The Sensible & Rational Sides of a Marathon

A more “scientific approach” to running a marathon here, translated…

I can’t really run, but due to chance, I’d had a ton of friends who are, marathoners.

In order to experience this, I’d, entered into my very first, smaller scale, but beautiful marathon around the Sun Moon Lagoon, and I’d, signed up for the shortest distance, the “Fun Run”.  The group of us used brisk walking to replace the jogging; but I’d, still needed to train for it.like this???  Photo from online

On that day, I’d gone to train with a group of visually impaired runners to the riverside.  They’d used a rope, with knots tied on both ends, one end on the visually impaired runner, the other on the seeing volunteers, like the three-legged race, they’d moved forward together.  I’d, followed them closely behind, not long thereafter, there’s, this huge distance between me and them, and, before I knew it, they’d, vanished, into the distances.

I’d continued holding my own tempo, with the cold wind blowing across my forehead, sweating down, it’d felt, really, awkward.  There’s, almost no one else by the riverside pass, most of the times, it was, just me, and every now and then, a cyclist would, speed by me, and then, I was left, all alone.  Most of the time, what accompanied me was, this strong sense of, solitude.

And yet, for the visually impaired to run the marathons, wouldn’t it be……I’d, blurted out, “BORING to even think on it!”

“how can you be bored, by ‘thinking’ about it?” in a gathering, the topic of marathon, it’d, sparked up this debate for the two individuals on each end, they’d told me, a ton of imaginations they had of, marathons.

One of the accompanying runners started as an “intern”.  He’d followed a more experienced guide runner to run with the visually impaired.  On the way there, he was, led by the experienced guide, and on the way back, he’d, led.  He’d spoken, with that disbelief in his voice, “The experienced guide told me twenty kilometers’ worth of stories, and the whole path was only, twenty-one kilometers long, oh mine!”  Whatever she’d thought up of, she’d, told me, to her grandmother, to her childhood, to the flowers by the road, the weather, her job………and a turn, before us, there was, this pass, paved with the shades of the trees, and, she’d started, talking about, Mother Nature, what’s meant by “blue skies”, what’s a “green pasture”, what’s a “never-ending ocean”……she was able to, pull out that horizontal pass, and, through it, led the visually impaired runners onto a journey, like the runners aren’t there to run, but instead, to listen to a tale.

I was curious, why did she talk, incessantly?  Turns out, as the visually impaired runner started running, he’d started cramping, and the volunteer chose to tell the tales, to distract him from his own physical discomfort.  If he’d only told of what they’d encountered on the way, it would be, too boring, after all, ordinary people don’t run too fast, and the scenes, are almost, at a standstill; and this experienced accompanying runner, thought of how to get the visually impaired runner, to enjoy the run as he ran blind………so, this, is how fun running a marathon can be!

And yet, not all the visually impaired runners are, blessed enough, to have a companion runner who’s so full of facts to tell.  I’d recalled that many years ago, I’d, gone to chat with a visually impaired runner of an international marathon on this subject, he was very rational, so was his companion runner, he’d, described the marathons he ran as a “battery cell”.

He’d told me, that running a marathon, it’s, a test of how long the battery on you will last, and, you’d needed to, assigned the energies spent on the way effectively.  He’d made the examples, “If your battery is fully charged, the best case scenario is, you’re able to use it, to finish an entire marathon.  Like how it takes a hundred minutes to run a marathon, then, it would be best, if you’d, used one-percent energy per minute that you run!”  You can estimate conservatively, that you’d only needed fifty percent energy to get to the finishing lines; nor can you, overspent, like as you’re half way through, you’d, used up all your energies.  If you’d run faster, how much energy will be spent, if you run slower, how much energy it will, cost you, you’d needed to, recalculate the time needed constantly, add in your physical strengths, and combine it with the speed to which you’re, running with, and use the exact amount of time, to drain up all the energies you may have in you, to just make it, past the finishing lines………

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh!  How much, this, represented life itself!

And so, from this, you can see, that running, is no longer just about exercising the body, you need to make the precise calculations, of how much energy it takes you, and, calculate, and factor in all the possible things that can happen on the roads, which is why running a marathon, is sort of an art, and a science!

