大紐約區海外台灣人筆會第六屆年刊

《會長的話-President’s Message》

Welcome Address by Pen Club President Dr. S. Lin -會長林興隆博士

Happy New Year!! All too soon another year has come. Our experiences have been bittersweet, with our economy sturdily following its downward journey. Nevertheless, I believe all of us have at least one thing to be thankful for. No matter how we feel in our beings – spirit soul and body, and also in our wallets/bank accounts, we remain thankful to the Source of all life for this awesome gift (of life). On behalf of the leadership and the entire membership of this club and also on my behalf I welcome all of you to our 6th annual meeting. We continue to be blessed every year with distinguished individuals who share with us deepest insights and knowledge through various discussion and explorations and this year is no exception. We welcome into our midst our Keynote Speaker the Rev. Chang, General Secretary of the Taiwan Presbyterian Church, who has flown all the way to be with us. We welcome His Excellency Andrew Kao, our Guest of Honor, not only into our midst but also to his new post and 6home’ as the Director of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, and wish him the best in all his endeavors. We also have as our Special Guest, His Excellency Roy Yuan-Rong Leu who is no new face to us. Appreciate your immense support to this club.

I am thankful to our speakers – Dr. Huang and Profs. Chow and Kuo who will help us explore our Conference Theme – Humanity and Spirituality. As human beings we are also spiritual beings. However, far from being a thing that one possesses, spirituality is something we earnestly seek, and look forward to attaining, in our inner self. While spirituality sounds like an abstract entity, it is that which helps us develop those concrete values and virtues. Our cultivated spirituality is what helps us to engage in society, one that freedom reigns. We hope for a society that is inclusive, and more open, and respectful of our beings, and which is liberating and full of mercy, too. While all these sound far-fetched, especially considering the decaying nature of world, we could be hopeful that our spiritualities will help us cultivate in ourselves these virtues that will lead and guide us on our journey.

The prophet Micah told the people of Israel at one point，that (God) had shown them “what is good… ”and which is, “to do justly, and to love mercy” (Micah 6:8). The question is, 66What is that which is good, and how do we even know if we have it?^ Can we find the good anywhere? We may define the good as that which is right (or righteous). The Wise Man made a profound statement in (Proverbs, 14:34) to the effect that righteousness is always the cornerstone of every nation, and is the same that exalts a nation. I believe we can cultivate or develop goodness through our spirituality. An old sage says, in the last days, (and I believe we are in those days) old men shall dream magnificent dreams and young men will see visions (Joel2:28). I believe everyone here dreams – at least, we try to dream the “American Dream” and hope to open our eyes one day to see ourselves arrived! But we can also dream all the more, about what is good and righteous concerning the land of our birth, and hope that mercy, kindness, and righteousness will prevail in Taiwan.

I welcome you once again and hope that we have not just a fruitful and a memorable day today, but also a prosperous New Year.

Posted in 2015/01