心灵鸡汤中英文章阅读

Once a circle missed a wedge. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching. Then one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.

The lesson of the story, I suggested, was that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him give him something he has always wanted or never had.

There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, she can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.

Life is not a trap set for us by God so that he can condemn us for failing. Life is not a spelling bee, where no matter how many words you’ve gotten right; you’re disqualified if you make one mistake. Life is more like a baseball season, where even the best team loses one third of its games and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. Our goal is to win more games than we lose.

When we accept that imperfection is part of being human, and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciate it, we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire to. That, I believe, is what God asks of us—not “Be perfect”, not “Don’t even make a mistake”, but “Be whole.”

If we are brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous enough to rejoice in another’s happiness, and wise enough to know there is enough l

ove to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment that no other living creature will ever know.

从前，一只圆圈缺了一块楔子。它想保持完整，便四处寻找那块楔子。由于不完整，所以它只能慢慢地滚动。一路上，它对花儿露出羡慕之色。它与蠕虫谈天侃地。它还欣赏到了阳光之美。圆圈找到了许多不同的楔子，但没有一件与它相配。所以，它将它们统统弃置路旁，继续寻觅。终于有一天，它找到了一个完美的配件。圆圈是那样地高兴，现在它可以说是完美无缺了。它装好配件，并开始滚动起来。现在它已成了一个完美的圆圈，所以滚动得非常快，以至于难以观赏花儿，也无暇与蠕虫倾诉心声。当圆圈意识到因快奔急骋使它失去了原有的世界时，它不禁停了下来，将找到的配件弃置路旁，又开始慢慢地滚动。

我觉得这个故事告诉我们，从某种奇妙的意义上讲，当我们失去了一些东西时反而更加完整。一个拥有一切的人其实在某些方面是个穷人。他永远也体会不到什么是渴望、期待及如何用美好梦想滋养自己的灵魂。他也永远不会有这样一种体验：一个爱他的人送给他某种他梦寐以求的或者从未拥有过的东西意味着什么。

人生的完整性在于知道如何面对缺陷，如何勇敢地摒弃不现实的幻想而又不以此为缺憾。人生的完整性还在于学会勇敢面对人生悲剧而继续生存，能够在失去亲人后依然表现出完整的个人风范。

人生不是上帝为谴责我们的缺陷而给我们布下的陷阱。人生也不是一场拼字游戏比赛，不管你拼出多少单词，一旦出现了一个错误，你便前功尽弃。人生更像是一个棒球赛季，即使最好的球队也会输掉1/3的比赛，而最差的球队也有春风得意的日子。我们的目标就是多赢球，少输球。

当我们接受不完整性是人类本性的一部分，当我们不断地进行人生滚动并能欣赏其价值时，我们就会获得其他人仅能渴望的完整人生。我相信这就是上帝对我们的要求：不求“完美”，也不求“永不犯错误”，而是求得人生的“完整”。如果我们能够勇敢地去爱，坚强地去宽容，大度地去为别人的快乐而高兴，明智地理解身边充满爱，那么我们就能取得别的生物所不能取得的成就。

Find Your Big Rocks Of Life 寻找你人生的大石头

One day, an expert in time management was speaking to a group of students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration those students will never forget.

As he stood in front of the group of overachievers he said, “OK, time for a quiz.” He pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouth jar and set it on the table in front of him. He also produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, “Is this jar full?”

Everyone in the class yelled, “Yes.” The time management expert replied, “Really?” He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. He dumped some gravel in and shook the jar, causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. He then asked the group once more, “Is this jar full?”

By this time the class was on to him. “Probably not,” one of them answered. “Good!” he replied. He reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar and it went into all of the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, “Is this jar full?”

“No!” the class shouted. Once again he said, “Good.” Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked at the class and asked, “What is the point of this illustration?” One eager student raised his hand and said, “The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard you can always fit some more things in it!”

“No,” the speaker replied, “that’s not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is if you don’t put the big rocks in first, you’ll never get them in at all. What are the ‘big rocks’ in your life? Time with your loved ones, your education, your dreams, a worthy cause, teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these big rocks in first or you’ll never get them in at all.”

