16 Abundance is a LifeStyle Catherine Franz
Abundance is a life style, a way of livingyour life. It isn't something you buy now and then or pull downfrom the cupboard, dust off and use once or twice, and then returnto the cupboard.
Abundance is a philosophy, it appears in yourphysiology, your value system, and carries its own set of beliefs.You walk with it, sleep with it, bath with it, feel with it, andneed to maintain and take care of it as well.
Abundance doesn't always require money. Manypeople live with all that money can buy yet live empty inside.Abundance begins inside with some main self-ingredients1), likelove, care, kindness, and gentleness, thoughtfulness andcompassion. Abundance is a state of being. It radiates outward. Itshines like the sun among the many moons in the world.
Being from the brightness of abundance doesn'tallow the darkness to appear or be in the path unless a choice toallow it to. The true state of abundance doesn't have room for liesor games normally played. The space is too full of abundance. Thismay be a challenge because we still need to shine for others tosee.
Abundance is seeing people for their gifts andnot what they lack or could be. Seeing all things for their giftsand not what they lack.
Start by knowing what your abundances are,fill that space with you, and be fully present from that state ofbeing. Your profession of choice is telling you this already.Examples: Coaches have an abundance of knowing and possibilities.That is their gift. Consultants and customer service professionalshave the abundance of success, practicality, in common.Administrative Assistants and Virtual Assistants have an abundanceof coordination and time management. Abundance is all around you,and all within. See what it is; love yourself for what it is, notwhat you're missing, or what that can be better, but for what is atthis present moment.
Be in a state of abundance of what you alreadyhave. I guarantee they are there; it always is buried but there.Breathe them in as if they are the air you breathe because they areyours. Let go of anything that isn't abundant for the time being.Name the shoe boxes in your closet with your gifts of abundance;pull from them every morning if needed. Know they arethere.
Learning to trust in your own abundance isrequired. When you begin to be within your own space of abundancewhatever you need will appear whenever you need it. That's just theway the higher powers set this universe up to work. Trust theuniversal energy. The knowing of it all will humble you to itspower yet let the brightness of you shine everywhere it needs to.Just by being from a state of abundance, it is beingyou.
[Annotation:]
1) ingredient n.成分，因素
富足的生活方式
富足是一种生活方式。它不是偶尔买来、从架子上拿下来、抹去灰尘用上一两次然后又放回到架子上的东西。
富足是一种哲学，它体现于你的生理机能和价值观之中，并带有自己的一套信仰。无论走路、睡觉、洗澡你都会感觉到它，你就要维护并照顾它。
富足并不一定需要金钱。许多人拥有金钱所能买到的一切，但却内心空虚。富足源自内心，其中包含一些重要的自我成分，比如爱、关心、善良和温柔、体贴与同情。富足是一种生存状态，它向外发散，像处于众多星球之间的太阳那样发光发亮。
来自富足的光亮不允许黑暗的出现或存在。除非选择允许它存在。真正的富足不给谎言或通常玩的游戏留有空间，因为富足已经把空间填得太满了。这可能是一个挑战，因为我们仍然需要为了让别人看见而发光。
富足是看到人们的天赋，而不是他们的缺陷。所有的事物都要看其天赋而不是缺陷。
从知道自己的富足是什么时候开始，填满空间，全身心投入生活。你的选择已经告诉了你。例如：教授能够了解队员并激发其潜力，那是他们的天赋；顾问和客服专业人事通常能够提供很多成功且很具实用性的案例；行政助理和虚拟助理熟识协调配合和时间管理的技巧。富足充盈于你的四周以及你的内心。明白富足的内容，爱本色的自己，不要为自己缺少的或是能变得更好的方面爱自己，而是为此时此刻的富足而爱自己。
要处于你已经拥有的事物的富足状态。我保证她们就在那儿，深藏不露却从未远离。将其看成空气，吸入体内，因为它们是你的。放开暂时并不富足的东西。把你富足的所有天赋写在橱柜里的鞋盒子上，如果需要就每天早上拉开橱柜，知道你的天赋都在那儿。
