Inaugural Officer Post—Ben Xin

Hello everyone, this is Ben. This is my inaugural officer post. I just went to share my thoughts on this project, and also our mission. In that case, what are we waiting for? Let's get started!

At least in my opinion, I would consider myself a thinker. There are no specific topics or fields on what I think about; however, the common thing among my ideas is “cloud castle." My ideas might be wonderful, but there is rarely any time that I would pay out my action on them to try to achieve them, just like a castle above the cloud. No matter how beautiful the castle is, no one can ever reach it. I guess the main reason for it was how big those ideas were, so big that they turned into nihilism. If you wonder what those thoughts are, it's mainly just about things like “Is there a God," "What is the purpose of life," or " What is the definition of 'love'?" After all, what can a teenager do with these questions? What a tragedy, right? However, things often change. 

As my thinking process goes further and further, I feel an infinite amount of nihilism. However, everything changed after I realized how important 'conversation, " or the process of trading ideas, is. I still remember that clearly, it was during a conversation with my teacher. He asked some questions about what I wanted to do for my future. In my memory, that talk went on forever. After that significant experience, a new way of thinking appeared in my head like how God created light when the world was still filled with darkness. I can finally find my “own” answer.

Now you might want to ask, How do these stories have anything to do with 1001Lives? "Well, the reason for it was also 'conversation." I started to share with other people about my thoughts, and I did learn and came up with new ideas like how I did before. However, there are barely any cases where we come up with an agreement. Then I start to think about myself. Perhaps, I already had the answers to my questions in the beginning, and everything else I did was just helping me to discover them. If this is true, then everyone should have their

meaning in life. Instead of convincing others to believe in your life view, why not help them to find their own? I want to build the cloud castle in my head into a real palace where everyone can go, and that is why I started 1001Lives with Eason. No matter how hard it is, we will try until the end. Our goal is to share other people's stories, helping others to find their own “answer.”

—Ben Xin