Have you ever seen a real night sky that looks like Van Gogh's Starry Night? I hope not! So, why would an artist paint the sky this way? Perhaps I can answer that with another question. When you're happy, why do you sing instead of speaking? Or when you're in love, why do you speak of roses and honey? When we do these things, we, too are artists. We're using something that goes beyond a mere scientific description in order to communicate our feelings more powerfully than straightforward words can. So consider for a moment that Van Gogh might not have been hallucinating on the night he painted this. Maybe he felt something so powerful that he had to go beyond the familiar to express it.

    I hope I'm reminding you of something you already know as I describe the experience of being outside at night under a crystal clear sky that makes everything seem clean and refreshing. So you look up. And suddenly you see the sky that you've seldom seen before. It's not just the same old dark night sky tonight. Instead, the blackness is a deep, rich blue that is more bottomless than any ocean. The stars are not spots of light but brilliant, magical diamonds that dance like tiny angels. In just this special moment, the sky is somehow alive, and it seems to speak to you silently about the meaning of infinity.

    Now look at the painting again. Can you see something of what makes this such a famous and well-loved image? But there's more here than that. Van Gogh painted this while he was quite struck down by a mental disease. It is natural to imagine that he frequently battled the fear that he would never escape his prison to true freedom. It is natural for us to imagine this because each of us has faced our own personal prison, whether it be disease, the loss of a loved one, serious financial problems … In such moments it is tempting to give up to despair and collapse in hopelessness.

    Looking at this painting, I imagine Van Gogh in just such a moment of despair, when he is struck by the memory of one of those amazing night skies. He recalls the sense that he is not alone, that there is a living, infinite world with rich colorful creatures and scenes all around.

    And so the sky flows across the canvas full of vitality and power. The stars don't just sparkle; they explode. Looking closer, we notice that the earth itself seems to respond to the movement in the sky, forming its own living waves in the mountain and rolling trees. In the sleepy village, the windows of the houses glow with the same light that brightens the universe. The giant trees at the left seem to capture the joy by stretching upwards toward the sky.

    What a tremendous message of hope there is in this masterpiece! Even if our troubles persist, the world around us assures us that life is worth living. That's what the angels sing about. Doesn't it make you want to sing, too?

    One May morning, 10-year-old Khadab played in the ruins of a school near his home in northern Iraq. He saw something that looked interesting. It was yellow and plastic and looked like a ball. He reached for his new toy and, BANG!

    The last thing he remembered was a big noise. When Khadab awoke, he was in hospital. His parents stood sadly by his side. They told him he had picked up an unexploded bomb. When it exploded, Khadab lost an arm.

    He was just one of hundreds of Iraqi children who have been injured or killed by stepping on and picking up explosives left over from the war.

    These landmines (地雷) and bombs have injured and killed at least 15 people a day since Saddam Hussein's government fell on April 9. And children are the most affected.

    Iraq is among the worst landmine-affected countries in the world. Many villages in the war-torn areas are surrounded by minefields (雷区). These landmines lie on the ground between rocks, up in trees and on riverbeds.

    Even though the war in Iraq is over, many children have not returned to school. They can be seen walking the streets with the natural curiosity of young kids. Their new playgrounds are places where the fighting took place. Many boys can be seen playing with unexploded bombs. A new game is to throw the bombs and run away. Some of them get away, but too many are killed. They do this for fun, and don't realize the dangers until it's too late.

    UNICEF (联合国教科文组织) has warned children, through the TV, of the dangers of landmines and unexploded bombs in Iraq. They hope to make children aware of the dangers they face.

    “I can't imagine there's going to be a classroom in the north without scared children in it. It's so widespread,” said Sean Sutton of the British-based Mines Advisory Group (MAG).

    MAG is an organization working to clear unexploded bombs and landmines in war-torn areas.

    It is difficult to report the exact number of deaths. Sutton said MAG found 320 injuries in northern Iraq in the first month after April 9. But he said the real figure was probably much higher.

    My father was attached to gardening by birth. One of my earliest memories is following Dad barefoot around in the garden with both hands blackened from digging in the soil. The garden was a wonderland full of possibilities.

    As Dad grew older, he still loved gardening. Even when he was diagnosed with cancer, he still planted all sorts of plants. Sometimes, I would come over to visit, and we would walk together in the garden. But then, something changed. Like the weeds that took over his garden, the cancer grew rapidly in Dad, and the doctor gave up. I stayed with Dad twenty-four hours a day and I found myself in all kinds of uncomfortable situations with Dad until I promised to care for the garden.

    Though I had heard the words of the doctor, what really made me believe that Dad was dying was the state of his garden. That year, he only planted tomatoes. Too tired to weed them, he simply tied them with strong strings to the fence and let them be. It made me sad to see them ignored, so I would come over and water them once in a while, and remove the weeds. I still remember the day I picked the last tomato from the vine(藤). That day was one of the saddest I had ever experienced in my life.

