年近古稀的我，应该说是饱经风霜、世事洞明了。但依然时而明白，时而懵懂。孔子曰：“七十而从心而欲，不逾矩。”大概已达到大彻大悟的思想境界了吧。吾辈凡夫，生存在功利社会，终日忙忙碌碌，为柴米油盐所困，酒色财气所惑，既有追求，又有烦恼，若想做到从心所欲，难矣哉！

老年人的从心所欲，不是说可以我行我素，倚老卖老，从心所欲，说白了，就是要有自己的的活法，在心灵深处构筑独自的“自由王国”。海空任鱼跃，天高任鸟飞，悠悠然自得其乐。这种自由，既是无限的，又是有限的，无限的从心所欲寓于有限的生活空间。我想，这大概就是孔夫子所说的“不逾矩”吧。

Approaching the age of 70, I should be said to be weather-beaten and insightful about the mundane affairs yet I’m still alternately sober and muddled. When Confucius said: “Once I was seventy I was able to follow my heart’s desire freely without overstepping the bounds”, he must have achieved supreme enlightenment. We ordinary people, living in a utilitarian-oriented society, rush about all day long, vexed by daily necessities like fuel, rice, cooking oil and salt, and tempted by cardinal vices such as wine, women, avarice and pride. What an immense difficulty to follow our hearts’ desire in the face of conflicts between pursuits and cares.

To say that we elderly people should have a free rein does not mean we could follow our bigoted course and presume on our advanced age. It means that we, after the discovery of our individual way of living, build our own “Realm of Liberty” in the depths of our minds. The wide sea allows the fish to leap about and vast sky the birds to fly. With such freedom from restraint, we are content with our lot, taking delight in whatever we do. Such freedom is infinite as well as finite in that the infinite liberty of mind is confined in the finite living sphere. To me, that is what Confucius defines as “not overstepping the bounds”.