Music is a cup of chicken soup for the soul, and I am deeply intoxicated by its fragrance. Below is my selection of chicken soup-for-the-soul prose for your appreciation.
: Two roads
He saw a dim light flickering over the dark swamp. The light flickered and disappeared in an instant. It was the time when he was wasting away. He watched a meteor fall from the sky and disappear into the darkness. It was a symbol of himself. Depression shot through the old man's heart like a sharp arrow. He remembered his companions who had entered life with him in the early years. They followed a noble and diligent path. On this new night, they returned with great honors and great joy.
When the years pass and you stagger on the dark mountain road, it will be in vain to cry out in pain, "Youth, come back! Give me back my youth!"
New Year’s Eve. An old man stood in front of the window. He raised his eyes sadly and looked at the sky. The stars were like jade-colored lilies floating on the clear lake. The old man looked down at the ground again. Several lives that were more hopeless than his own were heading towards their destination—the grave. The old man had spent sixty years on the way to that place. During that journey, he gained nothing but fault and remorse. He is old, empty-headed, and depressed. Age is tormenting the old man.
Scenes from his youth emerged before the old man's eyes. He recalled that solemn moment when his father placed him at the crossroads of two roads - one leading to the sunny world of peace, in the fields. A good harvest is in sight, and soft and sweet songs echo in all directions; but the other road leads travelers into a dark bottomless abyss, from which venom flows instead of spring water, and snakes and pythons squirm everywhere, sticking out their tongues and arrows.
The old man looked up at the sky and shouted in distress: "Youth, come back! Father, put me back into the fold of life. I will choose the right path!" However, my father and His own golden age was gone forever.
He saw a dim light flickering over the dark swamp. The light flickered and faded and disappeared in an instant. It was his wasted time. He watched a meteor fall from the sky and disappear into the darkness. It was a symbol of himself. Depression shot through the old man's heart like a sharp arrow. He remembered his companions who had entered life with him in the early years. They followed a noble and diligent path. On this new night, they returned with great honors and great joy.
The towering church bell tower rang the bell, and the sound reminded him of his parents' love for him as a prodigal son when he was a child. He thought of his parents' teachings and their prayers for his happiness. The intense shame and sadness prevented him from taking another look at the paradise where his father lived. The old man's eyes were gloomy and tears fell, and he shouted desperately: "Come back, my youth! Come back!"
The old man's youth has really come back. It turned out that those just now were just a dream he had when he was napping on New Year's Eve. While he did make some mistakes, he is still young right now. He was piously thanking God that time still belonged to him. He had not yet fallen into the dark abyss. He was free to step on the right path and enter the blessed land of cave heaven, where the abundant crops undulated under the sun. For those who are still wandering at the gate of life, hesitating and not knowing which way to go, remember, when the years pass and you stagger on the dark mountain road, you will cry out in pain, "Youth, come back! Give me back." Shaohua!", that can only be in vain.
: The Power of the Violin
Merritt opened the case with tears in his eyes, and I caught a glimpse of my Amati violin lying quietly inside. Merritt stepped forward and hugged me tightly. The scene three years ago suddenly reappeared in front of my eyes. It turned out that he was "Mr. Lumsdowne's nephew Reuben"! My eyes were moist, as if they were again Hearing the girl's poignant violin music, she will never realize how her innocence and kindness once shook the heartstrings of the two lost teenagers, allowing them to regain their faith in life!
Every evening at dusk, I would take my violin for a walk in the park by Lake Juligens, and then play "Ave Maria" in the sunset, or play "Merise Meditation" in the misty twilight. I like to weave my own beautiful dreams in the melodious and graceful melody.
The violin makes me forget worldly worries and brings me into an idyllic, pure and tranquil life.