你需要学会信任自己的富足。当你开始处于自己富足的空间之内时，你所需要的东西都会在你需要是出现。这就是更高的力量设置这个宇宙运转的方式。要相信宇宙的能量。知道这一点会让你在其力量面前保持谦卑，但也会让你的光亮闪耀在所有需要的地方。只有处于富足的状态，就是做你自己。
17 Human Life aPoem Lin Yutang
I think that, from a biological standpoint, human life almostreads like a poem. It has its own rhythm and beat, its internalcycles of growth and decay. It begins with innocent childhood,followed by awkward adolescence trying awkwardly to adapt itself tomature society, with its young passions and follies1), its idealsand ambitions; then it reaches a manhood of intense activities,profiting from experience and learning more about society and humannature; at middle age, there is a slight easing of tension, amellowing2) of character like the ripening of fruit or themellowing of good wine, and the gradual acquiring of a moretolerant, more cynical and at the same time a kindlier view oflife; then in the sunset of our life, the endocrine glands3)decrease their activity, and if we have a true philosophy of oldage and have ordered our life pattern according to it, it is for usthe age of peace and security and leisure and contentment; finally,life flickers out and one goes into eternal sleep, never to wake upagain.
One should be able to sense the beauty of this rhythm of life,to appreciate, as we do in grand symphonies, its main theme, itsstrains of conflict and the final resolution. The movements4) ofthese cycles are very much the same in a normal life, but the musicmust be provided by the individual himself. In some souls, thediscordant5) note becomes harsher and harsher and finallyoverwhelms or submerges6) the main melody. Sometimes the discordantnote gains so much power that the music can no longer go on, andthe individual shoots himself with a pistol or jumps into a river.But that is because his original leitmotif7) has been hopelesslyover-shadowed through the lack of a good self-education. Otherwisethe normal human life runs to its normal end in a kind of dignifiedmovement and procession. There are sometimes in many of us too manystaccators10) or impetuosos9), and because the tempo is wrong, themusic is not pleasing to the ear; we might have more of the grandrhythm and majestic tempo of the Ganges10), flowing slowly andeternally into the sea.
No one can say that a life with childhood, manhood and old ageis not a beautiful arrangement; the day has its morning, noon andsunset, and the year has its seasons, and it is good that it is so.There is no good or bad in life, except what is good according toits own season. And if we take this biological view of life and tryto live according to the seasons, no one but a conceited fool or animpossible idealist can deny that human life can be lived like apoem. Shakespeare has expressed this idea more graphically in hispassage about the seven stages of life, and a good many Chinesewriters have said about the same thing. It is curious thatShakespeare was never very religious, or very much concerned withreligion. I think this was his greatness; he took human lifelargely as it was, and intruded11) himself as little upon thegeneral scheme of things as he did upon the characters of hisplays. Shakespeare was like Nature itself, and that is the greatestcompliment we can pay to a writer or thinker. He merely lived,observed life and went away.
