为你读书：A Letter to Beloved Son 《给爱子的信》

—位伟大而又平凡的父亲，一封情真意切的信。本期选文中，一位父亲将他一生的智慧以书信的方式写给他三岁大的爱子，希望给孩子以成长路上的忠告。这封信同时也启示所有人：人生不会总是一帆风顺，生活有时候会很残酷，但重要的是学会去爱，学会享受生活。

——编者语

Life can be cruel.

生活会很残酷。

 

There will be people in your life who won’t be very nice. They’ll tease you because you’re different, or for no good reason. They might try to bully you or hurt you.

你的生活中一定会有并不友好的人。他们耻笑你因为你与众不同，或者没有任何合理的理由，他们就可能会欺负你或者伤害你。

 

There’s not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actually care about you, who make you feel good about yourself. When you find friends like this, hold on to them, treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them, love them.

对这种人，你除了学会和其打交道外无计可施。同时你也要学会择友，选择那些对你友善的，那些真正关心你的，那些令你对自己感到很好的人做朋友。当你寻找到像这样的朋友，就一定要坚守这份友谊，珍惜他们，花些时间和他们在一起，友善地对待他们并爱他们。

 

There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won’t always turn out the way you want. This is just another thing you’ll have to learn to deal with. But instead of letting these things get you down, push on. Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls. Learn to turn negatives into positives, and you’ll do much better in life.

有时候你会遭遇挫折而非成功。生活并不总会如你所愿。这是另一件你需要学会处理的事情。但你要挺住向前，而不是让这些事使你陷入低谷。接受挫败并学会坚持，不畏风险地追求你的梦想。学会把消极转化为积极，之后你就能做得好得多。

 

But be open to life anyway.

但无论如何，都要张开双臂拥抱生活。

 

Yes, you’ll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life... but don’t let that close you to new things. Don’t retreat from life, don’t hide or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people.

是的，在你的生命历程中你会遇到残酷，煎熬……但不要让这些成为你拒绝接受新鲜事物的原因。不要逃避生活，不要躲藏，抑或封闭自己。拥抱新鲜事物，经历全新体验，接触新的人。

 

You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time. If you shut yourself off from love, you’ll miss out on that woman, and the happiest times of your life.

你或许心碎了10次，但是在第11次找到至爱。如果你把自己关在爱的门外，你就会错过这个女子，和你生命中最快乐的时光。

 

You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success.

你会失败多次但是如果你让失败打倒了你，不再努力，你就会错过那种当你达到成就新高度的难以言喻的成就感。失败是成功之母。

 

Life isn’t a competition.

生命不是一场竞赛。

 

Life isn’t a competition. It's a journey. If you spend that journey always trying to impress others, to outdo others, you’re wasting your journey. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey. Make it a journey of Happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love.

生命并不是一场竞赛，而是一段旅程。如果你在途中一直都试图给他人留下深刻印象，超过别人，那你就浪费了这段旅程。与之相反，学会享受它，让之成为快乐之旅、永恒的学习之旅、持久的进步之旅以及爱之旅。

 

Find your passion, and pursue it doggedly. Don’t settle for a job that pays the bills. Life is too short to waste on a job you hate.

找到你的激情，坚持不懈地追求它。别让自己被一个还债的工作所累。生命太短暂了，更不可将之浪费在你所厌恶的工作上。

 

Love should be your rule.

爱应该成为你的生活准则。

 

If there’s a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: Love. It might sound corny, I know... but trust me, there’s no better rule in life.

如果让一个词成为你的生活支撑的话，那它应该是爱。也许这听起来像是老生常谈，我也清楚……但是请信任我，再没有更好的生活准则了。

 

Live your life by the rule of love. Love your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, with all of your heart. Give to them what they need, and show them not cruelty nor disapproval nor coldness nor disappointment, but only love. Open your soul to them.

用爱支撑你的生命。爱你的妻子、你的孩子、你的父母亲、你的朋友，全心全意地去爱。给予他们他们所需要的，不要流露出任何残忍、不赞同、冷漠或者失望，而只是爱。向他们敞开灵魂。

 

Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbors...your coworkers...strangers...your brothers and sisters in humanity. Offer anyone you meet a smile, a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand.

不仅仅爱你深爱的人，也要爱你的邻居……你的同事……甚至陌生人……他们是你广义上的兄弟姐妹。给你遇到的任何一个人一个微笑，一句善语。一个友好的姿势，一只援助之手。

 

Love not only neighbors and strangers...but your enemy. The person who is crudest to you, who has been unkind to you... love him. He is a tortured soul, and most in need of your love.

不仅仅爱邻居和陌生人……也要爱你的敌人。对最残酷对待你的人，对曾经对你不善的人……爱他。他是一个备受折磨的灵魂，最需要你的爱。

 

And most of all, love yourself. While others may criticize you, learn not to be so hard on yourself, to think that you’re ugly or dumb or unworthy of love...but to think instead that you are a wonderful human being, worthy of happiness and love...and learn to love yourself for who you are.

最重要的是爱你自己。当别人批评你时，学着不要苛责自己，去认为自己丑、笨或者不值得去爱……而要想着自己是一个很完美的人，值得拥有幸福和真爱……并学会爱原本的自己。

 

词汇点津：

bully ['bʊlɪ] vt. 欺负；威吓

例：I wasn't going to let him bully me.

我可不会让他欺负我。

pitfall ['pɪtfɔːl] n. 陷阱，圈套

例：The pitfalls of working abroad are numerous.

在国外工作有很多隐患。

outdo  [aʊt'duː] vt. 超过；胜过

例：It was important for me to outdo them, to feel better than they were.

对我来说重要的是超过他们，感觉比他们更好。

corny ['kɔːnɪ] adj. 老一套的

例：I know it sounds corny, but I'm really not motivated by money.

我知道这听起来有点俗，但是我真的不是为了钱。