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To Fulfill Their Dreams, Wei-Xun Yen Donated Over 40,000 Bowls of Suspended Noodle, He’d Sent the Developmentally Delayed Children Out to Sea on a Yacht

Good deeds are still, “infectious” here, translated…

Yen, who was originally a mobster, because the deities appeared to him in a dream, with the consoling of his mother, he’d, turned his own life around, he’d started trekking the island, to donate funds to the orphanages, and he’d borrowed from the ideas of foreign cultures and started providing the donated perishables to help those in need, in just four years, he’d given over 40,000 bowls of noodles, yesterday, he’d even fulfilled the dreams of nearly a hundred residents of an orphanage’s dream of “going out to sea on a yacht”.

“Teacher, look, so many boats”!, the students came to the pier, and were all very, excited, and as they’d set sail on a multi-million dollar yacht, they’d enjoyed the sea breeze that brushed against their faces even more; the teacher, Chen said, that as the children learned that they’re taking a trip out to sea on a yacht, all of them got very excited.

he used to be a gangster from before, photo from online…

Actually, the starter of this program, Yen, was imprisoned for manslaughter charges when he was just fifteen, for killing a person with whom he got into a verbal altercation with, he said, that back then, he’d hung around with the wrong crowds every day, that late one night, he’d dreamed that a deity told him, that “do good, you will have problems resolved”, he was doubtful, closed his tattoo parlor, and set up a temple, he received probation for his crimes, and, it’d waken him up, and decided to start anew, as a brand new man again, set up a community, went around the island, to perform the acts of kindness, in one month, he’d trekked across the distant regions, and, donated to over a hundred orphanages.

Yen borrowed the acts of kindness from the international fronts, in his mother’s noodle shop in the marketplace, hung up the sign of “Do-Good Noodle Stand”, and started up the plans of providing the noodles to the needy free of change, so the guests can pay for the unserved noodle, so those who needed the food can have it without having to pay for it, and, his act of kindness, had made a fellow gangster motivated to help out too.

Yen said, that he’d visited an orphanage to deliver the resources, and saw how the children were, drawing out their wishes of setting sail there, and he’d started up the “Distant Dreams” activities, not only was he able to raise a total of $125,000N.T. in funding, the yacht owners supported his cause too, and helped fulfilled the children’s dreams of setting sail out to sea.

“Everybody is glad to help out”, the C.E.O. of the Four Seasons Bay, Lin said, all of our yacht owners were more than happy, to be able, to help out with this cause.

and now, he’d sorted through the donations with his friends, and sent them to the orphanages, for those in need!  Photo from online

And so, all it took, for this man, to realize that he was on the wrong paths in life, was having a dream of the local deities, and that was enough, to help steer his life in the right directions, and he’s now, helping to fulfill the dreams of children who couldn’t afford to dream.

This showed, that all you need, to turn your life around, is just that one good thought first, then, you work hard at it, and, you will surely, make a difference in the world too, just as this man had!

Seeing the Love without Boundaries from a Foreign Spouse

How the kindness cycled around, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

Last week, I’d gone to a free clinic session for the foreign worker fishermen, because most of the fishermen were from Indonesia, so there was a translator alongside me all the way; I’d had the spare time, and struck up a conversation with her.

“I’d seen you every single time in the free clinics, you’re always smiling, very kind and gentle, you’re, a rare gem!”, I’d commended her.  “Doctor, you thought too much of me, they’re my countrymen, floated across to Taiwan to work, I’m glad, that I can, be of some sort of minute assistance.”

I’d asked her where she came from, “I lived in Jakarta originally, my father is a catering chef, with an unstable income, and there are, too many mouths to feed, and so, in my high school years, I’d, married to Kaohsiung, hoping, to make some extra money, to wire it back home, to help with my family, but………”, she’d taken a very long inhale, continued, “not long after we were wed, my husband was diagnosed with oral cancer, after three surgeries, countless electrotherapy sessions, he could no longer work”.  What made her situation worse was, as her kids rode together on a scooter to visit their father at the hospital, they were hit by a car, her daughter was injured severely, in the I.C.U., her son with fractures, and needing surgery.

