The meaning of life, translated by Zhang Baotong, is that the art of life lies in knowing when to persist and when to let go.

Because life is actually a paradox: it requires us to cling to all the things we acquire, even if we eventually give them up.

The ancient rabbis once said, "A man comes into the world with a clenched fist, but when he dies, his hand will naturally loosen." Of course, we should hold on to life because it is miraculous and wonderful, full of goodness, and pervades every pore of God.

We know it's true, but we often only recognize this fact when we recall the past, and then suddenly realize that it's no longer true.

We remember a lost beauty, a lost love. However, we remember that when beauty blooms, we don't see it, and when it is consecrated, we don't respond to it with love, which is one of life's great pains and regrets.

A recent experience reminded me of this fact. I was hospitalized after a severe heart attack and was in intensive care for a few days.

It's not a pleasant place. One morning, I had to do some extra checks. The medical facilities needed were in a building across the street from the hospital, so the doctor had to push me across the yard on a gurney.

When we came out of the ward, the sun was shining on me. That's what I experience and feel, only sunlight.

And yet, how beautiful, how warm, how sparkling, how brilliant! I looked to see if anyone else liked the golden rays of the sun, but everyone hurried back and forth, most with their eyes fixed on the ground.

Then I remembered that I was often indifferent to the pomp and circumstance of each day, focusing too much on trivial things and sometimes even mean worries.

Reacting from this experience is as common as the experience itself: the gain of life is precious, but we don't value it.

This is the first pole of life's contradictory demands on us: to never be busy with the wonders and awe of life.

Be respectful before every dawn, embrace every hour, enjoy every golden moment, and hold on tightly to life.

This is the second side of life's coin, and the other side of its paradox: we have to accept our losses and losses, and learn to let go.

Of course, it can be very difficult to do so, especially when we are young and think that the world is under our jurisdiction and that we have the ability to get everything we need.

However, in the process of living in the face of reality, this kind of thing does not exactly work out our wishes. At every stage of our lives, we gain and we lose, and that's how life as a whole.

When we come out of our mother's womb, we lose our protective shelter. But that's why we can start living independently.

We went into a school where we grew and progressed quickly, and then we left our parents and our childhood home.

We got married, had children, and then had to let them go. We face the death of our parents and spouses, we face aging and a gradual weakening of our strength.

Finally, as the fables of "The Open Hand" and "The Closed Hand" suggest, we must have to face our own death, which is inevitable.

We will also lose who we are, who we once were, who we once were, or who we dreamed of. This is the end of our lives.

And the beginning of this life to the end of life is the process of our whole life and the meaning of life.