|
|
December 14
The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imaginatio
President Faust, members of the Harvard Corporation and the Board of
Overseers, members of the faculty, proud parents, and, above all,
graduates.
The first thing I would like to say is ‘thank you.’ Not only has
Harvard given me an extraordinary honour, but the weeks of fear and
nausea I’ve experienced at the thought of giving this commencement
address have made me lose weight. A win-win situation! Now all I have
to do is take deep breaths, squint at the red banners and fool myself
into believing I am at the world’s best-educated Harry Potter
convention.
Delivering a commencement address is a great responsibility; or so I
thought until I cast my mind back to my own graduation. The
commencement speaker that day was the distinguished British philosopher
Baroness Mary Warnock. Reflecting on her speech has helped me
enormously in writing this one, because it turns out that I can’t
remember a single word she said. This liberating discovery enables me
to proceed without any fear that I might inadvertently influence you to
abandon promising careers in business, law or politics for the giddy
delights of becoming a gay wizard.
You see? If all you remember in years to come is the ‘gay wizard’
joke, I’ve still come out ahead of Baroness Mary Warnock. Achievable
goals: the first step towards personal improvement.
Actually, I have wracked my mind and heart for what I ought to say
to you today. I have asked myself what I wish I had known at my own
graduation, and what important lessons I have learned in the 21 years
that has expired between that day and this.
I have come up with two answers. On this wonderful day when we are
gathered together to celebrate your academic success, I have decided to
talk to you about the benefits of failure. And as you stand on the
threshold of what is sometimes called ‘real life’, I want to extol the
crucial importance of imagination.
These might seem quixotic or paradoxical choices, but please bear with me.
Looking back at the 21-year-old that I was at graduation, is a
slightly uncomfortable experience for the 42-year-old that she has
become. Half my lifetime ago, I was striking an uneasy balance between
the ambition I had for myself, and what those closest to me expected of
me.
I was convinced that the only thing I wanted to do, ever, was to
write novels. However, my parents, both of whom came from impoverished
backgrounds and neither of whom had been to college, took the view that
my overactive imagination was an amusing personal quirk that could
never pay a mortgage, or secure a pension.
They had hoped that I would take a vocational degree; I wanted to
study English Literature. A compromise was reached that in retrospect
satisfied nobody, and I went up to study Modern Languages. Hardly had
my parents’ car rounded the corner at the end of the road than I
ditched German and scuttled off down the Classics corridor.
I cannot remember telling my parents that I was studying Classics;
they might well have found out for the first time on graduation day. Of
all subjects on this planet, I think they would have been hard put to
name one less useful than Greek mythology when it came to securing the
keys to an executive bathroom.
I would like to make it clear, in parenthesis, that I do not blame
my parents for their point of view. There is an expiry date on blaming
your parents for steering you in the wrong direction; the moment you
are old enough to take the wheel, responsibility lies with you. What is
more, I cannot criticise my parents for hoping that I would never
experience poverty. They had been poor themselves, and I have since
been poor, and I quite agree with them that it is not an ennobling
experience. Poverty entails fear, and stress, and sometimes depression;
it means a thousand petty humiliations and hardships. Climbing out of
poverty by your own efforts, that is indeed something on which to pride
yourself, but poverty itself is romanticised only by fools.
What I feared most for myself at your age was not poverty, but failure.
At your age, in spite of a distinct lack of motivation at
university, where I had spent far too long in the coffee bar writing
stories, and far too little time at lectures, I had a knack for passing
examinations, and that, for years, had been the measure of success in
my life and that of my peers.
I am not dull enough to suppose that because you are young, gifted
and well-educated, you have never known hardship or heartbreak. Talent
and intelligence never yet inoculated anyone against the caprice of the
Fates, and I do not for a moment suppose that everyone here has enjoyed
an existence of unruffled privilege and contentment.
However, the fact that you are graduating from Harvard suggests that
you are not very well-acquainted with failure. You might be driven by a
fear of failure quite as much as a desire for success. Indeed, your
conception of failure might not be too far from the average person’s
idea of success, so high have you already flown academically.
Ultimately, we all have to decide for ourselves what constitutes
failure, but the world is quite eager to give you a set of criteria if
you let it. So I think it fair to say that by any conventional measure,
a mere seven years after my graduation day, I had failed on an epic
scale. An exceptionally short-lived marriage had imploded, and I was
jobless, a lone parent, and as poor as it is possible to be in modern
Britain, without being homeless. The fears my parents had had for me,
and that I had had for myself, had both come to pass, and by every
usual standard, I was the biggest failure I knew.
Now, I am not going to stand here and tell you that failure is fun.
That period of my life was a dark one, and I had no idea that there was
going to be what the press has since represented as a kind of fairy
tale resolution. I had no idea how far the tunnel extended, and for a
long time, any light at the end of it was a hope rather than a reality.
So why do I talk about the benefits of failure? Simply because
failure meant a stripping away of the inessential. I stopped pretending
to myself that I was anything other than what I was, and began to
direct all my energy into finishing the only work that mattered to me.
Had I really succeeded at anything else, I might never have found the
determination to succeed in the one arena I believed I truly belonged.
I was set free, because my greatest fear had already been realised, and
I was still alive, and I still had a daughter whom I adored, and I had
an old typewriter and a big idea. And so rock bottom became the solid
foundation on which I rebuilt my life.
You might never fail on the scale I did, but some failure in life is
inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something,
unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at
all - in which case, you fail by default.
Failure gave me an inner security that I had never attained by
passing examinations. Failure taught me things about myself that I
could have learned no other way. I discovered that I had a strong will,
and more discipline than I had suspected; I also found out that I had
friends whose value was truly above rubies.
The knowledge that you have emerged wiser and stronger from setbacks
means that you are, ever after, secure in your ability to survive. You
will never truly know yourself, or the strength of your relationships,
until both have been tested by adversity. Such knowledge is a true
gift, for all that it is painfully won, and it has been worth more to
me than any qualification I ever earned.
Given a time machine or a Time Turner, I would tell my 21-year-old
self that personal happiness lies in knowing that life is not a
check-list of acquisition or achievement. Your qualifications, your CV,
are not your life, though you will meet many people of my age and older
who confuse the two. Life is difficult, and complicated, and beyond
anyone’s total control, and the humility to know that will enable you
to survive its vicissitudes.
You might think that I chose my second theme, the importance of
imagination, because of the part it played in rebuilding my life, but
that is not wholly so. Though I will defend the value of bedtime
stories to my last gasp, I have learned to value imagination in a much
broader sense. Imagination is not only the uniquely human capacity to
envision that which is not, and therefore the fount of all invention
and innovation. In its arguably most transformative and revelatory
capacity, it is the power that enables us to empathise with humans
whose experiences we have never shared.
One of the greatest formative experiences of my life preceded Harry
Potter, though it informed much of what I subsequently wrote in those
books. This revelation came in the form of one of my earliest day jobs.
Though I was sloping off to write stories during my lunch hours, I paid
the rent in my early 20s by working in the research department at
Amnesty International’s headquarters in London.
There in my little office I read hastily scribbled letters smuggled
out of totalitarian regimes by men and women who were risking
imprisonment to inform the outside world of what was happening to them.
I saw photographs of those who had disappeared without trace, sent to
Amnesty by their desperate families and friends. I read the testimony
of torture victims and saw pictures of their injuries. I opened
handwritten, eye-witness accounts of summary trials and executions, of
kidnappings and rapes.
Many of my co-workers were ex-political prisoners, people who had
been displaced from their homes, or fled into exile, because they had
the temerity to think independently of their government. Visitors to
our office included those who had come to give information, or to try
and find out what had happened to those they had been forced to leave
behind.
I shall never forget the African torture victim, a young man no
older than I was at the time, who had become mentally ill after all he
had endured in his homeland. He trembled uncontrollably as he spoke
into a video camera about the brutality inflicted upon him. He was a
foot taller than I was, and seemed as fragile as a child. I was given
the job of escorting him to the Underground Station afterwards, and
this man whose life had been shattered by cruelty took my hand with
exquisite courtesy, and wished me future happiness.
And as long as I live I shall remember walking along an empty
corridor and suddenly hearing, from behind a closed door, a scream of
pain and horror such as I have never heard since. The door opened, and
the researcher poked out her head and told me to run and make a hot
drink for the young man sitting with her. She had just given him the
news that in retaliation for his own outspokenness against his
country’s regime, his mother had been seized and executed.
