美文——Being Yourself, Becoming Real
Being Yourself, Becoming RealI heard a story once about an eagle’s egg that had been lost or 1)abandoned and was found by chickens. When the eagle 2)hatched, it was loved and cared for by the chickens, brought up to act and 3)behave as if it was a chicken. It knew nothing else until one day, the eagle was with his brothers and sisters 4)pecking at the ground——like a chicken ——when something made him look up to the sky. High above he saw a 5)majestic sight, a beautiful bird 6)soaring gracefully. Something was 7)stirred inside him, a 8)recognition of ‘ome’.
He asked the chickens, “What is that beautiful bird up there?”The chickens looked up. “Oh that,”they said, “What’s an eagle, king of the birds. But forget about him. You are one of us, you are a chicken.”I don’t know how the story ended and, to me, it is not a case of an eagle being 9)superior to a chicken. The same story has been told about a duck’s egg; and one day the duck arrives at a great lake and it just swims. “Because he can. It’s natural” leaving his family on the shore.
As I understand it, it’s all about remembering who or what we really are, 10)regardless of what we’ve been told by others or how we have been brought up. A rose will grow into a rose even if it’s in the middle of a field of 11)tulips.
There is an 12)ancient Indian word “Dharma”, which has two meanings. The first is, “Your nature, your true, real, 13)essential nature.”The second is, “Your purpose in life.”To me, the two cannot be separated. I believe the word 14)literally translates as “Yruth.”
“You are what your deep driving desire is; as your desire is, so is your will; as your will is, so is your deed; as your deed is, so is your 15)destiny.?”16)Upanishads, India
Or, like they said in ancient Greece, “Character is fate.”
Whatever we are at our most 17)fundamental level, at our most base, whether that be something 18)metaphysical, or something like DNA, I believe that to discover, or remember it is our ‘19)raison d’tre’ And to live in 20)harmony with our deepest selves is the meaning of success.
“Above all, to 21)thine own self be true.”
——William Shakespeare
It’s been said that when we die and go back home to ‘our maker’ we will never be asked why we didn’t cure the common cold, why we never made a billion pounds or anything else like that, but simply be asked, “Why didn’t you just be yourself?”
我听说过一个故事，讲的是一只丢失或被遗弃的鹰蛋被群鸡发现。小鹰破壳后，受到群鸡的爱护和照料，长大后行为举止与别的鸡无异。它对外界一无所知，直到有一天，这只鹰与兄弟姐妹们在地上啄食—像鸡一样—忽然天上某样东西让它抬头。它看到高高在上的一个奇观：一只美丽的鸟优雅地飞翔而过。它内心起了波动，想到了自己的根。
它问群鸡：“天上那美丽的鸟叫什么？”群鸡抬起头。“噢那个呀，”它们说，“那是一只鹰，是百鸟之王。但是别想它了，你是我们的一员，你是一只鸡。”我不知道故事的结局，但我不认为它宣扬的是鹰比鸡优秀。有个相同的关于鸭蛋的故事；里面的鸭子有一天来到大湖边，便开始凫水了，把同伴都落在岸上—“因为它会凫水，这是天生的能力。”
我把故事的含义理解为，不论其他人让我们怎样做，或我们在成长期接受了何种教育，我们都要记住自己的真实本性。玫瑰终将长成玫瑰，即使它在一片郁金香丛中也是如此。
古印度语有一个词“dharma”，它有两层含义。其一是“你的天性，你的真切、实在、本质的天性。”其二是“你生活的目的”。对于我，这两层含义不可分离。我相信这个词按字面应翻译为“真实”。
“你即是内心深处牵引你的欲望；你的欲望如何，意志亦当如何；你的意志如何，行为亦如何；行为如何，命运如何。”
—《奥义书》，印度
又或者像古希腊的哲言说的那样：“性格即命运。”
不论我们在最根本、最基础的层面上是什么，不论这种东西是玄虚的还是像DNA一样实在的，我相信，发现它、记住它乃是我们“生存的理由”。与我们内心最深处的自我和谐共存，这就是成功的含义。
“首先，真实待汝己。”
—威廉·莎士比亚
据说，当我们死后回到造物主那里，他从来不会问我们为什么抵抗不了感冒，为什么挣不到万贯家财之类的问题，他只会简单地问：“为什么你就没有做自己呢？”
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