire and uplift. " In their own words: "Whatever we do, we put our heart and souls into every note and frame." I was a witness of this vision that night! It was very inspiring!

Afterwards, me and my friend went to explore the area before heading back home. Saint George is a beautiful city! I had been wanting to go there for such a long time. A good friend of mine, long time ago, described its beauty to me as a place full of wide, beautiful and rough spaces. This my friend especially loved the rough beauty in the mountains and rocks.  All he said about Saint George was true. The area is indescribably beautiful! The red mountains, the water running besides them, the houses surrounded by green palm trees together with the beautiful music I just heard played by The Piano Guys created a peace in my heart that is is impossible to describe... It was more than I had expected that night... It was more than I had imagined... As me and my friend were walking through this beautiful place, I thought in the fact that just as hard things come into our lives unexpectedly and sometimes we do not imagine the hardship behind them so do the good and beautiful things. That night was one of those beautiful moments I had never imagined. I felt grateful for this realization. I am grateful because it makes life more exciting! It is exciting to know that just as hard things will keep coming unexpectedly so will the beautiful things. And these beautiful unexpected moments will sometimes be more beautiful than we had ever imagined... 

Imagine

Ça fait un moment que j'ai pas écris dis-donc ! J'était un peu occupé ces derniers jours alors je n'ai pas trop eu le temps désolé...
Aujourd'hui j'aimerai parler d'un sujet qui me tient beaucoup à cœur : l'imagination, les rêves. Il y a deux sortes d'imagination.
L'imagination "quotidienne", autrement dis la capacité à imaginer les choses comme un pays, un visage, une personne, l'expression sur son visage. C'est plus l'imagination que procèdent les personnes possédant une intelligence logico-mathématique. C'est, par exemple, la capacité à se représenter l'abstrait des maths ou de la physique. Cette imagination on l'a tous à un niveau plus ou moins élevé. Mais il est toujours possible, si vous n'avez pas beaucoup ce cette imagination ou que vous n'êtes pas très bon en math, de changer cela, on contrôle notre esprit, rien ne nous prédispose à quoi que ce soit.
La deuxième forme d'imagination est celle qui me concerne le plus... C'est L'imagination de fictions. C'est à dire, l'imagination que procède un auteur, un artiste, un réalisateur de film, un styliste,etc.... C'est ce qui nous permet de nous transporter à des milliers de kilomètres de chez nous, ou voyager dans un monde fantastique, rien que par la pensé. Les deux sortes d'imagination son étroitement liés bien sûre. La seule différence notoire que je pourrai vous indiquer c'est que avec L'imagination de fiction, on imagina à partir de rien alors que pour l'imagination quotidienne, on imagine depuis un texte, une image, des paroles, un livre, un film, etc... Cette imagination est propre à tous le monde. Tout le monde imagine ce qu'il veut. Tout le monde la possède à sa manière. Mais c'est pour nous tous un moyen de s'évader... Dans les moments difficile ou pas.



Maintenant parlons un peu des rêves... Je ne parle pas des manifestation de notre subconscient créé par l'action de nos neurones de manière aléatoire pendant que nous dormons bien sûre ! Je parles des rêves comme ceux de la chanson de John Lenon "imagine", on ceux que nous avions quand nous étions enfant... Des rêves que nous avons toujours qui sont à présent des ambitions. Devenir danseuse ou pianiste professionnel, posséder sa boîte, devenir chanteur mondialement connue, être président de la république, devenir joueur de foot professionnel, voir ses enfants grandir et s'épanouir dans un cadre idyllique.... Bref on pourrai en trouver des centaines si ce n'est des milliers ! Ces rêves si il nous sont vraiment chère et qu'on t crois vraiment, nous ne devrions jamais les abandonner. Vous savez ce que l'on dis "l'espoir fait vivre", prenons ce diction d'un point de vu non moqueur et non péjoratif. C'est vrai. Pourquoi vivons nous ? Dans l'espoir d'avoir du bonheur. Il faut toujours garder espoir, même dans les situation les plus dure.