Every day of my working week in my early 20s I was reminded how
incredibly fortunate I was, to live in a country with a democratically
elected government, where legal representation and a public trial were
the rights of everyone.
Every day, I saw more evidence about the evils humankind will
inflict on their fellow humans, to gain or maintain power. I began to
have nightmares, literal nightmares, about some of the things I saw,
heard and read.
And yet I also learned more about human goodness at Amnesty International than I had ever known before.
Amnesty mobilises thousands of people who have never been tortured
or imprisoned for their beliefs to act on behalf of those who have. The
power of human empathy, leading to collective action, saves lives, and
frees prisoners. Ordinary people, whose personal well-being and
security are assured, join together in huge numbers to save people they
do not know, and will never meet. My small participation in that
process was one of the most humbling and inspiring experiences of my
life.
Unlike any other creature on this planet, humans can learn and
understand, without having experienced. They can think themselves into
other people’s minds, imagine themselves into other people’s places.
Of course, this is a power, like my brand of fictional magic, that
is morally neutral. One might use such an ability to manipulate, or
control, just as much as to understand or sympathise.
And many prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all. They
choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience,
never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other
than they are. They can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages;
they can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not
touch them personally; they can refuse to know.
I might be tempted to envy people who can live that way, except that
I do not think they have any fewer nightmares than I do. Choosing to
live in narrow spaces can lead to a form of mental agoraphobia, and
that brings its own terrors. I think the wilfully unimaginative see
more monsters. They are often more afraid.
What is more, those who choose not to empathise may enable real
monsters. For without ever committing an act of outright evil
ourselves, we collude with it, through our own apathy.
One of the many things I learned at the end of that Classics
corridor down which I ventured at the age of 18, in search of something
I could not then define, was this, written by the Greek author
Plutarch: What we achieve inwardly will change outer reality.
That is an astonishing statement and yet proven a thousand times
every day of our lives. It expresses, in part, our inescapable
connection with the outside world, the fact that we touch other
people’s lives simply by existing.
But how much more are you, Harvard graduates of 2008, likely to
touch other people’s lives? Your intelligence, your capacity for hard
work, the education you have earned and received, give you unique
status, and unique responsibilities. Even your nationality sets you
apart. The great majority of you belong to the world’s only remaining
superpower. The way you vote, the way you live, the way you protest,
the pressure you bring to bear on your government, has an impact way
beyond your borders. That is your privilege, and your burden.
If you choose to use your status and influence to raise your voice
on behalf of those who have no voice; if you choose to identify not
only with the powerful, but with the powerless; if you retain the
ability to imagine yourself into the lives of those who do not have
your advantages, then it will not only be your proud families who
celebrate your existence, but thousands and millions of people whose
reality you have helped transform for the better. We do not need magic
to change the world, we carry all the power we need inside ourselves
already: we have the power to imagine better.
I am nearly finished. I have one last hope for you, which is
something that I already had at 21. The friends with whom I sat on
graduation day have been my friends for life. They are my children’s
godparents, the people to whom I’ve been able to turn in times of
trouble, friends who have been kind enough not to sue me when I’ve used
their names for Death Eaters. At our graduation we were bound by
enormous affection, by our shared experience of a time that could never
come again, and, of course, by the knowledge that we held certain
photographic evidence that would be exceptionally valuable if any of us
ran for Prime Minister.
So today, I can wish you nothing better than similar friendships.
And tomorrow, I hope that even if you remember not a single word of
mine, you remember those of Seneca, another of those old Romans I met
when I fled down the Classics corridor, in retreat from career ladders,
in search of ancient wisdom:
As is a tale, so is life: not how long it is, but how good it is, is what matters.
I wish you all very good lives.
Thank you very much. J.K.罗琳在哈佛大学2008年毕业典礼上的致辞——失败的额外收益以及想象的重要性
福斯特校长，哈佛大学理事会和校监委员会的各位成员，全体教职员工，各位自豪的家长以及最重要的——毕业生们；
