英語美文賞析倘若鳥兒回還

Charles saw them both at the same time: a small white bird and the girl wheeling down the walk. The bird glided downward and rested in the grass; the girl directed the chair smoothly along the sunlit, shadowy1 walk. She stopped to watch the ducks on the pond and when she shoved2 the wheels again, Charles stood up. “May I push you?” he called, running across the grass to her. The white bird flew to the top of a tree.

It was mostly he who talked and he seemed afraid to stop for fear she'd ask him to leave her by herself. Nothing in her face had supported the idea of helplessness conveyed by the wheelchair, and he knew that his assistance was not viewed as a favor. He asked the cause of her handicap3 .

“It was an automobile accident when I was twelve,” Amy explained.

They went for lunch, and he would have felt awkward4 except that she knew completely how to take care of herself.

“Do you live with someone?” he asked the next day when they met.

“Just myself,” she answered. Asking the question made him feel uneasy because of his own loneliness even though he was hoping for this answer.

He came to like to feel the white handles in his grasp, to walk between the two white-rimmed metal wheels. And he grew almost more familiar with the slight wave at the back of her hair than with her eyes or her mouth. Once, he said to the wave at the back of her hair,“I hope I'm the only chair-pusher in your life,” but she had only smiled a little and her eyes had admitted nothing.

She cooked dinner for him once in June. He expected her to be proud of her ability to do everything from her seat in the wheelchair—and was faintly5 disappointed to see that she would not feel pride at what was, for her, simply a matter of course6. He watched his own hand pick up the salt shaker7 and place it on one of the higher unused shelves, and awaited her plea8 for assistance. He didn't know why he'd done it, but the look in her eyes made him realize how cruel his prank9 was. To make her forget what he'd done, he told her about the little white bird in the park.

“I've seen it, too,” she said. “I read a poem once about a little white bird that came to rest on a windowsill10 and the lady who lived in the house began to put out food for it. Soon the lady fell in love, but it was a mismatched11 love. Every day the little bird came to the window and the lady put out food. When the love affair was over, the little white bird never returned, but the woman went on putting out the crumbs12 every day for years and the wind just blew them away."

In July he took her boating frequently. The most awkward event, she felt, was getting in and out of the boat. For Charles, however, these “freight handlings,” as she came to call it, seemed to be the highlight13 of the outings. In the boat she felt helpless, unable to move around, sitting in one spot. Also, she was unable to swim, should the boat turn over. Charles didn't observe her discomfort; she did note how much he enjoyed being in control. When he called for her one day in early August, she refused to.

They would, instead, she said, go for a walk in which she would move herself by the strength of her own arms and he would walk beside her.

“Why don't you just rest your arms and let me push you?”

“No.”

“Your arms will get sore14. I've been helping you do it for three months now.”

“I wheeled myself for twelve years before you came along.”

“But I don't like having to walk beside you while you push yourself!”

“Do you think I liked sitting helpless in your boat every weekend for the past two months?”

He never considered this and was shocked into silence. Finally he said quietly, “I never realized that, Amy. You're in a wheelchair all the time—I never thought you'd mind sitting in the boat. It's the same thing.”

“It is not the same thing. In this chair, I can move by myself; I can go anywhere I need to go. That boat traps me so I can't do anything—I couldn't even save myself if something happened and I fell out.”

“But I'm there. Don't you think I could save you or help you move or whatever it is you want?”

“Yes, but Charles—the point is I've spent twelve years learning to manage by myself. I even live in a city that's miles from my family so I'll have to be independent and do things for myself. Being placed in the boat takes all that I've won away from me. Can't you see why I object to it? I don't want to feel helpless.”

As they went down the path Charles selfishly only thought of his own needs, finally he lost control and said，“Amy, I need to have you dependent upon me.” He grabbed the wheelchair and pushed her along. She had to let go of the wheels or injure herself. He could not see the anger in her eyes, and it was just as well for it was an anger he would not have understood.