    Three years ago, I decided to plant my own garden. I decided I would start out with just a few tomatoes. That morning when I moved to the garden, something caught the corner of my eye and I had to smile. It was my eight-year-old son Nathan, standing barefoot in the soil, happily playing in soil.

    When one tried to unify gravity with quantum mechanics (量子力学), one had to introduce the idea of 'imaginary' time. If one can go forward in imaginary time, one ought to be able to turn round and go backward. This means that there can be no important difference between the forward and backward directions of imaginary time. Yet there is a big difference between the forward and backward directions of 'real time' in ordinary life. Imagine a cup of water falling off a table and breaking into pieces on the floor. If you take a film of this, you can easily tell whether it is being run forward or backward. You can tell that the film is being run backward because this kind of behavior is never observed in ordinary life.

    The explanation that is usually given as to why we don't see broken cups gathering themselves together off the floor and jumping back onto the table is that it is forbidden by the second law of thermodynamics (热力学). This says that in any closed system disorder, or entropy (熵), always increases with time. In other words, it is a form of Murphy's law: things always tend to go wrong! An intact cup on the table is a state of high order, but a broken cup on the floor is a disordered state. One can go readily from the cup on the table in the past to the broken cup on the floor in the future, but not the other way round.

    The increase of disorder or entropy with time is one example of what is called an arrow of time, something that tells the past from the future, giving a direction to time. There are at least three different arrows of time. First, there is the thermodynamic arrow of time, the direction of time in which disorder or entropy increases. Then, there is the psychological arrow of time. This is the direction in which we feel time passes, the direction in which we remember the past but not the future. Finally, there is the cosmological arrow of time. This is the direction of time in which the universe is expanding rather than contracting.

    A week ago at Compton Elementary School, Georgia, something wonderful happened. Band students from Hillgrove High School arrived to hang out with and talk to the little guys. They wanted to make sure the school's youngest had food in their homes that week.

    The thing that thrilled people was that this generous idea came from 17-year-old Nathan Jones, not an adult. Jones is a good trumpet (小号) player with the Hillgrove Hawks band. The idea, he said, came to him two years ago during a discussion about community service in a freshman leadership class. Serving the community was nothing new to Jones. For years, he and his family, who recently moved from Orlando, Florida, had been active community volunteers.

    Last year, Jones thought it was a good idea to get the school band involved in community service, only for the young kids in the school. Band director Patrick

    Erwin agreed but decided they had neither the time nor the resources to do it. "It got put on the back burner," Jones said. "This year, I decided to try again." This time, Erwin encouraged Jones to take charge and he did.

    Back in August, Jones challenged the band to raise $5, 000 to help with the cost of packing the meals. Within two weeks, they'd collected $6, 000 in donations, enough to provide 2,500 family meals, including bags of rice, soy protein, vitamins and vegetables. By the end of the month, when poor families are struggling, a bag of food can mean the difference between a full stomach and an empty one for many of those students.

    But HiHgrove's effort isn't just about feeding the body. It's about feeding souls, too.

    Early on, the band's goal was to direct students' focus from getting "likes" on social media to building relationships with the people around them. So the band decided on the message, "What the world needs now is love, not likes" for its half-time show.

    "That means actually going into the community and actually showing love," Jones said. "We're going out and doing what we're telling people to do."

Wilderness Explorers Center Guide

Welcome to the Wilderness Explorers Center, your gateway to the adventure of nature's wonders! With engaging exhibits, wildlife sightseeing, and natural activities, there's something for everyone to enjoy.

Discover Nature's Treasures

Don't miss the chance to explore our Nature Gift Shop, located near the entrance of the Wilderness Explorers Center. Here, you'll discover a delightful array of eco-friendly gifts, educational books, and unique handicrafts inspired by the natural world.

Enjoy at Forest Café

After a day of exploration, fuel your energy at the Forest Café. Indulge in a selection of delicious snacks, sandwiches, and beverages sourced from local ingredients. Whether you're craving a refreshing drink or a heart y meal, the Forest Café is the perfect spot to relax and unwind.

Ensure the Accessibility

Ensuring that every visitor can fully enjoy their experience is our top priority. That's why we offer wheelchair and stroller rentals at the entrance, making it easy for everyone to explore our center comfortably. Our staff are also available to ensure that all guests feel welcome.

Support the Conservation

Join us in our mission to protect and preserve the natural world for future generations. Your support plays a crucial role in our conservation efforts. Click our website here to learn more about how you can get involved, from donating to becoming a member of our conservation community. Together, we can make a difference in safeguarding the beauty of our planet.