美文欣賞：賦予生命的意義

　　英語美文 賦予生命的意義

　　Have you thought about what you want people to say about you after you’re gone? Can you hear the voice saying, “He was a great man.” Or “She really will be missed.” What else do they say?

　　你有沒有想過，你希望人們?cè)谀闼篮笤鯓釉u(píng)論你？你能否聽到這樣的說，“他是個(gè)偉大的人”或“人們的確會(huì)懷念她”，他們還會(huì)說些什么？

　　One of the strangest phenomena of life is to engage in a work that will last long after death. Isn’t that a lot like investing all your money so that future generations can bare interest on it? Perhaps, yet if you look deep in your own heart, you’ll find something drives you to make this kind of contribution---something drives every human being to find a purpose that lives on after death.

　　人生最奇異的現(xiàn)象之一就是，你從事的事業(yè)在你死后仍將長久存在。這和你用所的錢進(jìn)行投資以便后人能從中獲益不是如出一轍嗎？也許，如果你審視自己的內(nèi)心深處，你就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)促使你做出這種貢獻(xiàn)的驅(qū)動(dòng)力-一種驅(qū)使每個(gè)人尋找在自己死后仍能繼續(xù)存在的事業(yè)的驅(qū)動(dòng)力。

　　Do you hope to memorialize your name? Have a name that is whispered with reverent awe? Do you hope to have your face carved upon 50 ft of granite rock? Is the answer really that simple? Is the purpose of lifetime contribution an ego-driven desire for a mortal being to have an immortal name or is it something more?

　　你希望自己的名字被人記住嗎？你希望別人提起你的名字時(shí)心懷敬畏嗎？你希望自己的面容被雕刻在50英尺高的花崗巖上嗎？答案真的那么簡單嗎？難道終有一死的人貢獻(xiàn)一生自我鞭策的欲望就是想要獲得不朽名聲的？抑或是其他更偉大的事物？

　　A child alive today will die tomorrow. A baby that had the potential to be the next Einstein will die from complication is at birth. The circumstances of life are not set in stone. We are not all meant to live life through to old age. We’ve grown to perceive life as a full cycle with a certain number of years in between. If all of those years aren’t lived out, it's a tragedy. A tragedy because a human’s potential was never realized. A tragedy because a spark was snuffed out before it ever became a flame.

　　今天活著的孩子明天就會(huì)死去。一個(gè)有可能成為下一個(gè)愛因斯坦的嬰兒會(huì)死于出生并發(fā)癥。生命的情形并不是固定不變的。我們并沒有注定都要活到老年。我們已經(jīng)認(rèn)識(shí)到，生命是一個(gè)周期，其時(shí)間長度是特定的。如果這些時(shí)間沒有被充分利用，那就是個(gè)悲劇，因?yàn)槿说臐撃苓€未實(shí)現(xiàn)，因?yàn)榛鸹ㄟ€沒形成火焰就被補(bǔ)滅。

　　By virtue of inhabiting a body we accept these risks. We expose our mortal flesh to the laws of the physical environment around us. The trade off isn’t so bad when you think about it. The problem comes when we construct mortal fantasies of what life should be like. When life doesn’t conform to our fantasy we grow upset, frustrated, or depressed.

　　由于附著于肉體之身，所以我們就得接受這些風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。我們使易朽的肉體服從周圍物理環(huán)境的法則。你仔細(xì)想一想就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)，這種交易并不是那么糟糕。當(dāng)我們幻想生命應(yīng)該如何時(shí)，問題就來了。當(dāng)生命和我們的幻想不一致時(shí)，我們就變得煩惱，無奈或沮喪。

　　We are alive; let us live. We have the ability to experience; let us experience. We have the ability to learn; let us learn. The meaning of life can be grasped in a moment. A moment so brief it often evades our perception.

　　我們活著，那我們就要活得精彩；我們有能力體驗(yàn)，那我們就要體驗(yàn)人生甘苦；我們有能力學(xué)習(xí)，那我們就要在學(xué)海徜徉。生命的意義可以在一瞬間抓住-一個(gè)經(jīng)常被我們忽略的短暫瞬間。

　　What meaning stands behind the dramatic unfolding of life? What single truth can we grasp and hang onto for dear life when all other truths around us seem to fade with time?

　　當(dāng)生命戲劇般地一幕幕拉開時(shí)，其中隱含的意義是什么？當(dāng)我們周圍所有其他都似乎隨著時(shí)間而消逝時(shí)，我們能夠掌握哪個(gè)真理并依靠它來生活呢？

　　These moments are strung together in a series we call events. These events are strung together in a series we call life. When we seize the moment and bend it according to our will, a will driven by the spirit deep inside us, then we have discovered the meaning of life, a meaning for us that shall go on long after we depart this Earth.

