每日英语美文精选（请勿跟帖，谢谢）

A Little Piece of Me

　　When he told me he was leaving I felt like a vase which has just smashed. There were pieces of me all over the tidy, tan tiles. He kept talking, telling me why he was leaving, explaining it was for the best, I could do better, it was his fault and not mine. I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still not immune; perhaps one did not become immune to such felony.

　　He left and I tried to get on with my life. I filled the kettle and put it on to boil, I took out my old red mug and filled it with coffee watching as each coffee granule slipped in to the bone china. That was what my life had been like, endless omissions of coffee granules, somehow never managing to make that cup of coffee.

　　Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning I pretended not to hear it. That\\'s what Mike\\'s leaving had been like, sudden and with an awful finality. I would rather just wallow in uncertainty than have things finished. I laughed at myself. Imagine getting all philosophical and sentimental about a mug of coffee. I must be getting old.

　　And yet it was a young woman who stared back at me from the mirror. A young woman full of promise and hope, a young woman with bright eyes and full lips just waiting to take on the world. I never loved Mike anyway. Besides there are more important things. More important than love, I insist to myself firmly. The lid goes back on the coffee just like closure on the whole Mike experience.

　　He doesn\\'t haunt my dreams as I feared that night. Instead I am flying far across fields and woods, looking down on those below me. Suddenly I fall to the ground and it is only when I wake up that I realize I was shot by a hunter, brought down by the burden of not the bullet but the soul of the man who shot it. I realize later, with some degree of understanding, that Mike was the hunter holding me down and I am the bird that longs to fly. The next night my dream is similar to the previous nights, but without the hunter. I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony. I realize with some relief that there is a bird out there for me, there is another person, not necessarily a lover perhaps just a friend, but there is someone out there who is my soul mate. I think about being a broken vase again and realize that I have glued myself back together, what Mike has is merely a little part of my time in earth, a little understanding of my physical being. He has only, a little piece of me.

☜生命的过客 ☞

    当他告诉我他要离开的时候，我感觉自己就像花瓶裂成了碎片，跌落在茶色瓷砖地板上。他一直在说话，解释着为什么要离开，说什么这是最好的，我可以做得更好，都是他的错，与我无关。虽然这些话我已经听上好几千遍了，可每次听完都让我很受伤，或许在这样巨大的打击面前没有人能做到无动于衷。
　

　　他走了，我尝试着继续过自己的生活。我烧开水，拿出红色杯子，看着咖啡粉末一点点地落入骨灰瓷的杯子里。这正是我自己的鲜活写照，不断地往下掉咖啡粉末，却从来没有真正地泡成一杯咖啡。

　　水开了，水壶发出警报声，我假装没有听见。迈克的离去也是一样，突如其来，并且无可挽回。要知道，我宁愿忍受分与不分的煎熬，也不愿意以这样的方式被宣判“死刑”。想着想着我就哑然失笑，自己竟然为一杯咖啡有如此多的人生感怀，我自己一定是老了。

　　可是镜子里回瞪着我的那个女孩还是那么年轻啊！明目皓齿，充满了前途与希望，光明的未来在向她招手。没关系的，反正我也从来没有爱过迈克。何况，生命中还有比爱更重要的东西在等待着我，我对自己坚持说。我将咖啡罐的盖子盖好，也将所有关于迈克的记忆尘封起来。

　　那天晚上，出乎意料的是，他并没有入到我的梦中。在梦里，我飞过田野和森林，俯瞰着大地。突然间，我掉了下来……醒来后才发现原来自己被猎人打中了，但是令我坠落的不是他的子弹，而是他的灵魂。我后来才渐渐明白，原来迈克就是那个使我坠落的猎人，而我是那只渴望飞翔的小鸟。到了第二天晚上，我仍然做了类似的梦，但是猎人不见了，我一直在自由地飞翔，直到遇上另外一只小鸟和我比翼双飞。我开始意识到，总有那么一只鸟，那么一个人在前面等我，这个人可能是我的爱人，可能只是朋友，但一定是知我懂我的人，这令我感觉如释重负。我想起曾经觉得自己像花瓶一样裂开了，才意识到原来自己已经把自己修理好了。迈克只是我生命过程中的小小过客，他仅仅了解我的表面，他仅仅是我生命中的小小一部分。

The Story of a Monk's Two Pieces of Cloth

和尚的两块布

(Originally in English)

There was a monk in India who devoted himself to God, like all monks are supposed to do. So he had only one piece of cloth with which to cover his body. And he had only one pot, in which he would put water and also cook and put milk and so on.