At noon that day, I drove back to the garden villa not far from Lake Uligens. As soon as I entered the living room door, I heard a slight noise in the bedroom upstairs. That noise was all too familiar to me. It was the sound of my Amati violin. "There's a thief!" I rushed upstairs, and as I expected, a boy about 12 years old was stroking my violin there. The boy had disheveled hair, a thin face, and his ill-fitting coat was bulging, as if something was stuffed inside. I caught a glimpse of a pair of new leather shoes that I put on the bedside and were missing. It seemed like he was a thief. I blocked the boy's escape path with my strong body. At this time, I saw his eyes full of fear, timidity and despair. At that moment, I suddenly remembered the green tombstone in my memory, and my angry expression was immediately replaced by a smile. I asked: "Are you Mr. Ramstown's nephew Reuben? I am his housekeeper. Two days ago, I heard Mr. Lumsdown say that he has a nephew who lives in the country. It must be you. You look so much like him!"
After hearing my words, the young man first said: I was stunned for a moment, but quickly answered: "Is my uncle going out? I think I'd better go out for a walk first and see him later." I nodded, and then asked the boy who was about to put down the violin : "Do you like playing the violin very much?" "Yes, but I am very poor and can't afford it." The boy replied. "Then I will give you this violin." I said calmly. The boy didn't seem to believe that the violin belonged to a butler. He looked at me doubtfully, but still picked up the violin. When he was leaving the living room, he suddenly saw a huge color photo of me performing at the Sydney Grand Theater hanging on the wall. He shuddered involuntarily, and then ran away without looking back. I'm sure the boy figured out what was going on, because no owner would decorate the living room with a picture of the butler.
That evening, I made an exception and did not go for a walk in the park by Lake Juligens. When my wife came back from work, she noticed this abnormal phenomenon on my part and couldn't help but ask: "Is your beloved violin broken?" "Oh, no, I gave it away." "Giving it away? How is it possible? You regard it as an indispensable part of your life." "Dear, you are right. But if it can." I am willing to do this to save a lost soul." Seeing that my wife did not understand what I said, I told her what happened at noon that day, and then asked: "Would you like to hear another story from me?" My wife was confused. He nodded in confusion.
"When I was a teenager, I hung out with a bunch of bad boys all day long. One afternoon, I climbed over from a big tree and climbed into a house in an apartment building because I saw with my own eyes that the owner of this house was driving out. This was a good time for me to steal. However, when I sneaked into the bedroom, I suddenly found a girl about my age half lying on the bed. I was stunned for a moment. When the girl saw me, she was very frightened at first, but she quickly calmed down and asked me with a smile: "Are you looking for Mr. MacLeod on the fifth floor?" I didn't know what to say. , I could only nod mechanically. 'This is the fourth floor, you are on the wrong path. '
"The girl's smile was sweet. I was about to take the opportunity to sneak out, and the girl said again: 'Can you sit with me for a while? I am sick and lying in bed every day very lonely. I really want someone to chat with me. ’ I sat down by accident. That afternoon, I had a great chat with the girl. Finally, as I was preparing to say goodbye, she played me a violin piece, "The Dance of Queen Sheba." Seeing that I enjoyed listening to it very much, she simply gave me the Amati violin. Just when I walked out of the apartment with mixed emotions and accidentally looked back, I discovered that the apartment building only had four floors, and there was no such thing as Mr. MacLeod living on the fifth floor. In other words, that girl actually knew that I was a thief, and the reason why she treated me well was because she wanted to maintain my self-esteem decently. Later, I went to find the girl, but her father sadly told me that she had died of bone cancer. I saw her green stone tablet in the cemetery. There was a small poem engraved on it, one of which was like this: 'Dedicate your love to this world, so I am happy!'"
Wife listened After finishing my story, I was speechless for a moment and the corners of my eyes became moist. Three years later, I was invited to serve as a final judge in a music competition for high school students in Melbourne.
