人生不设限·小时候我就已经是个可能主义者

撒种的比喻是《圣经》里最为人所知的故事之一，说的是有个农夫到处去撒种，有些种子撒落在路旁，被鸟吃掉了;有些种子落在石头上，永无扎根的机会;有些则落在荆棘里，被挤住了，长不起来;只有落在好土里的种子顺利成长、结实百倍，并且长出比原来所播撒的更多的种子[10]。

One of the most familiar stories from the Bible is the Parable of the Sower. A farmer sows seeds all over the place. Some fall on the road, where birds eat them. Some fall on rock, so they never take root. Others fall into thorny weeds that choke off their growth. Only the seeds thrown on good soil are able to grow and produce a crop and create many more seeds than were originally sown.

我们的一生不只要接收种子，还要将之栽种在内心的“好土”里。被困难击倒时，我们可以依靠拥有更美好人生的梦想。这些梦想就是即将到来的事物的种子，而我们的信心就是这些种子发芽的沃土。

We not only receive seeds in our lifetime, we also hold them in the "good soil" of our hearts. When challenges get us down, we can look to our dreams of a better life. These dreams act as seeds for the realities that will come. Our faith is the rich soil that brings those seeds to life.

爱我的人常常鼓励我。他们将种子播在我的心田里，向我保证我拥有让他人受惠的福分。我有时相信，有时不信，但他们从未放弃我。那些爱我的人知道，他们的种子有时撒在石头地上，有时则撒在荆棘里，然而他们相信，撒出去的种子总有些会生根。

Those who loved me always encouraged me. They planted seeds in my heart. They assured me that I had blessings that could benefit others. Some days I believed them. Some days I didn't. But they never gave up on me. They knew that at times they were planting on pavement, or in the weeds. Yet they trusted that their seeds would take root.

每天早上我要出门上学时，家人都在播撒种子：“祝你有美好的一天，力克!尽你所能，其他的上帝会帮忙。”

My family planted seeds every morning as I went off to school: "Have a good day, Nicholas! Do your best and God will do the rest!"

我有时会想：“是了，上帝的幽默感可真烂，因为今天我肯定会被欺负。”

There were days when I'd think, Yeah, yeah, God has a mean sense of humor because I know I'll be teased today on the playground.

果然，当我推着轮椅一进入学校，就会有某个笨蛋跟我说我的轮椅爆胎了，或是他们要把我拿去当图书馆的门挡之类的。哼，很好笑。

Sure enough, as soon as I rolled onto the school grounds in my wheelchair, some jerk would be telling me I had a flat tire or that they wanted to use me as a doorstop in the library. Very funny.

在那些让人泄气的日子里，父母支持我的话就像落入了劣土之中，得不到什么滋养，因为我对自己与生俱来的状况实在太不满了。

On those days of discouragement, the supportive words from my parents fell on hard ground. There was nothing to nurture them. I was too bitter at the circumstances I'd been born into.

但是在我的“浴缸事件”之后的几个月、几年间，他们的鼓励愈来愈常落到富饶之土上，部分原因是我以坚毅、外向的个性赢得了同学的心。当然，我还是会有情绪低落的时候，不过愈来愈少了。

But in the months and years following my bad trip to the bathtub, more and more of their encouragement fell on fertile ground. Part of it was that I won over my classmates with my determination and outgoing personality. I still had my down days, but I had fewer of them.

伟大的励志作家诺曼·文生·皮尔(Norman Vincem Peale)说过：“要成为‘可能主义者’，无论你的人生看起来多黑暗，请拉高你的视野，看看有什么可能性。你总是会看到可能性，因为它们一直都在。”

The great inspirational author Norman Vincent Peale once said, "Become a possibilitarian. No matter how dark your life seems to be, raise your sights and see the possibilities. Always see them, for they are always there."

你应该要永远是个“可能主义者”。如果不相信生命的可能性，你会在哪里?我们任何一个人又会在何处?对未来的期望提供了动能，让我们得以在无法避免的艰困时光、沮丧与绝望中继续前进。

You may never be a Presbyterian or a Rotarian, but you should always be a card-carrying Possibilitarian. Without trust in the possibilities for your life, where would you be? Where would any of us be? Our hopes for the future give us momentum. They keep us moving forward through the inevitable hard times, the discouragement, and the despair.

早年的我已经流露出可能主义者的倾向。大约六七岁时，我创作了第一本图文书，书名是《没有翅膀的独角兽》。我这个概念没有什么高深的奥义，但我必须说，来自我自身经验的这个小寓言还是提供了一个跟信心有关的很不错的讯息。(别担心，故事很短，因为写作时我才6岁啊。)

My Possibilitarian tendencies showed up early in life. I was six or seven when I wrote and illustrated my first book. The title was The Unicorn That Had No Wings. It's no deep mystery where I came up with that concept, but I have to say that my little parable drawn from my own life still offers a nice message about faith. (Don't worry. It's short. I was only six when I wrote it.)

从前有只独角兽妈妈有个小孩。

Once there was a mother unicorn who was having a baby.

小独角兽慢慢长大了，它没有翅膀。

When the unicorn grew, it didn't have any wings.

独角兽妈妈说：“它的翅膀怎么了?”

The mother unicorn said, "What happened to her wings?"

当独角兽去散步时，看见独角兽们在天空飞翔。然后，有个小男孩跑过来问独角兽：“你的翅膀怎么了?”

When the unicorn went for a walk, she could see unicorns flying in the sky. Then a little boy came to the unicorn and said: "What happened to your wings?"

独角兽回答：“我生来就没有翅膀，小男孩。”

The unicorn answered: "I didn't grow any wings, little boy."

于是小男孩说：“我会试着帮你做一对塑胶翅膀。”

Then the little boy said: "I'll try and make you someplastic wings."

他花了一个小时为独角兽做翅膀。

It took him an hour to make the plastic wings for the unicorn.

完成之后，小男孩问独角兽他可不可以爬上它的背。独角兽说：“好，可以。”

When the boy was finished, he asked the unicorn if hecould go on the unicorn's back, and the unicorn said to the boy: "Yes you can."

于是他们跑了一阵子，然后独角兽开始飞了。独角兽大叫：“有用耶，行得通耶。”

So they went for a run, then the unicorn started to fly, and the unicorn shouted: "It worked. It worked."

当独角兽停下来后，男孩从它的背上走下来，然后独角兽又回到空中。男孩对独角兽说：“恭喜啊，独角兽!”

When the unicorn stopped flying, the boy got off the unicorn's back. Then the unicorn went back in the sky.The little boy said to the unicorn. "Congratulations, unicorn!"

小男孩回家了，并且把独角兽的事告诉妈妈和兄弟姊妹。

The little boy went back home. He told his mum and his two sisters and his brother what had happened to the unicorn.

从此，独角兽过着幸福快乐的生活。

The unicorn lived happily ever after.

谢谢收看。

The End

我们都希望从此过着幸福快乐的生活，即使你相信自己可以对付困难时刻、品味美好时光，沮丧还是会出现。但是幸福快乐的结局应该永远是你的目标，那为什么不去努力争取呢?

We all wish to live happily ever after. Even if you believe you can handle the hard times and savor the good times, disappointments will occur. But the happy ending should always be your goal. Why not shoot for it?