She would not answer her telephone the next morning but in his mail that afternoon came an envelope that he knew had come from Amy. The handwriting was not beautiful, but it was without question hers. Inside was only a card on which she had written:

If you want something badly enough，

You must let it go free.

If it comes back to you,

It's yours.

If it doesn't,

You really never had it anyway.

(Anonymous15)

He ran out of his apartment, refusing to believe that Amy might no longer be in her home. As he was running towards her apartment, he kept hearing a roar in his ears: “You must let it go free; you must let it go free.”

But he thought: I can't risk it, she is mine, can't give her a chance not to belong to me, can't let her think she doesn't need me, she must need me. Oh God, I have to have her.

But her apartment was empty. Somehow in the hours overnight, she had packed—by herself—and moved by herself. The rooms were now impersonal16; their cold stillness could not respond when he fell to the floor and sobbed.

By the middle of August he had heard nothing from Amy. He went often to the park but avoided looking for the white bird.

September came and had almost gone before he finally received a letter. The handwriting was without question hers. The postmark was that of a city many miles distant. He tore open the envelope and at first thought it was empty. Then he noticed a single white feather had fallen from it. In his mind, the white bird rose in flight and its wings let fly one feather. Were it not for the feather, no one would have known that the white bird had ever been. Thus he knew Amy would not be back, and it was many hours before he let the feather drop out of his hand.

倘若鳥兒回還

查爾斯是在同一時刻看到他們倆的：一隻白色的小鳥和坐着輪椅沿着小徑悠然而來的小女孩。小鳥滑翔而下，棲息在草地上；女孩子則平穩地駕着輪椅，穿行在陽光下婆娑的樹影之間。她停下來看了看池塘裏的鴨子，當她再次用手推動輪椅時，查爾斯一下子站了起來。“我來推你好嗎？”他一邊喊道，一邊穿過草地朝她奔去。那隻小鳥嗖地飛上了樹梢。

大部分時間都是他在喋喋不休，他似乎害怕話一停，她就會請他離開，好讓她獨自呆着。從她的臉上看不出有任何緣於輪椅的無助表情，因而他知道，他的幫助並沒有被看作是一種恩惠。他問起她致殘的原因。

“我12歲那年出了一場車禍，”艾米解釋説。

他們一起去吃午餐。幸好她能完全照料自己，不然他可就尷尬了。

“你和什麼人住在一起嗎？”第二天見面時他問。

“就我自己，”她答道。儘管他希望得到這樣一個答案，但是問這個問題仍然讓他有些不安，因為他自己也過得很孤獨。

他開始喜歡把輪椅的白色手柄握在手裏的感覺，喜歡在那兩隻鑲有白邊的金屬輪子中間推車行走。他對她披在身後的、微微起伏的長髮愈加熟悉，幾乎超過了對她的眼睛和嘴脣的熟悉程度。有一次，他對着她波浪一般起伏的長髮説：“真希望我是你生命中惟一為你推輪椅的人。”但她只是莞爾一笑，眼裏沒有任何表示。

6月裏，她曾為他燒過一頓晚餐。她坐在輪椅上樣樣事情都能做，他以為她會為此而自豪的，但她僅僅把這視為一件理所當然的事，並無自豪感可言。發現這一點後，他不免有些悵然若失。他望着自己的手拿起鹽瓶，把它放到一塊較高的、不常用的碗櫃擱板上，然後等着她請求幫助。他不明白自己為什麼要這樣做，但她的眼神讓他意識到，他的惡作劇有多麼殘酷。為了讓她忘掉他剛才的蠢行，他跟她談起了公園裏的那隻小白鳥。

“我也看見了，”她説。“我曾經讀過一首詩，詩中的小白鳥經常飛來棲息在一户人家的窗台上，女主人開始拿出食物餵它。很快，女主人便愛上了這隻鳥兒，可這場愛戀並不般配。小鳥每天飛到窗前，女主人便每天捧出食物。戀情結束之後，小白鳥一去不返，可女主人連着幾年日復一日地把麪包屑放到窗台上，任風把它們吹走。”

