书城工具书哲理英语
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第27章 灯塔

那是个漆黑的、风雨交加的夜晚,大副从走向船长说:“船长,船长,我们的航道上有灯光,而且他们不愿移开。”

“他们不愿移开是什么意思?叫他们移开。告诉他们立即右偏。”

信号发了出去:“右偏,右偏。”发回来的信号说:“你自己右偏。”

“我就不信。这是怎么了?让他们知道我是谁。”信号发出去:“这里是密苏里巨轮,请右偏。”信号发了回来:“这里是灯塔。”

朋友们,正确的原则犹如灯塔,他们不会移动。它们是自然法则。我们打破不了。我们要么让自己与它们相悖,要么去了解它们、接纳它们、利用它们,并感激它们。然后我们自己才能得以发展,得以解放,得以强大。

T?S?爱略特曾说过一句话,我认为很适合用来做结束语。他说:“我们将永不放弃奋斗,经过全力以赴的奋斗后,我们将到达出发之地,并真正开始认识这个地方。”

Relish the Moment

Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.

But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering --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 off the mortgage!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! “

Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.

“Relish the moment “is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118:24:“This is the day which the Lord hath made;we will rejoice and be glad in it. “It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad. 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 barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.