2026.01.05 - When My Hometown Enters Winter

2026.01.05 – When My Hometown Turns to Winter

2025: A Generation Bursts Out of the Trenches

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/NBheXac63spJr-w7UUcM0A

In my view, “high‑level Chat commerce” means first recognizing that modeling the world is a task worth limitless effort; then establishing an efficient hybrid paradigm with an “AI slave,” learning and searching together. The hybrid paradigm can be summed up as: 1) humans handle the “ineffable” parts—motivation, preferences; 2) the chatbot handles the “describable” parts, i.e., concrete actions toward a direction. Both you and the slave are on the same ship, but the slave only thinks of the waves, while you keep the distant horizon in mind. What you need is “AI leadership,” or put another way, “AI servitude power.”

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If I had to pick a single word to forecast 2026

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/3UmwNM4XwYoeglZzt7tEFA

That word is: value reshuffling. What does that mean? Simply put, the answers to questions like “what’s worth buying” or “what’s worth doing” are shifting in our minds. We’re reclaiming a sense of control, resonating in soft rebellion, creating little satisfactions. Consequently, the value of “meaning” is being reordered ahead of the value of “function.” This does not imply that consumer attitudes are becoming chaotic—in fact, the opposite. It means people are finally building a world that is “defined as worthwhile by me.”

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Cai Zhizhong: Why “Sweeping the Floor” Is the Highest Form of Practice

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/lCYLPagUBdBlUVWND45S2Q

Each of us has a profession, and doing it skillfully and mindfully is itself a kind of practice. My profession and hobby is painting; when I paint, everything falls silent except the rustle of brush on paper and my own heartbeat, as if the entire universe contains only me. No job is inherently high or low—what matters is personal love for it. Even the most ordinary task, when focused on, can reveal profound truths without needing to become a monk, chant sutras, or meditate. As the Buddha said, “One flower is a world; one leaf is enlightenment.” This shows that everything has its own path of cultivation. With concentration, a mundane activity can be elevated to a practice.

Set your mind on one place, do your own work well, and you will find inner tranquility.

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Interpretation of Duhuo Jisheng Wan: Nourish Liver & Kidneys, Dispel Wind‑Damp

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/DR2hOUKJkqprK4j6xrJ59w

When using Chinese patent medicines, don’t stop at the “form” level. Take Duhuo Jisheng Wan as an example: grasp its “spirit,” expand your thinking, and endless applications emerge. Different levels of understanding produce dramatically different effects. One alternative reading is: “Man dwells between heaven and earth; by borrowing the vast qi of the cosmos, he can live freely and radiate vibrant life!” Each of us walks the world in a unique way—we can harmonize with all things while staying true to our own inner self.

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Perpetual “Participation” Is the Way to the Dao

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/jaW0fZKjSh9YdthXjsP9JA

“Participation” (参) is singular and exclusive. If we use the character “observe” (观), we get stillness without constant motion; if we use “study” (学), we get constant motion without stillness. Something else must supplement both. Only “participation” points toward the unknown, naturally embodying a non‑attachment, non‑clinging quality that aligns deeply with the Dao. The foundational position of consciousness is the participatory stance. Gaining the Dao through consciousness is residing forever in that participatory state. “Forever residing in participation” means there is nothing to cling to or linger on—just participation. In pure participation, one’s true nature reveals itself behind, and function appears ahead. Participation is both the initial method and the final result.

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When My Hometown Turns to Winter

https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/N_CtRhhsI-1JTPkzvWZCjQ

Once, we may have thought the winter in our hometown was harsh, prompting us to leave the mountains, the small town, the county. Yet time passes, and those who toil in foreign lands keep reaching for that distant warmth. Many have fought desperately to break free from their hometown’s constraints, only to later reconcile with it. No matter who you are abroad—successful or struggling—when you return home, you can finally shed the armor you’ve worn all year. Remember, we’ll see many snowfalls in life, but only the snow of our hometown melts nowhere in our hearts. We’ll travel many roads, but only the hometown road never leaves us feeling lonely or afraid. When your hometown turns to winter, there is a starting point waiting for you to look back, a warmth kept aside just for you.

Also see: Zhejiang New‑Year Propaganda Message | Every Firefly Is a Torch, Every Path Has an Exit

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Originally written by Ping Xia (平侠) and published in Chinese on 拾一集 (Weekly Reflections). Translated and adapted for DriftSeas with permission.