有一个印度和尚，他本着出家人的精神，将自己完全奉献给上帝，因此，他全部财产只有一块用来遮盖身体的布，以及一个兼具取水、煮东西、装牛奶等等用途的锅子。


And it so happened that the lid of the pot broke. But the monk didn't buy a new one; he just used one corner of his cloth to cover the pot. Anytime he sat, he would sit near the pot. So a man came along and said, "Why don't you buy a new lid for your pot?" And he said, "I've already sworn that whatever I have here, I'll never get more, and just use what I have."


后来锅盖不小心弄破了，不过他并没有再买新的锅盖，只是用他身上那块布的一角来盖住锅子，所以每当他坐下时，都会靠近锅子而坐。于是就有人跟他说：「你为什么不买个新的锅盖呢？」那个和尚说：「我已经发过誓，不管我现在有什么，绝不再多要了，我只用那些我已经拥有的。」


And then the man said, "But why are you so stubborn? One lid is no problem; how about buying a new pot?" The monk said, "No, no. You increase this, and tomorrow it's that and the other. Just like one monk..." He then told the story of another monk. It was a true story, and went like this:


然后问的人说：「你何必那么固执？一个盖子不算什么啊，要不要考虑干脆买个新锅子？」那个和尚说：「不！不！现在增加了这个，明天就会再增加别的，就像有一个和尚…」然后他便讲述了另一个和尚的故事，那是个真实的故事，故事是这样的：


There was a monk in India. who used to go out begging for things. He had a loincloth that covered where he thought he was supposed to cover. (Laughter) But it was no problem; he was content. Every day he went out and got alms from people; he would beg and get enough to eat, and then he would go and meditate. It was very beautiful. And he had a small hut.


在印度有个和尚，他经常出去托钵一些东西，他有一条腰巾，用来盖住他认为应该遮住的地方（大众笑），这没什么问题，他很满足。他每天出去托钵，得到足够的食物饱腹后，就回去他的小茅屋打坐，日子过得很惬意。


The problem was that he had only two cloths: one that he washed and one that he wore. So, sometimes when he went out, he put his cloth on the roof to dry. And then came a mouse that always tore his cloth into ribbons. And then he would have to go out and beg for another piece of cloth. It happened many times like this.


问题是他只有两块布，当其中一块换洗时，他就用另一块围在身上，有时他出门时，会把洗好的布晾在屋顶上。结果经常有老鼠跑来将他的布咬成碎片，于是他就得再出去托钵另一块布。


So the monk was at a loss as to what to do. Then the neighbors advised him, saying, "You can't go on forever begging for cloth. Why don't you just keep a cat, and the cat will take care of the mouse. Then you'll have no problem. Otherwise, who's going to keep donating cloth to you all the time like this?"


这种事一再地发生，让那个和尚不知如何是好。邻居就建议他说：「你不能这样老是去托钵布啊，为何不养只猫呢？猫自然会处理老鼠，这样一来你就可以高枕无忧了。否则，有谁能够像这样一直供养布给你呢？」


So the monk, after many times begging, said, "OK, that's not bad." So he kept a cat. Someone came along and gave him a cat. And then now the cat was there. But he had more trouble. He had to go out and beg for milk for the cat. And then some good-hearted person came along and told him, "You can't go on forever, going out begging for milk and food for the cat. Just keep a cow. Because we don't mind giving you milk, but if we have to give milk for the cat as well, it's a little bit too much. It's OK that we give, but everyone else is not the same. They won't give it to you every day. Then you'll even have to sacrifice your own milk for the cat. So keep a cow. We have a cow; we can donate it to you. It can be very convenient for you to have milk for yourself. And the cow will also give you some whey that you can use for cooking; everything will be convenient."


