Giving Life Meaning 赋予生命意义
Giving Life Meaning 赋予生命意义
◎ Kathleen Squires
Have you thought about what you want people to say about you after you’re gone? Can you hear the voice saying, “He was a great man” Or “She really will be missed”? What else do they say?
你有没有想过，你期望人们在你死后怎么评价你？你会听见“他是个很好的人”或“我们会想念她”之类的话吗？他们还会怎么说呢？
One of the strangest phenomena of life is to engage in a work that will last long after death. Isn’t that a lot like investing all your money so that future generations can bare interest on it? Perhaps, yet if you look deep in your own heart, you’ll find something drives you to make this kind of contribution—something drives every human being to find a purpose that lives on after death.
生命中最奇怪的现象之一就是，致力于死后的事宜。这和投资钱财，让你的后代从中获益不是很像吗？也许是很像，但是如果你深入研究，你会发现是某个东西驱使你这样做，它驱使每个人找到一个意图，哪怕是死后。
Do you hope to memorialize your name? Have a name that is whispered with reverent awe? Do you hope to have your face carved upon 50 ft of granite rock? Is the answer really that simple? Is the purpose of lifetime contribution an ego-driven desire for a mortal being to have an immortal name or is it something more?
你是否希望你的名字永垂青史？是否希望你的名字流传时伴随着敬意？是否希望你的面孔刻在50英尺高的巨岩上？答案真的如此简单吗？人生的目的是让自己平凡的生命变为一个不朽的名字吗？还是远不止这些？
A child alive today will die tomorrow. A baby that had the potential to be the next Einstein will die from complication is at birth. The circumstances of life are not set in stone. We are not all meant to live life through to old age. We’ve grown to perceive life as a full cycle with a certain number of years in between. If all of those years aren’t lived out, it’s a tragedy. A tragedy because a human’s potential was never realized. A tragedy because a spark was snuffed out before it ever became a flame.
今天还活生生的孩童，可能明天就不幸去世。一个有潜力成为下个爱因斯坦的婴儿，也有可能在出生时就因并发症身亡。生活中的境况并不是固定的。不是所有人都是活到老而死的。我们要把生命看成一个完整的周期，其中有未定的年岁。如果没有活到那些年数，那只能是悲剧。因为他的生命潜能还没有发挥，因为火花在变为火焰之前就熄灭了。
By virtue of inhabiting a body we accept these risks. We expose our mortal flesh to the laws of the physical environment around us. The trade off isn’t so bad when you think about it. The problem comes when we construct mortal fantasies of what life should be like. When life doesn’t conform to our fantasy we grow upset, frustrated, or depressed.
当决定让灵魂进驻我们的身体时，我们就选择接受相应的风险。我们把凡人之躯暴露在物理环境之中，仔细想想，这个权衡并不算太坏。问题在于，一旦我们幻想生活的本来面目，麻烦就来了。因为如果生活不符合我们的想象，我们就会不高兴，感觉受挫，或沮丧。
We are alive; let us live. We have the ability to experience; let us experience. We have the ability to learn; let us learn. The meaning of life can be grasped in a moment. A moment so brief it often evades our perception.
我们还活着，就让我们生活。我们有能力去历练，就让我们去经历。我们有能力去学习，就让我们吸取。生命的意义也许一瞬间就能抓住，在我们毫无知觉的情况下。
What meaning stands behind the dramatic unfolding of life? What single truth can we grasp and hang onto for dear life when all other truths around us seem to fade with time?
生命绽放的背后到底蕴藏了什么含义？当其余的真理随着时间的推移逐渐退却时，我们还应坚持的那个最简单的真谛是什么？
These moments are strung together in a series we call events. These events are strung together in a series we call life. When we seize the moment and bend it according to our will, a will driven by the spirit deep inside us, then we have discovered the meaning of life, a meaning for us that shall go on long after we depart this Earth.
我们把这些接连而来的一连串瞬间叫事故。这些事件接踵而来，就成为生活。当我们抓住那些瞬间，然后使之朝我们内心深处的意愿发展时，我们就会发现生活的意义，即使我们离开了这个世界，也同样适用。
