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面对危险抬起头
几年前，一个由7个探险家组成的团队在崇山峻岭中穿行。他们经过一座险恶的石山时，山体发生崩裂，十几块巨石从山腰间轰然而下。
等一切沉寂下来，7个探险家中有6个已经被乱石砸死，而剩下的那一个探险家只受了一点轻伤。
闻讯而至的记者问这个幸存的探险家：“你只是侥幸没有被石头砸中吗？”“不是。”探险家淡淡地说：“只是因为我面对危险抬起了头，从而得以避开巨石的袭击。”
面对危险抬起头，不是每一个人都能做得到的。当有人告诉我们头上正有东西掉下来时，绝大多数人的第一反应是把眼一闭，然后把头一缩，其实这对避开危险没有任何用处。危急时刻或逆境中，只有抬起头勇敢面对的人，才有可能逃离危险，战胜困难。
The wholeness of life 健全的人生
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 incorporated 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 give 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 unrealistic 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 condemn us for failing. Life is not a spelling bee, where no matter how many words you’ve gotten right; you’re disqualified 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 aspire 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 l
ove to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.
从前，一只圆圈缺了一块楔子。它想保持完整，便四处寻找那块楔子。由于不完整，所以它只能慢慢地滚动。一路上，它对花儿露出羡慕之色。它与蠕虫谈天侃地。它还欣赏到了阳光之美。圆圈找到了许多不同的楔子，但没有一件与它相配。所以，它将它们统统弃置路旁，继续寻觅。终于有一天，它找到了一个完美的配件。圆圈是那样地高兴，现在它可以说是完美无缺了。它装好配件，并开始滚动起来。现在它已成了一个完美的圆圈，所以滚动得非常快，以至于难以观赏花儿，也无暇与蠕虫倾诉心声。当圆圈意识到因快奔急骋使它失去了原有的世界时，它不禁停了下来，将找到的配件弃置路旁，又开始慢慢地滚动。
我觉得这个故事告诉我们，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在某些方面是个穷人。他永远也体会不到什么是渴望、期待及如何用美好梦想滋养自己的灵魂。他也永远不会有这样一种体验：一个爱他的人送给他某种他梦寐以求的或者从未拥有过的东西意味着什么。
人生的完整性在于知道如何面对缺陷，如何勇敢地摒弃不现实的幻想而又不以此为缺憾。人生的完整性还在于学会勇敢面对人生悲剧而继续生存，能够在失去亲人后依然表现出完整的个人风范。
人生不是上帝为谴责我们的缺陷而给我们布下的陷阱。人生也不是一场拼字游戏比赛，不管你拼出多少单词，一旦出现了一个错误，你便前功尽弃。人生更像是一个棒球赛季，即使最好的球队也会输掉1/3的比赛，而最差的球队也有春风得意的日子。我们的目标就是多赢球，少输球。
当我们接受不完整性是人类本性的一部分，当我们不断地进行人生滚动并能欣赏其价值时，我们就会获得其他人仅能渴望的完整人生。我相信这就是上帝对我们的要求：不求“完美”，也不求“永不犯错误”，而是求得人生的“完整”。如果我们能够勇敢地去爱，坚强地去宽容，大度地去为别人的快乐而高兴，明智地理解身边充满爱，那么我们就能取得别的生物所不能取得的成就。
Find Your Big Rocks Of Life 寻找你人生的大石头
One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.
As he stood in front of the group of overachievers he said, “OK, time for a quiz.” He pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”
Everyone in the class yelled, “Yes.” The time management expert replied, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, “Is this jar full?”
By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”
“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!”
“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Time with your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.”