7月裏，他時常帶她去划船。最令她感到不自在的是隻能由查爾斯把她抱上抱下，她稱之為“貨物裝卸”。但對查爾斯而言，那樣的時刻彷彿就是他們户外活動的最精彩部分。她在船上感到很無助，只能坐在一個地方，沒法四處活動。而且如果翻船，她可不會游泳。查爾斯對她的不安不予體察。她的確發現他是多麼喜歡控制別人。8月初的一天，他來喊她去划船，她説什麼也不肯去。

她説，他們不妨出去散散步，這樣她可以憑自己的臂力推動自己，他則可以走在她身邊。

“你為什麼不讓自己的胳膊輕鬆一下，讓我來推你呢？”

“不用。”

“你的胳膊會酸的。三個月來一直是我在推你呀！”

“可在你出現之前，我推了自己12 年。”

“但我不願你自己推自己而我卻只能袖手旁觀！”

“你以為過去兩個月的每個週末，我就喜歡無可奈何地坐在你的船上嗎？”

他從未考慮過這個問題，一時間驚訝得説不出話。最後他平靜地説道：“我從未意識到這一點，艾米。你一直坐在輪椅裏——我沒想過讓你坐在船上你會介意。我以為這是一回事。”

“這不是一回事。坐在輪椅裏，我能自己行動，需要去哪兒就可以去哪兒。而那條船卻困住了我，讓我無計可施——萬一發生什麼事，我掉到了水裏，我甚至連自救都不會。”

“可是有我在呀！難道你認為我救不了你，不能幫你活動或是幹你想幹的任何事嗎？”

“你能。可是，查爾斯——問題在於我花了12年的時間才學會自理。我甚至孤身一人住在離家幾英里遠的城市，強迫自己獨立，一切都由自己動手。把我放在船上，等於剝奪了我所獲得的一切。難道你不明白我為什麼反對你那樣做嗎？我不想讓自己感到懦弱無助。”

他們沿着小路繼續往前走着，最後他失去了控制，説：“艾米，我需要你依賴我。” 查爾斯只在心裏自私地想着自己的需要。他一把抓過輪椅，推着她飛跑起來。結果她只得把手從輪子上放開，以免傷着了自己。他看不到她眼眸中的憤怒，這樣也好，因為那種憤怒不是他所能理解的。

第二天早上，她不願接他打來的電話。不過下午，在他收到的郵件中有一封信，他知道那準是艾米寫來的。字寫得並不漂亮，但無疑是她的筆跡。裏面只有一張卡片，她在上面寫道：

如果你渴望愛情，

就必須給它自由。

倘若鳥兒回還，

它就不再飛走。

若它去無影蹤，

你從未真正擁有。

（無名氏）

他衝出公寓大樓，不相信艾米會搬家。他朝她的公寓狂奔而去，一路上只有一個聲音不絕於耳：“給它自由；你必須給它自由！”

但是他想：我不能冒這個險，她是我的；我決不能放手，決不能讓她不屬於我，決不能讓她以為她不需要我；她一定需要我。哦，上帝，我必須得到她！

然而她的公寓空空如也。她一定是在頭天夜裏花了幾個小時打好行裝——自己動手——獨自離去。此刻，房間裏不再有任何生命的氣息。他倒地啜泣，回答他的只有一片陰冷的寂靜。

到了8月中旬，他依然沒收到艾米的任何消息。他時常去公園，但總是小心翼翼地不去尋找那隻小白鳥。

9月不覺來臨，又即將悄然逝去，他終於收到了另一封熟悉的來信。無疑是她的筆跡。郵戳標明寄自另一個遙遠的城市。他撕開信封，最初還以為裏面空無一物，隨後才發現有一根從信封中飄落的潔白羽毛。他的腦海裏幻化出那隻小白鳥，它振翅飛翔，一片羽毛從它的翅上抖落。倘若不是鳥兒在離去時留下這片羽毛為證，有誰會知道小白鳥曾經來過？他幡然醒悟：艾米再也不會回還。不知過了多久，他才讓那根羽毛從手中悄然滑落。

美文欣賞:你可以選擇自己想過的生活

Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:

生活有時候困難得難以置信，但又不容置疑。我們面臨的挑戰與困境似乎無法抵禦，試圖毀滅我們生活，甚至使你猶疑是否繼續走下去。但是你總有選擇的餘地。從人生低谷走向新生活的傑西卡·赫斯樂普，在這裏與我們分享她啟迪心靈、充滿震撼力的生活之旅。

In 2012 I had the worst year of my life.

