”LOVING SOMEONE DEEPLY GIVES YOU COURAGE”

I am reading a memoir—

Bend, Not Break

By Ping Fu and MeiMei Fo

Much of what befalls Ping Fu (author and main character, born in China during the early 1960’s), who has fended for herself (and her four year old sister) since she was torn out of her parents’ arms as a child of eight, is too sad to absorb with ease as her story offers a clear perspective of a happy childhood turned tragic due to the heartless nature of governmental intervention, which, caring for nothing other than usurping power over all, ensnares every brainwashed mind within a web of terror so petrifying as to corrosively sublimate (Wikipedia:  Eat away at; having the power of gradually destroying the natural texture or substance of a body; as the corrosive action of an acid)
 the free will of the people to bow to authority without so much as a rebellious thought of what life had been like before the current reign of terror had gained robotic control over every brain throughout the land.  Thank goodness, eight year old Ping, living in a dilapidated tenement apartment in Nanjing with her little sister (far from Shanghai, the city of her early childhood), corresponds with an uncle who quotes Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu: “He who conquers others is strong. He who conquers himself is mighty.”

Excerpt from Ping’s memoir:  “He (uncle) encouraged me to stay in a place of love toward other people, rather than sinking into resentment or fear. ‘Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength, while loving someone deeply gives you courage,’ he wrote.  Thanks to his kindness, love, and sage advice, and by bearing witness to my suffering, Uncle W helped me reconstruct the sense of self that I had lost over the years. I was able to recover from my traumas[…]

Thank goodness for good hearted souls, like Ping’s uncle, whose words of wisdom serve to brighten our spirits with hope (concerning change for the better) when life feels so dark for so long as to arouse our defenses to numb our hearts to everything due to the fact that feeling nothing is preferable to feeling wracked with emotional pain so overwhelming as to seem to go on and on without end ...

Though The State expects perfected obedience from Ping, Uncle W reminds Ping that she need not be perfect to feel precious.

Thank goodness, we find that the human brain’s capacity for understanding and absorbing words of wisdom is able to pass positive focus back and forth at every age. (Don’t worry Gramma, I’ll hold your hand and you’ll be brave ...).  The ability to absorb and pass forward positive focus may not have happened for Ping had she never experienced feelings of thriving (rather than abject deprecation) in the loving arms of her parents early on.

When Ping, as a young adult, is exiled, she ‘finds herself’ studying in the United States where she takes a course with—“Donna Cox, a professor in the School of Art and Design at UIUC, on computer animation, who said, ‘Offering a different perspective and challenging the dominant worldview—this is a role artists always have played in culture.’ ”

Ping goes on to say:  “Donna taught us that the most important ingredient for success in this line of work was storyboards. I had been a literature major in college, so that made perfect sense to me: The first step in (drawing) anyone into your world was creating an engaging narrative.” 

As this excerpt serves to validate my compelling desire to 'tell' my story to you, my spirit, feeling validated, is experiencing sound reason to smile, suggesting that this is a good place to park today’s train of thought, and since it’s time to pick up Ravi, who, like me, enjoys being part of the welcome wagon that greets Uncle David at the airport, I’m anticipating an entertaining yet relaxing weekend while watching four year old Ravi’s active imagination directing her beloved uncle to happily take on roles that are usually designated as mine—LOL!