经过了多次托钵布的经验以后，他想：「也好，这个主意还不错！」于是就决定养只猫。然后，就有人送给他一只猫。现在他养了猫，不过，麻烦更大了，因为他必须出去托钵牛奶给那只猫喝。于是又有一些好心人来告诉他：「你不能这样为了这只猫而得经常出去托钵牛奶和食物啊，只要养一头牛就好了我们是不会介意供养牛奶给你啦，不过，如果还要供养你的猫的话，那就太多了一点。我们当然会给你牛奶，不过其它人就不见得如此，他们不会每天都供养你，到时候你甚至必须将你自己那份牛奶给这只猫了。不如养头牛吧！我们有一头牛可以供养你，这样一来你要获取牛奶就很方便了，而且牛奶中的乳清也可以拿来煮菜，一切都会很方便的。」


So they also had a cow ready for him. But in India, you can get a cow at any cost. They just walk around, and maybe you can just take one; some of them are ownerless, homeless cows.


他们正好有一头牛可以送给他。在印度，很容易就可以得到一头牛，那些牛到处游荡，也许你就刚好捉到一只，有些是没有主人的牛、无家可归的牛。


Anyhow, after much consideration, the monk accepted the cow. But now he had to milk the cow and all that. And now he had to go out and beg for straw for the cow. Because he was a monk, he didn't know what else to do. And he lived in the part of the Himalayas with not much grass. He had to beg for straw and build a shelter for the cow.


经过再三考虑之后，这个和尚终于接受了这头牛。不过，现在他必须亲自挤牛奶，还得出去托钵一些草给牛吃。因为他是个和尚，除了托钵以外，不知道还能怎么做，再加上他住在喜马拉雅山区，附近没有那么多牧草，所以他必须为他的牛托钵一些草，还得盖一间牛舍给它住。


Now, so far, so good. But then someone else came along and advised him by saying, "You can't go on begging forever for straw. Who's going to give you straw all the time for the cow? We'll feed you, but we're not obliged to feed your cow and your cat and all that. So, keep a housemate. Or marry a wife; get married."


到目前为止，一切还好。可是后来有人建议他说：「你不能老是去托钵牧草啊，谁会一直供养牧草给你的牛呢？我们会供养你，不过，我们没有义务也要供养你的猫、牛等等，所以，找个农夫当伙伴或是娶个太太吧！」


So now the monk was having serious problems. Because he didn't know how to cultivate land. Therefore, a good adviser said to him, "You can keep a housemate, like a male farmer. Or, marry a farmer so that you can cultivate the land. There's so much land around here, all over; you can cultivate it, and have enough straw for your cow. And also you will have enough corn, wheat and so on for you to eat."


现在这个和尚面临了严重的问题，因为他不知道如何种植牧草，因此有个好心人建议他说：「你可以找个农夫当伙伴，或娶个农家女，那么你就可以进行耕种了。这附近有这么一大片宽阔的土地可以供你耕作，这样就有足够的牧草给你的牛吃，也会有足够的玉米、小麦等食粮让你食用。」


Now the monk was getting more and more serious. So he married. And afterwards, he and his wife cultivated a farm. Then they had children and they had to take care of the children, and then they had to get a teacher for the children and so on. And it was getting to be a bigger and bigger business.


这个和尚的问题愈来愈严重，他只好结婚了，然后他们开垦了一个农场，接着就有小孩了，然后他们必须照顾小孩，还要为小孩找个老师等等，因此，他们的「事业」就愈做愈大。


So one day, his Master came back. And he kept asking for the so-and-so monk that was supposed to have been living in a thatched hut next to the river three years ago. But no one knew if there was such a monk at all. So he kept asking his way up to the farm of the monk.


有一天，这个和尚的师父回来了，他不断地打听三年前住在河边茅屋里的那个和尚的下落，然而，根本没有人知道有过这么一位和尚。经过一番访查后，他终于找到和尚的农场。


And then he realized what had happened all because of a piece of loincloth, one extra piece more. If he had had only one, and wore it, there would have been no problem. But he had two - one to wear and one to wash - and that's why there was a problem. So that's what happened, and that's a true story.