2012年是我生活中最艱難的一年。

I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.

我做着討厭的財務工作，住在難尋綠色的.高樓林立的城市。我忙於無意義的交往，在一些膚淺表面的東西上大筆開銷。我尋找快樂，卻又不知道它在哪裏。

Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.

然後我患上了慢性疲勞綜合症，幾乎到了卧牀不起的地步。我不得不辭掉工作，同時也就斷了財源。我和那時僅相處了3個月的男友住在一起，經濟上完全依賴於他，我們的關係承受着巨大壓力。終於我恢復健康，但不久，我接到家裏的電話，父親的癌症急劇惡化，已經住進了臨終關懷中心。

I left the city and I went home to be with him.

我離開了城市，回家陪父親。

He died 6 months later.

6個月之後，他去世了。

My father was a complete inspiration to me. He was always so strong that, for a minute after he drew his last breath, I honestly thought he would come back to life. I couldn’t believe I would never again cuddle into his big warm chest and feel safe no matter what.

父親的事讓我徹底清醒。他一直很強壯，在他嚥氣之後一分鐘裏，我真的認為，他會活過來。我不能相信，我再也不能依偎在他温暖的懷抱裏，享受他寬大的胸懷帶給我的安全感。

The grief that followed was intense for all of us 5 children and our mother, but we had each other.

母親和我們5個兄弟姐妹極為難過，但至少我們還擁有彼此。

But my oldest sister at that time complained of a bad back. It got so bad after 2 months that she too was admitted to hospital.

但是，那時我大姐開始抱怨着背痛，2個月後，因疼痛加劇也住進了醫院。

They discovered that she had highly advanced cancer in her bones and that there was nothing that they could do.

醫生們檢查發現，她已是骨癌晚期，對此他們已無能為力。

She died 1 month later.

1個月之後，她也走了。

I could never put into words the loss of my sister in my life.

大姐的逝去讓我陷入難以形容的痛苦之中。

She was a walking, talking angel and my favourite person in the whole world. If someone could have asked me the worst thing that could ever happen, it would have been losing her.

在這個世界上，她是一個能走路、會説話的天使，我最喜歡的人。如果有人問我，世界上發生的最壞的事情是什麼，那就是失去她。

She was my soul-mate and I never thought I would journey this lifetime without her.

她是我的靈魂伴侶，我從來沒有想過，我會走過沒有她陪伴的生命旅程。

The Moment Of Deliberate Choice

抉擇時刻

The shock and extreme heart break brought me to my knees. The pain was so great and my world just looked desolate. I had no real home, no money, no job, and no friends that cared. Not one person had even sent me a sympathy card for my loss.

我被打擊和極度的心痛擊挎了。強烈的痛苦使世界在我眼中變得如此淒涼。我沒有真正意義上的家，沒有錢，沒有工作，也沒有關心我的朋友。沒有一個人因我失去親人而寄給我慰問卡。

I made an attempt of my own life and I ended up in hospital.

我嘗試着活下去，結果住進了醫院。

I remember lying in the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling and seeing my sister’s beautiful face. She stayed with me all night long.

我記得，躺在病牀上，看着天花板，看到姐姐美麗的面龐。她整夜守候着我。

I realised during that night that I had a choice. I could choose to end my life or I could choose to live it.

那天晚上，我意識到我可以選擇。要麼結束生命，要麼活下去。

I looked in my sister’s eyes and I made a decision not to go with her just yet. That I would stay and complete my journey here.