[Annotation:]
1) folly n. 愚笨，愚蠢
2) mellow v.（使）柔和，成熟
3) endocrine gland: 内分泌腺
4) movement n. 乐章
5) discordant adj.不悦耳的，不和谐的
6) submerge v. 淹没
7) leitmotifs n. 主乐调
8) staccato n. 短奏
9) impetuoso n. 强音
10) the Ganges n. 恒河
11) intrude v. 闯入，侵入
人生如诗
我以为，从生物学角度看，人的一生恰如诗歌。人生自有其韵律和节奏，自有内在的生长与衰亡。人生始于无邪的童年，经历少年的青涩，带着激情与无知、理想与雄心，笨拙而努力地走向成熟；后来人到壮年，经历渐广，阅人渐多，涉世渐深，收益也渐大；及至中年，人生的紧张得以舒展，人的性格日渐成熟，如芳馥之果实、如醇美之佳酿，更具容忍之心，虽亦愤世嫉俗，但对人生的态度趋于和善；再后来就是人生迟暮，内分泌系统活动减少，若此时吾辈已经悟得老年真谛，并据此安排残年，那生活将平和、宁静、安详和知足；终于，生命之烛摇曳而终熄灭，人开始永恒的长眠，不再醒来。
人们当学会感受生命韵律之美，像听交响乐一样，欣赏其主旋律、激昂的高潮和舒缓的尾声。这些反复的乐章对于我们的生命都大同小异，但个人的乐曲却要自己去谱写。在某些人心中，不和谐音会越来越刺耳，最终竟然能掩盖主曲；有时不和谐音会获得巨大的能量，令乐曲不能继续，这时人们或举枪自杀或投河自尽。这是他最初的主题被无望地掩蔽，只因为他缺少自我教育。否则，常人将以体面的进展和进程走向既定的终点。在我们大多数人胸中常常会有太多的断奏或强音，那是因为节奏错了，生命的乐曲因此而不再悦耳。我们应该如恒河，学她气势恢弘而永不停息地缓缓流向大海。
人生有童年、成年和老年，谁也不能否认这是一种美好的安排，一天要有清晨、正午和日落，一年要有四季之分，如此才好。人生本无好坏之分，只是各个季节有各自的好处。如若我们持此种生物学的观点，并循着季节去生活，除了狂妄自大的傻瓜和无可救药的理想主义者，谁能说人生不像诗一般度过呢。莎翁在他的一段话中形象地阐述了人生分七个阶段的观点，很多中国作家也说过类似的话。奇怪的是，莎士比亚并不是虔诚的宗教徒，也不怎么关心宗教。我想这正是他的伟人之处，他对人生秉着顺其自然的态度，他对生活之事的干涉和改动很少，正如他对戏剧人物那样。莎翁就像自然一样，这是我们给作家或思想家的最高褒奖。对人生，他只是一路经历着、观察着，然后离我们远去了。
18Solitude Henry David Thoreau
I find it wholesome to bealone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with thebest, is soon wearisome and dissipating1). I love to be alone. Inever found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. Weare for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men thanwhen we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is alwaysalone, let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by themiles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. Thereally diligent student in one of the crowded hives of CambridgeCollege is as solitary as a dervish2) in the desert. The farmer canwork alone in the field or the woods all day, hoeing3) or chopping,and not feel lonesome, because he is employed; but when he comeshome at night he cannot sit down in a room alone, at the mercy ofhis thoughts, but must be where he can “see the folks,” andrecreate, and, as he thinks, remunerate4) himself for his day’ssolitude; and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in thehouse all night and most of the day without ennui5) and “theblue”; but he does not realize that the student, though in thehouse, is still at work in his field, and chopping in his woods, asthe farmer in his, and in turn seeks the same recreation andsociety that the latter does, though it may be a more condensedform of it.
Society is commonly too cheap.We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire anynew value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, andgive each other a new taste of that old musty6) cheese that we are.We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette7)and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that weneed not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at thesociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and arein each other’s way, and stumble over one another. Certainly lessfrequency would suffice for all important and heartycommunications. Consider the girls in a factory—never alone,hardly in their dreams. It would be better if there were but oneinhabitant to a square mile, as where I live. The value of a man isnot in his skin, that we should touch him.
I have a great deal of companyin my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls. Let mesuggest a few comparisons, that some one may convey an idea of mysituation. I am no more lonely than the loon8) in the pond thatlaughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself. What company has thatlonely lake, I pray? And yet it has not the blue devils, but theblue angels in it, in the azure9) tint of its waters. The sun isalone, except in thick weather, when there sometimes appear to betwo, but one is a mock sun. God is alone---but the devil, he is farfrom being alone; he sees a great deal of company; he is legion10).I am no more lonely than a single mullein11) or dandelion12) in apasture, or a bean leaf, or sorrel, or a horse-fly, or a bumblebee.I am no more lonely than the Mill Brook, or a weathercock, or thenorth star, or the south wind, or an April shower, or a Januarythaw, or the first spider in a new house.