首
先我想说“谢谢你们”，不仅因为哈佛给了我一个无比荣耀的机会，还因为这几个礼拜，我一想到要在毕业典礼上发言，就害怕得直犯恶心，最后竟然让我减肥成功
了。真是件双赢的事！现在，我要做的就是深呼吸，眯眼看看上方悬挂的大红横幅，强迫自己相信，此刻我正身处世界上受教育程度最高的哈利·波特迷的集会现
场。
直到想起自己毕业典礼的情景，我都觉得发表毕业演说责任非同一般。那天的致辞者是英国著名哲学家Baroness Mary Warnock。回忆她的演讲对我写这篇稿子帮助不小，因为我完全记不起她说过什么了。这一革命性的发现让我摆脱恐惧接着往下写——我不用担心我的演讲会无意中影响你们，让你们放弃经商、律师或政治家等前途光明的职业，选择当一个在空中飞翔，眩晕而快乐的巫师。
你们看，如果几年后，你们还能想起这个“快乐巫师”的笑话，就可以说我超过Baroness Mary Warnock了吧？可实现的目标是人进步的第一步。
其实，为了准备今天的讲话，我已绞尽脑汁，费尽心力。我问自己，站在现在，希望当时的自己能听到什么；从毕业到现在这21年里，我得到了什么重要的教训。
我想出了两个答案。在这美好的一天，我们欢聚一堂共贺你们学业成功时，我却打算和你们谈谈失败的好处；此刻，你们站在所谓“现实生活“的门槛上正准备往外迈，我却准备颂扬想象力的重要性。
这听起来似乎不切实际、自相矛盾，但请容我说完。
我现在已经42岁了，回忆21岁毕业时的情景，多少有些不自在。在我生命的前半段，我一直在自己的理想和亲人的期望间苦苦挣扎，寻求平衡。
我很清楚，自己唯一想做的事就是写小说——这想法从来没变过。但是，我的父母出身贫寒，又没受过大学教育，他们觉得我不安份的想象力不过是种可笑的怪癖，换不来抵押贷款，也挣不来养老金。
他们曾希望我攻读专业学位，我却想学英国文学。最后，我们达成了一个事后双方都觉得不甚满意的妥协：我去学现代外语。可还没等他们的车驶过街角，我就放弃了德语，改朝古典文学的长廊跑去。
我不记得曾告诉过他们我在学古典文学，可能他们是在我毕业典礼那天知道的。在全世界的所有专业中，他们也许找不到比希腊神话更没用的学科了——连一间独立卫生间都挣不来。
补
充一句，我想申明，我不责备父母。自己走错了路，还怪父母导错了航，总不能一辈子做这样的事。你长大了，开始自己掌舵了，就必须自己承担责任。我的父母只
是希望我不再过苦日子，我不能批评他们。他们生活很贫困，我也一度很穷，这不是什么光彩的经历，这点我完全同意。贫穷意味着你将躲不开恐惧、压力、还有时
时围绕你的绝望；贫穷使人频频遭受羞辱，历经艰难。如果能凭自己的努力爬出贫穷的泥沼，无疑是一件值得骄傲的事情。只有傻瓜才会为贫穷抹上浪漫色彩。
在你们这个年纪，我最害怕的不是穷，而是失败。
和你们差不多大的时侯，我对学校功课明显缺乏热情，很少去听课，反而花了大把的时间在咖啡吧里写小说，不过我似乎天生就有通过考试的本领，凭借这点，我过了数年所谓“成功”的生活。
我还不至于笨到认为，你们这些天资聪颖又受过良好教育的年轻人，会不知道艰难和心碎的滋味。即使才华横溢，智商一流，你们的人生也不可能全无波澜。我也从不觉得，你们已经享受到了特殊身份带来的满足感。
但是，你们是哈佛大学的毕业生这个事实说明，你们还不怎么熟悉失败。正如你们渴望成功一样，你们可能也害怕失败。的确，你们构想的失败也许就是普通人眼里的成功，因为你们毕竟已经在学术殿堂的高空翱翔。
尽
管什么是失败，最终还得由自己决定。但这个世界总是急于向你兜售它的一套标准。仅毕业七年，我就输得一败涂地，按传统的看法，这么说并不为过。我短暂的婚
姻闪电般地破裂，还失去了工作，成为一个单身母亲。在英国，除了流浪汉，找不到比我更穷的人了。我父母对我的担忧，我对我自己的担忧，都成为了现实。用普
通人的标准，我是我所知道的最失败的人。
现在，我在这里想告诉你们的是，失败不是一件多好玩的事。那段日子是我生命的黑暗时期。我不知道我会写出后来媒体称为童话革命的文字，我根本不知道这条路还要走多远。很长一段时期里，现实让人绝望，只有路尽头的一点微光给我希望。
那
我为什么还要讲失败的好处呢？因为失败把非本质的东西都剥离了。我不再伪装自己，我找到了真正的自我，开始将所有精力投入到唯一对我重要的工作。如果我已
经在别的事情中有所成就，我可能永远不会有这样的决心，在属于我的舞台上奋斗，直到成功的那一天。我像得到了解放，因为我最害怕的事情终于发生了，可我还
活着，我还有深爱的女儿，还有一台旧打字机，还有一个大大的梦想。我把这片生命的低谷踩在了脚下，开始在这坚实的基础上重建生活。
你们也许永远不会像我一样输得这么惨，但生活中失败总是难免的。人不可能处处成功，除非你万分小心不去深入接触任何事情——就像从来没在这世上待过——没有对手，也无所谓失败。
失败给了我一种内心的安全感，以前通过考试也没有的安全感。失败叫我看清了自己，以前我不知道自己是这样的。我发现，自己比以前想象的更坚强，更懂得自律；我还发现，我有一些比宝石还可贵的朋友。
你经历了挫折，发现自己的智慧增长了，内心变得更坚强。你就会更加自信: 靠自己的能力，可以谋出一条生路来。这才是真正的礼物。这种认知虽说来之不易，但比我以往获得的任何资格证书都更有价值。
如果我有时光机器或者哈利·波特的时间转换器，我会告诉21岁的自己，不是一张写满财产和成就的清单就代表幸福。你的资质、你的简历都不是你的生活，虽然仍有很多和我同龄或者更老的人至今分不清两者的区别。生活艰难又复杂，谁也控制不了它。存有谦恭之心，将帮助你顺利穿越人生风雨。
你
可能以为这就是我要说的第二个话题——想象的重要性。想象对我重建生活确很有帮助，但我要说的不完全是这个。虽然我是幻想故事的忠实拥护者，但我也明白应
该拓宽角度考察想象的意义。想象能给人强烈的感应，极具启发性，这毋庸置疑。正是这种力量使我们能和经历不同的人交换感受。
影响我人生的一段重要经历发生在我写《哈利·波特》之前，这段经历也为我之后写出的一套书提供了素材。我的灵感来自我早期的一份工作。我20岁出头时，为了付房租在大赦国际纽约总部的研究部门谋了一份工作，但午休时间我还偷偷地写小说。
在
我小小的办公室里，我读到了人们从极权主义国家写来的信。信上的字迹潦草，因为这些人都是冒着被囚禁的危险，偷偷写信来告诉我们自己国家发生的事情。有一
些人在国内失踪了，其实是被家人铤而走险送到大赦国际来，我看过他们的照片。我还读过被迫害者的证词，看过记录下他们累累伤痕的照片。我还打开过目击者为
绑架架和强奸案初审手写的证词。
我有许多合作对象以前是政治犯，这些人因为和政府持有不同政见，就被驱逐出祖国，流亡在外。有些访客来大赦国际，是为提供资料，有些则是想知道他们不得已抛弃在祖国的亲人和同志如今过得怎么样。
我
永远忘不了那名非洲受害者，那个当时还没有我年纪大的年轻人。他在自己的国家受尽了折磨，精神已经失常了。当他在摄像机前讲述自己如何被摧残时，一直止不
住地颤抖。他高我一英尺，却像一个脆弱的孩子。我被派护送他到地铁站，在路上，自己的生活已碎成一片片的他，还小心翼翼地握着我的手，祝我幸福。
只
要我还活着，我就忘不了，那天我在大赦国际走过一道空荡的走廊，突然听到背后紧闭的门里传出的痛苦恐惧的尖叫，凄厉之极，我闻所未闻。门打开，一名研究员
探出头，让我快跑去为她旁边的青年男子调一杯热饮。她刚告诉他：他对国家政权的直言不讳触犯了当权者，他们为了报复，处决了他母亲。
在我20几岁的时候，我每天上班时都提醒自己是何等幸运：生活在一个民选政府的国家，每一个人都有法律申诉和公审的权利。
每天我都能看到，人们为了夺权或者巩固已有权利，施害于自己的同胞。我开始做恶梦，那些我所见到、所听到、所读到的，逐一在我梦里上演。
但在大赦国际，我也看到了之前从没见过的，人性中善的一面。
在
大赦国际的组织下，有数千人为那些因为信仰深受折磨、或已成为阶下囚的人奔走呼吁，有权者为无权者呐喊，就是这样。在那里，一些平平常常的人，他们自己衣
食无忧，却聚集起来，去拯救一些素未谋面，将来也不会见到的人。我在大赦国际的这段日子，做的事虽说微不足道，却足以激励我一生。
和地球上其他生命不同，人类经历各有不同，却可以互相学习、相互理解。他们能走入别人的心里，设身处地的想问题。
毫无疑问，这和我书中写的魔法一样，是一种力量。这力量本身无所谓对错，只是人可以选择是运用力量去操纵控制别人，还是去感同身受罢了。
但许多人宁愿将想象的力量拒之门外，他们一直在由自身经历构成的小圈子里蜗居着，觉得把自己假想成他人实在是件麻烦事。面对尖叫声，他们可以充耳不闻；面对牢笼中的人，他们可以视而不见。他们对别人的苦难无动于衷，对和自己无关的事，他们向来不愿意去了解。
我有时也向往这种事不关己高高挂起的安乐日子，可我想，他们做的噩梦不会比我少。住在狭小的空间里，总会引发幽闭症的，这同样让人恐惧。这些有意闭目塞听的人恐怕会碰见更多怪物。他们只会更害怕。
更甚者，这些对别人毫无同情之心的人会引发真正的罪行。冷漠就算不是直接的犯罪，也是同谋。
十八岁那年，我踏上了古典文学的探险道路，当时我不清楚自己想寻找什么，直到这条道路到头的时候，我才明白原因：用希腊作家Plutarch的话说，“我们的内心所得，将会改变外界环境。”
这句话似乎耸人听闻，却无数次在我们的生活中得到验证。它在一定程度上说明，我们脱不开自己与外界的联系，只要活着，就一定会和别人的生命相交。
而你们，哈佛大学08届的毕业生们，将如何深入别人生活，
在这点上，又比一般人强多少呢？你们应对复杂工作的智慧和能力、你们接受过并引为己用的良好教育，让你们拥有独一无二的地位，也赋予你们独一无二的责任。
尽管你们的国籍各有不同，但你们中大部分人来自这个世界上唯一的超级大国，你们投票选举的方式、生活的方式、抗议的方式、对政府施压的权利，影响之深已远
超出国界之外。这是你们的特权，也是你们的责任。
如
果你用自己的身份和影响，为没有发言权的人说话；如果你眼里不光有有权优势的人，还能看得见无权无势的人；如果你能为优势不如你的人设身处地考虑，那么，
不仅是你们的亲人会为你们骄傲，千千万万的人将因为你们生活得更好。我们不需要改变世界的魔法，我们体内就有这样的能量：我们用梦想让世界变得更美好。
我的话快讲完了。我还有最后一个愿望要对你们讲，这是我21岁
时就有的愿望。毕业典礼那天坐在我旁边的人成了我一辈子的朋友。他们后来成为我孩子的教父教母，成为我遇到麻烦时寻求帮助的人。他们宽容大度，就算我用他
们的名字为食死徒命名，也绝不起诉我。毕业那天，满腔的喜悦把我们紧紧联结，我们共同经历了一段一去不返的时光，对此我们心照不宣：如果我们中有一个人成
为英国首相，那我们的签名肯定价值不菲。
所以，今天我最希望的是，你们也能拥有同样的友情。我还希望，就算你们想不起来我说过什么，也还记得Seneca说过的话，他是我从职业阶梯上逃脱，为寻求古代智慧，来到古典文学长廊避难时遇到的家伙。他说：
人生就像故事，重要的不是长度，而是质量。
希望你们都能过得幸福。
谢谢大家。 Follow your dreams and transform your life“
~ Paulo Coelho
As
my wife and I were planning our last vacation, one of the first things
we did was get out a map and plan our route. Whether it was online maps
or old fashioned
paper maps - they all helped guide us to our destination. As I was
looking at the maps spread across our dining room table, I thought,
“wouldn’t it be great if there was a map of life” that could guide you
along your life’s journey?