Finally, a violin player named Merritt won the first place with his strong ability. When judging, I always felt that Merritt looked familiar, but I couldn't remember where I had seen him before. After the awards ceremony, Merritt ran up to me with a violin case and asked with a blushing face: "Mr. Bridges, do you still know me?" I shook my head. "You once gave me a violin, and I have kept it until today!" Merritt said with tears in his eyes. "At that time, almost everyone treated me as trash, and I thought I was completely finished. , but you helped me regain my self-esteem in the midst of poverty and suffering, and once again ignited the blazing fire in my heart to change adversity! Today, I can return this violin to you with no shame..."
Merritt opened the case with tears in his eyes, and I caught a glimpse of my Amati violin lying quietly inside. Merritt stepped forward and hugged me tightly. The scene three years ago suddenly reappeared in front of my eyes. It turned out that he was "Mr. Lumsdowne's nephew Reuben"! My eyes were moist, as if they were again Hearing the girl's poignant violin music, she will never realize how her innocence and kindness once shook the heartstrings of the two lost teenagers, allowing them to regain their faith in life!
: Carrots, eggs and coffee
The father continued: "What I want to ask you is, in the face of the suffering of life, do you become weak and weak like a carrot, or do you become hard and strong like an egg? Or are you like a handful of coffee beans, which are damaged but do not fall short of their ambitions? No matter how bad the environment is, they spread their fragrance around and infect everyone around them with beautiful feelings? In short, you should be a leader on the road of life. Be strong, make yourself and everything around you better, more beautiful, and more meaningful. ”
Facing the suffering of life, do you become weak like a carrot, or do you become like an egg? Hardening and becoming stronger, or like a handful of coffee beans, being damaged but not losing its ambition...
One day, the daughter complained to her father about the difficulty of life.
My father is a famous chef. After he calmly listened to his daughter's complaints, he smiled slightly and took her into the kitchen. The father poured the same amount of water into three pots of the same size, then put a large carrot into the first pot, an egg into the second pot, and a handful of coffee. The beans were put into the third pot, and finally he put the three pots on three equally powerful stoves. The daughter stood aside, looking at her father doubtfully, unable to figure out his intentions.
After 20 minutes, the father turned off the fire and asked his daughter to bring two plates and a cup. The father put the boiled carrots and eggs into two plates respectively, and then poured the coffee brewed from the coffee beans into the cup. He pointed to the plate and cup and asked his daughter: "Child, tell me, what did you see?"
The daughter replied: "What else can there be, of course, carrots, eggs and coffee." < /p>
The father said: "You might as well touch them and see what changes happen."
The daughter picked up a fork and touched the carrots and found that the carrots had become very soft. She picked up the egg again and felt the hardness of the eggshell. She cracked the eggshell on the table and carefully touched the egg white inside. Then she picked up the cup again and took a sip of the coffee inside. After doing this, the daughter began to answer her father's question: "This plate is a carrot that has become very soft, that plate is an egg with a hard shell and the protein has solidified, and the cup is full of fragrance. , The coffee tastes very good." After that, she asked her father in confusion: "Dear Dad, why do you ask me such a simple question?"
The father looked at his daughter seriously and said: " The three things you see were cooked in the same big pot, in the same amount of water, on the same fire, and for the same amount of time, but their reactions are completely different. Carrots are hard when they are raw. Yes, it becomes so soft after being boiled that it is almost rotten; raw eggs are so fragile that the shell will break when touched, but even the egg white becomes hard after being boiled; coffee beans are also very hard before being boiled. Although it softened after being boiled for a while, its aroma and taste melted into the water and turned into delicious coffee." After the father finished speaking, he asked his daughter: "Are you like one of them? Which one?"
Now, the daughter was even more confused. She just stared at her father blankly, not knowing how to answer.
The father continued: "What I want to ask you is, in the face of the suffering of life, do you become weak and feeble like a carrot, or become hard and strong like an egg, or are you like a handful of coffee beans?" , be damaged but not fall short of your ambition, no matter how bad the environment is, you can spread fragrance around and infect all the people around you with beautiful feelings? In short, you should become a strong person on the road of life and let yourself and everything around you becomes better, more beautiful, and more meaningful.”