A Lesson ls Repeated until Learned
我在森林遭遇蝴蝶袭击
Attacked by a Butterfly
佚名 / Anonymous
Walking down a path through the forest, I saw a water puddle ahead on the path. I angled my direction to go around it on the part of the path that wasn't covered by water and mud. As I reached the puddle, I was suddenly attacked! Yet I did nothing for the attack was so unpredictable and from a source so totally unexpected. I was startled as well as unhurt, despite having been struck four or five times already. I backed up a foot and my attacker stopped attacking me. Instead of attacking more, he hovered in the air on graceful butterfly wings in front of me. Had I been hurt I wouldn't have found it amusing, but I was unhurt, it was funny, and I was laughing. After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward. My attacker rushed me again. He rammed me in the chest with his head and body, striking me over and over again with all his might, still to no avail. For a second time, I retreated a step while my attacker relented in his attack. Yet again, I tried moving forward. My attacker charged me again. I was rammed in the chest over and over again. I wasn't sure what to do, other than to retreat a third time. After all, it's just not everyday that one is attacked by a butterfly. This time, though, I stepped back several paces to look the situation over. My attacker moved back as well to land on the ground. That's when I discovered why my attacker was charging me only moments earlier. He had a mate and she was dying. She was beside the puddle where he landed.
Sitting close beside her, he opened and closed his wings as if to fan her. I could only admire the love and courage of that butterfly in his concern for his mate. He had taken it upon himself to attack me for his mate's sake, even though she was clearly dying and I was so large. He did so just to give her those extra few precious moments of life, should I have been careless enough to step on her. Now I knew why and what he was fighting for. There was really only one option left for me. I carefully made my way around the puddle to the other side of the path, though it was only inches wide and extremely muddy. His courage in attacking something thousands of times larger and heavier than himself just for his mate's safety justified it. I couldn't do anything other than reward him by walking on the more difficult side of the puddle. He had truly earned those moments to be with her, undisturbed.
I left them in peace for those last few moments, cleaning the mud from my boots when I later reached my car.
Since then, I've always tried to remember the courage of that butterfly whenever I see huge obstacles facing me. I use that butterfly's courage as an inspiration and to remind myself that good things are worth fighting for.
我穿过一片森林，沿着一条小路往前走时，看到前面的路上有一个水坑。我转变方向，绕开它，走到路面上没有被水和泥浆覆盖的那边。当我刚走近水坑时，突然遭到了攻击。当然，对于这种攻击，我不予理会，可它太出乎人的意料，发起者也完全料想不到。我十分震惊，尽管已经被袭击了四五次，但我未受到任何伤害。我往后退了一步，攻击者也停止了袭击，在我面前优雅地飞舞着，在空中盘旋，不再向我进攻了。如果我受到了伤害，就不会觉得它很有趣了，但我没有，真可爱，我笑起来。毕竟，袭击我的是一只蝴蝶。
笑过后，我往前走了一步，攻击者又向我冲过来了，它竭尽全力地撞我的胸膛，用头和身体一次又一次地发起进攻，仍然是白费力气。我又后退了一步，攻击者的袭击也减弱了。然而，当我再次试着往前移动时，攻击者的反应又强烈了，我的胸膛又反复地受到了冲撞。我不知如何是好，只能第三次地退了回来。毕竟，受到蝴蝶的攻击不是谁都能每天碰得到的。这次我后退了好几步，查看情形。我的攻击者也向后移动，落在地上。这时，我发现它刚才袭击我的原因了。它有一个濒临死亡的伴侣，就在它落下来的水坑旁。
它紧紧依偎在伴侣的身边，翅膀一张一翕，好像是在为伴侣扇风。蝴蝶对伴侣的关心所体现出来的爱和勇气，实在令我钦佩。为了它的伴侣，尽管伴侣显然即将死亡，而我又如此庞大，它仍担当起保护的重任——来袭击我。它这样做，只是为了让伴侣在弥留之际，度过最后片刻的宝贵时光，我又怎能如此粗心，差点儿踩到它的伴侣呢！现在，我明白它战斗的原因和目的了，我的选择只有一个，我小心地围着水坑，绕到路面的另一边。尽管它仅仅一英尺宽，且特别泥泞。为了伴侣的安全，它敢于对比自身庞大、沉重上千倍的对手发起攻击，就证明了其行为的正当。我除了走到水坑更泥泞的一面，以此作为奖赏之外，实在是无能为力了。它的确赢得了与伴侣相伴的片刻安宁。
为了这最后的时刻，我安静地离开了它们。后来，我走到车旁，擦掉了靴子上的泥。
从那以后，不论何时，当我面临巨大的阻碍，总会想起那只蝴蝶所表现出来的勇气。它给了我一种启示，并时刻提醒我：美好的东西，我们值得为之而战。
小小的蝴蝶为了爱侣最后的安宁，勇敢地向比自己大数千倍的对手发起进攻，这需要怎样的勇气啊？假如在前进的路上，面对遥远的目标，你还在为路途遥远而畏葸不前，那么扪心自问，难道自己还比不上一只蝴蝶吗？
unpredictable [,npri'diktbl] adj. 无法预言的；不可预测的
There were so many unpredictable fluctuations on the Stock Exchange.
股票市场瞬息万变。
startled ['st:tld] adj. 受惊吓的
I was startled to hear his news.
我听到他的消息大吃一惊。
hover ['hv] v. （鸟、直升机等） 翱翔；盘旋
The bees forget to sip their honey; drunken with light they foolishly hover and
hum.
蜜蜂忘记吮吸花蜜，它们愚笨地盘旋着，嗡嗡地唱着，陶醉于光明中。
ram [r鎚] v. 猛撞；撞击
A truck rammed a motorbike.
一辆卡车撞了一辆摩托车。
它紧紧偎依在伴侣的身边，翅膀一张一翕，好像是在为伴侣扇风。
它的确赢得了与伴侣相伴的片刻安宁。
从那以后，不论何时，当我面临巨大的阻碍，总会想起那只蝴蝶所表现出来的勇气。它给了我一种启示，并时刻提醒我：美好的东西，我们值得为之而战。
After all, I was being attacked by a butterfly!
after all：毕竟；终究
Having stopped laughing, I took a step forward.
take a step forward：向前一步
坚强有力的支持
Support
佚名 / Anonymous
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or the mirror that reflect it.
— Wharton
You support someone when you willingly step forward to help him through a challenging time. Yet the great irony is that when you support others, you are also, in fact, supporting yourself. When you withhold support from others, it is usually an indicator that you are also withholding support from yourself.
We are most often called upon to support others in friendship. One of my acquaintances, Donna, told me a story recently that clearly illustrates the magic of support and its potential as an emotional mirror.
Several years ago, Donna had been feeling very depressed. She had just broken up with her boyfriend of two years, and she was having a very difficult time accepting the loss. She had been laid up with a knee injury for several days, and the time alone at home certainly was not helping. Her misery was only compounded by her frustration at herself for not being able to pull it together and stop crying all the time.