书城文学生命是一场旅行(上)
19406500000001

第1章 生命的秘密(1)

The Secret of Life

生命的秘密

As the Lord God was creating the world he called upon his archangels. The Lord asked his archangels to help him decide where to put the Secret of Life.

"Bury it in the ground," one angel replied.

"Put it on the bottom of the sea," said another.

"Hide it in the mountains," another suggested.

The Lord replied, "If I see to do any of those, only a few will find the Secret of Life. The Secret of Life must be accessible to EVERY-ONE!"

One angel replied, "I know: put it in each man"s heart. Nobody will think to look there."

"Yes!" said the Lord. "Within each one"s heart."

And so it was —— The SECRET OF LIFE lies within all of us.

上帝创造世界的时候召来了他的天使长们,请他们帮助决定应该把生命的秘密放在哪里。

“把它埋在地下。”一个天使答道。

“把它放到海底。”另一个说道。

“把它藏在山里。”又一个天使建议。

上帝回答说:“如果我照你们说的方法做的话,那么这个世界上只有一小部分人能找到它。而我希望每个人都有可能找到生命的秘密!”

一个天使答道:“我知道了,把它放在每个人的心里。没有哪个人会想到它被放在那儿。”

“对啊!”上帝非常赞同,“放在每个人的心里。”

于是真的——生命的秘密就在我们每个人的心里。

Joy in the Journey

生命重在过程

If you have ever been discouraged because of failure, please read on.

For often, achieving what you set out to do is not the important thing. Let me explain.

Two brothers decided to dig a deep hole behind their house. As they were working, a couple of older boys stopped by to watch.

"What are you doing?" asked one of the visitors.

"We plan to dig a hole all the way through the earth!" one of the brothers volunteered excitedly.

The older boys began to laugh, telling the younger ones that digging a hole all the way through the earth was impossible.

After a long silence, one of the diggers picked up a jar full of spiders, worms and a wide assortment of insects. He removed the lid and showed the wonderful contents to the scoffing visitors.

Then he said quietly and confidently, "Even if we don"t dig all the way through the earth, look what we found along the way!"

Their goal was far too ambitious, but it did cause them to dig. And that is what a goal is for-to cause us to move in the direction we have chosen; in other words, to set us to digging!

But not every goal will be fully achieved. Not every job will end successfully. Not every relationship will endure. Not every hope will come to pass. Not every love will last. Not every endeavor will be completed. Not every dream will be realized.

But when you fall short of your aim, perhaps you can say, "Yes, but look at what I found along the way! Look at the wonderful things which have come into my life because I tried to do something!"

It is in the digging that life is lived. And I believe it is joy in the journey, in the end, that truly matters.

如果你曾因失败沮丧过,请继续读下去。

完成你经常开始要做的事可不是大事,让我娓娓道来。

有兄弟俩人决定在他们房子后面挖一个深洞。就在他们不停挖洞时,几个年龄大点的男孩在附近停下来观看。

“你们在做什么?”其中一个问道。

“我们计划挖一个洞,一直穿过地球到达另一端!”兄弟俩中的一个兴奋地抢先说道。

这些大男孩开始大笑,告诉这两个兄弟挖洞穿过地球是不可能的。

长长的沉寂之后,其中一个挖掘者从洞里拿出一个装满蜘蛛、蠕虫和各种各样昆虫的罐子,他打开盖子把这些奇妙的东西展示给那些嘲讽者看。

然后他平静而又自信地说:“即使我们挖不到地球另一端,但看看我们途中发现的东西!”

他们的目标是太过于雄心勃勃了,但确实鼓励他们去做了。而这就是目标之所在——使我们朝着我们所选择的方向前进,换句话说,就是让我们去挖掘!

但不是每一个目标都会完全实现,也不是每一样工作都能够最终成功;不是每一种关系都能够持久,也不是每一丝希望都能够达成;不是每一次爱都能够天长地久,不是每一次努力都会硕果累累,也不是每一个梦想都能够实现。

但当你没有达到目标时,也许你可以说:“是的,但看看我们途中所发现的东西!看看这些因为我尽力去做而走进我生活的美妙东西!”

生命正是在挖掘的过程中才具有活力。而且我相信到最后真正要紧的还是过程中的乐趣。

Focus on the Joy

为快乐而做

It"s the Holiday Season—a new year is just around the corner! I"ll bet you"re already thinking about how you"d like next year to be a little different than the last, right?