最后他了解整个事情的经过，全都只为了一块多出来的布！如果当时他只有一块布围在身上就一切都没事了，但因为他有两块：一块围在身上、一块拿去洗，所以才衍生出后续的一大堆状况。这是个真实的故事。


The monk had much regret after his Master came back. But the Master didn't want to stay. He said, "I told you to practice spirituality. I didn't tell you to keep cows, dogs, cats, a wife and children." And then he had a whole farm. He had to hire many farmers, because so many things grew, and they kept expanding. It had become a farm.

这个和尚在他师父回来后感到后悔不已，但他师父已不愿再留下来，他告诫和尚：「我嘱咐过你要好好修行，我没叫你去养牛、狗、猫、太太和小孩！」那时候那个和尚已经经营一整个农场，他必须雇用很多农夫，因为有太多农事要做，而且他们一直在扩充、发展，农场已颇具规模了。

He left everything in the world to become a monk, to be detached from the world and to have the minimum necessities for his life. And then he ended up wealthy: a big farmer, with many cattle and a wife and children and many workers. It was getting bigger and bigger all the time. And he was so busy counting money and checking the harvest that he had no time for meditation anymore. It was all finished. The monk's job was finished; he had gotten another job.


他放下世俗一切去当和尚，为了摆脱尘世的束缚，过着最简单的生活，然而，最后却变成个富翁，成为一个大地主，拥有许多牲口和工人，妻子和小孩！农场愈来愈兴隆，于是他整天忙着数钞票、巡视收成，再也没时间打坐了，修行的方面便到此为止，「和尚的工作」结束了，他得到另一种工作。

潜意识让你聆听心的声音

How often do you have a really strong gut instinct and it proves to be wrong? How often do you override that instinct and then kick yourself later on? My guess would be that if you’re anything like the people that come to me for life coaching the answers are hardly ever and always.

Everybody knows intuitively that they have solid instincts. I have never met anybody either professionally or socially that says. “My gut feeling is terrible, I’m always getting in a mess by listening to myself, what can I do about it?” How weird is that? It seems to me it’s a universal truth.

Although at this point I have to confess I only know a small percentage of people when we look at it from a global perspective. In fact, we are probably talking about 0.000005% of the population; so statistically speaking it’s about as accurate as a blind baseball pitcher with Meniere’s disease.

Having said that, I’m prepared to bet that you don’t disagree with me. In fact, I’ll go as far to say that if you can honestly say you believe your gut instinct lets you down on a regular basis, drop me an e-mail and I’ll mail you a copy of my book with instructions on how to operate it, because you’re going to need them.

The conscious human mind can only deal with 7 + or – 2 pieces of information at once. Until you read this sentence you almost certainly aren’t aware of your left foot. But hey, presto, now you are! Way to go on shifting your awareness like a Zen Master. If you lost your foot in a freak fairground accident last week I apologize for my lack of tact. I hope you can forgive me and please accept my best wishes for a speedy recovery hoppy.

The fact is, you have to constantly delete information from your conscious mind, otherwise you’d go into sensory overload. Try and do it now if you have any doubt. Place your awareness in your right hand, now your left hand too. Now move to your feet and remain aware of your hands. Easy? Maybe, but that’s still only 4, so try thinking about what your lower back feels like without letting your attention move from your hands. By now you will be starting to struggle, but if you’re not keep going and you soon will be.

Think of your conscious mind as being like the RAM on your computer. It does lots of good stuff and it’s nice to have around and all that, but hey c’mon, it’s no hard drive! That is like the difference between your conscious and unconscious mind.

Your unconscious mind can do lots of stuff easily without you ever having to intervene. I presume your heart is beating, your food is being digested, and you do not have to remember to blink your eyes or maintain your blood pressure, right? If not you maybe dead, so stop reading now and call for an ambulance and/or an undertaker.