Voila ce que j'avais à vous dire aujourd'hui. De nos jour L'imagination se perd. Mais je compte sur tous ceux qui lirons ce message pour la refaire vivre et découvrir au monde.

Une dernière citation pour finir... Vous reconnaîtrez sûrement d'où elle vient.

"You... You may say I'm a dreamer
but i'm not the only one
I hope some day you'll join us
and the world will be as one !"

Moments like this...

There is a bunch of people here where I am… some speak Spanish, others speak French, others speak Portuguese, others speak Russian… etc. My favorite language to hear besides French is Chinese. I sit next to the people expert in Chinese. Instead of them being white, I imagine them as real Chinese people and that makes the magic! I am in China! I feel in China all the time. J

Whenever I have a moment like this, I think in the many people all around the world. I think in their lives and the millions secrets they have.  Each and every one of them has its own world. They have things they love as much as things they dislike. They have their own joys and also their own troubles. Each person has their own story. Even when I think I know a person very well, I discover more and more about the person as time passes. It is like we all have a mysterious part in ourselves that takes eternity to discover. This thought deepens as I think in the universe and the millions of galaxies that there are.  This makes me feel like there is so much to discover… so much to know… and no enough time...

However, yesterday, as I was exercising in the gym, I saw a handicapped young man in a wheelchair with another young man who was helping him exercise. It was sweet scenery for me to see the two of them. The young man helping him was not older than 18 years old and the young man in the wheelchair was older and much bigger than him. He was still young though. I was watching them carefully because I was afraid something could happen as the 18 year old lifted the guy in the wheelchair into one of the cycling machines. I saw that it was not easy but the young man managed to put his friend into the machine so he could exercise.  I was amazed at his strength and I admired him. But that was not all, once positioned in the machine, the handicapped young man started cycling in the electric bicycle. Wow!  His legs were not straight. His whole body was deformed but he was doing it, slow but surely. That was power and the human spirit for me! I cried inside of me. I cried because moments like this give me hope. It reminds me of the power that resides within us. It shows me that our spirits are unconquerable and stronger than we think. They show me that even when there is so much corruption and hurt going on in the world, there are still more important things and those things are worth living and fighting for.

I hope that during the time I have on this earth I can discover as much  people as I can as well as the big universe we are surrounded by… but even if after I do all that I can to learn, my  life is still filled with only a few moments like the one I experienced yesterday and the ones I have already experienced, then I can feel happy and have hope for the world around me...

-Leadammy :)

Freedom

Avez vous déjà regarder les oiseaux dans le ciel en vous disant : "Wow ! Comme ça doit être fantastique d'être a leur place..." ? Avez vous déjà lever la tête vers les étoiles en ayant la furieuse envie de vous évader, de vous transporter a des milliers de kilomètres loi de ce monde. Avez vous déjà eu envie de faire tomber ces chaines qui pèsent tellement lourd sur les épaules de chacun. Avez vous déjà eu envie..... d'être libre ?! Totalement libre ? Sans limites physiques, matériel, sentimental, juste être sois même un instant... être en parfaite harmonie avec les éléments, le cosmos entier... Moi ça m'arrive tous le temps.