Back then, she was looking after her elderly in-laws on her own, her sick husband, and her injured children, she felt hopeless.  But thankfully, her parents in Indonesia wired some money for her, and her eldest sister who’d married to Malaysia flew over especially to help her out too for three months; more importantly, the national health insurance coverages, it’d, helped her out with the costs of the treatments; she’d worked as a translator at the agency during the daytime, at night, she’d gone to school, to hone up on her Chinese skills, her son part-timed through school, they were, just, getting by.

“Actually, the Taiwanese people are quite helpful, I’d met a ton of those who were willing to go out of their ways to assist me, by just being there for emotional support, or those who’d, offered to help me with my finances.  I’m grateful, and in order to pay them back, I’d, signed on these sorts of voluntary work, to make what I can do useful and helpful, and this time, I’d, brought along my children who’d healed from their injuries to volunteer also, to make sure they will note, the love that’s, without the borders in Taiwan.”

Her husband may not be well-educated, or made a lot of money, but she’d, loved Taiwan like it was her home country, as the trials came, she’d, taken them all in, no complaints, no regrets, she’d, utilized her spare time, to hone up on her skills, to acculturate herself into the local communities, and knew to give back, she is, the model citizen for all of the foreign spouses that’s for sure!

And, this, is how this woman was, driven by the cycle of kindness, she was shown kindness when she was in need, when her family had problems, she’d received help from all around her, and that was what drove her, to give back now.

Grateful Toward the Free Umbrellas, He’d Used One, and Returned Five Back to the Place

Kindness flowed around in this neighborhood all right, from the Newspapers, translated…

The umbrellas provided for those who need, either that the umbrellas would get forgotten somewhere, or that they don’t get returned back at all, and, the number of these free-for-use umbrellas are declining in the numbers, but, the free umbrellas for the use of those who may need in Shi-Chiu Borough, Keelung kept growing in number, the locals not only would return the borrowed umbrellas, they’d even, donated some from their homes too, a local person because he was very grateful for the compassion umbrellas, allowing him to not get wet on a rainy day, he’d returned FIVE back to the office, everybody there chips in, in this effort to show compassion.

Lin, the man in charge of the borough had placed a row of compassion umbrellas out by his office, and, a year ago, there were only one-digit number of the umbrellas, but now, there are, over twenty, and the ones that got broken, would be recycled, and on the rainy days, the locals would borrow it away, and when the weather gets better, they’d returned them.

Lin said, it rains a lot in Keelung, and there would be the local residents who’d gone to the marketplaces that were rained on, and couldn’t get home, he’d had the thought of placing the “compassion umbrellas” so everybody can get home without getting wet.

And because the office is on the way to the marketplace, when the man in charge of the borough saw a person without an umbrella, he’d bring one to her/him, and said, “Don’t get wet, you’ll catch a cold!”, it’d made the locals feel warm inside.

“The compassion umbrellas are very practical”, a resident, Yu told, once he’d forgotten to take his umbrella and was drenched, thanks for the umbrellas, he didn’t get too wet.

Most of the users would usually return the umbrella the very next day after they took it home, and there were a lot who showed their gratitude by bringing an extra umbrella to return back to the office.  A local, Lai said, “Everybody is a part of this kindness, I’d donated an umbrella too.”

Lin said that there were locals who’d donated five umbrellas at a time, and not left her/his name, just told him, “it’s to help those in need”, it’d moved him so, and so, he’s passing on the program.

A lot of the volunteers at the points all brought their extra umbrellas, so this work of kindness keeps on rolling.

So, kindness is also infectious, because someone was aided, and so, the person showed gratitude by returning the “favor”, so those in need would have it available to them, and, this is just in ONE small borough here, but, imagine how much good this could accomplish, if several boroughs start doing this, kindness is still, cycling here…

 Still NOT my photograph…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Elderly Woman Was on a Cart, Being Transported to the Hospital in the Hot Weather, the Passersby Were Extremely Kind, Put Up Shades So She Won’t Get Overheated

Help from strangers, goodness in the world here, from the Front Page Sections, translated…

The owner of the roadside food stand, the truck driver, the young man who volunteered for the local worships put up the money and gave the assistance, were reported for doing good?  “There’s no need to put our good deeds out there.”

