There’s something that makes me take a step back, and it might sound a bit amusing. I’m curious if anyone else feels the same way I do— I’m afraid of manually folding umbrellas!
On a rainy day, I had to go out, so I retrieved one that hadn’t been used for quite some time, folded into a tangled mess resembling pickled vegetables. Upon returning home, I casually placed it in a corner to air dry. However, after several days had passed, a sudden twinge of conscience hit me. Wanting to restore it to its pristine, new umbrella appearance, I gritted my teeth and, with sighs, began the challenging task of folding the umbrella. It folded with such difficulty that it felt like my fingers were on the verge of breaking, yet the umbrella stubbornly retained its resemblance to a tangled bunch of pickled vegetables.
Muttering to myself, I said, “Oh, umbrella! Why can’t you just tidy yourself up automatically?” It’s similar to my frequent daydreams about why no one has invented an “automatic hair-washing shower machine” to make things easier for me.
My friend sitting beside me, both amused and annoyed, exclaimed, “Give it here! I’ll fold it for you!”
She skillfully restored each section of the umbrella canopy, offering insightful guidance without hesitation: “You must have missed a crucial detail from the beginning when you used this umbrella. You didn’t patiently follow the folds to fold it properly; instead, you just folded it carelessly. Over time, the umbrella took on a new shape, creating new folds, and making folding even more challenging. When you go wrong in the initial steps, everything else goes wrong too! Understand? Pay attention to the details! You need to get the details right from the beginning! Otherwise, it will take a lot of extra time to correct it.”
Gratefully taking the umbrella, I said, “Yes, yes, yes!”
“Pay attention to the details! You need to get the details right from the beginning! ” I believe Venerable Master Hsing Yun, the founder of Fo Guang Shan (FGS), would surely commend my friend for being a good student. In his book “Humble table, Wise Fare,” Venerable Master Hsing Yun wrote:
“Look on the bright side, think on a larger scale, observe the details, and explore deep for understanding.”
Venerable Master said that if a person can achieve these four points, their heart will be broad, optimistic, easily satisfied, and prone to happiness, and they will find success in their endeavors.
“Observing the details” seems to be the lesson my umbrella taught me. Upon further reflection, “observing the details” is not contradictory to “not being concerned with trivial matters.” The former emphasizes carefully observing and paying attention to the details, focusing on a deep understanding of the situation. The latter emphasizes not letting trivial matters bother you and affect the overall situation, which is also synonymous with “thinking on a larger scale.”
This hard-to-fold umbrella, which almost “folded” me to tears, didn’t last long before it broke. I wasn’t too saddened by it; in fact, I was somewhat gleeful, thinking I could buy a new umbrella and start afresh. Out with the old, in with the new! Always look on the bright side, and the departure of the umbrella is just a trivial matter that I shouldn’t overly concern myself with, right?
Hold on! Could folding an umbrella itself be a trivial matter? Have I been overthinking it all along? Haha!
And wait again! What’s the difference between “overthinking” and “exploring deep”?