20 Relish theMoment
Tuckedaway1) in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselveson a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train.Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearbyhighways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on adistant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row uponrow of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains androlling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the finaldestination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pullinto2) the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once weget there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the piecesof our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle3).How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes forloitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
"When we reach the station, that will be it!"we cry. "When I'm 18." "When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz! ""When I put the last kid through college. " "When I have paid offthe mortgage!" "When I get a promotion." "When I reach the age ofretirement, I shall live happily ever after! "
Sooner or later, we must realize there is nostation, no one place to arrive at once and for all4). The true joyof life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantlyoutdistances5) us.
It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad.It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. "Relishthe moment "is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm118:24:"This is the day which the Lord hath made;we will rejoiceand be glad in it. "It isn't the burdens of today that drive menmad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow.Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles.In stead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefootmore often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cryless. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soonenough.
[Annotation:]
1) tuck away: 隐藏
2) pull into: 到站,停车
3) jigsaw puzzle: 七巧板,智力拼图玩具
4) once and for all: 最后地
5) outdistance vt.抛到后头
品位现在
在我们的潜意识之中隐藏着一幅田园诗般的风景。我们仿佛置身于一次横跨大陆的迢迢旅途之中。我们乘火车而行,领略窗外流动的风景:附近公路上驰骋的汽车、十字路口处挥手的孩童、远处山坡上吃草的牛羊、发电站里冒出的滚滚尘烟、成片的玉米和小麦、平原和山谷、群山和绵延的丘陵、天空衬托下城市的轮廓以及乡间的庄园宅第。
可是我们心中想的更多的却是最终的目的地。在某天的某一时刻,我们将会进站。迎接我们的将是演奏的乐曲和飘舞的旗帜。我们一旦到了那儿,许多美妙的梦想就将成为现实,我们的生活也将变的完整,就像一幅拼好的拼图。可我们现在在车厢过道里烦躁不安地跺来跺去、咒骂火车的磨磨蹭蹭。我们等待着,等待着,等待着火车进站。
“等我们一进站,就万事大吉了!”我们呼喊着。“等我18岁的时候。”“等我买一辆新的450LS奔驰轿车的时候!”“等我供最小的孩子念完大学的时候。”“等我还清抵押贷款的时候!”“等我升官晋职的时候。”“等我退休,我从此就可以过上幸福的生活啦!”
可是我们迟早会认识到,人生之旅并没有车站,最终我们也没有地方可以到达。生活的真正乐趣就在于旅行的过程,而车站仅仅是个梦,它总是可望而不可及。
真正让人发疯的不是今天的负担,而是对昨天的悔恨以及对明天的恐惧。悔恨和恐惧就像一对孪生窃贼,将今天从我们身边夺走。
那么就不要在车厢过道里徘徊了,不要算计自己已经走了多远。换一种活法,去攀登更多的高山,多吃点冰淇淋解解谗,经常光着脚闲游漫步,在更多的河流里畅游,多欣赏夕阳西下,多点欢笑,少些泪花。我们必须在前进的过程中生活,车站很快就会到来。
21 The Love ofBeauty
The love of beauty is anessential part of all healthy human nature. It is a mortal quality.The absence of it is not an assured ground of condemnation1), butthe presence of it is an invariable sign of goodness of heart. Inproportion to the degree in which it is felt will probably be thedegree in which nobleness and beauty of character will beattained.
Natural beauty is anall-pervading2) presence. The universe is its temple. It unfoldsinto the numberless flowers of spring. It waves in the branches oftrees and the green blades of grass. It haunts3) the depth of theearth and the sea. It gleams4) from the hues of the shell and theprecious stone. And not only these minute objects but the oceans,the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the rising and the settingsun---all overflow with beauty. This beauty is so precious, and socongenial5) to our tenderest and noblest feelings, that to think ofthe multitude of people living in the midst of it and yet remainingalmost blind to it.
Allpersons should seek to become acquainted with the beauty in nature.There is not a worm we tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrilyas it falls before the autumn winds, but calls fro our study andadmiration. The power to appreciate beauty not merely increases oursources of happiness---it enlarges our moral nature, too. Beautycalms our restlessness and dispels our cares. Go into the fields orthe woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and allyour little perplexities6) and anxieties will vanish. Listen tosweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will passaway. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beautyof goodness.