But instead of thinking of performance, and efficiency, and control, I"d like you to take this opportunity to think about how many things in your daily life that you do "just for the joy of it"?

What I"m talking about here is value-based happiness (as opposed to temporary happiness).

Value-based happiness refers to the general feeling of well being that you experience when you are doing what you perceive to be meaningful—when it"s something that"s important to you.

When you love what you do, you naturally become more efficient. When you do things for the joy of It, you"ll rise above problems, and move easier through life.

Value-based happiness is a by product from living a life Focused on the Joy. It is the by product of doing things not for what you get in return, not because you "should" or "have-to", but because you want to, because they are a part of your highest goals, and what you value.

Value-based happiness comes from looking at things with your heart, not just your eyes.

You create value-based happiness by Focusing on the Joy of life, instead of constantly looking for the next new thing that might make you feel better about yourself, about your life.

So how do you Focus on the Joy?

Throw out your ideas about control, effectiveness, and goals. (Yes, they are important, but let"s just try something different, ok?)

Instead—

Focus on Learning. Instead of making a goal to achieve more in your job, decide instead to read and learn how to do one new thing each week.

Focus on Time. Schedule your time to include what"s important to you, like reading time, or exercise time, or family time, or learning time.

Focus on the Why. Instead of just forcing yourself to mop the kitchen floor, tap into the higher goal that mopping the kitchen floor supports (having a clean and healthy home).

How does that feel? Not bad, huh! If you focus on the pleasure that a desire gives you, you"ll find it easier to put in the work that it takes. (One author gives the example of giving blood—while the experience itself may be less than pleasant, the joy comes in knowing "why" you"re doing it).

And I absolutely guarantee that you will achieve more, maintain your efforts, and have a much better journey along the way.

Over the next 12 months, instead of focusing on the effort, FOCUS ON THE JOY. Focus on the people and things that are most important to you. Focus on the pleasure you get out of moving towards your goals. Focus on the process of creating something, not what results you expect.

Invest in yourself more than you ever thought was allowed. Not only will you reap rewards, but those around you will benefit more than you ever believed.

又到假期了——新的一年就要来临了!我相信你一定考虑了来年如何比今年多些变化,对否?

不过,你不要考虑什么业绩、效率以及管理,我建议你趁此机会想一想,在日常生活中有多少事情你是“为了快乐才去做”的呢?

我在这儿所谈的是基于价值的幸福(与暂时的幸福相反)。

基于价值的幸福是指,当你做自己认为有意义的事情时——在你看来很重要的事情——所体验到的普遍幸福感。

如果你喜欢自己做的事情,你自然会干得更有效率。如果你从所做的事情中得到快乐,你就会超越于问题,使生活变得更加容易。

基于价值的幸福是为了快乐而生活所带来的出乎意料的结果,是你做事情不图回报的结果。不是因为你“应该做”或者“必须做”,而是因为你想做,因为它们是你的最高目标的一部分,你珍惜它。

基于价值的幸福来自你看待事物的心灵,而不仅来自你的眼睛。

你通过注重生活的快乐而创造了基于价值的幸福,而不是总在寻找下一个能使自己或者你的生活感觉更好的目标。

那么,如何注重生活中的欢乐呢?

把你的有关管理、效率和目标等观念统统抛到一边。(它们的确重要,不过,让我们尝试一下别的,好吗?)

相反——

注重学习。不要为自己的工作定一个目标,以取得更多的成绩,而是下决心每周读书或者学会做一件新的事情。

注重时间。把一些重要的事情安排到你的日程中,例如读书时间、锻炼时间、与家人团聚的时间,或者学习时间。

注重原因。不要强迫自己去拖厨房的地板,选择更高的目标(拥有一个清洁健康的家庭)。

你觉得怎么样?不错吧?哈哈!如果你注重自己所期望的欢乐,你会发现深入工作中很容易。(一位作家举了献血的例子——体验本身可能不是那么有趣,快乐源于清楚自己这么做的原因)。

我绝对敢保证你会得到更多,继续努力,你会拥有更好的经历。

来年的12个月,不要只注重苦干了,要注重欢乐。注重对你来说最重要的人和事物。注重你在取得目标的过程中所得到的欢乐。注重创造事物的过程,而不是你期望得到的结果。

赋予自己比所期望的更多,不但你能收到回报,而且超出你的想象,连你周围的人也会受益。