[Innotation:]
1) dissipate v. 浪费（金钱或时间）
2) dervish n.伊斯兰教的托钵僧，苦修僧人
3) hoe v. 用锄耕地，锄
4) remunerate v. 酬劳
5) ennui n. 倦怠，厌倦
6) musty adj.发霉的，有霉味的，冷淡的
7) etiquette n. 礼节
8) loon n.懒人，笨蛋，（动物）潜鸟
9) azure adj.天蓝的，蔚蓝的
10) legion n. 众多，大批
11) mullein n. （植物）毛蕊花属的植物
12) dandelion n. 蒲公英
独处
我发现人若大部分时间用于独处，将有益身心。与人为伴，即使是挚友，也很快会有厌烦或虚度光阴的感觉。我爱独处，我发现没有比独处更好的伴侣了。出国，身在熙攘的人群中，要比退守陋室更让人寂寞。心有所想、身有所系的人总是孤身一人，不论他身在何地。独处与否也不是由人与人之间的距离来确定。在剑桥苦读的学子虽身在蜂巢般拥挤的教室，实际上却和沙漠中的苦行僧一样，是在独处。农人终日耕于田间，伐于山野，此时他虽孤单但并不寂寞，因他专心于工作；但待到他日暮而息，却未必能忍受形影相吊、空有思绪做伴的时光，他必到“可以看见大伙儿”的去处去找乐子，如他所认为的那样以补偿白日里的孤独；因此他无法理解学子如何能竟夜终日独坐而不心生厌倦或备感凄凉；然后他没意识到，学子虽身在学堂，但心系劳作，他是耕于心田，伐于学林，这正如农人一样，学子在寻找的无非是和他一样的快乐与陪伴，只是形式更为简洁罢了。
与人交往通常都因唾手可得而毫无价值，在频繁的相处中，我们无暇从彼此获得新价值。我们每日三餐相聚，反复让彼此重新审视的也是依旧故我，并无新奇之处。为此我们要循规蹈矩，称其为懂礼仪、讲礼貌，以便在这些频繁接触中相安无事，无论论战有辱斯文。我们相遇在邮局，邂逅在社交场所，围坐在夜晚的炉火旁，交情甚好，彼此干扰着，纠缠着；实际上我认为这样我们都或多或少失去了对彼此的尊重。对于所有重要的倾心交流，相见不必过频。想想工厂里的女孩，她们虽不落单，但也少有梦想。像我这样方圆一英里仅一人居住，那情况会更好。人的价值非在肌肤相亲，而在心有灵犀。
……….
我的房子里有很多伙伴，尤其在无人造访的清晨。我把自己和周围事物对比一下，你或许能窥见我生活的一斑。比起那湖中长笑的潜鸟，还有那湖，我并不比它们孤独多少。你看：这孤单的湖又何以为伴呢？然而它那一湾天蓝的湖水里有的却是天使的纯净，而非魔鬼的忧郁。太阳是孤独的，虽然时而在阴郁的天空里会出现两个太阳，但其中之一为幻日；上帝是孤独的——魔鬼才从不孤独，他永远不乏伙伴，因从他者甚众。比起牧场上的一朵毛蕊花、一支蒲公英、一片豆叶、一束蚱浆草、一只牛蟒或大黄蜂来，我并不孤单多少；比起密尔溪、风标、北极星、南风、四月春雨、正月融雪、或者新房中的第一只蜘蛛，我也并不更加孤独。
19 Giving LifeMeaning James Rick
Have you thought about whatyou want people to say about you after you’re gone? Can you hearthe voices saying,” He was a great man. ” or “she really will bemissed.” What else do they say?
One of the strangest phenomenaof life is to engage in a work that will last long after death.Isn’t that a lot like investing all your money so that futuregenerations can bare interest on it? Perhaps, yet if you look deepin our own heart, you’ll find something drives you to make thiskind of contribution---something drives you to make this kind ofcontribution---something drives every human being to find a purposethat lives on after death.