一天，时间管理专家为一群学生讲课。他现场做了演示，给学生们留下了一生都难以磨灭的印象。

站在那些高智商高学历的学生前面，他说：“我们来做个小测验”，拿出一个一加仑的广口瓶放在他面前的桌上。随后，他取出一堆拳头大小的石块，仔细地一起放进玻璃瓶里。直到石块高出瓶口，再也放不下了，他问道：“瓶子满了？”

所有学生应道：“满了！”时间管理专家反问：“真的？”他伸手从桌下拿出一桶砾石，倒了一些进去，并敲击玻璃瓶壁使砾石填满下面石块的间隙。“现在瓶子满了吗？”他第二次问道。

但这一次学生有些明白了，“可能还没有”，一位学生应道。“很好！”专家说。他伸手从桌下拿出一桶沙子，开始慢慢倒进玻璃瓶。沙子填满了石块和砾石的所有间隙。他又一次问学生：“瓶子满了吗？”

“没满！”学生们大声说。他再一次说：“很好！”然后他拿过一壶水倒进玻璃瓶直到水面与瓶口齐平，然后抬头看着学生，问道：“这个例子说明什么？”一个心急的学生举手发言：“无论你的时间多少，如果你确实努力，你可以做更多的事情！”

“不！”时间管理专家说，“那不是它真正的意思，这个例子告诉我们：如果你不是先放大石块，那你就再也不能把它放进瓶子里了。那么，什么是你生命中的大石头呢？也许是你的道德感、你的梦想？还有你的一切，记得先去处理这些大石块，否则，一辈子你都不能做！”

自己选择，让人批评

In all one’s lifetime it is oneself that one spends the most time being with or dealing with. But it is precisely oneself that one has the least understanding of.

When you are going upwards in life you tend to overestimate yourself. It seems that everything you seek for is within your reach; luck and opportunities will come your way and you are overjoyed that they constitute part of your worth. When you are going downhill you tend to underestimate yourself, mistaking difficulties and adversities for your own incompetence. It’s likely that you think it wise for yourself to know our place and stay aloof from worldly wearing a mask of cowardice, behind which the flow of sap in your life will be retarded.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to gain a correct view of oneself and be a sober realist—aware of both one’s strength and shortage. You may look forward hopefully to the future but be sure not to expect too much, for ideals can never be fully realized. You may be courageous to meet challenges but it should be clear to you where to direct your efforts. That’s to way so long as you have a perfect knowledge of yourself there won’t be difficulties you can’t overcome, or obstacles you can’t surmount.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself needs self-appreciation. Whether you liken yourself to a towering tree or a blade of grass, whether you think you are a high mountain or a small stone, you represent a state of nature that has its own value. If you earnestly admire yourself you’ll have a real sense of self-appreciation, which will give you confidence. As soon as you gain full confidence in yourself you’ll be enabled to fight and overcome any adversity.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself also requires doing oneself a favor when it’s needed. In time of anger, do yourself a favor by giving vent to it in a quiet place so that you won’t be hurt by its flames; in time of sadness, do yourself a favor by sharing

it with your friends so as to change a gloomy mood into a cheerful one; in time of tiredness, do yourself a favor by getting a good sleep or taking some tonic. Show yourself loving concern about your health and daily life. As you are aware, what a person physically has is but a human body that’s vulnerable when exposed to the elements. So if you fall ill, it’s up to you to take a good care of yourself. Unless you know perfectly well when and how to do yourself a favor, you won’t be confident and ready enough to resist the attack of illness.

To get a thorough understanding of oneself is to get a full control of one’s life. Then one will find one’s life full of color and flavor.

人生在世，和“自己”相处最多，打交道最多，但是往往悟不透“自己”。

人在走上坡路时，往往把自己估计得过高，似乎一切所求的东西都唾手可得，甚至把运气和机遇也看做自己身价的一部分而喜不自胜。人在不得意时，又往往把自己估计过低，把困难和不利也看作自己的无能，以至把安分守己、与世无争误认为有自知之明，而实际上往往被怯懦的面具窒息了自己鲜活的生命。

悟透自己，就是正确认识自己，也就是说要做一个冷静的现实主义者，既知道自己的优势，也知道自己的不足。我们可以憧憬人生，但期望值不能过高。因为在现实中，理想总是会打折扣的.。可以迎接挑战，但是必须清楚自己努力的方向。也就是说，人一旦有了自知之明，也就没有什么克服不了的困难，没有什么过不去的难关。

要悟透自己就要欣赏自己。无论你是一棵参天大树，还是一棵小草，无论你成为一座巍峨的高山，还是一块小小的石头，都是一种天然，都有自己存在的价值。只要你认真地欣赏自己，你就会拥有一个真正的自我。只有自我欣赏才会有信心，一旦拥有了信心也就拥有了抵御一切逆境的动力。