望着姐姐的眼睛，我決定不跟她走。我要留下來，走完我的生命旅程。

I also made the decision that, I wouldn’t just live any life. I would live the life that I absolutely LOVE and nothing less.

同時，我還決定，不只為生活而生活，我要完全以自己想要的方式生活。

In that moment, the clarity that descended around me was like a light shining in a dark room for the first time. As if the earth’s plates had shifted under my feet and everything suddenly looked real for the first time.

在那一刻，這一想法第一次清晰得如同一盞在黑暗閃爍的明燈。好像腳下的地球版塊變換了，每一樣東西在我眼前都真實得前所未有。

美文賞析:打開心門擁抱生活

We often close ourselves off when traumatic events happen in our lives; instead of letting the world soften us, we let it drive us deeper into ourselves. We try to deflect the hurt and pain by pretending it doesn’t exist, but although we can try this all we want, in the end, we can’t hide from ourselves. We need to learn to open our hearts to the potentials of life and let the world soften us.

生活發生不幸時，我們常常會關上心門；世界不僅沒能慰藉我們，反倒使我們更加消沉。我們假裝一切彷彿都不曾發生，以此試圖忘卻傷痛，可就算隱藏得再好，最終也還是騙不了自己。既然如此，何不嘗試打開心門，擁抱生活中的各種可能，讓世界感化我們呢？

Whenever we start to let our fears and seriousness get the best of us, we should take a step back and re-evaluate our behavior. The items listed below are six ways you can open your heart more fully and completely.

當恐懼與焦慮來襲時，我們應該退後一步，重新反思自己的言行。下面六個方法有助於你更完滿透徹地敞開心扉。

1. Breathe into pain

直面痛苦

Whenever a painful situation arises in your life, try to embrace it instead of running away or trying to mask the hurt. When the sadness strikes, take a deep breath and lean into it. When we run away from sadness that’s unfolding in our lives, it gets stronger and more real. We take an emotion that’s fleeting and make it a solid event, instead of something that passes through us.

當生活中出現痛苦的事情時，別再逃跑或隱藏痛苦，試着擁抱它吧；當悲傷來襲時，試着深呼吸，然後直面它。如果我們一味逃避生活中的悲傷，悲傷只會變得更強烈更真實——悲傷原本只是稍縱即逝的情緒，我們卻固執地耿耿於懷。

By utilizing our breath we soften our experiences. If we dam them up, our lives will stagnate, but when we keep them flowing, we allow more newness and greater experiences to blossom.

深呼吸能減緩我們的感受。屏住呼吸，生活停滯；呼出呼吸，更多新奇與經歷又將拉開序幕。

2. Embrace the uncomfortable

擁抱不安

We all know what that twinge of anxiety feels like. We know how fear feels in our bodies: the tension in our necks, the tightness in our stomachs, etc. We can practice leaning into these feelings of discomfort and let them show us where we need to go.

我們都經歷過焦灼的煎熬感，也都感受過恐懼造成的生理反應：脖子僵硬、胃酸翻騰。其實，我們有能力面對這些痛苦的感受，從中領悟到出路。

The initial impulse is to run away — to try and suppress these feelings by not acknowledging them. When we do this, we close ourselves off to the parts of our lives that we need to experience most. The next time you have this feeling of being truly uncomfortable, do yourself a favor and lean into the feeling. Act in spite of the fear.

我們的第一反應總是逃避——以為否認不安情緒的存在就能萬事大吉，可這也恰好妨礙了我們經歷最需要的生活體驗。下次感到不安時，不管有多害怕，也請試着勇敢面對吧。

3. Ask your heart what it wants

傾聽內心

We’re often confused at the next step to take, making pros and cons lists until our eyes bleed and our brains are sore. Instead of always taking this approach, what if we engaged a new part of ourselves that isn’t usually involved in the decision making process?

我們常對未來猶疑不定，反覆考慮利弊直到身心俱疲。與其一味顧慮重重，不如從局外人的角度看待決策之事。

I know we’ve all felt decisions or actions that we had to take simply due to our “gut” impulses: when asked, we can’t explain the reasons behind doing so — just a deep knowing that it had to get done. This instinct is the part of ourselves we’re approaching for answers.