The eighty-year-old elderly woman, Lin two days ago, lay on her flatbed transport, her daughter rode her motorcycle, and dragged the flatbed, with her on it, to the hospital, the oyster-fry shop owner, the truck driver, and a young man who volunteered at the temple celebrations witnessed this, they’d put up the money, to get the elderly woman to the hospital, and installed warning lights on her flatbed, and this once again, showed that heartwarming stories are still, occurring throughout Taiwan.

The elderly woman, Lin, lived on the third floor of a housing unit with her fifty-eight year-old daughter, they’d picked up recycle materials to make ends meet, and because it’d become hard, for the elderly to climb up the stairs, she’d often slept in the cart that she’d used to haul off the recycling materials with.

The elderly woman has a debilitating condition, every two months, she’d needed to go to Changgang Hospital in Chiayi to see her physician, but, they were without money for a cab, each and every time, the daughter would ride on her motorcycle, pulling along the flatbed, and she’d ride for eighteen kilometers, to get her mother to her doctor’s appointment.  And because her elderly mother is sitting on the flatbed, she’d ridden her motorcycle very slowly, and, each time, the trips took them over an hour each way.

Two afternoons ago, around five, the mother and daughter showed up as they’d passed through the Chingtien Temple, and was spotted by the oyster fry stand owner, Hou, and the truck driver, Chen.

“I could tell, by one look, that they’re not well off!”, the driver, Chen told, the mother daughter were parked by the side of the road, the elderly woman was without any mobility, lay, slanted, on the cart, and, other than the quilt that was beside here, there was also, a store-bought packed lunch; the elderly woman’s daughter was sweating like crazy, panted, told that she’d ridden for forty minutes, she’d become overheated and tired, she stopped, to rest.

The owner, Hou and the pickup driver, Chen decided to put up the money, so the elderly woman could be transported via a cab, and, a couple of the young men from the temples saw, and they all went to help out.

The youth from the temple, Huang said, everybody worked together, some flagged down the cab, some accompanied the elderly on the ride, some rode alongside the daughter, to help the elderly cross the streets, he’d bought a flashing light, placed it at the tail of the flatbed.

Huang said, that the cab driver was kind too, kept waiting for them at the hospital, and then, he took the elderly woman home.  The trip cost five hundred dollars, but the men gave the driver an extra hundred dollar bill.

The group of young men were asked, “Can we mention your act of kindness on the papers?”, everybody frowned and said, “This, is what we can do to help out, there’s no need, to make it known to the world.”

And here, we still have kindness from strangers, because they saw this elderly woman who was in need, and, they all chipped in, to offer her assistance, and, this, is a heartwarming story, in this world that’s growing colder every single day, as there are so many awful things happening in the world right now, and we need MORE stories like this one, to keep our faiths up.

Angels Came Knocking

Kindness can still be found all over the places, translated…

Growing up, in a poverty-stricken time, I’d often gone to Sunday schools with the older kids from my village, memorized the verses from the Bible, sent the blessings………colored in the pictures with the angels on the cards, and, took the bus fares (we’d walked home and saved the money for the bus fares for candies and cookies), even the pastors’ and the fathers’ praises, and their warm hands on our heads.

Until when I’m older, I’d started taking up the rituals of Buddhism, compared to how Christianity and Catholicism had told us to be kind to others, Buddhism also taught me not to discriminate other religions, to show as much respect to it as I would my own religion, it’s the consciences that everybody should be keeping.  And so, if you ask me, are there angels, buddhas?  Without any hesitation, I’d tell you “YES!”

Reasons?  That’s quite simple, because I’d met them, so many of them too.

A Small Wish Became a Huge Torch

This angel I’m about to introduce to you, I’d always called him Mr. K, because I fear, that he wouldn’t want anybody else to know, that he has a set of wings.  But, because the times had changed, and, we may need to revise some of our outdated beliefs.  I believe, that “good deeds needed to be known”, we must incorporate this cycle of kindness in the atmosphere; we must use the love, the kindness of angels, to chase away the trickeries of the devils.

