溫故知新 Old wisdom, today’s insight — ONGO
A Parent's Kindness Is Boundless as the Sky
A Parent's Kindness Is Boundless as the Sky asks: Do I only begin to measure the size of the hands that raised me in silence after those hands are gone? The film The Way Home (dir. Lee Jeong-hyang) raises it; The Book of Songs, "Liao E" (Minor Odes) answers: "My father gave me life, my mother reared me. I long to repay their kindness, but it is boundless as the vast sky."
Do I only begin to measure the size of the hands that raised me in silence after those hands are gone?
My father gave me life, my mother reared me. I long to repay their kindness, but it is boundless as the vast sky.
📝The Classic Answers
Whenever I read this ancient song, my throat tightens. The old poet lamented that though he longed to repay his parents' kindness, it was boundless as the sky and beyond all repaying. The hands that raise us rarely take credit. The countless labor of cooking, washing, sitting up through sick nights flowed by without a name. Knowing I can never fully repay that love, I choose today to voice even one ten-thousandth of what I received. Repayment may come late, but recognition must not.
🌱Apply It Today
Recall one specific act of labor by someone who raised you, and say aloud, "I was grateful for that."
The film is honored as an equal questioner; its plot is rendered only as a universal dilemma. The classic source is an ancient text (Public Domain), and the reflection is 100% original ONGO content.