A personal motivation map giving you those life lessons that one typically learns way too late in life. Does such a “map of life” exist? It was then that I stumbled upon a tattered copy of The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho in the bottom of my closet.
Paulo
Coelho in his wildly popular book (65 million copies sold in 67
languages) tells the story of a shepherd boy and his quest to live his
dream. Along the way, the boy meets an alchemist who has the power to
inspire personal transformation. This Alchemist gives the boy a number
of life’s
lessons - lessons that are as fresh and applicable today as they were
hundreds of years ago. The lessons by themselves are interesting, but
it’s only when they are applied, that the power of personal
transformation can be unleashed.
So what can Paulo teach us about life and pursing dreams in the face of obstacles that caused 65 million people to buy his book?
1. It’s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary.
I
believe this to be true and have experienced this with my own family.
When I think of the times where we laughed the most or had the most fun
- it was when we were doing the simplest things. Swimming in a pool,
combing a beach for shells, playing a board game, or sharing a delicious meal - all simple things making up the best times we’ve had as a family.
Question: What were some of the happiest memories from your past? What were you doing?
2. Support your children in pursuit of their dreams.
In
the beginning of the story the shepherd boy (named Santiago) tells his
father he wants to travel and see the world. The father explains he
wants his son to stay in the village and become a priest. But Santiago
persists - being a priest is not his dream. What does his father do? He
gives Santiago the small amount of money he had been saving for the boy
and wished him well.
How
many of us had parents who have - in not-so-subtle-ways - influenced us
to take careers that were not in-line with our dreams? Be honest now,
did you pick your current career because you’re passionate about the
work or were you trying to make your parents proud? How do you feel
about your career now?
As
a parent, it’s difficult to accept when your child wants to take a path
other than the one you had hoped and planned for them. But, it’s ok.
Like my wife keeps telling me “give them roots and give them wings”.
Give them a solid foundation of love, but give them the freedom to
follow their dreams.
Question: What were some of your dreams as a child?
3. There is nothing to hold you back, except yourself.
There is only one question to ask yourself here: “What would you do if you were not afraid?” Think about it.
4. There is only one way to learn, and that is through action.
Trying
to learn without doing is like trying to lose weight by watching
someone else exercise. It’s just not going to work. We are all
fundamentally hands-on learners.
Question: What would you like to learn? What next action step can you take?
5. Trust your gut (or Learn to recognize omens, and follow them.)
Many
times our subconscious has already made a decision before we’ve caught
up and made the same decision. Sometimes we don’t make the same
decision and then ‘something does not feel right’ or there is a
persistent nagging that bothers us. Malcolm Gladwell wrote extensively
about this phenomenon in his book titled Blink: The Power of Thinking
without Thinking. Trust your gut - it may be more accurate than you
think.
6. Follow your dreams.
There
are many of us who dream our dreams without ever actually realizing any
of them. For whatever reason we get locked in a “dream state” and never
take action. We analyze too much and our dreams turn into giant
mountains in our imagination that seem impossible to climb. As a
result, we never learned that foreign language we’ve always wanted to
learn, or traveled, or started that Business, or written that book. Just think of the many bestsellers that would have been, but were never written.
The time is now, to awake from dreamland, to live the life we want and to achieve the extraordinary potential within us all.
Question:
What are some dreams you’d like to realize now? Write them down on a
piece of paper and make sure the success of their attainment is
measurable.
7. Know what you want.
Set goals and make a plan to achieve them. It’s like the saying, “a goal that is never written down is nothing but a New Year’s resolution” - and we all know what happens to New Year’s resolutions.
8. Make a decision and dive in with massive action.
The river of life
will take you to places that you have never imagined. Once you make a
decision, take action. You’ll be surprised to find where it will lead.
9. Move on - always look forward.
It’s
ok to look back once and a while, but don’t live in the past. You can
visit “pity city” for a short time, but after a while you have to leave
it all behind and walk on.
10. You will encounter obstacles and take detours while realizing your dreams.
As
you strive to achieve your dreams, you can count on there being some
setbacks and disappointments. Don’t get discouraged, the road to your
dreams may not be an easy one. Think of these challenges as tests of
persistence and courage that life throws at you during your quest. They were necessary and were meant to help you grow as a person.
Learn to adjust the sails of your life to unpredictable winds, while keeping your focus clear on your destination.
11. Don’t fear the unknown.
As
long as you’re resourceful and have a few skills, you’ll be able to
provide for yourself (and your family). Have confidence in yourselfat
all times.
12. Learn to understand the universal language - the language without words.
There
is so much more said from a person than just words alone. You can read
the expression on someone’s face, sense their body language, or hear
the tone in their voice - these thingsare all part of the unspoken
language. The more conscious we become at noticing them, the better we
become at interpreting them.
Question: What are some subtle unspoken gestures from the language of love?
坚持梦想，改变人生
坚持梦想，改变人生
Paulo Coelho
上次，我和妻子准备旅行时，做的第一件事就是拿出地图，确认路线。不管是网上地图还是老式的纸制地图——都可以指引我们到达目的地。看到地图在餐桌上摊开，我禁不住想：“如果有一张人生地图该多好啊！”。一张可以一路指引你的人生的地图！
一张个人动机地图可以教给你人生该知道的课程，而在现实中，我们学到这样的课程时，往往已经太晚。有这样的地图吗？一个偶然的机会，我在橱柜底端发现了破旧的Paulo Coelho的《炼金术》。
Paulo Coelho的这本书极其畅销（被译成67种语言，售出6500万本）。书中讲述了一个想实现梦想的放羊男孩的故事。途中，他遇到了一位炼金师，他有着改变人生的魔力。这位炼金师给小男孩上了很多人生课程——在今天看来，这些课程的新鲜度和可应用性丝毫不减于几百年前。这些课程本身就很有意思，但是，只有把他们应用到实际中，才能产生改变命运的魔力。
那么，在生活中和追求梦想时遇到障碍的时候，Paulo教我们怎么做呢？他的方法究竟能有什么魔力，能让6500百万人来买这本书呢？
1 生活中，简单的东西最非凡
我和家人深有体会，因此对此深信不疑。当我回忆我们笑声最多、最开心的时刻时——想到的是我们在做最简单的事情的时候。在游泳池游泳，在沙滩上搜寻贝壳，玩棋盘游戏，或是分享美食——简单的时刻，却是全家最幸福的时刻。
思考：你过去最美的回忆是什么？当时你在干什么呢？
2 支持你的孩子追求梦想
故事一开始，这个叫做圣地亚哥的放羊孩子告诉他父亲，他想去旅游，看一看这个世界。他父亲却说，他想儿子留在这个乡村，将来做一名牧师。但是圣地亚哥很坚持——做牧师不是他的理想。那他父亲怎么做呢？他给了圣地亚哥一些钱，这些钱都是他为这个孩子存的，然后祝他好运。
我们当中有多少人，父母影响了我们，使我们最终从事着（不是用如此微妙的方式）和自已的梦想相异的职业呢？说心里话吧，你从事现在的工作，是因为你本身对该工作抱有热忱，还是为了不让父母失望？你现在对自己的职业感觉如何？
作为父母，若孩子选择的道路和你的希望和计划不同，的确很难接受。但是，没关系的，就像我妻子经常告诫我的“给他们家，也给他们翅膀。”给他们充足的爱，同时也让他们自由追逐梦想。
思考：你儿时有过什么梦想？
3 没有什么可以阻止你，除了你自己
这里，只需问你自己一个问题：“如果你什么也不怕，你会做什么？”好好想想。
4 只有一种方法可以学习，那就是行动
想不行动就学习新事物，就像想看别人运动能够就减肥一样，是不可能的。从根本上来说，只有亲历，才能学习，我们都是这样。
思考：你想学什么？下一步你该怎么做？
5 相信内心的感觉（或者试着识别预兆，然后付诸行动）
很多次，在事情发生、我们做决定之前，我们的潜意识已经作好了决定。有时候，两种决定不一，于是我们感觉不对劲，或者总是有些情绪，让我们很烦恼。Malcolm Gladwell在他其名为《眨眼：无思而思的魔力》的书中，对这一现象作了详尽的描述。相信内心的感觉——它有时会比思考更准确。
6 坚持你的梦想
我们之中有一些人，经常兀自做着梦，却从来没有实现自己的梦想。
由于某种原因，我们被锁在“梦想”的牢笼里，从不行动。我们分析太多，梦想由此变成一座大山，让人无法翻越。这样一来，我们永远也没有学习我们想学的语
言，去我们想去的地方，或者开我们想开的公司，写自己想写的书。想想那些畅销书，如果作者未采取行动写书，会是什么样子呢？
现在就从梦想里醒来吧，去过我们想过的生活，去发挥我们非凡的潜能，实现我们的价值。
思考：你现在想实现什么梦想？把他们写在一张纸上，并确认这些目标是可以达到的。
7 知道你想要什么
树立目标，制定计划，达到目标。正如谚语所说：“没有写下的目标只能算是新年计划——我们都知道新年计划最后都沦为一纸空文。”
8 做出决定，疯狂行动
生命的河流会把你带到你意想不到的地方。一旦做了决定，就开始行动。有一天，你会为自己的成就感到惊讶的。
9 向前走——永远向前看
偶尔回头看没问题，但是别活在过去。你可以短时间的造访下“可怜之城”，但是一会后，要把所有的都扔下，继续前进。
10 在追求梦想时，有时会遇到障碍，这时你不得不绕远路
当你去努力实现梦想时，你一定会遇到挫折和失败。别灰心，通往你的梦想的道路也许很艰难。把这些挑战当成对你的毅力和勇气的测试吧。这些挑战是必要的，他们会帮助你成长。
坚定目标的同时，还要学会在不可预知的风向中调整自己的帆。
11 不要害怕未知事物
只要你有才华有技能，你就可以支撑自己（或者你的家人）的生活。要对自己一直充满信心。
12 学着理解“宇宙语言”——非语言
人们表达的，并不只有语言本身，还有更多的东西。脸部表情，肢体语言，或者语调——这些都是非语言的组成部分。我们越是有意的注意这些语言，就越能更好的理解他们。
问题：人们在表达“爱”时，有哪些微妙的肢体语言？ June 11 Following is a transcript of Senator Hillary
Rodham Clinton’s speech Saturday on suspending her campaign for the
Democratic presidential nomination, as transcribed by CQ Transcriptions:
Thank you very, very much. Well, this isn't exactly the party I'd planned, but I sure like the company.
