Two Colors 100 Philosophy Stories That Will Affect Middle School Students' Lives

Author: Su Chunli, Wang Yanming
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: Birsa is a pearl in the Western Sahara Desert, attracting tens of thousands of tourists every year. However, before Ken Lemon discovered it, it was still a closed and backward place. No one had ever stepped out of the desert here. It was said that they weren’t unwilling to leave this barren land, but rather that they had tried many times and failed. Ken Lemon, of course, didn’t believe this. He asked the people here in sign language why this was the case, and the answer from everyone was the same: no matter which direction they walked, they would eventually return to their starting point. Why couldn’t the people of Birsa get out of the desert? Ken Lemon was very puzzled and, in the end, had to hire a guide to lead him and see what was really going on. They carried water for half a month, led two camels, and Ken Lemon put away his compass and other modern equipment, only walking behind with a wooden stick. After 10 days, they had traveled about 800 miles, and on the morning of the 11th day, they indeed returned to Birsa. This time, Ken Lemon finally understood that the reason the people of Birsa couldn’t get out of the desert was that they didn’t even know the North Star. In the boundless desert, if a person only relied on their sense of direction to walk forward, they would end up walking in many circles of different sizes, and their final footprints would most likely be in the shape of a ruler. Birsa Village is located in the vast desert, with no reference points within thousands of kilometers. Without knowing the North Star or having a compass, it was indeed impossible to get out of the desert. When Ken Lemon left Birsa, he took a young man named Agulter with him, who was the person he had worked with before. He told this man that as long as he rested during the day and walked toward the star in the north at night, he could get out of the desert. Agulter did as he was told, and after three days, he indeed reached the edge of the desert. Agulter thus became the pioneer of Birsa, and his bronze statue was erected in the center of the small town. The base of the statue is inscribed with the words: A new life begins with the selection of a direction.
A person, no matter how old they are, truly begins their life journey the day they set a goal. The days before that were just circles. For survival and success, we must establish order from chaos, find a normal rhythm, and set a goal. Without a goal, we can only wander in life and never reach our destination. Just as air is essential for life, a goal is equally essential for success. When setting a goal, four factors should be considered: first, understanding what you want to do; second, understanding what you can do; third, aligning your desires, abilities, and reality; and fourth, learning to let go and suppressing the greedy desire to know everything, achieve everything, and possess everything.