What happens when you get a strong gut feeling is that your unconscious mind is trying to tell you what it thinks in the only way it knows how, with feelings. It can’t talk to you because it’s unconscious, hence the rather obvious name. It has done lots of calculations, looked at all the permutations, given it serious consideration and is now shouting “Whoa there big fella, it aint a great idea to poke that skunk with a stick” Of course the ‘shout’ can manifest itself in any number of ways. You may get sweaty palms, a nauseous feeling or just a sense of something not being quite right.

So what do most people do when they get a strong gut feeling?

That’s right, they override it. Because it doesn’t make logical sense on the surface, skunk poking notwithstanding, it tends to get dismissed. A feeling is just that, a feeling, it can be hard to put into words. When we can’t explain logically why we think something is a bad or even for that matter a good idea, we can tend to either ignore it completely or use faulty logic to dismiss it out of hand.

Some people (kinesthetics) find to very easy to tune into their feelings, but truly kinesthetic people account for less than 15% of the population. If you’re not one of the lucky few then you’ll have to pay extra special attention. Tune in to your body more often and start to recognize the patterns an when it’s trying to tell you something.

If your unconscious is saying don’t take that job, go on that date, poke that skunk - take heed. It knows what it’s talking about and it has your best interests at heart. The alternative it to disregard it as some weird nebulous feeling that’s come out of nowhere and almost certainly live to regret it.

你通常多久会有一次直觉，然后又证实是错误的？通常多久会不理会那直接而去做别的事？我的猜想是，如果你和那些来找我做人生规划的人一样的话，那么答案很难说。

每个人都直觉的认为他们拥有可靠的直觉。我从没遇到过内行的或是善于交际的人。有这么种说法，“我本能的感觉是可怕的。我总是因为自己的直觉而使自己陷入窘境，我该怎么办？”多么奇怪啊。在我看来这似乎倒是普片存在的真理了。

尽管在这一点上我不得不承认，我只是认识小部分的人但却从整体观念看这个问题。事实上，我们可能只谈论了人口的0.000005%；但从统计学上说，这就好像失明的棒球投手得了梅尼埃病（又名内耳眩晕病）一样准确。

不得不说，我敢打赌你一定不会赞成我的观点。事实上，近的不说，如果你能很坦诚的说，你相信你的直觉能让你经常感到沮丧，那么请给我电邮，我会将一份我的书的副本电邮给你，里面有一些如何处理这类情况的用法说明，因为我觉得你会用得到它。

清醒的人类大脑只能同时处理7（加或减2）条信息。直到你读这个句子，你几乎很肯定你没有意识到你的左脚。但，现在你意识到啦！像禅师一样转移你的注意力。如果你因上星期的意外事件而失去了你的腿，我很抱歉我欠缺考虑。希望你能原谅我并接受我最诚挚的祝福，祝早日康复。

事实是，你必须坚持不懈的将你潜意识里的想法去除，否则你会感觉超负荷。如果你有任何疑问，现在就试着去做吧。讲你的意识集中在你的右手，现在，也集中到你的左手。 现在将你的意识移到脚上，同时也把意识留在手上。 很简单是么？也许是的，但人只有四肢，所以试着想象一下，在将意识保留在手上的同时，你的后备的感觉是什么？到现在，你会开始奋斗了 ，但如果你不坚持，你又会回到老样子了。

把你清醒时的意识想象成电脑的随机存储器。它做了很多琐碎的事情，但最后竟然没有硬盘存储！这就好像清醒的意识和潜意识间的差别。

你的潜意识能在不经意间做很多琐碎的事情。我假装你的心脏正在跳动，你吃的东西正在消化中，你不必记得去眨眼睛或是保持血压，对么？如果不是，那你可能就是死人了，所以停止阅读吧，打电话给救护车或是殡仪馆。

当你强烈意识到你的潜意识正在试图告诉你某事时，会发生什么？它不能与你交谈，因为它是无意识的，因此才得了这么个名字。它做了很多计算，查看所有的排列，做出严肃的考虑并且现在正在呼喊“那个大个子，用棍子戳破它并不是一个好主意。”当然，“呼喊”可以用多种方式表达。你可能会手心出汗，出现厌恶情绪，或只是感觉什么东西不对劲。