其實很多決定或行動都是我們一念之間的結果：要是追問原因的話，恐怕我們自己也道不清説不明，只是感到直覺如此罷了。而這種直覺恰好是我們探索結果的潛在自我。

To start this process, take few deep breaths then ask, “Heart, what decision should I make here? What action feels the most right?”

開始前先做幾次深呼吸，問自己：“內心認為該做什麼樣的決定呢？覺得采取哪個方案最恰當？”

See what comes up, then engage and evaluate the outcome.

看看自己的內心反應如何，然後全力以赴、靜待結果吧。

美文賞析:生活中你錯過了什麼？

In this life, what did you miss?

在生活中，你錯過了什麼？

The wife asked the husband when she was 25. Despondently, the husband replied: 'I missed a new job opportunity.'

妻子25歲的時候這樣問丈夫。丈夫沮喪地回答：“我錯過了一個新的工作機會。”

When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus.

35歲時，丈夫生氣地説他錯過了公交車。

At 45, the husband sadly said: 'I missed the oppotunity seeing my closed relative before his last breath.'

45歲時，丈夫悲傷地説：“我錯過了見至親最後一面的機會。”

At 55, the husband said disappointingly: 'I missed a good chance to retire.'

55歲時，丈夫失望地説：“我錯過了一個退休的好機會。”

At 65, the husband hurriedly replied: 'I missed a dental appointment.'

65歲時，丈夫匆匆地回答：“我錯過了和牙醫的預約。”

At 75, the wife did not ask the husband anymore, the husband was kneeling in front of the very sick wife. Remembering the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied: 'In this life, I did not miss having you!'

75歲，妻子不再問丈夫同樣的問題，丈夫跪在病重的妻子面前，想起以前妻子常常問起的那個問題，這次他也問了妻子同樣的問題，妻子笑了笑，一臉平靜地説：“我這一生，沒有錯過你！”

The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work and trifles. So much so he had never been thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged the wife tightly and said: 'Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me.'

丈夫滿眼淚水，他總是認為可以和妻子白頭到老，於是總是忙於工作和瑣事，從沒在意過妻子。他緊緊地抱住妻子説：“這50多年來，我怎麼能允許自己錯過了你對我的愛呢。”

In the busy city life, there are many people who are always busy with work. These people revolve their lives around their jobs, these people sacrifice all their times and health to meet the social expectations. They are unwilling to spend times on health care. They miss the opportunity to be with their children in their growing up. They neglect the loved ones who care for them, and also their health.

在繁忙的城市生活中，有人總是忙於工作。他們整天圍着工作轉，甚至為了達到社會的標準，犧牲了自己的健康。他們不願花時間來關注自己的健康，在孩子成長的過程中錯失了與之共享天倫之樂的機會。他們忽視了那些關心他們的人，以及他們的健康。

Nobody knows what is going to happen one year from now.

沒有人知道一年後會發生什麼事情。

Life is not permanent, so always live in the now. Express your gratitude to your loved ones in words. Show your care with actions. Treat everyday as the last episode of life. In this way, when you are gone, you loved ones would have nothing to feel sorry about.

生命不是永恆的，所以活在當下吧。把你對愛人的感謝説出來，用行動證明你關心他們。把每一天當作人生的最後一個篇章，只有這樣，當你離開時，你愛的人們才會沒有遺憾。

美文賞析:去經歷去體驗 做最好最真實的自己

Truly happy and successful people get that way by becoming the best, most genuine version of themselves they can be. Not on the outside--on the inside. It's not about a brand, a reputation, a persona. It's about reality. Who you really are.

真正快樂成功的人會長成最好最真實的自己——從內心而非外表上。重要的不是品牌、名譽或者外表形象，而是真實的自我。

Sounds simple, I know. It is a simple concept. The problem is, it's very hard to do, it takes a lot of work, and it can take a lifetime to figure it out.