[Innovation:]
1) condemnation n.指责,定罪
2) all-pervading: 普遍的
3) haunt vt.时常出现,弥漫
4) gleam v. 闪烁,闪现
5) congenial adj. 适宜的
6) perplexity n. 困惑
爱美
爱美乃是健全人性不可或缺之一部分。它是一种道德品质。缺乏这种品质并不能作为受到责难的充分理由,但是拥有这种品质则是心灵美好的永恒标志。品德的高尚与美好所达到的程度可能与对美的感受程度成正比。
大自然的美无处不在,整个宇宙就是美的殿堂。美,在春日百花中绽放;美,在绿叶嫩芽间摇曳;美,在深海幽谷里游弋;美,在奇石与贝壳的缤纷色彩中闪烁。不只是这些细微之物,还有海洋、山川、云彩、繁星、日升日落——一切都洋溢着美。这样的美是如此珍贵,与我们最温柔、最高尚的情愫是如此相宜。然而,想到很多人置身于美之中,却几乎对它熟视无睹,真是令人痛心不已。
所有的人都应该去认识大自然之美。没有一条我们踩过的小虫,没有一片在秋风拂略之际飞舞的树叶不值得我们研究与赞赏。欣赏美的能力不仅增加了我们快乐的来源,也加强了我们德行的修养。美使我们不安的心平静下来,也驱散了我们的忧虑。到田野或森林去,在夏日的海边或山上呆上一天,那么你所有微不足道的困惑与焦虑都会烟消云散。倾听悦耳的音乐,你那愚蠢的恐惧与狭隘的嫉妒都会过去。世界之美将有助于我们找到为善之美。
22 The HappyDoor
Happinessis like a pebble dropped into a pool to set in motion anever-widening circle of ripples. As Stevenson has said, being happyis a duty.
There isno way exact definition of the word happiness. Happy people arehappy for all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth or physicalwell-being, since we find beggars, invalids1) and so-calledfailures who are extremely happy.
Beinghappy is a sort of unexpected dividend2). But staying happy is anaccomplishment, a triumph of soul and character. It is not selfishto strive for it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves andothers.
Beingunhappy is like an infectious disease; it causes people to shrinkaway from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone, miserable andembittered. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, atfirst glance, ridiculous: if you don’t feel happy, pretend tobe!
It works.Before long you will find that instead of repelling people, youattract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be thecenter of wide circles of good will.
Then themake-believe3) becomes a reality. You possess the secret of peaceof mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to others.
Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as ahabit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with gratefulfriends.
[Innovation:]
1) invalid n. 残疾人,病人
2) dividend n. 意外的收获
3) make-believe: 伪装,虚假
快乐之门
快乐就像一块为了激起阵阵涟漪而丢进池塘的小石头。正如史蒂文森所说,快乐是一种责任。
快乐这个词没有确切的定义,快乐的人快乐的理由多种多样。快乐的关键并不是财富或身体健康,因为我们发现有些乞丐、残疾人和所谓的失败者也都非常快乐。
快乐是一种意外的收获,但保持快乐却是一种成就、一种灵性的胜利。努力追寻快乐并不自私,实际上,这是我们对自己和他人应尽的责任。
不快乐就像传染病,它使得人们都躲避不快乐的人。不快乐的人很快就会发现自己处于孤独、悲惨、痛苦的境地。然而,有一种简单得看似荒谬的治病良方:如果你不快乐,就假装你很快乐!
这很有效。不久你就会发现,别人不在躲避着你了,相反,你开始吸引别人了。你会发觉,做一块能激起好意涟漪的小石头有多么值得。
然而假装就会变成了现实。你拥有了使你心灵平静的秘密,会因帮助别人而忘我。
一旦使你认识到快乐是一种责任并使快乐成为习惯,通向不可思议的乐园的大门就会向你敞开,那里满是感激你的朋友。
23 Born toWin
Each humanbeing is born as something new, something that never existedbefore. Each is born with the capacity to win at life. Each personhas a unique way of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting, andthinking. Each has his or her own uniquepotentials1)---capabilities and limitations. Each can be asignificant, thinking, aware, and creative being---a productiveperson, a winner.
The words“winner” and “loser” have many meanings.When we refer to aperson as a winner,we do not mean one who makes someone elselose.To us, a winner is one who responds authentically by beingcredible, trustworthy, responsive, and genuine, both as anindividual and as a member of a society.
Winners donot dedicate their lives to a concept of what they imagine theyshould be; rather, they are themselves and as such do not use theirenergy putting on a performance, maintaining pretence andmanipulating others. They are aware that there is a differencebetween being loving and acting loving, between being stupid andacting stupid, between being knowledgeable and actingknowledgeable. Winners do not need to hide behind a mask.
Winnersare not afraid to do his own thinking and use his own knowledge. Hecan separate facts from opinion and doesn't pretend to have all theanswers. He listens to others, evaluates what they say, but comesto his own conclusions. Although winners can admire and respectother people, there is not totally defined, demolished2), bound, orawed by them.
Winners donot play “helpless”, nor do they play the blaming game. Instead,they assume responsibility for their own lives. They don’t giveothers a false authority over them. Winners are their others afalse authority over them. Winners are their own bosses and knowit.
Awinner’s timing is right. Winners respond appropriately to thesituation. Their responses are related to the message sent andpreserve the significance, worth, well-being, and dignity of thepeople involved. Winners know that for everything there is a seasonand for every activity a time.
Althoughwinners can freely enjoy themselves, they can also postponeenjoyment, can discipline himself in the present to enhance hisenjoyment in the future. A winner is not afraid to go after what hewants but does so in appropriate ways. Winners are not afraid to goafter what he wants, but they do so in proper ways. Winners do notget their security by controlling others. They do not setthemselves up to lose.
A winner cares about theworld and its people. A winner is not isolated from the generalproblems of society, but is concerned, compassionate3) andcommitted to improving the quality of life. Even in the face ofnational and international adversity, a winner’s self-image is notone of a powerless individual. A winner works to make the world abetter place.
