Action In Love

One day, on a bus I was a lovely girl with golden hair. I envied her, she seemed so happy. I wished I were as fair. I envied her, she seemed so happy. I wished I were as fair. When suddenly she rose to leave, I saw her hobble down the aisle. She had one leg and wore a crutch, but as she passed, she gave a happy smile. I stopped to buy some candy. The lad who sold it had such charm. I talked with him, he seemed so glad. And as I left he said to me, “Thank you, you have been so kind. It’s nice to talk with folks like you. You see, I’m blind.” Later while walking down the street, I saw a child with eyes of blue. He stood and watched the others play, he did not know what to do. I stooped a moment and said, “Why don’t you join the others, dear?”

He looked ahead without a word, and then I knew he couldn’t hear.

With legs to take me where I go,

With eyes to see the sunset’s glow,

With ears to hear what I would know…

Forget me when I whine!

I’m blessed indeed!

This world is beautiful and fine!

當我年紀還小的時候,我認為自愛是虛榮作祟而非優點。長大了，我才和許多人一樣，逐漸湮滅了這種觀念。虛榮和自愛有天壤之別。

人生在世，都追逐著或多或少相同的東西；付出與收獲得人生價值的承認；愛與被愛；歡笑與……是的，悲傷。

我們追求著住所、食物、伴侶、溫暖、衣裳、家庭、朋友；我們追求著認同、愛情和自尊。我們並不完美。我們在人生追求中甚至忘記了去享受生活本身的樂趣。我們太沉溺於對過去的懊悔、對將來的一切可能性的關注，結果反而錯失了今天。讓昨天暫且釋懷吧！為今天而活，並去勾畫和夢想你的明天。

如果你有一點輕視自身形象，有一點不願意愛自己，盡你的能力去改變它。生活中確實充斥著許多我們干涉不了的事物，但我們能約束自身。你既是泥土，也是泥塑匠，你有能力創造傑作。現在形態和模樣都有了，你需要做的是精雕細琢。

這個工程單嗎？不。雕塑會有缺損和瑕疵，所以你必須孜孜不倦，不像雕塑家在完工前必須一次又一次地琢磨。難道雕塑家會因為作品有一點瑕疵就認定它一無是處而把它抛棄嗎？當然不會，否則世上哪裏還有這一切工藝珍品？我想一件都不會存在。你認為有多少工藝品傑作是在雕刻中一舉成功的，也就是一蹴而就，沒有半點失誤，也沒有半點必動的？我們可能都沒看出，人其實是所不息的、不斷發展的藝術品。

這個問題你聽過多少次—人類將何去何從？至少我以為它的回答是這樣的；我們成就了自己，因為編織著明天的正是我們自己。人本身就是一種財富，是無價之寶，是萬物中無可替代的。雖然人無完人，但總是精益求精。別人昨天阻礙你奔向明天的輝煌。

我重申以上這些只是我的感想和看法，一個人的想法會隨著明天的日落而改變，我也是這樣—因為我也在繼續打造著這塊與生具有的泥塑，它名叫自我。

In 1945, a 12-year-old boy saw something in a shop window that set his heart racing. But the price five dollars was far beyond Reuben Earle’s means. Five dollars would buy almost a week’s groceries for his family.

Reuben couldn’t ask his father for the money. Everything Mark Earle made through fishing in Bay Roberts, Newfoundland, Canada. Reuben’s mother, Dora, stretched like elastic to feed and clothe their five children.

Nevertheless, he opened the shop’s weathered door and went inside. Standing proud and straight in his flour-sack shirt and washed-out trousers, he told the shopkeeper what he wanted, adding, But I don’t have the money right now. Can you please hold it for me for some time?   

I’ll try, the shopkeeper smiled. Folks around here don’t usually have that kind of money to spend on things. It should keep for a while.

Reuben respectfully touched his worn cap and walked out into the sunlight with the bay rippling in a freshening wind. There was purpose in his loping stride5. He would raise the five dollars and not tell anybody.

Hearing the sound of hammering from a side street, Reuben had an idea.

He ran towards the sound and stopped at a construction site. People built their own homes in Bay Roberts, using nails purchased in hessian sacks from a local factory. Sometimes the sacks were discarded in the flurry of building, and Reuben knew he could sell them back to the factory for five cents a piece.

That day he found two sacks, which he took to the rambling wooden factory and sold to the man in charge of packing nails.

The boy’s hand tightly clutched the five-cent pieces as he ran the two kilometers home.