道理很簡單，講出來也很容易。但問題是，做起來就不簡單了：這需要付諸很多努力，甚或一輩子才能實現。

Nothing worth doing in life is ever easy. If you want to do great work, it's going to take a lot of hard work to do it. And you're going to have to break out of your comfort zone and take some chances that will scare the crap out of you.

需要窮盡畢生精力的事情必定不容易。成大事者必先苦其心志。因此，你必須走出舒適區，去經歷、去體驗那些會讓你害怕的機會。

But you know, I can't think of a better way to spend your life. I mean, what's life for if not finding yourself and trying to become the best, most genuine version of you that you can be?

況且，人這一輩子，若到頭來都認不清自己、未能長成最好最真實的自己，還有什麼意義呢？

That's what Steve Jobs meant when he said this at a Stanford University commencement speech:

正如史蒂夫-喬布斯在斯坦福大學的畢業典禮上所言：

Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice.

時間寶貴，不要虛擲光陰過着他人的生活。不要讓周遭的聒噪言論矇蔽你內心的聲音。

You have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something--your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

你要相信，生活中的偶然冥冥中也能指引未來。你要心懷信念——相信你的直覺、命運、生活抑或因緣。這個方法一直給我力量，促使我過得卓然不同。

The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven't found it yet, keep looking. Don't settle.

成大事的唯一途徑就是做自己喜歡的事情。若你還沒找到，那就繼續追尋吧，不要停下來。

Now, let's for a moment be realistic about this. Insightful as that advice may be, it sounds a little too amorphous and challenging to resonate with today's quick-fix culture. These days, if you can't tell people exactly what to do and how to do it, it falls on deaf ears.

現在我們來實際一點：建議或許很深刻，但聽完卻讓人無從着手，難以運用到當今的快節奏文化中。現如今，如果一個建議講不清具體做什麼、該怎麼做的話，那麼説了也等於白説。

Not only that, but what Jobs was talking about, what I'm talking about, requires focus and discipline, two things that are very hard to come by these days. Why? Because, focus and discipline are hard. It's so much easier to give in to distraction and instant gratification. Easy and addictive.

不僅如此，喬布斯的講話和我要説的話都需要集中和自制——這兩個品質在當今社會非常難能可貴。何以見得？因為集中和自制都不容易做到。人們很容易分散注意力、尋求即時快感——舒服且容易上癮。

To give you a little incentive to take on the challenge, to embark on the road to self-discovery, here are three huge benefits from working to become the best, most genuine version of yourself.

為激勵你迎接挑戰、踏上尋求自我的旅途，我列出了成為最好最真實自己後的三大益處：

It will make you happy. Getting to know yourself will make you feel more comfortable in your own skin. It will reduce your stress and anxiety. It will make you a better spouse, a better parent, a better friend. It will make you a better person. Those are all pretty good reasons, if you ask me.

你會感到快樂。瞭解自己後會讓你更愉悦地接受自己，減輕你的壓力和焦慮，使你成為更好的伴侶、父母、朋友，讓你成為一個更美好的人。這些益處難道不夠説服你為之努力嗎？

Besides, you really won't achieve anything significant in life until you know the real you. Not your brand, your LinkedIn profile, how you come across, or what anyone thinks of you. The genuine you. There's one simple reason why you shouldn't try to be something you're not, and it's that you can't. The real you will come out anyway. So forget your personal brand and start spending time on figuring out who you really are and trying to become the best version of that you can be.

而且，只有瞭解真實的自己方能成就大事。你需要了解那個真實的你，而不是你的品牌、名譽、LinkedlIn資料、你的過去抑或他人對你的看法。為什麼你不應該過他人的生活？很簡單，因為首先你不是“其他人”，你的本性總有一天會現形。所以，請放開你的品牌形象，努力發掘真實自我、努力把自己經營成最好的自己吧。

美文賞析:愛情不是商品

Love Is Not Like Merchandise

愛情不是商品

A reader in Florida, apparently bruised by some personal experience, writes in to complain, "If I steal a nickel's worth of merchandise, I am a thief and punished; but if I steal the love of another's wife, I am free."