一天，时间管理专家为一群学生讲课。他现场做了演示，给学生们留下了一生都难以磨灭的印象。
站在那些高智商高学历的学生前面，他说：“我们来做个小测验”，拿出一个一加仑的广口瓶放在他面前的桌上。随后，他取出一堆拳头大小的石块，仔细地一起放进玻璃瓶里。直到石块高出瓶口，再也放不下了，他问道：“瓶子满了？”
所有学生应道：“满了！”时间管理专家反问：“真的？”他伸手从桌下拿出一桶砾石，倒了一些进去，并敲击玻璃瓶壁使砾石填满下面石块的间隙。“现在瓶子满了吗？”他第二次问道。
但这一次学生有些明白了，“可能还没有”，一位学生应道。“很好！”专家说。他伸手从桌下拿出一桶沙子，开始慢慢倒进玻璃瓶。沙子填满了石块和砾石的所有间隙。他又一次问学生：“瓶子满了吗？”
“没满！”学生们大声说。他再一次说：“很好！”然后他拿过一壶水倒进玻璃瓶直到水面与瓶口齐平，然后抬头看着学生，问道：“这个例子说明什么？”一个心急的学生举手发言：“无论你的时间多少，如果你确实努力，你可以做更多的事情！”<BR
>
“不！”时间管理专家说，“那不是它真正的意思，这个例子告诉我们：如果你不是先放大石块，那你就再也不能把它放进瓶子里了。那么，什么是你生命中的大石头呢？也许是你的道德感、你的梦想？还有你的一切，记得先去处理这些大石块，否则，一辈子你都不能做！”
The Splashes Of Life 生命的波纹
我有个基本观点：自由即选择，选择即负责。
为什么选择即负责？因为任何选择都会产生结果。结果可能是好的，也可能不好。但不论好与不好，都得有人兜着或扛着。谁来兜着，谁来扛着？只能是做出选择的人。所以选择即负责。
既然选择即负责，那么，你在进行选择时，就只能服从自己的内心冲动。想想看，如果标准是别人的，埋单的却是自己，岂不亏大发了？更何况，别人帮你做的选择，能保证你的幸福吗？按照别人的标准去活，有意思吗？
同样，既然选择即负责，那就不能只往好处想。好处是任何人都不会拒绝的，需要担心的是不好的后果。这种后果，我们可能承担得了，也可能承担不了。承担不了，就只能放弃。承担得了，则何妨坚持？
要知道：迁就世俗，一时无忧；违背内心，永远痛苦。
所以，选择的时候，只用想两条：一、这是不是我非常想要或想做的？二、如果后果严重，兜不兜得了，扛不扛得住？如果两条都没问题，那就要！
人生能得几回“二”，何不潇洒“二”一回？
选择已定，则任人批评。他人的批评能时时提醒我们：你是有人反对的，你也是会犯错误的，因此你没有任何理由自以为是，得意忘形！
结果，我们就会少犯错误，甚至不犯错误。
也因此，我们要感谢批评者和反对派。
总之，决策时不妨“二”，执行和操作却一定要小心翼翼，认认真真，如临深渊，如履薄冰。一旦功成名就，更必须“无一日敢懈怠，无一事敢马虎”。
文/易中天
The Splashes Of Life 生命的波纹
There is a famous Sioux Indian story handed down from generation to generation:
The grandfather took his grandson to the fish pond on the farm when the boy was about seven, and he told the boy to throw a stone into the water. He told the boy to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked the boy to think of himself as that stone.
“You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures,” he said.
“Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles.”
“You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both.” That was the first time the boy realized that each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world.
We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.
这是苏族印第安人部落中流传的一个古老的故事。
在男孩七岁那年，他的祖父带他来到田边的一个鱼塘。他让男孩丢一颗石子到水中，并嘱咐男孩仔细观察石子所激起的水波。然后他叫男孩把自己想象成那颗石子。
他说：“在生命的水面上，你也许能激起许多波纹，而你所激起的波纹也会打破别人的平静生活。”
“要谨记，对你所激起的波纹中所包含的东西负责，因为这些东西会接触、影响到许多他人的波纹。”
“你应当努力将自己波纹中的平和宁静传播给他人。当然，如果你的波纹中带有愤怒、嫉妒，别人也会受到你的影响，因此，你要对它们负责。”这是男孩第一次了解到，每个人心中的安宁抑或不和，都会传播给整个世界。
如果我们自己内心被冲突、仇恨、疑虑或者愤怒所纠缠，自然无论我们内心激起的是何种波纹，它们都会被传向外界，与别人的生命波纹共同激起美丽，抑或是不和谐。
就不能给世界带来平和宁静。无论我们是否说出心中的感觉和思绪，我们都在向外界传播它们。
We Are on a Journey 人在旅途
Wherever you are, and whoever you may be, there is one thing in which you and I are just alike at this moment, and in all the moments of our existence: we are not at rest; we are on a journey. Our life is a movement, a tendency, a steady, ceaseless progress towards an unseen goal. We are gaining something, or losing something, everyday. Even when our position and our character seem to remain precisely the same, they are changing. For the mere advance of time is a change. It is not the same thing to have a bare field in January and in July. The season makes the difference. The limitations that are childlike in the child are childish in the man.