Near his house stood the ancient barn that housed the family’s goats and chickens. Reuben found a rusty soda tin and dropped his coins inside. Then he climbed into the loft of the barn and hid the tin beneath a pile of sweet smelling hay.

It was dinnertime when Reuben got home. His father sat at the big kitchen table, working on a fishing net. Dora was at the kitchen stove, ready to serve dinner as Reuben took his place at the table.

He looked at his mother and smiled. Sunlight from the window gilded her shoulder-length blonde hair. Slim and beautiful, she was the center of the home, the glue that held it together.

Her chores were never-ending. Sewing clothes for her family on the old Singer treadle machine, cooking meals and baking bread, planting and tending a vegetable garden, milking the goats and scrubbing soiled clothes on a washboard. But she was happy. Her family and their well-being were her highest priority.

Every day after chores and school, Reuben scoured the town, collecting the hessian nail bags. On the day the two-room school closed for the summer, no student was more delighted than Reuben. Now he would have more time for his mission.

All summer long, despite chores at home weeding and watering the garden, cutting wood and fetching water Reuben kept to his secret task.

Then all too soon the garden was harvested, the vegetables canned and stored, and the school reopened. Soon the leaves fell and the winds blew cold and gusty from the bay. Reuben wandered the streets, diligently searching for his hessian treasures.

Often he was cold, tired and hungry, but the thought of the object in the shop window sustained him. Sometimes his mother would ask: Reuben, where were you? We were waiting for you to have dinner.

Playing, Mum. Sorry.

Dora would look at his face and shake her head. Boys.

Finally spring burst into glorious green and Reuben’s spirits erupted. The time had come! He ran into the barn, climbed to the hayloft and uncovered the tin can. He poured the coins out and began to count.

Then he counted again. He needed 20 cents more. Could there be any sacks left any where in town? He had to find four and sell them before the day ended.

Reuben ran down Water Street.

The  shadows  were   lengthening   when Reuben arrived at the factory. The sack buyer was about to lock up.

Mister! Please don’t close up yet.

The man turned and saw Reuben, dirty and sweat stained.

Come back tomorrow, boy.

Please,  Mister. I  have  to  sell  the  sacks now please. The man heard a tremor in Reuben’s voice and could tell he was close to tears.

Why do you need this money so badly?

It’s a secret.

The man took the sacks, reached into his pocket and put four coins in Reuben’s hand. Reuben murmured a thank you and ran home.

Then, clutching the tin can, he headed for the shop.

I have the money, he solemnly told the owner.

The man went to the window and retrieved Reuben’s treasure.

He wiped the dust off and gently wrapped it in brown paper. Then he placed the parcel in Reuben’s hands.

Racing home, Reuben burst through the front door. His mother was scrubbing the kitchen stove. Here, Mum! Here! Reuben exclaimed as he ran to her side. He placed a small box in her work roughened hand.

She unwrapped it carefully, to save the paper. A blue-velvet jewel box appeared. Dora lifted the lid, tears beginning to blur her vision.

In gold lettering on a small, almond-shaped brooch was the word Mother.

It was Mother’s Day, 1946.

Dora had never received such a gift; she had no finery except her wedding ring. Speechless, she smiled radiantly and gathered her son into her arms.
 

For years men and women have been getting married. They say their wedding vows which bring them together as one. They promise to love and cherish each other until their last breath.

When a man and a woman get married, it is one of the biggest decisions they will make in life. A man may select a woman because he, in his won eyes, sees her as the just –right wife for him. Every man has his own definition of what the just-right wife is. For instance, the millionaire man and the poor man both may define their just-right wife according to her physical qualities.

A millionaire may describe his “just-right” wife as charming, beautiful, sexy, intelligent, and well developed. On the other hand, a poor man may define his just-right wife as pleasing, attractive, desirable, knowledgeable, and shapely. Bothe men describe their just –right wife may define his just-right wife by then millionaire’s definition of the just-right wife is more elegant, whereas the poor man’s definition is a more common, everyday description.

Although some men define the just-right wife by her physical qualities, other men describe their just-right wife by her athletic qualities. For example, the outdoors man may define his just-right wife as a woman who loves to fish, to camp, to hunt, and to water ski, wheras the inside sportsman may define his just-right wife as a woman who enjoys watching football, basketball, baseball, and wrestling. Both of these men define their just-right wife by her sports qualities but in two different atmospheres.

