Anonymous
心灵寄语
什么样的人生才是完整的？是富贵显赫，应有尽有的生活吗？其实，生活中的缺憾也是一种美，它使我们有更多的憧憬、期盼或是进步的空间。
Once a circle missed a wedge. The circle wanted to be whole， so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly， it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces， but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching. Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole， with nothing missing. It incorporated1 the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle， it could roll very fast， too fast to notice flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly， it stopped， left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.
The lesson of the story， I suggested， was that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn， to hope， to nourish his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him and gives him something he has always wanted or never had.
There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations， who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic2 dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive， she can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.
Life is not a trap set for us by God so that he can condemn3 us for failing. Life is not a spelling bee， where no matter how many words you"ve gotten right， you"re disqualified4 if you make one mistake. Life is more like a baseball season， where even the best team loses one third of its games and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. Our goal is to win more games than we lose.
When we accept that imperfection is part of being human， and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciate it， we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire5 to. That， I believe， is what God asks of us—not“Be perfect”，not“Don"t even make a mistake”，but“Be whole.”
If we are brave enough to love， strong enough to forgive， generous enough to rejoice in another"s happiness， and wise enough to know there is enough love to go around for us all， then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.
佚名
从前，有一只圆环缺了一块楔子。这只圆环想保持完整，于是踏上了寻找楔子的征途。但是由于它的不完整，所以滚动地非常慢。它欣赏路旁的花朵，和泥土里的虫儿聊天，它还享受着暖暖的阳光。一路上，圆环遇到了许多块楔子，但没有一块是属于自己的那块。于是，它放下那些楔子，继续寻觅。后来有一天，它找到了一块楔子，正好能补上自己的那块缺口。圆环非常高兴。现在它可以说是完美无缺了。它把那块楔子装好，开始滚动起来。现在它已成了一个完整的圆环，所以可以飞快地滚动，以至于它难以观赏花儿，也无法与虫儿聊天。当圆环意识到在它能快速滚动后，周围的一切是多么得不同，于是它停了下来，把找到的那块楔子丢到路边，然后慢慢地滚走了。
我认为这个故事给了我们这样一个启示，从某种奇妙的意义上讲，当我们失去了一些东西时反而更加完整。一个拥有一切的人其实有时可以说他是个穷人。他永远也体验不到渴求、希望、也不会有怀揣梦想的感觉。他永远不会体会到，一个爱他的人送给他一直梦寐以求的东西或者从未拥有过的东西时是什么样的感觉。
一个人若懂得如何面对自己的缺陷，勇敢地摒弃不现实的梦想而又不引以为憾，那么他的人生便是完整的。一个人若能坚强地面对人生悲剧而继续生存，能够在失去挚爱后依然是一个完整的人，那么他也拥有完美的人生。
上帝并没有给我们的人生设下陷阱，好在我们摔倒时谴责我们。人生不是一场拼字比赛，不管你拼对了多少个单词，一旦出现了一个错误，便前功尽弃。人生更像是棒球比赛的赛季，即使最好的球队也会输掉三分之一的比赛，而最差的球队也会有其辉煌的时刻。我们的人生目标便是尽可能多地赢得比赛。
当我们能够承认缺憾是人类的一部分时，当我们能继续在人生之路上慢慢滚动，领略人生的风景时，我们就会获得令人艳羡的完整人生。我相信，那正是上帝对我们的要求——它不是“完美”，也不是“不准犯一点儿错误”，而是人生的“完整”。
倘若我们能够勇敢地去爱，坚强地谅解，慷慨地为别人的快乐而欢乐，明智地领悟到身边充满爱，那么我们便能得到任何人无法拥有的满足感。
词汇空间 ocabulary
1.incorporate v. 结合，使加入
2.unrealistic adj. 不切实际的，不现实的
3.condemn v. 谴责
4.disqualified adj. 被取消资格的
5.aspire v. 渴望
文化链接 Culture Background
拼字比赛（Spelling Bee）
美国的全国拼字比赛（National Spelling Bee）于1925年由肯塔基州路易斯维尔市的《信使日报》（Courier-Journal）发起。比赛形式拼字比赛的基本规则是，当主持人念出一个词，参赛者就要开始把字母口述拼出来。参赛者可以重新再拼，但已念出的字母或字母顺序不可再更改。只要参赛者拼错了一个词，他就会立刻被淘汰。比赛以回合制举行，直至淘汰到最后一位参赛者为止。在美国，斯克里普斯全国拼字比赛每年都由地区赛一直举行至全国总决赛，胜出者可获得现金奖项。
妙语拾珠
1.There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations， who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic2 dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so.
一个人若懂得如何面对自己的缺陷，勇敢地摒弃不现实的梦想而又不引以为憾，那么他的人生便是完整的。
2.There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive， she can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.
一个人若能坚强地面对人生悲剧而继续生存，能够在失去挚爱后依然是一个完整的人，那么他也拥有完美的人生。
3.If we are brave enough to love， strong enough to forgive， generous enough to rejoice in another"s happiness， and wise enough to know there is enough love to go around for us all， then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.
倘若我们能够勇敢地去爱，坚强地谅解，慷慨地为别人的快乐而欢乐，明智地领悟到身边充满爱，那么我们便能得到任何人无法拥有的满足感。