书城外语双语学习丛书-生命之歌
43630300000009

第9章 A Simple Truth About Happiness快乐的简单真理(1)

Whatever your philosophy,it should include this truism:if you choose to find the positive in virtually every situation,you will be blessed,and if you choose to find the awful ,you will be cursed.

A Simple Truth About Happiness

After I gave a talk on the subject of happiness,a woman in the audience stood up and said,“I wish my husband had come.”“Much as I loved him,”she explained,“it wasnt easy being married to someone so unhappy.”

无论你有着怎样的人生哲学,它应该含有这样的真理:如果你只注意每种境遇的积极面(事实上都有),你就会得福;如果你只注意其消极面,你就会受苦。

快乐的简单真理

我以快乐为主题做完演讲后,一位女听众站起来说:“我希望我的丈夫能来。”她解释说:“我非常爱他,但同一个不快乐的人做夫妻真不容易。”

This woman enabled me to put into words what I had been searching for—altruistic altruistic adj.利他的, 无私心的 ,as well as the personal,reasons for taking happiness seriously.I told her that each of us owes it to our spouse spouse n.配偶(指夫或妻) ,our children,our friends to be as happy as we can.

I was not a particularly happy child,and like most teenagers,I took pleasure in my anguish anguish n.痛苦, 苦恼 .One day,however,it occurred to me that I was taking the easy way out.Anyone could be unhappy;it took no courage and effort.True achievement lay in struggling to be happy.

The notion that we have to work at happiness comes as news to many people.We assume its a feeling that comes as a result of good things that just happen to us,things over which we have little or no control.But the opposite is true:happiness is largely under our control.

这位女士道出了我一直在探索的东西——认真对待快乐,于己于人都有利。我告诉她,我们每个人为了我们的配偶、孩子、朋友,都应尽可能变得快乐。

我不是一个很快乐的孩子,像大多数少年一样,我苦中作乐。然而,一天,我忽然想到,我是在自寻烦恼。任何人都可以不快乐,这无须勇气和努力。真正的成就在于用顽强拼搏来获得快乐。

对许多人而言,我们得尽力去争取快乐的观念好像是很新鲜的,因为我们认为,快乐就是我们碰到好事时的一种感觉,而这些事也是我们无法控制的。但事实正好相反:很大程度上快乐是在我们掌握之中的。

It is a battle to be fought and not a feeling to be waited.To achieve a happy life,its necessary to overcome some stumbling stumble v.绊倒, 使困惑, 蹒跚, 结结巴巴地说话, 踌躇 blocks,three of which are:

Comparison with OthersMost of us compare ourselves with anyone we think is happier—a relative,an acquaintance acquaintance n.相识, 熟人 or,often someone we barely know.

I once met a young man who struck me as particularly successful and happy.He spoke of his love for his beautiful wife and their three daughters,and of his joy at being a radio talkshow host in a city he loved.

I remember thinking that he was one of those lucky few for whom everything goes effortlessly right.Then we started talking about the Internet.He blessed its existence,he told me,because he could look up information on multiple sclerosis multiple sclerosis n.〈医〉多发性硬化 —the terrible disease afflicting his wife.

快乐是一场需要打拼的战役,而不是一种坐等其成的感觉。为了过得幸福,就必须克服一些绊脚石,其中的三个是:

和别人比较我们大多数人把自己与我们认为比我们更快乐的任何人相比——亲戚、熟人,或是我们不了解的人。

一次,我碰到一个特别成功和快乐的年轻人。他说他爱美丽的妻子以及三个女儿,并说他很开心在他热爱的城市里当广播谈话类主持人。

我记得我当时认为他是少数幸运儿,一切都那么顺利。然后我们开始聊到网络。他告诉我,他对因特网存有感激之情,因为他可以通过网络查找治疗多发性硬化症的信息——他的妻子正遭受着这种可怕疾病的折磨。

I felt like a fool for assuming nothing unhappy existed in his life.