所以，当有一个强烈的直觉时，大多数人会怎么做？

对了，人们会置之不理。因为表面上这并没有什么合乎常理的意识。尽管戳破了，它也倾向于被遗忘。感觉就只是感觉，很难用言语说明。当我们不能用逻辑解释我们认为某些东西是坏的或就那事而言是好事，我们更倾向于完全忽视它或是使用错误的逻辑立即将之遗弃。

有些人发现将他们的感觉协调好是件很容易的事，但真正的这类人只占人口的15%还不到。如果你不够幸运不是他们中的一员，那么你该提高你的注意了。更多的调整你的身体，开始意识到它将告知你时的方式。

如果你的潜意识告诉你不要那份工作，那就遵从它，听听别人的建议。它知道它说的是什么，而且它知道你内心深处的兴趣是什么。任何地方都能出现那种很随意的很朦胧的情感，确定不能有结果的，就不要太在意它，不然自己今后会后悔的。

Remembering Jesus' Teachings on His Birthday

提醒世人铭记耶稣的教理

美国旧金山约翰．摩顿

(Originally in English)

This year's Christmas is the 2006nd celebration of the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, on whose life and teachings the Christian religions are founded. The story of Jesus' nativity is full of universal symbols and sentiments, and often strikes a spiritual chord in non-Christians as well.

今年的圣诞节是庆祝在拿撒勒出生的耶稣2006周年诞辰的节日，耶稣的一生和教理正是基督教立教的根基。耶稣诞生的故事充满各种众所周知的象征及涵义，触动人们的心弦，即使是非基督徒，也常会受到启示。

For example, long before Jesus was born, people celebrated the winter solstice in late December, when the long winter nights start to become shorter and the sun begins to rise higher in the sky. The winter solstice is the time of the earth's rebirth, of hope for the coming New Year. And Jesus' birth represents humanity's greatest hope; namely, that God will assume physical form.

例如：早在耶稣诞生以前，人们就会在十二月底庆祝冬至的到来。因为随着冬至过後，漫漫冬夜会越来越短，白昼越来越长，此时正是「大地即将复苏」之时，也为新的一年带来希望。而耶稣的诞生更代表着人类最大的希望──上帝以人身示现。

On the eve of His nativity, Jesus' family was poor and homeless, and so He was born in a stable, surrounded by animals. That a divine child should be born in such humble material surroundings was a revolutionary event, inspiring people everywhere to consider the idea that material wealth does not determine spiritual worth.

在耶稣诞生前夕，他的家人正面临穷苦又无家可归的困境，因此，耶稣诞生在一处豢养牲畜的马厩里。圣婴耶稣在如此卑微的物质环境下降生，打破了世人偏执的想法，启示人们「物质的财富并不能决定灵性的高低」。

After predicting Jesus' birth through the use of astrology, three wise men came from the east to bring Him gifts. This tradition of gift giving continues to the present day, and the image of Santa Claus is often used to stir up excitement over giving and receiving presents at Christmastime. The birth of a blessed child naturally calls for celebration, and what better time for festive gatherings than when the cold and darkness of winter are at a peak. Christmas is a time of good cheer everywhere it is celebrated.

当东方的3位智者从星象中得知，将有一位伟大的圣人诞生这个世界时，便立即动身前来朝见这位圣人，并献上祝福和礼物，这项传统仍延续至今。如今，人们在看到圣诞老人的图像时，就会联想到分享的喜悦。圣婴耶稣的降生，当然是值得普天同庆的事，而还有什麽时候会比在最寒冷、最阴霾的冬日时刻，大家聚在一起欢庆来得更适当呢？世界各地的人们就是在这样欢欣鼓舞的气氛下庆祝迎接圣诞节的到来。

Honoring the birth of Jesus helps us all to remember His wonderful teachings of peace and love, which are especially important today, when the world appears to be moving closer to war and turbulence.