要悟透自己，就要心疼自己。在气愤时心疼一下自己，找个僻静处散散心，宣泄宣泄，不要让那些无名之火伤身；忧伤时，要心疼一下自己，找三五个好友，诉说诉说，让感情的阴天变晴；劳累时，你也要心疼一下自己，为自己来一番问寒问暖，要明白人所拥有的不过是一个血肉之躯，经不住太多的风刀霜剑；有病时，你更要心疼一下自己，惟有对自己的心疼，才能获得战胜疾病的信心和力量。

悟透了自己，才能把握住自己，你的生活才会有滋有味！

自己选择，让人批评

我有个基本观点：自由即选择，选择即负责。

为什么选择即负责？因为任何选择都会产生结果。结果可能是好的，也可能不好。但不论好与不好，都得有人兜着或扛着。谁来兜着，谁来扛着？只能是做出选择的人。所以选择即负责。

既然选择即负责，那么，你在进行选择时，就只能服从自己的内心冲动。想想看，如果标准是别人的，埋单的却是自己，岂不亏大发了？更何况，别人帮你做的选择，能保证你的幸福吗？按照别人的标准去活，有意思吗？

同样，既然选择即负责，那就不能只往好处想。好处是任何人都不会拒绝的，需要担心的是不好的后果。这种后果，我们可能承担得了，也可能承担不了。承担不了，就只能放弃。承担得了，则何妨坚持？

要知道：迁就世俗，一时无忧；违背内心，永远痛苦。

所以，选择的时候，只用想两条：一、这是不是我非常想要或想做的？二、如果后果严重，兜不兜得了，扛不扛得住？如果两条都没问题，那就要！

人生能得几回“二”，何不潇洒“二”一回？

选择已定，则任人批评。他人的批评能时时提醒我们：你是有人反对的，你也是会犯错误的，因此你没有任何理由自以为是，得意忘形！

结果，我们就会少犯错误，甚至不犯错误。

也因此，我们要感谢批评者和反对派。

总之，决策时不妨“二”，执行和操作却一定要小心翼翼，认认真真，如临深渊，如履薄冰。一旦功成名就，更必须“无一日敢懈怠，无一事敢马虎”。

The Splashes Of Life 生命的波纹

There is a famous Sioux Indian story handed down from generation to generation:

The grandfather took his grandson to the fish pond on the farm when the boy was about seven, and he told the boy to throw a stone into the water. He told the boy to watch the circles created by the stone. Then he asked the boy to think of himself as that stone.

“You may create lots of splashes in your life, but the waves that come from those splashes will disturb the peace of all your fellow creatures,” he said.

“Remember that you are responsible for what you put in your circle and that circle will also touch many other circles.”

“You will need to live in a way that allows the good that comes from your circle to send the peace of that goodness to others. The splash that comes from anger or jealousy will send those feelings to other circles. You are responsible for both.” That was the first time the boy realized that each person creates the inner peace or discord that flows out into the world.

We cannot create world peace if we are riddled with inner conflict, hatred, doubt, or anger. We radiate the feelings and thoughts that we hold inside, whether we speak them or not. Whatever is splashing around inside of us is spilling out into the world, creating beauty or discord with all other circles of life.

这是苏族印第安人部落中流传的一个古老的故事。

在男孩七岁那年，他的祖父带他来到田边的一个鱼塘。他让男孩丢一颗石子到水中，并嘱咐男孩仔细观察石子所激起的水波。然后他叫男孩把自己想象成那颗石子。

他说：“在生命的水面上，你也许能激起许多波纹，而你所激起的波纹也会打破别人的平静生活。”

“要谨记，对你所激起的波纹中所包含的东西负责，因为这些东西会接触、影响到许多他人的波纹。”

“你应当努力将自己波纹中的平和宁静传播给他人。当然，如果你的波纹中带有愤怒、嫉妒，别人也会受到你的影响，因此，你要对它们负责。”这是男孩第一次了解到，每个人心中的安宁抑或不和，都会传播给整个世界。

如果我们自己内心被冲突、仇恨、疑虑或者愤怒所纠缠，自然无论我们内心激起的是何种波纹，它们都会被传向外界，与别人的生命波纹共同激起美丽，抑或是不和谐。

就不能给世界带来平和宁静。无论我们是否说出心中的感觉和思绪，我们都在向外界传播它们。