The above image is from http://travel2unlimited.com/canadaquebec-vallee-de-phantoms-at-monts-valin-np/.

Legend has it that Quebec, Canada, has a valley that points north on one end and south on the other. There is nothing unusual about the valley. The only thing that catches the eye is that its west slope is covered with pine, cypress, privet, and other trees, while the east slope only has cedar trees.

The reason for this strange arrangement is a puzzle that few people have been able to solve. It was an ordinary couple who accidentally solved this mystery.

It happened during the winter of 1983 when the couple’s marriage was on the verge of breaking up. To rekindle their love, they planned to take a romantic trip. If this worked, they would remain married; if not, they would go through an amicable breakup. 

When they came to this valley, it was snowing heavily. The couple set up tents and watched as the snow continued to fall from the sky. They noticed that the snow on the east slope was heavier and denser than the snow on the west slope due to the unique wind direction.

However, when the snow accumulates to a certain extent on a cedar tree, the cedar’s elastic branches will bend downwards, allowing the snow to fall off them. The cedar is flexible enough that the branches will remain intact.

However, the other herbaceous trees were less flexible, so their branches would break under a load of snow.

Due to the lesser amount of snow on the western side, some trees like pine, cypress, and privet can survive alongside the cedar.

The wife noticed this and said to her husband, “There once must have been a greater variety of trees on the east slope, but the heavy snow destroyed them because they could not bend underneath the snow.”

The husband agreed.

After a while, they realized something and kissed and hugged each other.

“We solved the mystery — you need to take as much pressure as possible from the outside world. When you can’t take it, you need to bend and take a step backward like the cedars so that you don’t get crushed by your difficulties.”

Indeed, bending is not falling and destroying, and it is an art of life. You need to be able to compromise(bend in time) under pressure, or else it will crush you.

Reference:

hlday (2008, Jan. 30) 適時彎曲的哲學－雪松

https://www.timelog.to/a179269442

《適時彎曲的哲學》

加拿大的魁北克有一條南北走向的山谷。山谷沒有什麼特別之處，惟一能引人注意的是它的西坡長滿松、柏、女貞等樹，而東坡只有雪松。

這一奇異景觀是個謎，許多人不知所以，一直沒有令人滿意的結論。揭開這個謎的，竟是一對普通的夫婦。

那是1983年的冬天，這對夫婦的婚姻正瀕於破裂的邊縁。

為了重新找回昔日的愛情，他們打算做一次浪漫之旅，如果能找回就繼續生活，如果不能就友好分手。

他們來到這個山谷的時候，下起了大雪。他們撐起帳篷，望著滿天飛舞的大雪，發現由於特殊的風向，東坡的雪總比西坡的雪來得大，來得密。不一會兒，雪松上就落了厚厚的一層雪。

不過當雪積到一定的程度，雪松那富有彈性的枝丫就會向下彎曲，直到雪從枝上滑落。這樣反覆地積、反覆地彎、反覆地落，雪松完好無損。

可是其他的樹，例如那些柘樹因沒有這個本領，樹枝被壓斷了。

西坡由於雪小，總有些樹挺了過來，所以西坡除了雪松，還有柘、柏和女貞這類。

帳篷中的妻子發現這一景觀，對丈夫說：「東坡肯定也長過雜樹，只是不會彎曲才被大雪摧毀了。」

丈夫點頭稱是。

不一會，兩人像突然明白了什麼似的，相互吻著擁抱在一起丈夫興奮地說：
「我們揭開了一個謎──對於外界的壓力要盡可能地去承受，在承受不了的時候，學會彎曲一下，像雪松一樣讓一步，這樣就不會被壓垮了。」

確實，彎曲不是倒下和毀滅，它是人生的一門藝術。我們需要能夠在壓力下妥協(適時彎曲)，否則它將摧毀我們。

参考资料:

hlday (2008, Jan. 30) 適時彎曲的哲學－雪松

https://www.timelog.to/a179269442