[Innovation:]
1) potential n. 潜能,潜力
2) demolish vt. 驳斥,推翻
3) compassionate adj.富于同情心的,热忱的
生而为赢
人皆生而为新,为前所未有之存在,人皆生而为赢。人皆有其特立独行之方式去审视、聆听、触摸、品位及思考,因而都具备独特潜质——能力和局限。人皆能举足轻重,思虑明达,洞察秋毫,富有创意,成就功业。
“成者”与“败者”含义颇多。谈及成者我们并非指令他人失意之人。对我们而言,成者必为人守信,值得信赖,有求必应,态度诚恳,或为个人、或为社会一员皆能以真诚回应他人。
或者行事并不拘泥于某种信条,即便是他们认为应为之奉献一生的理念;而是本色行事,所以并不把精力用来表演,保持伪装或操纵他人。他们明了爱与装爱、愚蠢与装傻、博学与卖弄之间迥然有别。成者无须藏于面具之后。
成者敢于利用所学,独立思考,区分事实与观点,且并不佯装通晓所有答案。他们倾听、权衡他人意见,但能得出自己的结论。尽管他们尊重、敬佩他人,但并不为他们所局限、所推翻、所束缚,也不对他人敬若神灵。
成者既不佯装“无助”,亦不抱怨他人。相反,他们对人生总是独担责任,也不以权威姿态凌驾他人之上。他们主宰自己,而且能意识到这点。
成者善于审时度势,随机应变。他们对所接受的信息做出回应,维护当事人的利益、康乐和尊严。成者深知成一事要看好时节,行一事要把握时机。
尽管成者可以自由享乐,但他更知如何推迟享乐,适时自律,以期将来乐趣更盛。成者并不忌惮追求所想,但取之有道,也并不靠控制他人而获取安然之感。他们总是使自己立于不败。
成者心忧天下,并不孤立于尘世弊病之外,而是置身事内,满腔热忱,致力于改善民生。即使面对民族、国家之危亡,成者亦非无力回天之个体。他总是努力令世界美好。
24 Work andPleasure
To be really happy andreally safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, andthey must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say:“I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt onlyaggravates1) the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire greatknowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardlyget any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like; youhave got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may bedivided into three classes: those who are toiled2) to death, thosewho are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It isno use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week’ssweat and effort, the chance of paying a game of football orbaseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting thepolitician or the professional or business man, who has beenworking or worrying about serious things for six days, to work orworry about trifling things at the weekend.
It mayalso be said that rational, industrious3), useful human beings aredivided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whosepleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasureare one. Of these the former are the majority. They have theircompensations4). The long hours in the office or the factory bringwith them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but aknee appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modestforms. But Fortune’s favoured children belong to the second class.Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours arenever long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidayswhen they come are grudged5) as enforced interruptions in anabsorbing vacation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternativeoutlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, isessential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is theirpleasure are those who most need the means of banishing6) it atintervals7) from their minds.
[Innovation:]
1) aggravate vt.使恶化,加重
2) toil v. 苦干,费力地做
3) industrious adj.勤勉的,刻苦的
4) compensation n.补偿,赔偿
5) grudge v. 不给予
6) banish vt. 流放,驱逐,消除
7) at intervals: 不时
工作和娱乐
要想真正生活得幸福和平安,一个人至少应该有两三种业余爱好,而且必须是珍重的爱好。到了晚年才开始说“我要培养这个或那个兴趣”是毫无用处的,这种尝试只会增加精神上的负担。在与自己日常工作无关的领域中,一个人可以获得渊博的知识,但却很难有所收益或得到放松。做自己喜欢的事是无益的,你得喜欢自己所做的事。广言之,人可以分为三个类别:劳累而死的人,忧虑而死的人和无聊而死的人。对于那些体力劳动者来说,一周辛苦的工作使他们精疲力竭,因此周六下午给他们提供踢足球或者打棒球的机会是没有意义的。对于政界人士、专业人士或者商人来说,他们已经为棘手的事务操劳或者烦恼了六天,因此在周末请他们为琐事劳神同样毫无意义。
或者可以这么说,理智的、勤奋的、有用的人可以分为两类:对第一种人而言,工作就是工作,娱乐就是娱乐;对于第二种人而言,工作和娱乐是合二为一的。很大一部分人属于前者。他们可以得到相应的补偿。在办公室或者工厂里长时间的工作,不仅带给他们维持生计的金钱,还带给他们一种渴望娱乐的强烈欲望,哪怕这种娱乐消遣是以最简单、最淳朴的方式进行的。而第二类人则是命运的宠儿。他们的生活自然而和谐。在他们看来,工作时间永远不够多,每天都是假期;而当正常的假日到来时,他们会抱怨自己有趣的休假被强行中断。然而,有一些东西对于这两类人来说都十分必要,那就是变换一下视角,改变一下氛围,尝试做点不同的事情。事实上,那些把工作看作娱乐的人可能最需要以某种方式将工作不时地驱赶出自己的大脑。

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