Everything that we do is a step in one direction or another. Even the failure to do something is in itself a deed. It sets us forward or backward. The action of the negative pole of magnetic needle is just as real as the action of the positive pole. To decline is to accept-the other alternative.
Are you neater to your port today than you were yesterday? Yes,-you must be a little nearer to some port or other; for since your ship was first launched upon the sea of life, you have never been still for a single moment; the sea is too deep, you could not find an anchorage if you would; there can be no pause until you come into port.[NextPage]
参考译文有三个版本，供英语爱好者斟酌学习：
译文一：
无论你在哪里，也无论你是谁，不管是此时此刻，还是在我们生命中的任何瞬间，有一件事对你我来说是恰巧相同的：我们不是在休息，我们是在一次旅途中。我们的生活是一种运动、一种趋势，是向一个看不见的目标稳定而不停地前进。每一天，我们会赢得某些东西，或者会失去某些东西。甚至当我们的位置和我们的性格看起来和以前完全相同时，他们事实上仍然在改变。对于一块荒地来说，一月和七月是不一样的，季节会造成不同。能力上的缺陷对孩子来说是一种可爱，但对大人而言就是一种幼稚的表现了。
我们做的每一件事都是朝一个或者另一个方向迈进的一步。甚至“没有做任何事”本身就是一种行为，它使我们前进或者后退。一根磁针阴极和阳极的作用都是一样的真实；拒绝也是一种接受——这都是二择一的选择。
你今天比昨天更接近你的港口了吗？是的——你必须接近某个港口或其他港口。自从你被抛入生活之海，你的船一分钟都没有静止过。大海是如此之深，你不可能找到一个抛锚的地方，因此你也不可能停下来，直到你抵达自己的港口。
译文二：
无论你在何处，无论你是何人，此刻，而且在我们生命的每时每刻，你与我有一点是类似的。我们不是在休息，我们在旅途中。生命是一种运动，一种趋势，一个稳步、持续的通往一个未知目标的过程。每天，我们都在获得，或失去。尽管我们的地位和性格看起来好像一点都没变，但是它们在变化。因为时光的流逝本身是一种变化。在一月和七月拥有一片贫瘠的土地是不同的，是季节本身带来了变化。孩童时可爱的缺点到了成人时便成了幼稚。
我们做的每件事都是迈向一个或另外一个方向，甚至“什么都没做”本身也是一种行为，它让我们前进或倒退。一棵磁针的阴极的作用与阳极是一样的。拒绝即接受??接受反面。
你今天比昨天更加接近你的目标了吗？是的，你肯定是离一个或另一个码头或更近一些了。因为自从你的小船从生命的海洋上启航时，你没有哪一刻是停止的。大海是这样深，你想抛锚时找不到地方。在你驶入码头之前，你不可能停留。
译文三：
无论你身在何处，也无论你是何人，此时此刻，有一件事于你我而言都是相同的，而且只要我们活着，这个共同点就存在。那就是，我们并非停留不前，而是人在旅途。我们的生命是一种运动，一种趋势，是向一个看不见的目标无休止地奋进。
每天，我们都有所得，也有所失。即便我们的位置和角色看似与原来无异，但实际上也是时时变化的。因为时间的推移本身就是一种变化。对于同一片荒地来说，在一月和七月是截然不同的，季节造成了这种差异。能力的局限在孩子身上被视为天真烂漫，而在大人身上则是幼稚的的表现。我们所做的每件事情都是朝着某个方向迈进了一步。即使是失败本身，也是有所得的，失败可以催人奋进，也可以让人一蹶不振。磁针负极的作用与正极的作用都是一样真实的。拒绝也是一种接受，只不过是另一种选择罢了。
你今天比昨天更接近你的港口了么？是的，你肯定离某个港口更近了。因为自从你的航船从生命的海洋上启航的那一刻开始，你没有哪一刻是静止的。大海如此深邃，即便你想停泊，也找不到地方；只有当你驶入自己的港口，你才能停止下来。