Still, there are other men who have their definitions of the just-right wife. For instance, consider the fit man and the fat man. The fit man may describe his just-right wife as a woman who gets up every weekday morning at six o’clock and runs two to three miles. After running, she prepares breakfast, washes the dished, takes the children to school, and then goes to work. After work, she arrives home, washes several loads of laundry, goes to exercise class, picks the children up from school on her way home, and then cooks dinner. After dinner, she cleans the kitchen, bathes the children, and puts them to bed.

On the other hand, the fat man defines his just-right wife as a woman who gets up at eight o’clock in the morning, takes the children to McDonalds for breakfast, and drops them off at school. She then comes back home and lies on the couch watching soap opera all day. The children have to walk home from school in the afternoon. When they arrive at home, she instructs them to clean the house, do the laundry, and fix some hotdogs for dinner. Both men define their just-fight wife with qualities that they admire within themselves.

Men from all nationalities also have their definition of the just-right wife. For example, the Italian man describes his woman as a woman who stands only five feet three inches with brown hair and green eyes, and who is moderately built.

Other nationalities, such as the German man and the Spanish man, may define their just-right wife as a woman who likes to drive expensive sports cars, a woman who visits a different foreign country every month and wears only the most expensive designer clothing, but the Spanish man may define his just-right wife as a woman who enjoys giving dinner parties every weekend, wearing a lot of jewelry, and drinking expensive wines.

In addition to other men’s definitions of the just right wife, the bachelor also has a definition. He says that the just-right wife is someone else’s wife. He picks her up in a bar, takes her to his house, and takes her home in the morning. The bachelor has no real definition for the just-right wife. That is why he is still a bachelor.

火焰，不是一個思索的好地方。思索，通常發生在靜謐安全清寧的場合，當事人一般是舒緩寬鬆的。即使腦海內波濤翻滾高度緊張，外在的神情也必是收斂和沈著的。如果一個人大喊大叫著或是披荊斬棘著，都和穩健的思考有相當的距離。在那種風起雲湧的時刻，即使有所想法，也是簡單的和直線的，是思考終結後的付諸行動。

俗話說，水火無情。但我想，水中，好像還是一個比火中較適宜進行思考的場所。水是細膩的，只要不是沸水和冰水，它在短時間內給人的感受，還是柔軟光滑的。有很多落難水中的人，在經過了數小時數十小時的搏擊之後，依然獲救，我想，同他們在水中進行了周密的思考和決策有關，也同水的比較寬容有關。我聽過一位在台風的沉船中偶然獲救的船員說，他在水中一次又一次地分析海浪的方向，直到當一股最大的風浪打來的時候，他憋足氣沉入其中，被那股浪推到了淺灘。

火，則要窮凶極惡得多。除了爐子和燒杯……這些被人所管轄的微火之外，所有的大面積的肆無忌憚的火，都是灼熱和暴跳如雷的，都是狠毒和慘絕的人寰的。那些貌似輕快無邪的火舌，噴濺著巨大的毒汁。想想吧，灼傷我們寶貴的瞳孔，只需要一粒小小的火星。將我們跳躍的雙腳變成焦炭，只需要在滾燙的廢墟中穿行幾步。在火中，你還得永遠提防著火焰最陰險的情侶和助手—滾滾的濃煙。也許你還沒來得及和火焰正面交鋒，煙塵就已將你溫潤的肺腑，灸成邊沿捲曲的鐵板了。火中還潛伏著置人死地的爆炸，有毒的氣體，坍塌的生物，崩潰的建築……

如果火中僅僅存有這些恐怖的東西，事情也就簡明扼要—用所有極端的手段，撲滅它！但是，火中往往還存在著價值連城的寶藏，還存在著比這些寶藏更貴重千萬倍的—生命。

於是，就有了救火者在火中的思考。

在那重重的金色孽龍的狂舞之中，我不知道救火者將思索些什麽？那是怎樣一種生命的極端困境，那是怎樣一種職責的神聖抉擇！

也許，救火者將思考自己生命和他人的生命，孰輕孰重？這個問題，可能已經在平和的時段，思索過無數遍了。但我相信，在火中，這種思考，還將無數遍地嚴酷而新鮮地進行著。火焰凸現著生死的決裂，救火者，你將向何處傾斜你的天平？

也許，救火者將思索在地獄般的火海中，采用怎樣的路線和方式，才可以達到最大限度最快速度地救人和自救？火場瞬息萬變，形勢間不容發。火中的思考，將是對人的心智和決斷的極大甄別。我不知世上還有其他考場，能比它更嚴峻和苛求？