　　這些瞬間串聯(lián)在一起，我們稱之為事件。這些事件串聯(lián)系在一起，我們稱之為生活。當(dāng)我們抓住那個(gè)瞬間并按照我們的意志來改變它-這意志受到我們內(nèi)心深處的精神的驅(qū)使，我們就發(fā)現(xiàn)了生命的意義-這意義將在我們離開地球之后長久存在。

　　美文欣賞:你可以選擇自己想過的生活

　　Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:

　　生活有時(shí)候困難得難以置信，但又不容置疑。我們面臨的挑戰(zhàn)與困境似乎無法抵御，試圖毀滅我們生活，甚至使你猶疑是否繼續(xù)走下去。但是你總有選擇的余地。從人生低谷走向新生活的.杰西卡·赫斯樂普，在這里與我們分享她啟迪心靈、充滿震撼力的生活之旅。

　　In 2012 I had the worst year of my life.

　　2012年是我生活中最艱難的一年。

　　I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.

　　我做著討厭的財(cái)務(wù)工作，住在難尋綠色的高樓林立的城市。我忙于無意義的交往，在一些膚淺表面的東西上大筆開銷。我尋找快樂，卻又不知道它在哪里。

　　Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.

　　然后我患上了慢性疲勞綜合癥，幾乎到了臥床不起的地步。我不得不辭掉工作，同時(shí)也就斷了財(cái)源。我和那時(shí)僅相處了3個(gè)月的男友住在一起，經(jīng)濟(jì)上完全依賴于他，我們的關(guān)系承受著巨大壓力。終于我恢復(fù)健康，但不久，我接到家里的電話，父親的癌癥急劇惡化，已經(jīng)住進(jìn)了臨終關(guān)懷中心。

　　I left the city and I went home to be with him.

　　我離開了城市，回家陪父親。

　　He died 6 months later.

　　6個(gè)月之后，他去世了。

　　My father was a complete inspiration to me. He was always so strong that, for a minute after he drew his last breath, I honestly thought he would come back to life. I couldn’t believe I would never again cuddle into his big warm chest and feel safe no matter what.

　　父親的事讓我徹底清醒。他一直很強(qiáng)壯，在他咽氣之后一分鐘里，我真的認(rèn)為，他會(huì)活過來。我不能相信，我再也不能依偎在他溫暖的懷抱里，享受他寬大的胸懷帶給我的安全感。

　　The grief that followed was intense for all of us 5 children and our mother, but we had each other.

　　母親和我們5個(gè)兄弟姐妹極為難過，但至少我們還擁有彼此。

　　But my oldest sister at that time complained of a bad back. It got so bad after 2 months that she too was admitted to hospital.

　　但是，那時(shí)我大姐開始抱怨著背痛，2個(gè)月后，因疼痛加劇也住進(jìn)了醫(yī)院。

　　They discovered that she had highly advanced cancer in her bones and that there was nothing that they could do.

　　醫(yī)生們檢查發(fā)現(xiàn)，她已是骨癌晚期，對(duì)此他們已無能為力。

　　She died 1 month later.

　　1個(gè)月之后，她也走了。

　　I could never put into words the loss of my sister in my life.

　　大姐的逝去讓我陷入難以形容的痛苦之中。

　　She was a walking, talking angel and my favourite person in the whole world. If someone could have asked me the worst thing that could ever happen, it would have been losing her.

　　在這個(gè)世界上，她是一個(gè)能走路、會(huì)說話的天使，我最喜歡的人。如果有人問我，世界上發(fā)生的最壞的事情是什么，那就是失去她。

　　She was my soul-mate and I never thought I would journey this lifetime without her.

　　她是我的靈魂伴侶，我從來沒有想過，我會(huì)走過沒有她陪伴的生命旅程。

　　The Moment Of Deliberate Choice

　　抉擇時(shí)刻

　　The shock and extreme heart break brought me to my knees. The pain was so great and my world just looked desolate. I had no real home, no money, no job, and no friends that cared. Not one person had even sent me a sympathy card for my loss.

　　我被打擊和極度的心痛擊挎了。強(qiáng)烈的痛苦使世界在我眼中變得如此凄涼。我沒有真正意義上的家，沒有錢，沒有工作，也沒有關(guān)心我的朋友。沒有一個(gè)人因我失去親人而寄給我慰問卡。

　　I made an attempt of my own life and I ended up in hospital.

　　我嘗試著活下去，結(jié)果住進(jìn)了醫(yī)院。

　　I remember lying in the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling and seeing my sister’s beautiful face. She stayed with me all night long.

　　我記得，躺在病床上，看著天花板，看到姐姐美麗的面龐。她整夜守候著我。

　　I realised during that night that I had a choice. I could choose to end my life or I could choose to live it.

　　那天晚上，我意識(shí)到我可以選擇。要么結(jié)束生命，要么活下去。

　　I looked in my sister’s eyes and I made a decision not to go with her just yet. That I would stay and complete my journey here.

　　望著姐姐的眼睛，我決定不跟她走。我要留下來，走完我的生命旅程。

　　I also made the decision that, I wouldn’t just live any life. I would live the life that I absolutely LOVE and nothing less.

　　同時(shí)，我還決定，不只為生活而生活，我要完全以自己想要的方式生活。

　　In that moment, the clarity that descended around me was like a light shining in a dark room for the first time. As if the earth’s plates had shifted under my feet and everything suddenly looked real for the first time.

　　在那一刻，這一想法第一次清晰得如同一盞在黑暗閃爍的明燈。好像腳下的地球版塊變換了，每一樣?xùn)|西在我眼前都真實(shí)得前所未有。