Finding Courage in Uncertainty 在不確定中找到勇氣

I dreamed I was attending an event in Taiwan that seemed to be a joint effort between the Malaysian government and private organizations to promote investment opportunities. I wanted to explore potential business prospects. While listening, I overheard that many Taiwanese participants at such events ended up involved in industries not typically accessible to outsiders.

For example, a designer managed to connect with the arms industry through one of these events. Others used these semi-official gatherings to build relationships that led to collaborations with unique, exclusive industries.

As I listened and secretly took notes, I thought, "Ordinary people like us typically work in industries that are obvious and accessible to everyone. But some industries require connections through these semi-official channels to even enter." The more I thought about it, the more it made sense—such businesses are often more distinctive.

I met a pair of sisters who, through similar channels, began importing special goods to Taiwan. They eventually specialized in this field and found great success. After the event, they were heading to their next destination, and I decided to follow them.

As we walked, I noticed the path ahead was suddenly flooded with water. I saw two elephants, one big and one small, standing in the water, seemingly waiting for someone to lead them across. However, everyone was hesitant and scared. The locals reassured us, saying we should cross boldly, as the water wasn’t as deep as it seemed. Still, it looked like we might drown if we tried.

The locals kept insisting it was safe and explained that as long as we had enough confidence, we wouldn’t drown. They called for volunteers to guide the elephants through the water or even ride them across, but no one dared to take on the task without proper training.

I wanted to say, "I’ll do it," but since the semi-official meeting hadn’t concluded, I couldn’t leave yet. I believed I could help by riding the elephant across, especially since I didn’t think the elephants would run wildly. It felt like it would be an amazing experience.

I stood on a bridge looking down at the elephants by the water. Just then, we received notice from the semi-official group that we didn’t need to return to the meeting and that we’d eventually cross to the other side as well.

As I walked down to the water, I realized that what had seemed deep from above was actually not as bad upon closer inspection. The water, which had looked murky earlier, was now clear, revealing stones beneath. I thought, "No wonder the locals were so confident—it’s shallow enough to lead the elephants across."

The scene shifted, and I found myself on a speedboat with the two sisters, heading toward a city. The bright sunlight shone on us, and the breeze on my face felt exhilarating. I was still pondering how to find meaningful business connections in such settings. Suddenly, the scene changed—it was now sunset, and the city ahead, once clearly visible, had turned into shadowy skyscrapers under dimming light. I was puzzled by how quickly the scene had shifted.

We arrived at a new location and waited on the shore for others to join us. While chatting with the sisters, I asked about their work. They asked if I’d been to this place before, which seemed to be either mainland China or Southeast Asia. I replied that I hadn’t and mentioned my travel history—often accompanying semi-official groups to China and occasionally returning to my home in the U.S. They seemed surprised and asked, "Oh, you live in the U.S.?" I explained, "Yes, I used to go home once a year, but due to the pandemic, I haven’t returned in three years."

I then thought about my daughter when she was little—how she used to cling to me. Now, after all these years of not going home, she had grown up and wasn’t as attached to me anymore.

I continued chatting with the sisters and asked about their current business. They said they were in the trade of rare herbs, a niche industry with limited access. I thought to myself, "Exactly! To succeed in business, you have to focus on unique fields. Otherwise, competing in oversaturated markets is tough and unprofitable."

For some reason, the scene shifted again. I found myself at a place resembling an altar. People were holding incense sticks, bowing, and performing rituals. I followed suit, curious about what was being worshiped. Then I saw Diana, a senior acquaintance, and "Captain," a former friend with whom I had fallen out.

夢見我在一個像是馬來西亞政府和民間合作的來台招商說明會，我想聽聽看有沒有什麼好的商機。現場無意中聽到好像有不少台灣人透過這種說明會，意外參與到一些一般外人接觸不到的產業。

我聽到有個設計師透過這種說明會，接觸到軍火產業。另外也有一批人，經由這種半官方的活動到處拉關係，就有機會與一些特殊、非一般人可接觸到的產業合作。

我一邊聽，一邊偷偷做筆記，心想：「我們一般人做生意，做的都是那種大家都可以想得到、接觸得到產業。有些產業需要經由這種檯面下這種半官方單位的連結，才接觸得到。」我越想越覺得有理，這類生意也比較具有獨特性。

我還碰到一對姊妹花，她們也是經由這管道，進口一些特別的貨品到台灣，後來就專注在這產業上，也發展出一片天。說明會結束後她們要去下一個地點，我就跟著她們走。

我邊走邊看。我們好像要去一個地方，但那個地方突然淹了好大的水。我看到兩隻大象，一大一小，站在水裡，好像需要有人牽著大象走過去，但大家都有點害怕。

當地人要我們別怕，只需放心大膽涉水過去。可是那水看來很深，感覺走過去會滅頂。當地人一直說不會，他們說雖然看起來好像會滅頂，但只要你有足夠的信心走過去，並不會淹死。

他們在徵求自願者牽大象涉水過去，甚至還說可以乘坐大象過河，可是大家還是很害怕，認為沒有受過訓練，不敢承擔這樣的工作。

其實我很想說「那我來好了」，可是因為和那個半官方團體的會還沒開完，我還不能離開。我認為其實我是可以幫當地人坐著大象到對岸，因為我認為就像他們講的，只要接受一點訓練就可承擔這工作，而且我也不相信大象會狂奔過去。我覺得這會是一個蠻好的經驗。

我站在橋上，大象在橋下水邊。我看到當地有人要把大象牽過去，然後我正好收到半官方團體的通知，說我們不用回去開會，而且晚點我們也要到對岸那裡去。

我往橋下走，走近看發現剛才從上方往下看，以為水很深，但實際近看，其實並沒有想像的深。而且剛才看來水很混濁，但現在水變得很清澈，還看得見石頭。我心想難怪剛才當地人一直叫我們不用怕，因為水不深，下方是石頭，這樣就可以牽著大象走過去。

場景切換到我和前面那對姊妹花在一艘快艇上，像是朝著城市駛去。原本太陽很明亮，我們乘著風，享受那種陽光照在臉上，風吹臉龐的快感。我腦子裡還是一直想著要如何在這種場合找到適合的商業連結。但開著開著，突然變成像是夕陽，前方原本清晰的城市變成高樓的陰影，整個光線變弱了。我心裡還有點納悶：怎麼場景切得那麼快？

我們來到一個地方，站在岸邊等其他人陸陸續續到齊，順便和那對姊妹花閒聊，我大概問了一下她們在做什麼。她們問我有來過這個地方嗎？好像這個地方是大陸還是東南亞，我說這裡我沒來過。她們問我上次出國是什麼時候，我提起過去常跟這種帶有一點官方色彩的團體來到大陸參訪，再來就是偶爾會回美國的家。她們語帶驚訝「喔！妳住美國？」我回說「是呀！之前我大概每年會回家一次，不過碰到疫情，三年沒回家了。」這時候我想起女兒還小的時候，當時她還很黏我，這麼多年沒回去，她長大了，也不再黏我了。

我繼續和姊妹花閒聊，問起她們現在做什麼生意。她們說是一些特殊藥草的生意，反正就不是一般人有接觸管道的產業。我不禁想：「對啊！做生意就是要找這種具有獨特性的產業，不然只是在紅海裡大家搶生意，很難獲利啊！」

然後不知為何，我來到一個像是祭壇的地方。我看到大家拿著香，鞠躬問訊，行禮如儀。我跟著做，好奇這是在拜什麼呢？然後我看到 Diana 師姐和我不再往來的前友人 "班長"。