His last name is Sun, from Hualien, everybody called him by his English name: Calvin.

That year, because the program, “Light Up” I produced was lacking in funds again, and, although we’d set up a foundation, to get more funding from the outside world, but, the budgets from every single program, couldn’t allow us to slow down and take a breather, and, the speed to which we’d received the funding are usually, left, quickly behind by the expense department, after three months of continual “drought”, the younger employees from the company told me, that two years ago, when we were “hitting the walls”, wasn’t there a man from the internet, who’d stated that he was willing to sponsor the show?  I’d told the worker, later on, we were able to get enough funding, and we’d turned the man down, and now, we go back to ask him to donate, he may not be willing anymore.  The young person replied, how would you know if he’s willing if you don’t ask him?

After the meeting, I’d immediately gone “fishing” in the pond of e-mails, for that letter, and, finally, I’d found it.  And I’d written a letter, asking him for assistance, the man told me he was willing to put the money up for a season (13 episodes).  I’d read and reread the letter so many times, still in disbelief, because he had yet to discuss with me, the requirements of his donations yet, we’d had so many incentives to give to our donors, including putting the names on the end of the shows, the thirteen-volume DVDs……………he’d turned it all down, but, in the very end, he still couldn’t say no, and he’d only agreed to one thing: at the end of every episode, used his deceased mother’s name, to help Light Up carry on the work.

Later on, I’d learned, that since several decades ago, he’d been a faithful viewer of the show, he was moved by the stories we’d reported, there was a woman, Wu, from Hualien who, in order to save the young prostitutes, had a bounty on her head by the mafia, it’d caused her to have severe depression, and still, she wouldn’t loosen her grip on trying to help save those young underage prostitutes.  He said, back then, he’d made a promise to himself, if he had the chance, he will sponsor the program.  Not knowing, that his small promise to himself had caused a huge torch to be burning later on.

Three months’ funding was like the time it took, to drink up a cup of bubble tea, in an instant, seeing the bottom of the cup.  One day, he’d called us up, asked us if we managed to get the funding for the finishing of the show?  I’d told him, ashamed, not yet.  And he didn’t think that long, and added three more months of donations immediately.  I was stuttered, told him, that he was the CEO of a company, that he could use the name of his company to donate to the show.  He’d replied, that there were too many shareholders, and it would be hard, to convince them one by one, it’d be easier, if he’d done it on his own.  I’d kept him on the phones, told him, that “Light Up” is a show that focuses on gratitude, that we’d gotten such huge donations from him, and we’d never even seen him before, and never said thank you to him in person, I asked him if it was okay that I paid him a visit one day?  He was so quick, said yes right away, and immediately, we’d signed on a date, for him to come to the show.

The Lights of the Angels Continued Lighting the Way

The mornings in January in Taipei feels freezing, on the morning that we’d agreed upon, I’d waited by the side of the road, with this warmth that’s flowing from my heart.  I’d started guessing, that if he didn’t drive an imported car, it would be a high-end Japanese car, I’d looked left and right for awhile, then, an old car, covered in dirt pulled up, I’d not given it a second look.  But, a middle aged man came out, with a bag in hand, smiled, and walked toward me, without giving me time to react, he’d started, said that he’d checked me out, that I wasn’t some scam artist.  I’d asked him to come upstairs, he’d said no, said that we’re all very busy, there’s no need to entertain.  He’d handed me this handbag that he had, I was stunned, he’d explained, that it’s almost the New Year’s, that we must be short on cash, that, was all cash, that we should put it to good use right away………I don’t recall if I’d said thank you, but, I’d remembered, the moment I walked into the office, everybody in the office was screaming, as if a bomb just dropped on the building, then, they’d all nodded and agreed, that an angel did knock on my doors.

Because of his help, I’d decided to widen up Light Up even more, to not keep it in Taiwan, to help the field of vision of the Taiwanese people to be bigger, to see how big the world actually is.  We’d gone to Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei, etc., etc., etc., through the program, we bore witness to how the Chinese from areas worked so hard, to maintain their culture; we’d also gone to Sichuan, to that place that’s been torn apart, to give warnings to those who are in the earthquake regions in Taiwan, that we must start respecting the land, to not overuse it; we’d also rushed to northeast Japan, and bore witness to the lessons that the earthquakes, the tsunamis taught to us……I will never forget, that night in Brunei, as I teared up, wrote my thank you letter to him, thanked him for helping us continue our good work, the very next day, he wrote back, said that he will do everything he could, to accompany “Light Up” longer still.

