Promising land
I have been to the free Christmas dinner event held by the municipal government of Davis, but recently I found the event is not quite related to Christmas, because I only saw the signs of “Happy Hanukkah” and the Jewish symbol of the 12 candles there. Maybe this city was found by the Jewish?
The discovery is meaningful to me! because I could truly feel Davis is my promising land when I just arrived here, and what happened later has further proved my thought has been right!
At that time, I did not expect to get the admission from the PhD program of biomedical engineering at UC Davis with full scholarship for the first year! It was my first time to be economically independent in the U.S., a truly dream coming true for me! Therefore, Davis is indeed my promising land, just like the land of Canaan for Jewish people!
My thinking has changed a lot here, because I knew I could never rely on myself to be at this amazing place! There must be some kind of supernatural force that is beyond my ability to recognize! Therefore, I have learned to not be self-centered any more and opened my heart to everything around me! I've started to appreciate the beauty of flora and fauna in the wild and the subtle signs of seasonal changes. Many people think Davis has nothing but a lot of farm lands, but in Isao Takahata's famous cartoon movie "Only Yesterday", agriculture is described as a beautiful balance between Mother Nature and human creativity. That is exact what I feel about Davis! I even grew a lot plants myself, including rose, lavender, purple heart, lilac, strawberry, winter jasmine, sage, and even redwood tree!
I also truly appreciate the construction of Toad Tunnel by the city government to prevent the frogs from being crushed by the cars. Also, there is a comprehensive bike path system in Davis so that people can drive much less and consume much less gasoline, and thus the air pollution harmful to the nature is effectively reduced. Although I have a car, I insist to bike to the school no matter it is raining or windy, because I want to perpetuate the spirit of Davis in environment conservation!
If you want to experience everything about Davis in just one day, you must come here on Picnic Day! It is the homecoming day for UC Davis, and there will be a lot of wonderful events that will make you fall in love with this city immediately!
When I became no longer self-centered, I have been able to appreciate the generosity from all the people around me, and from my interaction with them, I was able to interpret what happened in my past in different ways and start to think maybe there is a chance for my redemption right here for me to make all my unfulfilled dreams in the past come true! I have thus become much more optimistic than before in Davis!
I even had a deeper connection with my family at here! because Davis is truly like the place where I was born! in particular when I was in the annual event (similar to the Woodstock concert in 1970s) held by the student association in UC Davis, Whole Earth Festival. The vibrant colors let me feel like going back to 70s when my parents were young, and suddenly I was able to truly understand the story they told me many times regarding to the progressive hippie culture and the young people’s assertion for social justice and environment conservation at that time. Quite in coincidence, my advisor professor is also full of 70s' spirit! He can play guitar for all Beetle’s songs, and he would fight against any inequality happening in the school! In our biomedical research work, he also keeps challenging the conventional views in the textbooks!
Another big influence is from my cousin, M. He was studying in UC Davis before I came here, and the miraculous experience of how he met his true love, now his wife, while in Davis has always reminded me how wonderful this place can be! and inspired me to pursue my happiness here! I wish I would be as lucky as him!
With all the fantastic things happening here, I always believe I am blessed by the God right here in Davis!
Indeed, my life in Davis has been full of luck! I took both the preliminary exam and qualify exam for only once and passed them! With my teaching assistant work and scholarship, I no longer need to worry about money! It is even better now because the professor has already made plans for my postdoctoral work! I had encountered all kinds of troubles before I came here, so I firmly believe God has arranged this for me! I used to be a steadfast atheist, believing everything in the world, including our thought and feelings, could be explained by natural science, but my miraculous experience in Davis has changed me drastically! It made me believe the existence of supernatural force. In particular, when I encountered Buddhism that is behind the Hippie culture during Whole Earth Festival, I thought the ideas of karma in Buddhism might explain about the miracles I experienced in Davis. Maybe my dedication for being righteous in my previous and present life brought me to this promising land, Davis!
Later on when I encountered Christianity, I was surprised that the first sermon I heard was also about the ideas of promising land! When the pastor mentioned that how the Jewish people were able to enter the land of Canaan filled with milk and honey, I immediately realize this is also the reason for me to come to Davis! The Jewish people had been enslaved in Egypt for a very long time, and after they got out of Egypt, they were wandering in the wildness for 40 years. However, all the hardship has forged them to finally build their own nation in the land of Canaan with abundant resource! This kind of happiness and security is what I am looking for in my life all the time! and Davis is exactly the beautiful land of Canaan for me!
Therefore, Buddhism, Judaism, and Christianity all told me that this is my promising land! Davis is the God’s blessing for me! It is a place meant for me to stay, build my home, and live happily now and forever!
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