(APPLAUSE) And I want to start today by saying how grateful I am to
all of you, to everyone who poured your hearts and your hopes into this
campaign, who drove for miles and lined the streets waving homemade
signs, who scrimped and saved to raise money, who knocked on doors and
made calls, who talked, sometimes argued with your friends and
neighbors...
(APPLAUSE)
... who
e-mailed and contributed online, who invested so much in our common
enterprise, to the moms and dads who came to our events, who lifted
their little girls and little boys on their shoulders and whispered in
their ears, "See, you can be anything you want to be."
(APPLAUSE)
To the young people...
(APPLAUSE)
... like 13-year-old Anne Riddell (ph) from Mayfield, Ohio, who had
been saving for two years to go to Disney World and decided to use her
savings instead to travel to Pennsylvania with her mom and volunteer
there, as well.
To the veterans, to the childhood friends, to New Yorkers and Arkansans...
(APPLAUSE)
... who traveled across the country, telling anyone who would listen
why you supported me. And to all of those women in their 80s and their
90s...
(APPLAUSE)
... born before
women could vote, who cast their votes for our campaign. I've told you
before about Florence Stein (ph) of South Dakota who was 88 years old
and insisted that her daughter bring an absentee ballot to her hospice
bedside. Her daughter and a friend put an American flag behind her bed
and helped her fill out the ballot.
She passed away
soon after and, under state law, her ballot didn't count, but her
daughter later told a reporter, "My dad's an ornery, old cowboy, and he
didn't like it when he heard Mom's vote wouldn't be counted. I don't
think he had voted in 20 years, but he voted in place of my mom."
(APPLAUSE)
So to all those who voted for me and to whom I pledged my utmost, my
commitment to you and to the progress we seek is unyielding.
You have inspired and touched me with the stories of the joys and
sorrows that make up the fabric of our lives. And you have humbled me
with your commitment to our country. Eighteen million of you, from all
walks of life...
(APPLAUSE)
... women and men, young and old, Latino and Asian, African- American and Caucasian...
(APPLAUSE)
... rich, poor, and middle-class, gay and straight, you have stood with me.
(APPLAUSE)
And I will continue to stand strong with you every time, every
place, in every way that I can. The dreams we share are worth fighting
for.
Remember, we fought for the single mom with the
young daughter, juggling work and school, who told me, "I'm doing it
all to better myself for her."
We fought for the
woman who grabbed my hand and asked me, "What are you going to do to
make sure I have health care?" and began to cry, because even though
she works three jobs, she can't afford insurance.
We
fought for the young man in the Marine Corps t-shirt who waited months
for medical care and said, "Take care of my buddies over there, and
then will you please take care of me?"
(APPLAUSE)
We fought for all those who've lost jobs and health care, who can't
afford gas or groceries or college, who have felt invisible to their
president these last seven years.
I entered this race
because I have an old-fashioned conviction that public service is about
helping people solve their problems and live their dreams. I've had
every opportunity and blessing in my own life, and I want the same for
all Americans.
And until that day comes, you'll always find me on the front lines of democracy, fighting for the future.
(APPLAUSE)
The way to continue our fight now, to accomplish the goals for which
we stand is to take our energy, our passion, our strength, and do all
we can to help elect Barack Obama, the next president of the United
States.
(APPLAUSE)
Today, as I
suspend my campaign, I congratulate him on the victory he has won and
the extraordinary race he has run. I endorse him and throw my full
support behind him.
(APPLAUSE)
And I ask all of you to join me in working as hard for Barack Obama as you have for me.
(APPLAUSE)
I have served in the Senate with him for four years. I have been in
this campaign with him for 16 months. I have stood on the stage and
gone toe-to-toe with him in 22 debates. I've had a front-row seat to
his candidacy, and I have seen his strength and determination, his
grace and his grit.
In his own life, Barack Obama has
lived the American dream, as a community organizer, in the State
Senate, as a United States senator. He has dedicated himself to
ensuring the dream is realized. And in this campaign, he has inspired
so many to become involved in the democratic process and invested in
our common future.
Now, when I started this race, I
intended to win back the White House and make sure we have a president
who puts our country back on the path to peace, prosperity and
progress. And that's exactly what we're going to do, by ensuring that
Barack Obama walks through the doors of the Oval Office on January 20,
2009.
(APPLAUSE)
Now, I understand
-- I understand that we all know this has been a tough fight, but the
Democratic Party is a family. And now it's time to restore the ties
that bind us together and to come together around the ideals we share,
the values we cherish, and the country we love.
We
may have started on separate journeys, but today our paths have merged.
And we're all heading toward the same destination, united and more
ready than ever to win in November and to turn our country around,
because so much is at stake.
We all want an economy
that sustains the American dream, the opportunity to work hard and have
that work rewarded, to save for college, a home and retirement, to
afford that gas and those groceries, and still have a little left over
at the end of the month, an economy that lifts all of our people and
ensures that our prosperity is broadly distributed and shared.
We all want a health care system that is universal, high-quality and affordable...
(APPLAUSE)
... so that parents don't have to choose between care for themselves
or their children or be stuck in dead-end jobs simply to keep their
insurance.
This isn't just an issue for me. It is a
passion and a cause, and it is a fight I will continue until every
single American is insured, no exceptions and no excuses.
(APPLAUSE)
We all want an America defined by deep and meaningful equality, from
civil rights to labor rights, from women's rights to gay rights...
(APPLAUSE)
... from ending discrimination to promoting unionization, to
providing help for the most important job there is: caring for our
families.
And we all want to restore America's
standing in the world, to end the war in Iraq, and once again lead by
the power of our values...
(APPLAUSE)
... and to join with our allies to confront our shared challenges,
from poverty and genocide to terrorism and global warming.
You know, I've been involved in politics and public life in one way or another for four decades. And during those...
(APPLAUSE)
During those 40 years, our country has voted 10 times for president.
Democrats won only three of those times, and the man who won two of
those elections is with us today.
(APPLAUSE)
We made tremendous progress during the '90s under a Democratic
president, with a flourishing economy and our leadership for peace and
security respected around the world.
