佚名/Anonymous
Several years ago, I received a post card from a friend in Jackson Hole, Wyo, who wrote, "I am skiing with abandon!" I wondered what he meant, for when I ski it is always with trepidation. I believe he meant he was skiing skillfully, joyfully, peacefully and confidently. Although I have no hopes of ever skiing that way, I do dream of living with abandon. I believe that men and women through the ages who have led successful lives have captured these five secrets of living life to the fullest.
1. Have a self-respect. This means having a deep sense of responsibility for your thoughts and actions. It means keeping your word, and being faithful to self, family and work. It means believing in what you do and working hard. It means setting your own internal standards, and not comparing yourself to others. It's not a question of being better than someone else; respect and integrity demand that you be better than you thought you could be.
Winston Churchill exemplified integrity and respect in the face of opposition. During his last year in office, he attended an official ceremony. Several rows behind his two gentlemen began whispering. "That's Winston Churchill." "They say he is getting senile." "They say he should step aside and leave the running of the nation to more dynamic and capable men." When the ceremony was over, Churchill turned to the men and said, "Gentlemen, they also say he is deaf!"
Churchill knew that one secret to a self you can respect is to choose a course of action based on what is right, not expedient, and not waver from it when criticized.
2. Commit yourself to others. Believe in others, and take time to nurture their dreams. A wise man said, "If you want one year's prosperity, grow grain. But if you want ten years' prosperity, grow men and women."
You can build into the lives of your family, friends and colleagues by providing nutrients of gratitude and encouragement, and by investing your time and energy in their aspirations. If a tree is given minimal nourishment, it will live, but it will not grow. But if nourishment is given over and beyond what is needed for life, the tree will live and grow upward, producing fruit.
3. Turn disappointments into strengths. Individuals who live with abandon have discovered that personal trials make them more sensitive and loving, while building endurance and character. They have learned that achievements worth remembering are stained with the blood of diligence and etched with the scars of disappointment.
The pages of history are filled with the heroic stories of undaunted men and women who triumphed over disabilities and adversities to demonstrate victorious spirits. Raise him in abject poverty, and you have an Abraham Lincoln. Make her blind and deaf, and you have a Helen Keller.
4. Enjoy life's process, not just life's rewards. We live in a goal-oriented society that wants problems resolved now. We want three-minute oatmeal, one-hour dry cleaning, and instant success... But to live with abandon, we must live one day at a time, savoring the little victories, realizing that life is an endless journey in self-discovery and personal fulfillment. It means taking time to hug your kids, kiss your spouse and let the other fellow ahead of you on the freeway.
"I was one of those people who never go anywhere without a thermometer, hot water bottle, raincoat and parachute," wrote author Don Herold. "If I had my life to live over, I would go barefoot earlier in spring. I would ride more merry-go-rounds. I would take more chances, and I would eat more ice cream."
5. Become involved in something bigger than yourself. I do not believe you will live happily if you set out to live life for yourself alone. Choose a cause bigger than you are and work at it in a spirit of excellence. It will become a part of you as you see your goals through to the end. Measure success not by what you've done, but what you could do.
