英语美文朗读 第542期 Remember to be a fool

Remember to be a fool. Sounds crazy. A fool is by definition a person who lacks good sense or judgment. But I'm here to tell you that good sense and judgment are highly overrated.

 

记住，要做个傻瓜。这听起来挺疯狂的。傻瓜，就是没有常识和判断力的人。但是，我要告诉你，人们通常高估了常识和判断力。

 

Wisdom is too often just a fancy word for cynicism. And foolishness is a condescending word for joy, wonder, and curiosity. George Bernard Shaw said a man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed, he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself. I couldn't agree more.

智慧，其实就是愤世嫉俗，只不过智慧这个词更好听而已。然而，愚蠢这个词，要是说得通俗一点，其实它意味着快乐，惊叹，好奇。萧伯纳说过，学滑冰的人，总是要经历跌跌撞撞，出尽洋相。确实，人总要傻傻地地经历很多丢脸的事，才能成长。我认同这个观点。

 

Turns out the world provides us with virtually infinite opportunities to be a fool. Let's take a look at a couple.

其实，在这个世界上，如果我们想当个傻瓜，机会是无穷的。我们来看看一些例子吧。

 

Only a fool would risk failure. Be that fool. Only a fool would work hard when there's no clear objective. Be that fool. Shouldn't we wait until we have direction before we take decisive action? Otherwise we risk wasting a lot of time and energy. But many times in life, college graduation, for example we, don't have a clear goal.

只有傻瓜才会冒险试错，做个这样的傻瓜吧。只有傻瓜，才会盲目地奋斗，做个这样的傻瓜吧。只有明确了方向，我们才能采取行动，难道不该这样吗？不然的话，我们可能会浪费很多时间和精力。但是，在人生中，很多时候，我们并没有明确的目标，比如大学阶段的我们就是这样。

 

We're overwhelmed by all of the options, or we're scared we don't know enough to succeed at the thing we want. Doesn't matter. Be a fool and work hard at whatever is right in front of you. When you try hard at everything you do, even if it feels utterly foolish to do so, you're opening up future doors and possibilities that you might not be seeing in the moment.

眼前的选择太多，我们不知所措。我们害怕，怕自己没有足够的知识和能力去成功。这些都没关系。当个傻瓜，好好努力，做好眼前该做的事。你努力地去做每件事，就算这看起来愚蠢至极也没关系，因为其实你是在为自己的未来铺路，探索不同的机遇，只是你目前还没意识到这一点。

 

Only a fool would deliberately scare himself. Be that fool. Here's the thing. Scaring ourselves is, well, it's scary. And that's not necessarily fun for anybody. But you have to do it, because it's the most potent catalyst for growth.

只有傻瓜，才会自己吓自己，做个这样的傻瓜吧。我来告诉你吧，自己吓自己，这确实挺可怕的，而且并不是每个人都喜欢这样。但是，你必须这样做，因为只有这样做，你才能迅速成长。

 

Here's another one. Let's try another. Only a fool would disregard his past and future. Be that fool. We should all learn from our past and plan for our future, right? Well, sort of. The problem is we often take it too far and we undervalue the present. I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them. I love that line.

再来举个例子吧。只有傻瓜，才会放下过去，看淡未来。做个这样的傻瓜吧。我们应该从过往的经历吸取教训，为未来做好规划，对吧？好吧，也许。但是，问题在于，我们有时候过分专注于过去和未来，而没有重视当下。你的现在，就是你将来的美好回忆。这个道理，我希望你能早点明白，而不是错过了现在，将来才追悔莫及。我很喜欢这句话。

 

What exactly are the good old days? When do they happen and why? Here's the thing. Good old days are good because they're the times we look back, and we really liked ourselves. And I contend that good old days are marked by relatively high levels of foolishness.

美好的回忆，到底是什么？它们是什么时候发生的？为什么它们那么美好？其实，美好的回忆，它们之所以美好，是因为，在我们回忆过去时，我们很欣赏当时的自己。我认为，回忆之所以美好，是因为我们当时做过一些很傻的事。

 

Case in point, College. College is almost always considered good old days and for good reason. It's one of the great incubators for foolishness. You went out of your way to meet the other kids on your hall. You helped your neighbors move in. Over the next four years you worked hard, but you probably also went to some weird jazz concerts or poetry readings.

举个例子吧，你的大学时光。人们都认为，大学那几年，是非常美好的回忆。大学时光，是最适合做傻事的时光。你想尽办法去跟其他朋友见面，你帮新来的邻居搬家。在这四年里，你努力奋斗，同时，你也会去听一些奇怪的爵士音乐会，或者参加什么诗朗诵会。

 

Maybe a party or two. I don't know. Perhaps you stayed up late debating and Rand versus Karl Marx or skipped class to go on a great hike. You joined clubs. You scoured the course catalog to find subjects that ignited your curiosity.

你会去参加稀奇古怪的派对，这很难说。也许，你会通宵达旦地与别人争论，Rand和Karl Marx谁更强。也许，你会翘课，而这只是为了去远足。你参加各种社团，你翻遍了课程安排，只为找到一门激发你好奇心的科目。

 

The world will tell you that that's all well and good. But it's time to grow up now and leave those foolish youthful diversions behind. Don't fall for that. I'm here to tell you those foolish diversions are the real nectar of life. Don't relegate them to the good old days. Take them with you. Keep creating good old days.

这个世界会告诉你，大学时光很美好，但，是时候长大了，是时候变得聪明，不要再像年轻时那样犯傻了。这种话，你千万不要信！我要告诉你，犯傻，是生命美好的一部分。犯傻，并不是回忆里才有的事。请你保持做傻事的劲头，不断创造美好的回忆。

 

Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard a profound insight and thought, wow, that is so true! Whether it's Confucius or Mark Twain or Shakespeare or Aristotle, the only reason for found insights resonate with us is because at some level we already know them. That's an important thing to realize, because it means that all of us are brilliant and profound.

我问你，你有没有过这样的经历？你听到一个特别深刻的道理，然后，你在想，哇！确实如此！无论这个道理，是出自孔子、马克吐温、莎士比亚还是亚里士多德，我们认同别人的真知灼见，是因为，在某种程度上，我们早就明白了他们说的道理。意识到这一点，是非常重要的，因为，这意味着，其实我们都很聪明，我们的见解都很深刻。

 

Somewhere deep inside, we all share the secrets of the world, the human condition, all of the arts and sciences. How you live your life determines how many of those secrets will be revealed to you.

在内心深处，我们都知道世界的奥秘，知道人类的现状，知道美好的艺术，知道神奇的科学，而你能明白这其中的多少，取决于你如何度过自己的一生。

 

Pursuing knowledge and responsibility gives you halfway there. The other half can only be tapped by being a glorious and wonderful fool. The world out there cultivates conformity and cynicism, but you don't have to. Take a stand. Put up a fight. Be a fool!

如果你能保持追求真理，追求使命，那么你已经完成了一半的功夫。而另一半，就需要你做个自豪的、优秀的傻瓜。这个世界会把人变得千篇一律，愤世嫉俗，但你不必如此。站稳自己的立场，勇敢地去奋斗。做个傻瓜吧！