也許救火者將感受到—皮膚的灼痛毛發的焚毀骨骼的重壓呼吸的窒息……思索到用靈敏的肉體，去殉道德和責任的堅韌與苦難。我不知道在漫天的火陣中，有多少人通往直前了，有多少人退縮騰挪了？但人們會永遠牢記這一行業中的英烈—因為它是大智大勇者的事業，它要求人類自我的戰勝和精神的超越。

火焰中的思索，是短暫的，也是長久的。是莊嚴的，也是平凡的。是神聖的，也是家常便飯。因為選擇了這個職業，也就選擇了這種驚世駭俗的思維之地。那個通紅的片刻，將鑒定你的一生。

Once upon a time two brothers who lived on adjoining farm fell into conflict. It was the first serious rift in 40 years of farming side by side, sharing machinery, and trading labor and goods as needed without a conflict. Then the long collaboration fell apart. It began with a small misunderstanding and it grew into a major difference, and finally it exploded into an exchange of bitter words followed by seeks of silence.

One morning there was a knock on John’s door. He opened it to find a man with a carpenter’s tool box. “I’m looking for a few days’ work,” he said. “Perhaps you would have a few small jobs here and there I could help with? Could I help you?”

“Yes,” said the older brother.” I do have a job for you. Look across the creek at that farm. That my neighbor, in fact, it’s my younger brother. Last week there was a meadow between us and he took his bulldozer to the river levee and now there is a creek between us. Well, he may have done this to spite me, but I’ll do him one better. See that pile of lumber by the barn? I want you to build me a fence – an 8-foot fence – so I won’t need to see his place or his face anymore.”

The carpenter said,” I think I understand the situation. Show me the nails and the post-hole digger and I’ll be able to do a job that pleases you.”

The older brother had to go to town, so he helped the carpenter get the materials ready and then he was off for the day. The carpenter worked hard all that day measuring, sawing, nailing. About sunset when the farmer returned, the carpenter had just finished his job. The farmer’s eyes opened wide, his jaw dropped. There was no fence there at all. It was a bridge – a bridge stretching from one side of the creek to the other! A fine piece of work, handrails and all – and the neighbor, his younger brother, was coming toward them, his hand outstretched.

“You are quite a fellow to build this bridge after all I’ve said and done.” The two brothers stood at each end of the bridge, and then they met in the middle, taking each other’s hand. They turned to see the carpenter hoist his toolbox onto his shoulder.

“No, wait! Stay a few days. I’ve a lot of other projects for you,“ said the older brother.

“I’d love to stay on,” the carpenter replied, “but, I have many more bridges to build”. 

一個年輕人問他的爺爺：“爺爺，您這一輩子是如何這麽成功的呢？您仍然充滿活力，而我卻已經厭倦奮鬥了。我怎麽才能擁有和您一樣的熱情呢？”

以下是他爺爺的回答：

我想成功主要取決於一個人看待事物的方式，我稱其為“始終睜大自己的眼睛”。

首先，要認識到生命中充滿了讓人意想不到的事情。不過，這其中不乏好事。時刻留意它們，否則你就會錯失一半的激動時刻。如果你作好了準備迎接那些隨意而來的動人時刻，你會如願以償的。

遭遇挑戰要歡迎。每經歷一次挑戰你會變得更明智、更堅強、更能幹。當你犯錯誤時，應該為得到的教訓心存感激。下決心利用此教訓助你實現目標。

永遠要遵守規則，即使是小規則。遵守規則，生命的機器才開始運轉。如果你認為自己確曾違反規則但僥倖過關，那你只是在愚弄自己。

決定自己究竟需要什麽也是很重要的。然集中精力；准備去迎接它的到來。

不過，也要預備面對新的境況。隨著年歲的增長，你將會有更廣闊的發展空間。所以，既要準備結束，又要挑戰開始。

有時，我們必須要有足夠的勇氣，從熟悉轉到陌生。人生不只是攀登，有時是從一個山頂到一個山頂。如果你在兩座山頂之間休息過久，你也許就會想要放棄。讓過去的過去吧，攀登下一座山峰，欣賞它美麗的風景。

