Life offers two choices.
We can live scurrying for survival or soaring to the unlimited heights. The choices are modelled by these two creatures.
A few months back while sitting in a boat fishing with a couple of friends, I noticed a field mouse on the river bank. He emerged out of his hole, darted in a couple of directions, and then scurried back. I thought of the existence of this little creature. His life is spent running around, frightened and frantic, following his nose.
He darts here, scurries there, turns in circles, but never really sees much beyond his nose. He is trying to sniff his way to successful living, which defined, by a mouse’s existence, is finding some daily morsel, to sustain him, so that he can carry on for the rest of his life, frightened and frantic. Sound familiar.
A few minutes later I glanced up and noticed soaring high above was an Osprey. Rather than a picture of a frightened and frantic existence, I saw a wide winged creature using the air currents to maneuver majestically in the unlimited heights.
Rather than sniffing out a meager existence, this keen eyed hunter with a panoramic view of the river and lake beneath, was simply waiting for the appropriate time to swoop and capture his prey. The amazing creature, rather than return to some tiny hole in the river bank, glides toward a nest fashioned at the top of the tallest of trees.
The strength in his wings, the power in his talons , the amazing capacity of his vision, the effortless capacity to soar, it is the osprey, not the field mouse that models our human potential.
I don’t know about you, but it is easy for me to decide which creature I want to exemplify my life. I want to soar. I want to explore. I want to see the big picture. I want to conquer . I want to climb higher, go farther, dive deeper, and experience more.
I want my soul enlarged, my mind expanded, my heart enlivened and my spirit energized. I want the scurrying to stop. I want the frantic darting about following my nose to end. I want new strength, fresh thinking, clear vision and resolved courage. I want to be more and more like the osprey.
中文譯文：
生活有兩種選擇。
我們可以匆匆忙忙，為生存奔波，也可以將生活提升到無止境的高度。我們可以用兩種動物來代表這兩種生活選擇。
幾個月前，我和幾個朋友坐在船上釣魚，注意到河岸上有一只田鼠。他從洞里出來，朝幾個方向猛沖之后又迅速地返回洞里。我開始思考這個小生物的存在方式，他的生活在東奔西跑中度過，驚恐而慌亂，僅憑本能行事。
他這兒跑跑，那兒撞撞，轉著圈圈，卻從未真正跑出他自己的那一片小天地。他試圖通過自己的本能成功地生存下來；作為一只老鼠，這就決定了他只能是每天尋找一口吃的，如此才能維持余生，過著驚恐慌亂的生活。這聽起來并不陌生。
幾分鐘后，我匆匆抬頭一看，發現了一只在高空中翱翔的魚鷹。與方才驚恐而又慌亂的生存圖景不同的是，我看到了一只伸展雙翅的生物，它利用氣流，威嚴地在無限的高空中飛翔。
不是尋尋覓覓只為卑微的生存，而是做一個目光敏銳的捕食者，居高臨下，將河流和湖泊的全景都盡收眼底，他只是在等待合適的時機，以便猛撲直下擒獲他的獵物。這只令人驚嘆的生物，并沒有返回河岸邊小小的`洞穴里，而是一路滑翔到最高大樹木頂端筑起的鳥巢里。
他擁有強壯的翅膀，威猛的雙爪，以及非凡的眼力，還有毫不費力在高空翱翔的能力，這就是魚鷹，只有他才能代表人類的潛力，而不是田鼠。
我不知道你會怎么想，但我可以很容易就確定想以哪種生物來代表自己的生活。我想要翱翔。我想要探索。我想要縱觀全局。我想要征服一切。我想要攀登得更高，走得更遠，投入得更深，體驗得更多。
我想讓我的心靈豐實，思想開闊，心情活躍，精神百倍。我不想再東跑西撞，我想結束僅憑本能亂竄的慌亂生活。我想要全新的力量、新鮮的想法、清晰的視野與果決的勇氣。我希望自己越來越像那只魚鷹。
Vocabulary:
1. field mouse: 田鼠；osprey: 鶚，俗稱“魚鷹”，體形像鷹，會在水面上飛翔捕魚。
2. scurry: 急趕，奔忙；soar: 高飛，翱翔。
3. model: 仿效，模仿。
4. dart: 猛沖，飛奔。
5. frantic: 緊張紛亂的；follow one’s nose: 憑本能行事，憑直覺行事。
6. define: 規定，限定；morsel: （食物的）一口，一小份；sustain: 維持，供養；carry on: 繼續活動，進行下去。
7. maneuver: （敏捷或巧妙地）操縱，控制；majestically: 堂皇地，威嚴地。
8. meager: 粗劣的，不足的；keen: 敏銳的，銳利的；panoramic: 全景的；swoop: 飛撲，猛撲。
9. glide: 滑翔，滑行；fashion: 制作。
10. talon: （猛禽的）利爪，鉤爪。
11. exemplify: 作為……的例證（或榜樣、典型等）。
12. conquer: 征服。
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