Just think how
much more progress we could have made over the past 40 years if we'd
had a Democratic president. Think about the lost opportunities of these
past seven years on the environment and the economy, on health care and
civil rights, on education, foreign policy and the Supreme Court.
Imagine how far...
(APPLAUSE)
... we could have come, how much we could have achieved if we had just had a Democrat in the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
We cannot let this moment slip away. We have come too far and accomplished too much.
Now, the journey ahead will not be easy. Some will say we can't do
it, that it's too hard, we're just not up to the task. But for as long
as America has existed, it has been the American way to reject can't-do
claims and to choose instead to stretch the boundaries of the possible
through hard work, determination, and a pioneering spirit.
It
is this belief, this optimism that Senator Obama and I share and that
has inspired so many millions of our supporters to make their voices
heard. So today I am standing with Senator Obama to say: Yes, we can!
(APPLAUSE)
And that together we will work -- we'll have to work hard to achieve
universal health care. But on the day we live in an America where no
child, no man, and no woman is without health insurance, we will live
in a stronger America. That's why we need to help elect Barack Obama
our president.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll have
to work hard to get back to fiscal responsibility and a strong middle
class. But on the day we live in an America whose middle class is
thriving and growing again, where all Americans, no matter where they
live or where their ancestors came from, can earn a decent living, we
will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help elect
Barack Obama our president.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll have to work hard to foster the innovation that will make us
energy independent and lift the threat of global warming from our
children's future. But on the day we live in an America fueled by
renewable energy, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why
we have to help elect Barack Obama our president.
(APPLAUSE)
We'll have to work hard to bring our troops home from Iraq and get
them the support they've earned by their service. But on the day we
live in an America that's as loyal to our troops as they have been to
us, we will live in a stronger America. And that is why we must help
elect Barack Obama our president.
(APPLAUSE)
This election is a turning-point election. And it is critical that
we all understand what our choice really is. Will we go forward
together, or will we stall and slip backwards?
Now,
think how much progress we've already made. When we first started,
people everywhere asked the same questions. Could a woman really serve
as commander-in-chief? Well, I think we answered that one.
(APPLAUSE)
Could an African-American really be our president? And Senator Obama has answered that one. (APPLAUSE)
Together, Senator Obama and I achieved milestones essential to our
progress as a nation, part of our perpetual duty to form a more perfect
union.
Now, on a personal note, when I was asked what
it means to be a woman running for president, I always gave the same
answer, that I was proud to be running as a woman, but I was running
because I thought I'd be the best president. But...
(APPLAUSE)
But I am a woman and, like millions of women, I know there are still
barriers and biases out there, often unconscious, and I want to build
an America that respects and embraces the potential of every last one
of us.
(APPLAUSE)
I ran as a
daughter who benefited from opportunities my mother never dreamed of. I
ran as a mother who worries about my daughter's future and a mother who
wants to leave all children brighter tomorrows.
To
build that future I see, we must make sure that women and men alike
understand the struggles of their grandmothers and their mothers, and
that women enjoy equal opportunities, equal pay, and equal respect.
(APPLAUSE)
Let us...
(APPLAUSE)
Let us resolve and work toward achieving very simple propositions:
There are no acceptable limits, and there are no acceptable prejudices
in the 21st century in our country.
(APPLAUSE)
You can be so proud that, from now on, it will be unremarkable for a woman to win primary state victories...
(APPLAUSE)
... unremarkable to have a woman in a close race to be our nominee,
unremarkable to think that a woman can be the president of the United
States. And that is truly remarkable, my friends.
(APPLAUSE)
To those who are disappointed that we couldn't go all of the way,
especially the young people who put so much into this campaign, it
would break my heart if, in falling short of my goal, I in any way
discouraged any of you from pursuing yours.
Always
aim high, work hard, and care deeply about what you believe in. And,
when you stumble, keep faith. And, when you're knocked down, get right
back up and never listen to anyone who says you can't or shouldn't go
on.
As we gather here today in this historic, magnificent
building, the 50th woman to leave this Earth is orbiting overhead. If
we can blast 50 women into space, we will someday launch a woman into
the White House.
(APPLAUSE)
Although we weren't able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling
this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it...
(APPLAUSE)
... and the light is shining through like never before, filling us
all with the hope and the sure knowledge that the path will be a little
easier next time.
That has always been the history of
progress in America. Think of the suffragists who gathered at Seneca
Falls in 1848 and those who kept fighting until women could cast their
votes.
Think of the abolitionists who struggled and
died to see the end of slavery. Think of the civil rights heroes and
foot soldiers who marched, protested, and risked their lives to bring
about the end of segregation and Jim Crow.
(APPLAUSE)
Because of them, I grew up taking for granted that women could vote
and, because of them, my daughter grew up taking for granted that
children of all colors could go to school together.
Because of them, Barack Obama and I could wage a hard-fought campaign
for the Democratic nomination. Because of them and because of you,
children today will grow up taking for granted that an African-American
or a woman can, yes, become the president of the United States. And
so...
(APPLAUSE)
... when that day
arrives, and a woman takes the oath of office as our president, we will
all stand taller, proud of the values of our nation, proud that every
little girl can dream big and that her dreams can come true in America.
And all of you will know that, because of your passion
and hard work, you helped pave the way for that day. So I want to say
to my supporters: When you hear people saying or think to yourself, "If
only, or, "What if," I say, please, don't go there. Every moment wasted
looking back keeps us from moving forward.
(APPLAUSE)
Life is too short, time is too precious, and the stakes are too high
to dwell on what might have been. We have to work together for what
still can be. And that is why I will work my heart out to make sure
that Senator Obama is our next president.
(APPLAUSE)
And I hope and pray that all of you will join me in that effort.
(APPLAUSE)
To my supporters and colleagues in Congress, to the governors and
mayors, elected officials who stood with me in good times and bad,
thank you for your strength and leadership.
To my friends in our labor unions who stood strong every step of the way, I thank you and pledge my support to you.
To my friends from every stage of my life, your love and ongoing commitment sustained me every single day.
To my family, especially Bill and Chelsea and my mother, you mean the world to me, and I thank you for all you have done.
(APPLAUSE)
And to my extraordinary staff, volunteers and supporters...
(APPLAUSE)
... thank you for working those long, hard hours. Thank you for
dropping everything, leaving work or school, traveling to places that
you've never been, sometimes for months on end. And thanks to your
families, as well, because your sacrifice was theirs, too. All of you
were there for me every step of the way.
Now, being
human, we are imperfect. That's why we need each other, to catch each
other when we falter, to encourage each other when we lose heart. Some
may lead, some may follow, but none of us can go it alone.
The changes we're working for are changes that we can only
accomplish together. Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness are
rights that belong to us as individuals. But our lives, our freedom,
our happiness are best enjoyed, best protected, and best advanced when
we do work together.
That is what we will do now, as
we join forces with Senator Obama and his campaign. We will make
history together, as we write the next chapter in America's story. We
will stand united for the values we hold dear, for the vision of
progress we share, and for the country we love.
There is nothing more American than that.
And looking out at you today, I have never felt so blessed. The challenges that I have faced in this campaign...
(APPLAUSE)
... are nothing compared to those that millions of Americans face every day in their own lives.
So today I'm going to count my blessings and keep on going. I'm
going to keep doing what I was doing long before the cameras ever
showed up and what I'll be doing long after they're gone: working to
give every American the same opportunities I had and working to ensure
that every child has the chance to grow up and achieve his or her God-
given potential.
I will do it with a heart filled
with gratitude, with a deep and abiding love for our country, and with
nothing but optimism and confidence for the days ahead.
This is now our time to do all that we can to make sure that, in this
election, we add another Democratic president to that very small list
of the last 40 years and that we take back our country and once again
move with progress and commitment to the future.
Thank you all. And God bless you, and God bless America.
======================================================================
通观全文，全是华丽丽的排比句啊！
June 04 It's so strange that I can look at the page in a normal view~
I open the page, and forget what I gonna say.
That's a big question...
April 05
Nature's first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold.
Her early leaf's a flower;
But only so an hour.
Then leaf subsides to leaf.
So Eden sank to grief,
So dawn goes down to day.
Nothing gold can stay. Confusing about HIKKI's song<Stay Gold >, I searched relative information in line ,and found out a poem which is really awesome!
Nothing Gold Can Stay, witten by Robert Frost. With the book and movie of The Outside --a novel fit the poem right well ,by S.E. Hinton -- going popular, the poem became well-known .