卸下那些情緒和精神上的負擔吧。如果積怨、信念或態度讓你變得心情沉重的話，那麽不妨輕裝上陣吧。改變那些不良的態度，它們只會讓你步伐緩慢，耗盡你的精力。

記住，成功和失敗都取決於你的選擇。因此，要考慮前方所有的道路，然後決於你的選擇。因此，要考慮前方所有的道路，然後決定該沿著哪條路走。相信自已，動身出發。

一定要偶爾停下來歇歇腳。它們會重振理想，對人生中的重要事物有一個積極健康的認知。

最重要的是，永遠都不要對自己失去希望。最終的贏家就是下定決心要贏的那個人。把你所有的一切都獻給人生，人生便會把最好的返還給你。

世界各地的人們普遍相信在屋內打傘只會帶來噩運。在有些國家，桌上放把傘也被認為會惹禍。其實這兩種想法都是沒有道理的。

認為傘會帶來噩運或許是源自感應巫術的說法，就是模仿某種自然力會導致相反的反應。根據那種推理，陽光燦爛之時在屋內撐傘會招致下雨。當然從另一方面講，要是旱災之時，此舉帶來的就是好運。那些懂得更多迷信知識的人認為在屋內撐傘是對家神的公然冒犯。家神出鬼沒會被觸怒，因為看到撐開的傘，他們會理解為主人嫌他們沒有盡職盡責地保護房子免遭自然之侵襲。

任何遭遇過不期而至的傾盆大雨而記著隨身帶把傘的人都會認為傘是最為吉祥的一種護身符。在傘可能的發源地的印度，傘在陽光普照的日子也被認為是幸運之物。傘作為佛陀的八大顯赫標志之一而備受崇敬。就是在佛教之前，傘也是王室權力的一種象征。

幾天前,我一手端著熱氣騰騰的早餐,一手拿著報紙,慢騰騰地走向客廳, 一個再普通不過的星期六早晨就這樣開始的。沒想到我在那個早晨學了人生的重要一課。

我打開了收單機，聽到一個長者的聲音。信號很好，他的聲音也棒極了，讓你聽上去覺得他應該去做一個播音員。他在跟隨什麽人講“一千個紙星”。

我挺好奇，坐下來聽他要說些什麽。“嗯，小林，聽上去你忙於你的工作。我肯定他們付給你不少薪水，但可惜的是你總是不在家，跟隨家人在一起的時間太少了。真是難以相信一個年輕人必須每周工作六七十個小時才能維持生計。你錯過了你女兒的鋼琴表演，真是太遺憾了。”

他繼續說：“小林，讓我告訴你一件事，這件事幫助了我正確地分清自己生活中的輕重緩急。”於是，他開始解說起他的“一千個紙星”的理論。

“聽我說，有一天我坐下來做了點算術。我們常人大概活75年。我知道有些人活得長些，有些則短些，但平均來說，人們活75歲。

“然後，我把75乘以52，得出3900，這就是常人在一生中擁有的星期六的天數。小林，別走開啊，我該說重要的部分了。

“我直到55歲才想到這些，”他接著說，“而到那時我已經度過了2800多個星期六了。我想到如果我活到75歲，我只剩下1000多個星期六了。

“於是我去了一家禮品店，買了一些包紮禮物盒的紙彩帶。我回到家裏，花了半個月時間把那些紙彩帶用剪刀剪成一段段的，然後折成一顆顆的五角星，一共折了一千顆。我將折好的星星放在一個大透明塑料容器內，就放在我工作間的收音機旁。從那以後每一個星期六，我取出一顆紙星，把它扔掉。

“我發現眼瞅著星星的數量在減少，我更加注重生活中那些真正重要的事情。看著你在這個世界上的時間一天天減少，沒有什麽比這更有助於你處理好生活中的輕重緩急。

“在停止廣播、帶我可愛的妻子出去吃飯之前，我要跟隨你說最後一件事。今天早晨，我從那個容器裏拿薪水出了最後一顆星星。我想如果我還能活到下個星期六的話，那說明上帝眷顾我賜福於我，多給了我一些時間讓我和我所愛的人在一起……

“我很高興和你聊了聊,小林.我希望你能更多地跟隨你愛的人在一起,希望什麽時候能再見到你。早上愉快！”

他講完時，如果有根針掉在地上，你可能都能聽見。就連節目主持人都沈默了一會兒。我想他給我們每個人很多啟發。那個上午我本打算做些工作，然後去健身房。但是，我上了樓，吻醒了我的妻子。“起來，親愛的，我要帶你和孩子們去吃早餐。”

“今天太陽從西邊出來了？”她微笑著問道。

“哦，沒什麽特別的。”我說，“我們好久沒有和孩子們共度星期六了。嗨，出去時我們能去家禮品店看看嗎？我要做折些東西。”