佛羅里達州的一位讀者顯然是在個人經歷上受過創傷, 他寫信來抱怨道: “如果我偷走了五分錢的商品, 我就是個賊, 要受到懲罰, 但是如果我偷走了他人妻子的愛情, 我沒事兒。”

This is a prevalent misconception in many people's minds---that love, like merchandise, can be "stolen". Numerous states, in fact, have enacted laws allowing damages for "alienation of affections".

這是許多人心目中普遍存在的一種錯誤觀念——愛情, 像商品一樣, 可以 “偷走”。實際上，許多州都頒佈法令，允許索取“情感轉讓”賠償金。

But love is not a commodity; the real thing cannot be bought, sold, traded or stolen. It is an act of the will, a turning of the emotions, a change in the climate of the personality.

但是愛情並不是商品；真情實意不可能買到，賣掉，交換，或者偷走。愛情是志願的行動，是感情的轉向，是個性發揮上的變化。

When a husband or wife is "stolen" by another person, that husband or wife was already ripe for the stealing, was already predisposed toward a new partner. The "love bandit" was only taking what was waiting to be taken, what wanted to be taken.

當丈夫或妻子被另一個人“偷走”時，那個丈夫或妻子就已經具備了被偷走的條件，事先已經準備接受新的伴侶了。這位“愛匪”不過是取走等人取走、盼人取走的東西。

We tend to treat persons like goods. We even speak of the children "belonging" to their parents. But nobody "belongs" to anyone else. Each person belongs to himself, and to God. Children are entrusted to their parents, and if their parents do not treat them properly, the state has a right to remove them from their parents' trusteeship.

我們往往待人如物。我們甚至説孩子“屬於”父母。但是誰也不“屬於”誰。人都屬於自己和上帝。孩子是託付給父母的，如果父母不善待他們，州政府就有權取消父母對他們的託管身份。

Most of us, when young, had the experience of a sweetheart being taken from us by somebody more attractive and more appealing. At the time, we may have resented this intruder---but as we grew older, we recognized that the sweetheart had never been ours to begin with. It was not the intruder that "caused" the break, but the lack of a real relationship.

我們多數人年輕時都有過戀人被某個更有誘惑力、更有吸引力的人奪去的經歷。在當時，我們興許怨恨這位不速之客---但是後來長大了，也就認識到了心上人本來就不屬於我們。並不是不速之客“導致了”決裂，而是缺乏真實的關係。

On the surface, many marriages seem to break up because of a "third party". This is, however, a psychological illusion. The other woman or the other man merely serves as a pretext for dissolving a marriage that had already lost its essential integrity.

從表面上看，許多婚姻似乎是因為有了“第三者”才破裂的。然而這是一種心理上的幻覺。另外那個女人，或者另外那個男人，無非是作為藉口，用來解除早就不是完好無損的婚姻罷了。

Nothing is more futile and more self-defeating than the bitterness of spurned love, the vengeful feeling that someone else has "come between" oneself and a beloved. This is always a distortion of reality, for people are not the captives or victims of others---they are free agents, working out their own destinies for good or for ill.

因失戀而痛苦，因別人“插足”於自己與心上人之間而圖報復，是最沒有出息、最自作自受的樂。這種事總是歪曲了事實真相，因為誰都不是給別人當俘虜或犧牲品——人都是自由行事的，不論命運是好是壞，都由自己來作主。

But the rejected lover or mate cannot afford to believe that his beloved has freely turned away from him--- and so he ascribes sinister or magical properties to the interloper. He calls him a hypnotist or a thief or a home-breaker. In the vast majority of cases, however, when a home is broken, the breaking has begun long before any "third party" has appeared on the scene.

但是，遭離棄的情人或配偶無法相信她的心上人是自由地背離他的——因而他歸咎於插足者心術不正或迷人有招。他把他叫做催眠師、竊賊或破壞家庭的人。然而，從大多數事例看，一個家的破裂，是早在什麼“第三者”出現之前就開始了的。