缅怀耶稣的诞生可以帮助世人记取他充满和平与博爱的美好教理，特别是当今世界正逐日笼罩在战争及不安的气氛时，耶稣的博爱教理更显得格外重要。

By John Morton, San Francisco, CA., USA

Don't Think, Just Push

用力推，不必想

Adapted by Vincent Nguyen, Virginia, USA (Originally in English)

美国维吉尼亚州阮文森改写（原文为英文）

There once was a man who fell asleep in his cabin when all of a sudden his room was filled with Light and God appeared. The Lord told the man that He had a job for him to do and showed him a large rock in front of the cabin. The Lord explained to him that he was to simply push against the rock with all his might.

从前有一个人在自己的小屋睡觉时，突然房间充满亮光，上帝显现了，并召唤他为祂做一件事。上帝指着屋前的一块大石头，告诉他说，只要尽全力去推那块石头就行了。


Then with his shoulders set squarely against the cold, massive surface of the unmoving rock, the man carried out his task day after day for many years, toiling with all his might from sun up to sun down. Each night the man returned to his cabin sore and worn out, feeling as if his whole day had been spent in vain.

于是这个人用他的肩膀紧紧地抵住那块粗糙、冰冷又文风不动的岩石，日复一日地履行上帝赋予他的任务。每天从日出到日落，他都使尽全力辛苦地推石头，就这样过了好几年。每到夜晚，当他回到自己的小屋时，总是浑身疼痛又筋疲力竭，感觉好像每天都徒劳无功。


Satan observed that the man was showing signs of discouragement and so he decided to enter the picture and place thoughts into the man’s mind such as, “You’ve been pushing against that rock for a long time and it hasn’t budged. Why kill yourself over this? You’re never going to move it,” thus giving the man the impression that the task was impossible and that he was a failure.

这时撒旦注意到他出现沮丧的表情，于是决定插手介入，撒旦在他的心中植入一些负面的想法，像是：「你推那块石头那么久了，但它连动都不动一下。干嘛把时间浪费在这上面？这块石头是不可能移得开的。」撒旦让他感到这项任务不可能达成，他是一个失败者。


Naturally, these thoughts discouraged and disheartened the man even more and he thought to himself, “Why kill yourself over this? I’ll put in my time, but only give the minimum of effort and that should be good enough.”

这些想法让那个人更加灰心沮丧。「为什么要卖命做这种事？」他告诉自己：「我还是会继续做下去，但只用最少的力气就好了。」


He then planned to do just that until one day he decided to pray over the matter and take his troubling thoughts to the Lord, saying, “Lord, I’ve labored long and hard in Your service. Putting all my strength into doing that which You’ve asked. Yet, after all this time, I haven’t even budged that rock a half a millimeter. What’s wrong? Why am I failing?”

他内心一直盘算着要那么做，直到有一天他决定向上帝祷告，把他的困扰告诉上帝。「上帝！」他说：「我已为您效力很久了。我费尽全力去做您所吩咐的事，可是推了那么久，那块石头却连个半公厘也推不动。这到底是怎么回事？为什么我推不动那块石头呢？」


To this the Lord responded compassionately, “My friend, when long ago I asked you to serve me, I told you that your task was simply to push against the rock with all your strength. Never once did I mention to you that I expected you to move it. Your task was to push and that you’ve done. Now you come to me, your strength spent, thinking that you’ve failed. But, is that really so? Look at you. Your arms are strong and muscled, your back brown, your hands callused from constant pressure and your legs massive and hard. Through opposition you’ve grown much and your abilities now surpass those which you use to have.

这时上帝慈悲地回答说：「我的朋友，当初我要求你的工作，只是要你尽全力去推那块石头而已，我从未要求你把它移开。你的任务就只是推那块石头，而你已经做到了。现在你来到我的面前，诉苦说自己筋疲力竭，而且任务失败。不过，真的是这样吗？看看你自己！你的手臂变得更强壮有力，你的背黝黑发亮，而你的手长出厚厚的茧来，腿也变得结实粗壮了。经过不断的磨练，你已经成长许多，拥有前所未有的能力。


True, you haven’t moved the rock, but your calling was to be obedient, to push and exercise your faith and trust in my wisdom, and this you’ve done. I, my friend, will now move the rock.”