Do you hope to memorializeyour name? Have a name that is whispered with reverent1) awe? Doyou hope to have your face carved upon 50 ft of granite2) rock? Isthe answer really that simple? Is the purpose of lifetimecontribution an ego-driven desire for a mortal being to have animmortal name or is it something more?
A child alive today willdie tomorrow. A baby that had the potential to be the next Einsteinwill die from complications3) at birth. The circumstances of lifeare not set in stone. We are not all meant to live life through toold age. We’ve grown to perceive life as a full cycle with acertain number of years in between. If all of those years aren’tlived out, it’s a tragedy. A tragedy because a human’s potentialwas never realized. A tragedy because a spark was snuffed out 4)before it ever became a flame.
By virtue of5) inhabiting abody we accept these risks. We expose our mortal flesh to the lawsof the physical environment around us. The trade off isn’t so badwhen you think about it. The problem comes when we construct mortalfantasies of what life should be like. When life doesn’t conformto our fantasy we grow upset, frustrated, or depressed.
We are alive; let us live.We have the ability to experience; let us experience. We have theability to learn; let us learn. The meaning of life can be graspedin a moment. A moment so brief it often evades our perception.
What meaning stands behindthe dramatic unfolding of life? What single truth can we grasp andhang onto for dear life when all other truths around us seem tofade with time?
These moments are strungtogether in a series we call events. These events are strungtogether in a series we call life. When we seize the moment andbend it according to our will, a will driven by the spirit deepinside us, then we have discovered the meaning of life, a meaningfor us that shall go on long after we depart this Earth.
[Annotation:]
1) reverent adj.尊敬的，虔诚的
2) granite n. 花岗岩
3) complication n. 并发症
4) snuff out 扼杀，消灭
5) by virtue of: 由于，依靠
给生命以意义
你有没有想过，你希望人们在你死后怎样评价你？你能否听过这样的说法：“他是个伟大的人”或“人们的确会怀念她”，他们还会说些什么？
人生最奇异的现象之一就是，你从事的事业在你死后仍将长久存在。这和你用所有的钱进行投资以便后人能从中获益难道不是如出一辙吗？也许，如果你审视自己的内心深处，你就会发现促使你做出这种贡献的驱动力——一种驱使每个人寻找在自己死后仍能继续存在的饿事业的驱动力。
你希望自己的名字能被人记住吗？你希望别人提起你的名字时心怀敬畏吗？答案真的那么简单吗？贡献一生的目的难道是终将一死之人想要获得不朽名声的自我鞭策的欲望？抑或是其他更伟大的事物？
今天活着的孩子明天就会死去。一个有可能成为下一个爱因斯坦的婴儿会死于出生并发症。生命的情形并不是固定不变的。我们并没有注定都要活到老年。我们已经认识到，生命是一个周期，其时间长度是特定的。如果这些时间没有被充分利用，那就是个悲剧，因为人的潜能还未实现，因为火花还没有形成火焰就被扑灭。
由于存在肉体之中，所以我们接受这些风险。我们使易朽的肉体服从周围物理环境的法则。你仔细想一想就会发现，这种交易并不那么糟糕。当我们幻想生命应该如何时，问题就来了，当生命和我们的幻想不一致时，我们就变的烦恼，无奈或沮丧。
我们活着，那我们就要活的精彩，我们有能力体验，那我们就要体验人生甘苦；我们有能力学习，那我们就要在学海徜徉。生命的意义可以在一瞬间抓住——一个经常被我们忽略的短暂瞬间。
当生命戏剧般地一幕幕拉开时，其中隐含的意义是什么？当我们周围所有其他真理都似乎随着时间而消逝时，我们能够掌握哪个真理并依靠它来生活呢？
这些瞬间串联在一起，我们称之为事件。这些事件串联在一起，我们称之为生活。当我们抓住那个瞬间并按照我们的意志来改变它——这意志受到我们内心深处的精神的驱使，我们就发现了生命的意义——这意义将在我们离开地球之后存在。
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