Many years ago, when I still had the time to do such things, I would get up early and make my way over to the nearby parks. I would arrive at around 7am.
Even at that early hour, there used to be (and for all I know, still are) a lot of people, generally middle-aged or older, doing their early morning exercises, dance routines, karaoke, stretches or jogging.
I would be looking for scenes that struck me as quirky. I used to see a lot of people hugging tree trunks. I had no idea why they did that. I heard it was a way to absorb the energy, chi, rising through the tree at the start of the day.
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝
I liked the posture of the woman in the first photo. Her face mostly obscured by the lowest branch, her arms are bent 90 degrees at the elbow, the sleeves of her jacket hanging flush to her sides. I stood there for several minutes. She didn’t move the whole time.
The man in the foreground of the second photo was practicing Tai Chi; the man in the background had just been resting in the branches. The first man is the trunk, his arms the lower limbs, the tree twining up and to the left from his extended arm, the second man stepping down onto it.
The third photo is simpler. The woman’s posture mirrors that of the trees surrounding her, and she appears as rooted in the ground as they are.
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝
(Paul Cooper, Taipei Times)
多年前，當我還有這閒功夫的時候，我會起個大早到附近的公園去，大約早上七點就到了。
即便是清晨，公園裡人已經很多了，多為中老年人，在做運動、跳舞、唱卡拉OK、做伸展操或是慢跑。
Photo: Paul Cooper, Taipei Times
照片：台北時報記者古德謙攝
我會特別注意到一些看來古怪的景象。以前常看到很多人抱著樹幹，我不曉得這是為什麼，聽說這樣可以從樹木吸收一天之始的能量。
我喜歡第一張照片中那婦女的姿勢。她的臉龐大部分被樹枝遮住了，她的手臂由手肘彎曲成九十度，她外套的袖子貼齊身體下垂。我在那裡待了好幾分鐘，她卻是動都沒動過。
第二張照片前景中的人正在打太極拳，背景中的稍早靠著樹休息。前景的人像是樹幹，他的手臂如樹下枝椏，而後方的樹由其伸展出的手往上向左延伸，而遠景那個人就像是踩著這樹枝跨下來。
第三張照片就簡單些。照片中的女子模仿她周圍樹木的姿態，她看來也像是樹一般根植於土地上。
（台北時報編譯林俐凱譯）
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