Solitude 獨處
I find it wholesome to be alone the greater part of the time. To be in company, even with the best, is soon wearisome and dissipating. I love to be alone. I never found the companion that was so companionable as solitude. We are for the most part more lonely when we go abroad among men than when we stay in our chambers. A man thinking or working is always alone, let him be where he will. Solitude is not measured by the miles of space that intervene between a man and his fellows. The really diligent student in one of the crowded hives of Cambridge College is as solitary as a dervish in the desert. The farmer can work alone in the field or the woods all day, hoeing or chopping, and not feel lonesome, because he is employed; but when he comes home at night he cannot sit down in a room alone, at the mercy of his thoughts, but must be where he can :see the folks,:” and recreate, and, as he thinks, remunerate himself for his day’s solitude; and hence he wonders how the student can sit alone in the house all night and most of the day without ennui and :the blues:; but he does not realize that the student, though in the house, is still at work in his field, and chopping in his woods, as the farmer in his, and in turn seeks the same recreation and society that the latter does, though it may be a more condensed form of it.
Society is commonly too cheap. We meet at very short intervals, not having had time to acquire any new value for each other. We meet at meals three times a day, and give each other a new taste of that old musty cheese that we are. We have had to agree on a certain set of rules, called etiquette and politeness, to make this frequent meeting tolerable and that we need not come to open war. We meet at the post-office, and at the sociable, and about the fireside every night; we live thick and are in each other’s way, and stumble over one another, and I think that we thus lose some respect for one another. Certainly less frequency would suffice for all important and hearty communications. Consider the girls in a factory---never alone, hardly in their dreams. It would be better if there were but one inhabitant to a square mile, as where I live. The value of a man is not in his skin, that we should touch him.
I have a great deal of company in my house; especially in the morning, when nobody calls. Let me suggest a few comparisons, that some one may convey an idea of my situation. I am no more lonely than the loon in the pond that laughs so loud, or than Walden Pond itself. What company has that lonely lake, I pray?
And yet it has not the blue devils, but the blue angels in it, in the azure tint of its waters. The sun is alone, except in thick weather, when there sometimes appear to be two, but one is a mock sun. god is alone---but the devil, he is far from being alone; he sees a great deal of company; he is legion. I am no more lonely than a single mullein or dandelion in a pasture, or a bean leaf, or sorrel, or a horse-fly, or a bumblebee. I am no more lonely than the Millbrook, or a weathercock, or the north star, or the south wind, or an April shower, or a January thaw, or the first spider in a new house.
譯文：
獨處
我發(fā)現人若大部分時間用于獨處，將有益身心。與人為伴，即使是摯友，也很快會有厭煩或虛度光陰的感覺。我愛獨處，我發(fā)現沒有比獨處更好的伴侶了。出國，身在熙攘人群中，要比退守陋室更讓人寂寞。心有所想，身有所系的人總是孤身一人，不論他身處何地。獨處與否也不是由人與人之間的距離來確定。在劍橋苦讀的學子雖身處蜂巢般擁擠的教室，實際上卻和沙漠中的苦行僧一樣，是在獨處。家人終日耕于田間，伐于山野，此時他雖孤單但并不寂寞，因他專心于工作;但待到他日暮而息，卻未必能忍受形影相吊，空有思緒做伴的時光，他必到“可以看見大伙兒”的去處去找樂子，如他所認為的那樣以補償白日里的孤獨;因此他無法理解學子如何能竟夜終日獨坐而不心生厭倦或倍感凄涼;然而他沒意識到，學子雖身在學堂，但心系勞作，但是耕于心田，伐于學林，這正和農人一樣，學子在尋求的無非是和他一樣的快樂與陪伴，只是形式更簡潔罷了。
與人交往通常都因唾手可得而毫無價值，在頻繁的相處中，我們無暇從彼此獲取新價值。我們每日三餐相聚，反復讓彼此重新審視的也是依舊故我，并無新奇之處。為此我們要循規(guī)蹈矩，稱其為懂禮儀，講禮貌，以便在這些頻繁的接觸中相安無事，無須論戰(zhàn)而有辱斯文。我們相遇在郵局，邂逅在社交場所，圍坐在夜晚的爐火旁，交情甚篤，彼此干擾著，糾纏著;實際上我認為這樣我們都或多或少失去了對彼此的尊重。對于所有重要的傾心交流，相見不頻。想想工廠里的女孩，她們雖從不落單，但也少有夢想。像這樣方圓一英里僅一人居住，那情況會更好。人的價值非在肌膚相親，而在心有靈犀。
。。。。。。
我的房子里有很多伙伴，尤其在無人造訪的清晨。我把自己和周圍事物對比一下，你或許能窺見我生活的一斑。比起那湖中長笑的潛鳥，還有那湖，我并不比它們孤獨多少。你看：這孤單的湖又何以為伴呢?然而它那一灣天藍的湖水里有的卻是天使的純凈，而非魔鬼的憂郁。太陽是孤獨的，雖然時而在陰郁的天氣里會出現兩個太陽，但其中之一為幻日;上帝是孤獨的 – 魔鬼才從不孤單，他永遠不乏伙伴，因從他都甚眾。比起牧場上的一朵毛蕊花，一支蒲公英，一片豆葉，一束酢漿草，一只牛虻或大黃蜂來，我并不孤單多少;比想密爾溪，風標，北極星，南風，四月春雨，正月融雪，或者新房中的第一只蜘蛛，我也并不更加孤單。
Giving Life Meaning 給生命以意義
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?