At the end of 2012, he’d notified me, that he will take some of the funding he’d given to our programming, and put it in a funding to help the younger generations to start their own business, seeing how hard it is, for the younger generations to find a job.  And, it took just a few months’ time, and I saw how the program he’d helped the younger generations start, become a growing agricultural industry quickly enough, and at the same time, those who were helped by him also hollered for their companions to join in, and slowly, it’d become their own successful realms too.

As we parted, he’d told me, that no matter how hard the road up ahead gets, I must not give up easily.  I’d promised him too, that I will NOT let him down.

He’d sponsored our program for two years and three months, gave us the motivations to keep going.  Am I not lucky enough, to meet such an angel with a heart and compassions?

I also hope, to pass on this blessing to you, hope, that you can watch out for someone else in need, to keep passing hope to those you meet up.  I truly believe, that one day, you too, will hear that knocking on your front doors, then, you’ll see, an angel, with wings, flapping, smiling at you…………

So, it’s with this man’s kindness, that the programming was continued, and, the programming was on bringing about hope to the rest of the community, and, this man who helped out saw that there’s a need, and so, he’d provided the funding for the program, that’s kindness all right!

The Students from N.T.U. Sold Handmade Soaps to Help Those Who are Living on the Edges of the Society

Good deeds, caught on “tape”, from the Newspapers, translated…

Four students from N.T.U. set up the group, “NTUtopia” platform, worked with the not-for-profit organization of “Community Village”, helped those who lived on the edges of the society, they not only set up the handmade soap gift box sets, they’d even push forth the products to the EMBA Alumni Group of NTU to be used as the gifts of the Alumni Group’s meetings; they’d raised funds from the online community as well, and gotten the monetary supports from multiple enterprises, so the not-for-profit organizations can have more funds to do what they need to do.

“Community Village” is located in Taoyuan, and, it specializes in placing those individuals that don’t fit the criteria of being placed in homes, or those who are abandoned by the society, couldn’t take care of themselves, like homeless people, or those who had gone through huge trials in their lives, orphans, those who are mentally ill and couldn’t find a place to live in.

One of the members of the NTUtopia, Jia said, that “Community Village” does not receive monetary assistance from the government, and, although the public makes small donations, the village also sell their own handmade soaps, secondhand books, sell the recycling materials, but, the money it brings in is still not quite enough, to care for the over a hundred homeless members’ living expenses.

Jia said, that she and her group had visited numerous not-for-profit organizations, but, the “Community Village” was one that impressed them the most, the members of her group saw six elderly who are disabled, with illness, all cramped, inside a small room, it’d made the students feel bad.  After the students learned of the situation that the “Community Village” was faced with, they’d decided to do something for them.

In order to earn more profit, the “Community Village” taught the student to make handmade soaps, so they could have a viable skill, but Jia said, that they’d found that the soap the “Community Village” made are almost invisible, and plus, the packaging wasn’t attractive that it is really hard, to get the consumers to buy, and so, she and her group had helped develop gift sets, and introduced the product to the NTU EMBA Alumni Group, and the soap gift boxes became the take-home presents for the initiation of the new president of the Alumni Group, and this was, the very first step, to sell the handmade soaps to the outside world.

NTUtopia also set up a fundraiser for “Community Village” on its online platform, find the enterprises sponsors for them, at the same time, they’d put the products that “Community Village” make at the N.T.U. Arts Festival too, slowly, getting the products on the maps, which helped the group get more funds from individual donors.  Jia said, next, they are going to help other foundations which aren’t well-known to the community, but are in desperate need of funding, to make the rest of the world notice.

And so, this, is from a student set-up organization that’s doing all of this, because a need is realized, and, someone took the initiatives, to make the needs of the group known to the rest of the public, and that still just shows, how far one small thought can go.