BY RAY REN

The following piece received 1st place in the Visual Arts section of The Auricle’s 2021 Writing and Visual Art Competition and is responding to the prompt “The value of experience is not in seeing much, but in seeing wisely.” William Osler

In Chinese culture, the phrase “Fengshui” not only encapsulates spirituality, but emphasises self-reflection and inner study to achieve wisdom.

Inspired by my travels in Southwestern China through Yunnan and Tibet, this composition blends my love of hiking with art, photography and graphics design.

Faced with diverging paths at a crossroad, without a signal or cell phone, we were informed by the Sherpa that only one road led to our destination.

Much like the multifaceted paths that lay ahead, each triangle embodies a road through the snowy mountain. Embedded within are photos of our destination from afar. To our untrained eyes, each road appeared similar, albeit different. Likewise, each intersecting shape is simultaneously simple yet complex.

Ultimately, though many photos are captured, only one depicts the traveller at his destination. In the same way an experienced Sherpa guided us on that right path to the summit, the value of experience lies not in just seeing the choices that manifest in front – but in judging wisely.

Reflecting back on his wisdom, I realise that though my journey through med school is approaching its conclusion, there is still so much to learn from the experiences of the people and world around me.