The Apple Pile

Victoria

導讀：萬事萬物之間都是相互聯系、相互依賴的，我們應該用聯系的觀點看問題。

In a corner of our kitchen there is a small basket. We use it for fruits. It has a round shape and its made of straws. It can hold bananas， pears， oranges or apples. Usually， we put them on top of each other.

The other day I wanted to take out a banana from this pile of fruits. But the banana was under a pile of apples. I carefully took the apples， took away one banana， and then put the pile of apples back. When I started， there were only bananas in the pile. So I arranged one apple near another and the pile grew slowly. I did it slow on purpose. I didnt know why， but I felt something important will grow out.

The topmost apple was sitting on only three apples. Suddenly， I found this almost magical. If it werent for those three apples， the topmost one couldnt stay there. It couldnt be suspended in the air. It needed the support of the others. I think I sat a few seconds looking at those apples.

The Interdependence of Things

And then I realized why I was so doubted. We always want a certain thing to happen， just like the topmost apple. We know what we want， we see it and we want it now. But， almost always， we dont have the supporting points.

We just want the topmost position. The best work. The best house. The best relationship. We know perfectly how it will look. Just like the apple on top of the pile. It was at the perfect level. Only it just couldnt be there alone. It needed the other three apples under it.

So， we cant have that work， that house， that perfect relationship just like this， out of thin air. We need to build it. And by that I dont necessarily mean to strive for it； I dont think its a difficult task to find the perfect house or the perfect relationship. On the contrary， actually. By “building it” I mean something very subtle： the interdependence of things. That base is made of many， many things， all interconnected. Just like the relationship is made of many， many things， all interconnected.

In my pile， the support was made by 3 apples. But I could have had any other fruits. It didnt really matter that the support was made of apples. But it mattered that the support was there.

Its the same thing with what we want. We need to have the connecting “fruits”， so we can climb on top of what we want. It wont happen out of thin air.

Vocabulary

suspend v. 使懸浮

support v. 支撐

strive for 爭取，奮斗

subtle adj. 微妙的

matter v. 有關系，要緊

（Have you ever found the interdependence of many things？ Give some examples.）