Although gold is hard to stay, we still make wish to keep the best,pefect and wonderful thing.
March 19 Thought I haven't check my hotmail for a long time , I log in my ID.
WOW, what's happened? The version is so small and even obscure that I can see the title clearly~ It seems all the mails are hidden behind mist, or drowning into the water~
Also ,the words in space appear much smaller tham before.
Can anyone tell me why ? March 16 I determined to write english diary in space.
Now it's rainning outside.I do not like rainy day. Waked from afternoon nap, I am more tired and unhappy, without reasons.
How to express this kind of unexpected sorrow in english? It's so stream-of-consciousness-- no one know where does it come from , and how does it flow away. Maybe it isn't correlate with english or chinease, but culture difference. Westerner are more logically and directely ,just like they sing R&B; however, easterner may bury their felling in heart. They built a cage without door and window, every thing can happen in the cage but they never get out.
September 06 突然想起PETER PAN。 他待在NEVERLAND，藐视成长和生命的法则，永远做顽皮淘气的小孩。
很多年我一直很向往永无岛。成长毫无疑问的带来分离、烦恼、疼痛、迷惘……我们和自己，和周围的一切人、事，和现实拼个你死我活，无论结果如何，都伤痕累累。
不过后来想通了，既然从生到死是个确定的过程， 成长是无法避免的命题，那么它一定有道理。痛苦和欢乐都是调味剂，平和宁静才是生命的基调，我们要抓住机会做每个阶段该做的事情能做的事情。
但是这么想，如果自己没有在一定的时机达到某个标准，没有经历某个年纪应该经历的事情，就会焦虑，会烦恼。比如现在的状态，打电话发短信QQ电邮BLOG，看到的都是朋友们在 唰啦唰啦 飞快地成长着，而自己和过去相比没有任何长进，就突然紧张不安起来。好像是热闹的舞台剧散场，偌大的舞台只有那么一束光，只剩我一个人搞不清状况还傻傻的站在舞台上；又好像是写论文，每次别人都写完好久，我还没有想好该写什么，徒劳得在宿舍和宿舍间上蹿下跳，眼睁睁地看着DEADLINE的到来，又着急又绝望。
暑假家教的小朋友的比喻：你现在让我做的事情就像是做数学的追击问题，大家在同一条路上跑着，但别人已经早跑了几年的路程了，我得用多少倍的速度才能在这十几天追上？我当时豪言壮志地说，别怕，我们走小路，一下子就能超过拉。
而生活和成长，会有捷径么？
说不定，PETER PAN 只是一个不小心被遗忘在永无岛的孩子，时间久了再没有勇气长大呢？
昨晚睡觉之前，突然很想看书，于是在书架上抽出了初中时买的《塞莱斯廷预言》。以前当普通的小说看着，但是在现在的心境下读着，觉得字字珠玑，全都砸在我心坎上了。那一瞬间领悟到作者想表述的哲学，开始正视和思考自己的不安情绪。
晚上，梦见走着的路旁边的树上，都是各种各样美丽稀罕的鸟儿。只有一只水红色、脖子老长的奇怪的大鸟在一棵树下打瞌睡。我盯着它看了好一会儿，然后去了图书馆。不一会儿水红的大鸟好像跟了进来，朝我走过来。我害怕得蹲在凳子上，但是因为鸟的脖子长，很容易够到我；我坐到桌子上后，鸟还是直往我身上蹭。实在是恐惧的动不了了，我只能任由它啄我的脚板（鞋去哪里了？很真实的一下一下敲击的感觉）在傻傻地绝望了一段时间之后，我突然发现被鸟啄也没有那么的可怕，稍稍放松了下来。伸手去抓鸟脖子想把鸟挪开，很奇妙的是在碰触到鸟脖子的那一刻，手心的温热和血液的急促流动感让我觉得鸟其实就是一种和人一样很平常的生命，突然被感动了，有种灵魂被洗涤过的重生的光辉和喜悦，对鸟的恐惧感瞬间烟消云散，平静了下来。醒了。
这两件事又可能是宇宙的某种能量 对我内心的回应吧。虽然不是完全放心，但是轻松了很多，焦虑感没有那么严重了。
只要努力认真的面对，该解决的，终归会有结果吧。 September 05 喜欢Bossa Nova平淡慵懒而又呢喃的调调
也是常听的曲子类型
某一天突然发现
曲子里唱的另一种语言
是葡萄牙语~~`(我承认我不是一般的迟钝^)
所以最近萌的就是巴葡(应该歌曲里都是用巴西葡萄牙语唱的吧?)
听歌的时候也跟着哼哼.
觉得这种语言
象棉花糖一样
又温柔又甜蜜
听上去就有要命的幸福感
所以 想学葡语了~~
上网搜资料好少呢
如果是在澳门的话，应该能容易买到教材吧？
捶胸顿足，大学四年多好的机会啊~~~
怎么就没发现这一美好的事物……
（虽然英语和日语修行之路还漫长着，但我仍然不停地在行进过程中拈花惹草采茶扑蝶~~PIA飞）
9月，我再次将有限的生命投入到无限的学习中~~卡卡
转一下看到的一篇文章 《学外语十法》
匈牙利著名女翻译家卡扎罗姆布，一生精通十多门外语，她在几十年的外语学习中总结出十点体会，现将其翻译、归纳、评述如下，供初学者参考——
一、向往着美好的目标，切忌怀疑自己，畏缩不前。染上信心不足这种精神萎缩症的人是很难成功的。学外语要坚信自己一定能达到目的，坚信自己的毅力和语
言才干。
二、切忌三天打鱼两天晒网。学习外语一天也不能中断，那怕每天能挤出十分钟来看一看、背一背也好。一日之计在于晨，早晨是学外语的好时光，若实在没时
间，起码能在洗脸刷牙时听听外语录音或广播也行。
三、学习感到厌倦了，不必过于勉强继续，但也不能扔下不学，最好是变换一下学习方法和形式，如听有趣的外语故事、看外语电影，或改学别一科目以作调节。
四、外语好比一个堡垒，必须从四面八方向其包围进攻。除了学习课本外，读外文报纸、听外语广播、看外语电影、听外语歌曲、听外语讲座，甚至可阅读外语的商品说明书等等，都是好办法，要多管齐下。
五、应随时记下并背出常用的句型，并更换成分进行练习，以达熟练运用。
六、抄录和记忆句型及惯用语时要用单数第一人称。这主要是让人有一种切身的感受，在心理上构成一种语言环境，从而提高学习的效果。
七、不要脱离上下文孤立地死记硬背，要将单词和成语置于具体的上下文语言关系中，联系起来理解记忆。
八、在旅行或干手工活时，不要放弃学习的机会，应尽可能“心译”你接触到的东西，如一闪而过的广告，听到别人聊天的话语。这样既是休息，也是学习。但做得不好甚至做得很糟时，切勿失去信心。
九、不要反复去看那些未经老师修改的练习，因为只有那些被证明是正确无误的东西，才具有思考和牢记的价值。
十、要敢于用外语说话，尤其不要放弃能接触外国人并与其进行交谈的机会。但不要怕出错，当别人指责你的错误时，也不要难为情，更不要泄气。
August 27 好久米来这边了，那时候还说要一直保持更新的~~~结果人家一改版，我嫌麻烦就直奔新欢了~~OTL
发现家里的BLOGBUS，晚上9点以前是没有办法刷开的……
大家都有这种问题还是说我RP有问题？
SPACE还是很温馨的感觉哈~~~
July 20
要有目标和梦想,哪怕是看起来很荒诞!
要平和冷静,不要容易生气,不要偏激,不要情绪化.
要坚强,不要软弱,不要那么轻易地躲起来偷偷的哭泣,也不要妄想依赖别人!
要有行动力,想做的事情,就要努力去做!
要坦荡,把握当下,不要后悔自己的选择.