的确，你没能移动那块石头，但你的任务是服从，是去推石头，锻炼你对我的智慧的信心和信赖，而这点你已经做到了。朋友，现在就由我来移动这块石头！」


This story demonstrates that at times, when we hear a word from God, we tend to use our own intellect to decipher what Hes wants, when actually what God wants is just simple obedience and faith in Hirm. By all means, exercise the faith that moves mountains, but know that it is ultimately God Who moves mountains. ♥

这个故事告诉我们，有时候当我们听到上帝的指示时，我们会用自己的想法来解读上帝要求的事。事实上，上帝所要的，只是很单纯的对祂服从和信心。我们要尽全力锻炼自己的信心，相信移山倒海的可能，不过要知道，那座山最终是由上帝移动的。

Cherish the Wisdom of the Elders

珍惜长辈的智慧

(Originally in English)

[blockquote]Teenagers, when they grow up, begin to question their parents' authority and wisdom. And I tell you, they're not always wrong. Most parents have children too young themselves. They are not themselves wise enough to lead other unwise human beings. But the system of our world is like that. So we grow up, many of us being frustrated with our parents, because they want to have the right and authority to tell us what to do. And then we sometimes question that because they are not always right. This is true. But they are authority figures. We cannot argue with them. Yet, we feel frustrated inside. Sometimes younger people have more wisdom than older people, because all of us have wisdom to begin with. It doesn't mean that if you are born later, you have less wisdom. It's not always true. It is because we are born with wisdom, you see!

青少年长大以后，会开始怀疑父母亲的权威和智慧，我告诉你们，他们这样做并不是都不对，大部分的父母有小孩时都还太年轻，他们自己的智慧根本不够教养这些智慧待开的孩子，然而我们世界的系统就是这样，所以我们长大以后，许多人与父母亲之间感觉很挫折，因为父母亲想要我们按照他们的想法做事，但我们有时候会质疑，因为事实上他们不一定都对，不过因为他们是权威人物，我们不能和他们争论，但我们内心会有挫折感。年轻人有时候比年纪大的人还要有智慧，因为我们都有智慧可以开展，并非晚出生就比较没有智慧，这不一定，因为我们生来就有智慧。

But then, according to worldly experience, the parents should be a little older in order to understand how to raise their children. But in our society, if you have children, you have to raise them, no matter how old you are, and most people in this society even encourage people to marry early so that they can raise children early while they are strong. They are strong, but they might not be wise.

不过，依照世俗的经验，父母亲的年龄应该要大一点，才能了解如何养育小孩，可是在我们的社会里，如果你有了小孩，就必须要养育他们，不管你的年纪多大，而这个社会甚至鼓励人们早婚，这样才可以在年轻力壮的时候养小孩，他们虽然健壮，却不一定有智慧。

The grandparents should raise the children. The wisdom of the elders is always more reliable, but in this society, when you are old, they throw you in the old age pensioners' home. Bye-bye! And then, young children try to raise other young children, so both are young and inexperienced. And the young parents often lose their tempers as well, because they are frustrated with themselves. They haven't found all the answers that they need. They are busy earning their living, supporting the beginning of their lives, and they have to raise children at the same time, so it is not a very favorable condition for either the kids or the parents. The parents don't have time to learn further because they are too busy raising kids and making money. And the elder who has all the wisdom, strength, tolerance and calmness of those in their mellow years is thrown out of society, his wisdom wasted. Well, the people of our world have a lot to learn, a lot, a lot to learn.

[/blockquote][blockquote]应该要让祖父母来养小孩，老一辈的智慧总是比较可靠，可是在这个社会里，当你老了以后，他们就把你送进养老院，跟你说再见了！然后，年轻人试着自己养育下一代，夫妻双方都年纪轻轻、没有经验，小两口又常常发脾气，因为他们自己也觉得挫折，他们还没有找到所有需要的答案，只顾忙着赚钱养家活口，这对小孩或父母亲都是不好的情况。年轻父母亲没有时间多学习，因为忙着养小孩和赚钱，而那正成熟、有智慧、力量、耐心又沉着的长辈，却被赶出社会了，浪费了他们的智慧。唉！我们世界的人还有好多要学，好多、好多要学。
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