今天是我的生日。收到許多朋友的祝福，謝謝大家！

上個周末RayWei兄從DC來看我。 Ray 是一位很傑出的時尚攝影家 , 粉絲如雲，獲獎無數。我們神交已久，這還是第一次見麵。前些日子雲漫兄（雲中漫步），一位傑出的風光攝影家，還有我的同學Michael，也是千裏迢迢特意抽空趕來。感動萬分。

沒想到周日在和Ray的座談會上，Ray和洛杉磯的攝友們為我慶祝生日。我收到了一張珍貴的賀卡，是朋友Lulu用從Lake Elsinore采集的野花壓製而成，上有幾十位好友的簽名。《第五個季節 - 夢的季節》裏的野花就是在Lake Elsinore拍的：

http://blog.wenxuecity.com/blogview.php?date=200903&postID=21509

It is 2:16 AM. I woke up with sweat and cough. I woke up from a dream that all of us went hiking somewhere in the desert, a place not recognizable to me. We brought no cameras, were just out there taking a leisurely walk, smell, touch and feel the wilderness.

Thank you Ray Wei and 雲漫 for coming all the way to see me. I am really touched beyond words and very sorry that I couldn’t spend more time with you. I am a true fan of your work.

Thank you, Dr. Shum for hosting the event and sharing your journey with us. While most of us are trying to be good at in just one area of photography, you excelled in many, landscape, people, macro and now infra-red among them. I truly admire your work; they are masterful, their expression exquisite and simply beautiful. Your charity work, your work with orphanages, says a lot about you as a person. You have set a great example for all of us to follow.

Thank you, The Wei brothers, my dear friends, for the beautiful birthday cake. It brought tears to my eyes.

Thank you, Christine, Lulu, Dr. Chen, Yuhong, Mike and all my fellow Cavers. I am simply in awe of your talents not only in photography, but also in literature, poetry, history and philosophy. I am honored to be associated with you and able to call you my friends.

What can I say about the birthday card? I absolutely loved it. It’s more beautiful than I can ever imagine. Thank you, Lulu, for your thoughtfulness and the precious time you spent in creating such an exquisite piece of art. Those delicate yellow flowers brought back sweet memories. Lake Elsinore has a special place in my heart and always will. I very well might have taken the last landscape photograph of my life in the beautiful wild flowers of Lake Elsinore.

Thank you LA_Mike, xianren558 and my friends from LA Photo Salon, WenxueCity （文學城） and all over the world, most of you I haven’t met and never will, for your outpouring love, support and encouragement. In a letter to a friend a few days ago I wrote that I am a rich man (not in financial or material terms of course) and therefore I am at peace.

Now back to the dream. I felt so fully alive, so exuberant in movement, so presenting leading up or down the trail. The rhythm of the walk, the swing of being in concert with oneself – lungs and legs, arms and heart is a part living wholly. It felt so good to the body and to the body’s mind. It was a joy just being around you!

Perhaps, just for once, we should force ourselves leave our cameras behind. Camera is a funny thing. Its viewfinder somehow curtails certain possibilities of seeing, apprehending and experiencing. Someone has said that what we human beings seek was not the meaning of life, but rather the experience of it. Next time when we camp under the stars in Joshua Tree or Racetrack, don’t rush our cameras out. But instead, let’s look deep into the space and listen, just listen and wait… Let’s feel the breeze gently blowing over our bodies. Let’s touch the rocks next to us and enjoy the calmness of the desert night. Yet, let’s still wait. ..Wait until our body and mind are in harmony with the desert, until nature and us unite as one. When that moment comes, my friend, I promise you, that is the best feeling of all.


Q園的朋友們，你們早已變成我生活的一部分，謝謝你們天天陪伴我！在我鬱悶的時候你們給我歡笑。

謝謝！