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.
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?
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 life3 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.
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.
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.
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?
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.
譯文：
給生命以意義
你有沒有想過，你希望人們在你死后怎樣評論你?你能否聽到這樣的說，“他是個偉大的人”或“人們的確會懷念她”，他們還會說些什么?
人生最奇異的現象之一就是，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心深處，你就會發(fā)現促使你做出這種貢獻的驅動力-一種驅使每個人尋找在自己死后仍能繼續(xù)存在的事業(yè)的驅動力。
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?貢獻一生的目的難道終將一死之人想要獲得不朽名聲的自我鞭策的欲望?抑或是其他更偉大的事物?
今天活著的孩子明天就會死去。一個有可能成為下一個愛因斯坦的嬰兒會死于出生并發(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。我們已經認識到，生命是一個周期，其時間長度是特定的。如果這些時間沒有被充分利用，那就是個悲劇，因為人的潛能還未實現，因為火花還沒形成火焰就被補滅。
由于存在于肉體之中，所以我們接受這些風險。我們使易朽的肉體服從周圍物理環(huán)境的法則。你仔細想一想就會發(fā)現，這種交易并不是那么糟糕。當我們幻想生命應該如何時，問題就來了。當生命和我們的幻想不一致時，我們就變得煩惱，無奈或沮喪。
我們活著，那我們就要活得精彩;我們有能力體驗，那我們就要體驗人生甘苦;我們有能力學習，那我們就要在學海徜徉。生命的意義可以在一瞬間抓住-一個經常被我們忽略的短暫瞬間。
當生命戲劇般地一幕幕拉開時，其中隱含的意義是什么?當我們周圍所有其他都似乎隨著時間而消逝時，我們能夠掌握哪個真理并依靠它來生活呢?
這些瞬間串聯在一起，我們稱之為事件。這些事件串聯系在一起， 我們稱之為生活。當我們抓住那個瞬間并按照我們的意志來改變它-這意志受到我們內心深處的精神的驅使，我們就發(fā)現了生命的意義-這意義將在我們離開地球之后長久存在。
Relish the Moment 品位現在
Tucked away in our subconsciousness is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the moment. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn ad wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering---waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
“When we reach the station, that will be it!” we cry. “When I’m 18.” “When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz!” “When I put the last kid through college.” “When I have paid off the mortgage!” “When I get a promotion.” “When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after!”
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
It isn’t the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. Instead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
譯文：
品味現在
我們的潛意識里藏著一派田園詩般的風光! 我們仿佛身處一次橫貫大陸的漫漫旅程之中! 乘著火車, 我們領略著窗外流動的景色：附近高速公路上奔馳的汽車、十字路口處招手的孩童、遠山上吃草的牛群、源源不斷地從電廠排放出的煙塵、一片片的玉米和小麥、平原與山谷、群山與綿延的丘陵、天空映襯下城市的輪廓, 以及鄉(xiāng)間的莊園宅第!
然而我們心里想得最多的卻是最終的目的地! 在某一天的某一時刻, 我們將會抵達進站! 迎接我們的將是樂隊和飄舞的彩旗! 一旦到了那兒, 多少美夢將成為現實, 我們的生活也將變得完整, 如同一塊理好了的拼圖! 可是我們現在在過道里不耐煩地踱來踱去, 咒罵火車的拖拖拉拉! 我們期待著, 期待著, 期待著火車進站的那一刻!
"當我們到站的時候, 一切就都好了! "我們呼喊著! "當我18歲的時候! ""當我有了一輛新450SL奔馳的時候! ""當我供最小的孩子念完大學的時候! ""當我償清貸款的時候! ""當我官升高任的時候! ""當我到了退休的時候, 就可以從此過上幸福的生活啦! "
可是我們終究會認識到人生的旅途中并沒有車站, 也沒有能夠"一到永逸"的地方!生活的真正樂趣在于旅行的過程, 而車站不過是個夢, 它始終遙遙于我們!
真正令人發(fā)瘋的不是今日的負擔, 而是對昨日的悔恨及對明日的恐懼! 悔恨與恐懼是一對孿生竊賊, 將今天從你我身邊偷走!
那么就不要在過道里徘徊吧, 別老惦記著你離車站還有多遠! 何不換一種活法, 將更多的高山攀爬, 多吃點兒冰淇淋甜甜嘴巴, 經常光著腳板兒溜達, 在更多的河流里暢游, 多看看夕陽西下, 多點歡笑哈哈, 少讓淚水滴答! 生活得一邊過一邊瞧! 車站就會很快到達!