记住了:能伤害自己的只有自己，所以不要让别人有伤害你的机会和权力！！
July 19
这是午睡时的梦。
好像是在一个湖边的样子，我，夜一，小白，还有KENNY四个人围坐在一个饭桌前。
等上菜的盖子揭开，发现是清蒸的，澄黄澄黄的，大大的大闸蟹（身体比学校卖的玉米饼大一点点）！！我很高兴的欢呼了一声，然后掰了只蟹腿下来~恩，肉很白！然后听见旁边小夜说，我的有蟹黄膏！瞟了一眼，很营养的样子……之后大家就每个人抱着蟹很香地啃着……
最纳闷的是，整个梦的基调都是灰灰的，只有那几只蟹的颜色那么明亮啊…… 醒来的时候还觉得自己在笑，OTL。RP值估计又低了……炎热夏日的中午，不是应该做吃甜品或者在爬冰山的梦才对么？
================================================
话说，在回家两个星期之后，我终于踏出家门去吃了米粉~~红红的辣椒油，飘荡的酸菜，一如既往的老味道~真是感动阿！！XD July 17
我的头发，长得最快的部分绝对是刘海！6月剪的，现在又挡住视线了……
中午跟娘亲申请经费去剪头发，顺便看到茶几上有把美工刀~于是鬼使神差的拿起来发挥DIY精神，自己削。虽然模仿着美发师的手法想要弄得碎碎的很有层次感，不过每次都很OTL的剪得超级平！！比一刀剪过去还要平……所以人就显得傻傻的……
＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝＝
接受小白的建议，从昨天开始集中火力背单词。但是一天背几百个单词真的很痛苦～～坐在那边跟着电脑重复，时间长了感觉眼睛都不能聚焦，就觉得是字母在眼前晃阿晃得，而且还有很多单词记不住～～结果昨天晚上牙龈就肿了……做梦也在拼命想单词怎么说。
今天根据自己的情况调整了一下，把每200个单词分为一组来背。比起一次性背3、400个单词，还是少量多次我比较能够接受。
再哀号一下：还有没有别的能在短时间增加单词量的方法阿！我哭！ July 16
现在这个时候,PP 应该已经在飞往悉尼的飞机上了吧?会不会想起群里的大家呢?
如果没有< HONEY & CLOVER>的,就不会在贪婪认识PP;如过没有PP,就没有 散落的青春 这QQ群;如果不加QQ群, 就不会认识群里边的那些朋友们,包子,KID,大妈,柳,木木,三子,…… 所以这个世界很奇妙的，最多只要通过六个人，你就可以找到世界上任意一个人~~而且，蜂蜜和四叶草，真的是很神奇的一部动画！
昨天PP说偶然发现了四叶CLOVER~对于相信“四叶草幸福哲学”的我们来说，这是最好不过的预兆了！所以PP在澳洲一定会很顺利的！请充满希望地、带着群里成员对你的爱飞向新生活吧，笑ING~
PP要去澳洲两年。等PP回来，群建起来就有4年多啦。两年后会有群聚吗？期待着~~ July 13
早上，接到小粒子的电话，说我的户口因为名字问题，学院不能帮我转，要开个证明什么的。我就OTL了，怎么那么麻烦的？看来得回学校一趟了~
之后，跟爸爸去交易所开户。本来一切都很顺利，结果，在最后一环，经理拿着我的银行存折说，呀，这个“珺”字不对嘛，以后转帐啊什么的不方便。但是工行的电脑很落后的就是不能把我的名字打出来，于是，只能等着星期一把账户改到建行……OTL
由于我的名字引发的种种不便从小到大发生过N多~ 其实我从小最偏好的就是这个“珺”字了！拆开来看是很霸气的“王君”，合起表美玉。但是看起来这么普通的一个字，在五笔里就是没有~~眼泪。问过爸妈为什么要用这个字，回答，用的人少，不容易重名，OTL！！不过俺素8会放弃的，既然从我出生开始这个名字就安在我头上，我就一直用下去~~
==============================================
PS：证券交易所的人真的很多阿~~关于开户这个问题，俺被塞了一堆单要填……莫名其妙的就这么成为了新股民……
用着借来的显示器
别人给的键盘
爸爸交钱的网路
我终于在客厅的一角安顿下来用自己的电脑上网了~~
果然是75我，在学校频繁出现的不定期蓝屏问题，回来后一次也没有犯过
倒是家里网络不好用，准确的说，是我这边的网路不好！
明明和爸爸用一条线，
在他电脑上就可以开快的网页,但是我自己的电脑上就刷屏到绝望啊~~
而且还挑浏览器，IE的相对容易开，但是傲游和FIREFOX就傻掉了
OTL ,努力刷!
PS：自从我说它很乖，不蓝屏之后，从昨天开始，问题就频频出现阿！！！禁不起表扬的孩子……
整理东西的时候看到高中和初中写的日记和周记
感叹 那时候的自己还真是敢 写的说
周记都是小说，日记都是押韵的内似“诗”的物体
这里说的“诗”当然是现代诗
只不过看方文山写的那个什么素颜诗的诗集里面说
诗，要朦朦胧胧，隐隐约约、抽象的才好
于是我就不知道我的那些直白的语言算不算了
高中的时候，写周记是全民运动，每周一交。
我每周日的晚上，下了晚自习后，10点，开始坐在书桌前，摊开周记本。
不是散文就是小说
不过很少有马上就能动笔的时候，
要不就先偷看下漫画书，要不就坐在那里对着窗户发呆
直到12点，我处于半睡半醒、不得不写的状态的时候
才开始奋笔疾书2个小时
然后爬上床不醒人事
周四下午是很兴奋的发周记时间
大家一拥而上的拼抢自己和自己喜欢读的周记，然后互相交换、比较
“这周老师给了我A+，你是什么？评语呢？”
最受欢迎的有西西的武侠小说系列，
他把好朋友和班上有特色人物都变成了小说里面的角色，语言也巨搞笑。每周都能写上个N页，感觉不是周记是日记来的。
我喜欢小FO的，够颓，够优美，也够隐晦……总之，灵气十足。那时我想，天哪，我一辈子都肯定没有办法写出这么好的东西了！
可能因为听摇滚的缘故，我的文章常常讽刺的比较多，就一小愤青，没啥好说的。有一次老师的评语说，让我写“正经一点的文章”。然后我回了她两页，质问什么叫“正经的文章”，以及为什么要写“正经的文章”。MS到最后我也没在周记里妥协过~毕竟还有课堂作文不是？
其实那个时候我们都是用很认真的态度来写周记的，
好像是宣泄以及让人了解我们的唯一途径吧
暗恋( 像西西对李子，都写成明恋了~~），谩骂，颓废，迷茫，绝望
真不知道看我们文章的老师怎么想的？从老师的角度来说，应该会有压力吧。还好她比较开放。
不过比起老师的看法，我们更想听的是同学和好朋友的反馈意见
如果那个时候，网络像现在这么发达，有BLOG，我们还会那么诚实的把感情都写到周记里去吗？
就算文字是狭隘的、不真实的，记录下来的那一瞬间，总会带有一丝当时感情的影子在吧？
有存放岁月的一个地方的存在，以后偶然回顾，总会会心微笑吧？
就算，我高中的文字有些矫情
就算，我现在的BLOG全都是流水~~ July 09
已经开始有点习惯了家里的生活。从回家到现在，我只因为要买电话号码出过门一次~目前进化为完全的宅女。可惜皮肤恢复的速度没有心态快，还是保留在广东晒黑的样子；不过家里的水土就是好，脸上的豆豆开始大面积消退，笑ING~~顺便体重估计也跟着UP了~~
开始自己找乐子，比如说，看书，看英语，睡睡觉，给朋友发发短信，尝试用打不出“e”字以及外接显示器的前任本本蹲在客厅上网。在完全悠闲的情况下发现可以学习是一件多么令人感动流涕的事情，是件多么具有娱乐价值的事情 。
准备挖掘下我的缝纫机的利用价值，给书柜做个帘子~~活活，过几天去买布回来做！ July 08
昨天上不来SPACE,今天把昨天写的发上来~~
据说今天是07年7月7日
千年难遇一次的日子
所以今天无论如何都要上来更新BLOG
但是转念想,每天都是只有一次的日子
07年7月7日并不因为人为的数字而特殊
换句话说,太阳每天都重新升起
要爱并珍惜每天的生活(我怎么觉得我象传教的~~OTL)
今天被家里逼着把运回去的东西收拾好
这是多么痛苦的一件事啊!
凳子也相当的RP
踩上去居然两次翻倒~~
撞青了不说,还有破皮的,俺坐在地上半天没吱声
第一次,俺爸听见声响,在客厅很无良的大笑了两声
第二次,俺爸发现房间没有动静,遂进屋瞟了我一眼
发现我还活着,于是说
“我怀疑你小脑是不是有问题?”
OTL,这是做爸的该说的话吗?
|
Tools 