La liberté nous possédons. Nous avons toujours le choix pas vrai ? Même si ce choit est dur nous l'avons toujours. Il y en a certains qui dirons "Non je n'ai pas le choix, je doit travailler, entreprendre mes études, j'ai des obligation en tous, je suis loin d'être libre." C'est vrai dans un sens. Mais est-ce-que nous somme vraiment obligé de faire tout ça ? On pourrai tout simplement ne rien faire, attendre de mourir, se laisser aller et juste ne pas prendre compte des éléments extérieurs. Nous le pourrions. Mais nous choisissons de vivre. Nous pourrions tout aussi bien abandonner nos étude, notre travail, notre famille, nos amis mais nous choisissons de vivre. Si c'est l'inverse alors on appelle ça une dépression et nous n'en somme pas encore là si ? Nous avons le choix de vivre ou de mourir, de choisir ce chemin ou un autre, nous avons toujours le choix. La liberté c'est en partie ça : avoir le choix, un libre arbitre. A ma connaissance je ne connais qu'un seul et unique moyen de nous enlever cette possibilité de choisir : les addictions. Je ne vais pas vous faire une campagne anti-tabagique ou tout autre propagande que l'on nous rabâche chaque jours. Je voudrai simplement dire que dans n'importe quel addiction, drogue, alcool, cigarette, jeux vidéos, etc... nous perdons notre liberté. Nous somme dépendant, chaque instant sans rien faire nous pensons à notre addiction, ça en deviens un besoin vital plus fort que nous, nous ne pouvons pas arrêter sans une aide extérieur, nous perdons toute liberté face a quelques feuilles. Alors j'aimerai dire quelques choses aux personnes en critiques d'autre parce qu'ils s'oblige ou on été obligé d'une manière ou d'une autre à ne pas toucher au tabac, à la drogue ou alcool, et qui affirment être libre alors que lui ne peut même pas goûter aux plaisir d'une soiré complètement déchiré. Ces personnes qui affirment ce genre de chose j'aimerai les contredire, parce que les moins libres dans l'histoire c'est eux. Je me rappelle avoir rencontré une personne d'une cinquantaine d'années ayant arrêter le tabac il y a trente ans. Il m'a dit : "ça fait des années que j'ai arrêter, je ne suis plus addicte là c'est sûr... mais pourtant j'ai toujours l'envi de fumer, après trente ans j'ai toujours envie d'une cigarette, même inconsciemment je me dis quelques fois (tien, je prendrais bien une taff moi)". C'est ça ne plus être libre. Le seule moyen de de perdre notre libre arbitre.

J'aimerai revenir sur le premier paragraphe. Je suis sûr que beaucoup d'entre nous ont ressenti  ça un jour, ou au moins un sentiment qui s'y approche. Au fait on pourrai dire que cela correspond à débrancher notre cerveau, tout en étant conscient... Cela est t'il possible ? Personne ne le sais, il faudrait procéder à des recherches poussé dans la matière pour répondre à cette question. Mais en tout cas il y a un moyen de s'approcher de ce sentiment. Au fait on pourrai dire que c'est seulement un état de concentration intense, entre le sommeil et la conscience complète. Dans plusieurs arts et religions traditionnels asiatiques on enseigne à s'immerger dans un état semblable. Croyez moi ou ne me croyez pas, mais je vous jure que cette état existe, c'est un peut comme de l'hypnose mais un état d'hypnose que l'on contrôle parfaitement, un voyage dan notre subconscient. Mais bien sûr on n'atteins pas cet état en un essaie. Cela demande des jours, des mois et mêmes des années d'exercices de concentration quotidiens. Ces exercices sont en général assez basique mais à force de le faire on deviens de plus en plus conscient de ce qui nous entour, ou acquière une meilleur capacité de concentration et petit à petit... on s'enfonce dans notre subconscient et on se libère du poids du monde. Vous vous demandez sûrement en quoi consiste ces exercices. Le plus souvent ce sont des choses du genre : fermez les yeux et compter sans penser à rien d'autre lorsqu'une pensé vous viens malencontreusement à l'esprit recommencez à compter, ou : fixez un point et tentez de vous focaliser sur ce point sans rien penser, ou encore : fermez les yeux, allongez vous ou installez vous confortablement et tentez de sentir chaque muscle, chaque articulation de votre corps. Si vous faites des exercices comme ça chaque jours je peux vous garantir que ça ne sera que bénéfique.

Alors avec tout ça qu'es qu'est vraiment la liberté ? La liberté ça n'est pas définissable par des mots. c'est quelque choses qu'il faut sentir, comprendre... Mais la liberté on l'a toujours. On peut être libre dans n'importe que moment, n'importe quel situation, même en prison nous pouvons être libre ! Ou du moins jusqu'à ce que nous faisons le choix de ne plus l'être. C'est ça la liberté d'être libre...

Amicalement

                                Mykahelm