幾年前，我收到一張明信片，是一位住在懷俄明州的朋友傑克遜·霍爾寄來的。他寫道：“我正在盡情地滑雪。”我感到很奇怪，因為我滑雪時總是驚恐不安的。我相信，他是說自己正熟練、歡快、平穩而又自信地滑雪。雖然，我是毫無希望那樣滑雪的，但我夢想盡情地生活。我相信，那些經時間證明生活幸福的人，都掌握了盡情生活的以下五個秘訣。
1.自尊。這意味著要對自己的言行高度負責；要遵守諾言、對自己、家庭和事業忠誠；信仰自己的事業並為之努力奮鬥；要樹立自身的內在準則，不與他人攀比。這不是說一定要比別人更好，自尊和正直要求自己比自我感覺的更好。
麵對敵對者，溫斯頓·丘吉爾樹立了自尊和正直的典範。他最後一年任職時，參加了一次公務典禮。他後麵幾排的兩位紳士竊竊私語：“那就是溫斯頓·丘吉爾。”“他們說他越來越老了。”“他們說，他應該退位，由精力充沛、能力更強的人來替代他來管理國家。”典禮結束後，邱吉爾轉身向那兩個人說道：“先生們，他們說丘吉爾還是個聾子！”
邱吉爾懂得：要在正確的基礎上選擇自己的行動，雖然這並非權宜之計，但我們也不要因受到責難而動搖。這是保持自尊的一個秘訣。
2.為他人付出。要相信他人，慢慢培養他們的夢想。一位智者說過：“種植莊稼可以使你獲得一年的興旺，而育人可以得到十年的繁榮昌盛。”
對於家人、朋友和同事，隻要你願意給予感激和鼓勵，願意花時間和精力去滿足他們的願望，你們就能夠生活得和睦融洽。如果一棵樹隻獲得微量的營養時，它會存活，但不會成長；但如果它的給養充足，超過了生存的需要，它就可以生存下來，並長成參天大樹，開花結果。
3.化失望為動力。人們盡情地生活時便會發現，磨礪在培養毅力和個性的同時，也讓他們更機敏，更富於愛心。他們深知，成就凝結著辛勤的血汗，銘刻著失望的疤痕，所以值得回憶和紀念。
剛毅無畏的人們戰勝殘疾和不幸，顯示出偉大的勝利精神，他們的英雄事跡寫滿了曆史的每一個篇章。如在貧困中成長的亞伯拉罕·林肯，失明又失聰的海倫·凱勒。
4.享受生活過程，而不僅僅是酬勞。我們生活在一個以目標為導向的社會，所有的問題需要馬上解決：3分鍾內我們就想喝上燕麥粥；1小時內洗好衣服；立即成功……但是，要盡情地生活，我們必須一天天地生活，品味細小的勝利的喜悅，意識到生活是永無止境的自我發現和自我充實的過程。它意味著要留些時間，去擁抱你的孩子，親吻你的愛人，在高速公路上讓別人先行。
作家唐·赫羅爾德寫道：“無論走到哪裏，我都會帶著溫度計、熱水瓶、雨衣和傘。如果給我重新生活的機會，我會赤腳在早春漫步；我會騎更多的旋轉木馬；我會抓住更多的機會；我會品嚐更多的冰淇淋。”
5.投身於比自身價值更高的事業。我絕不相信你隻會為你一個人生活而快樂，所以選擇一項高於你自身價值的事業，並以卓越的精神為之努力拚搏。當你的目標實現時，它將成為你生命的一部分。成功與否，不在於你做了什麽，而在於你能夠做什麽。
A man can fail many times, but he isn't a failure until he begins to blame somebody else.
—Burroughs
一個人可以失敗許多次，但是隻要他沒有開始責怪別人，他還不是一個失敗者。
——巴勒斯
trepidation[trepi?dei??n]n.恐懼；驚惶；憂慮
The threat of an epidemic caused great alarm and trepidation.
流行病猖獗，因而人心惶惶。
senile[?si:nail]adj.高齡的；衰老的；高齡所致的
He may belong to senile residents who stray from home.
他可能是那種離家並迷失在外的昏聵老年人。
expedient[iks?pi:di?nt]adj.權宜的；方便的；有用的
I think Professor Jones might find it expedient to bring a volunteer like me on his trip.
我想瓊斯教授可能會發現旅途中帶著像我這樣的自願者對他更有利。
sensitive[?sensitiv]adj.敏感的；儀器靈敏的；易受傷害的；感光的
The cellist's bowing was very sensitive.
那位大提琴手的弓法十分細膩。
要在正確的基礎上選擇自己的行動，雖然這並非權宜之計，但我們也不要因受到責難而動搖。
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人們盡情地生活時便會發現，磨礪在培養毅力和個性的同時，也讓他們更機敏，更富於愛心。
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要盡情地生活，我們必須一天天地生活，品味細小的勝利的喜悅，意識到生活是永無止境的自我發現和自我充實的過程。
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I am skiing with abandon!
with abandon：放任地；放縱地；縱情地
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Become involved in something bigger than yourself.
become involved in：卷入；陷入
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