A Quiet and Beautiful Summer Vacation
On July 6, school let out for the summer. After returning home and resting for a week, my spirits and strength recovered to their best state. These past few days I have spent most of my time reading and writing at the National Library, and yesterday I took some time to pull weeds in the vegetable garden. It was less like weeding than reclaiming wasteland; the weeds were so dense that the vegetables I had planted were barely visible.
I have been growing vegetables at the foot of the Western Hills for seven years, and this year, for the first time, I have a strong urge to give up this garden and not renew the lease next year. In the coming years I will be attending college out of town while also juggling many work commitments, and my wife is also very busy; our energy and time are simply overstretched, so I want to pause for a few years. But this also depends on how I feel when it comes time to renew—there is still half a year before the lease expires.
Yesterday marked the beginning of the fu period (the hottest days of summer). In this sweltering season, enjoying the air conditioning at the library is a real pleasure. This summer I need to complete some important writing, and I am also collaborating with others on some important experiments. After many years in clinical practice, I have cured many patients with severe conditions and have worked out some experiences that differ from the mainstream; I want to summarize these experiences and verify them through experiments. At the same time, I am exploring new research ideas to conduct deeper research and further improve clinical outcomes for refractory diseases.
However, much of what I write this summer will not be published immediately, because work written on the fly is too rough. What I am writing now is my own medical philosophy, and I want to write it carefully. But every day I will still update my WeChat official account and personal website, posting some short pieces written on the spot.
For someone whose energy is abundant—almost excessive—medicine is truly a wonderful field, because the world of medicine is vast and boundless, and studying it means lifelong learning and exploration. I love this state of "if you can make yourself new one day, then daily renew yourself, and renew again and again"; perhaps this is the state most capable of keeping a person in a positive mood. Only when the mind stays young can a person remain youthful, and for the mind to stay young, it must continually absorb new knowledge and new ideas.
This summer, apart from returning home to visit relatives and taking a week or so off to travel with my wife and son, I do not plan to go anywhere. Every day I attend school away from home, I long to return as soon as possible to live an ordinary yet fulfilling daily life with my family; now I want to cherish such days. After the summer vacation, I will return to school for full-time study. Only after the experience of leaving home do you realize how precious family life is. Life is short, and the happiness that belongs to oneself must not be missed.