Relish the moment
Tucked away in our subconscious is an idyllic vision. We see ourselves on a long trip that spans the continent. We are traveling by train. Out the windows, we drink in the passing scene of cars on nearby highways, of children waving at a crossing, of cattle grazing on a distant hillside, of smoke pouring from a power plant, of row upon row of corn and wheat, of flatlands and valleys, of mountains and rolling hillsides, of city skylines and village halls.
But uppermost in our minds is the final destination. On a certain day at a certain hour, we will pull into the station. Bands will be playing and flags waving. Once we get there, so many wonderful dreams will come true and the pieces of our lives will fit together like a completed jigsaw puzzle. How restlessly we pace the aisles, damning the minutes for loitering --waiting, waiting, waiting for the station.
"When we reach the station, that will be it! "we cry. "When I'm 18. ""When I buy a new 450SL Mercedes Benz! ""When I put the last kid through college. ""When I have paid off the mortgage!""When I get a promotion.""When I reach the age of retirement, I shall live happily ever after! "
Sooner or later, we must realize there is no station, no one place to arrive at once and for all. The true joy of life is the trip. The station is only a dream. It constantly outdistances us.
"Relish the moment "is a good motto, especially when coupled with Psalm 118：24："This is the day which the Lord hath made；we will rejoice and be glad in it. "It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. It is the regrets over yesterday and the fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who rob us of today.
So stop pacing the aisles and counting the miles. In stead, climb more mountains, eat more ice cream, go barefoot more often, swim more rivers, watch more sunsets, laugh more, cry less. Life must be lived as we go along. The station will come soon enough.
【中文译文】：
我们的潜意识里藏着一派田园诗般的风光! 我们仿佛身处一次横贯大陆的漫漫旅程之中! 乘着火车, 我们领略着窗外流动的景色：附近高速公路上奔驰的汽车、十字路口处招手的孩童、远山上吃草的牛群、源源不断地从电厂排放出的烟尘、一片片的玉米和小麦、平原与山谷、群山与绵延的丘陵、天空映衬下城市的轮廓, 以及乡间的庄园宅第!
然而我们心里想得最多的却是最终的目的地! 在某一天的某一时刻, 我们将会抵达进站! 迎接我们的将是乐队和飘舞的彩旗! 一旦到了那儿, 多少美梦将成为现实, 我们的生活也将变得完整, 如同一块理好了的拼图! 可是我们现在在过道里不耐烦地踱来踱去, 咒骂火车的拖拖拉拉! 我们期待着, 期待着, 期待着火车进站的那一刻!
"当我们到站的时候, 一切就都好了! "我们呼喊着! "当我18岁的时候! ""当我有了一辆新450SL奔驰的时候! ""当我供最小的孩子念完大学的时候! ""当我偿清贷款的时候! ""当我官升高任的时候! ""当我到了退休的时候, 就可以从此过上幸福的生活啦! "
可是我们终究会认识到人生的旅途中并没有车站, 也没有能够"一到永逸"的地方!生活的真正乐趣在于旅行的过程, 而车站不过是个梦, 它始终遥遥领先于我们!
"享受现在"是句很好的箴言, 尤其是当它与《圣经·诗篇》中第118页24行的一段话相映衬的时候, 更是如此："今日乃主所创造；生活在今日我们将欢欣、高兴! "真正令人发疯的不是今日的负担, 而是对昨日的悔恨及对明日的恐惧! 悔恨与恐惧是一对孪生窃贼, 将今天从你我身边偷走!
那么就不要在过道里徘徊吧, 别老惦记着你离车站还有多远! 何不换一种活法, 将更多的高山攀爬, 多吃点儿冰淇淋甜甜嘴巴, 经常光着脚板儿溜达溜达, 在更多的河流里畅游, 多看看夕阳西下, 多点欢笑哈哈, 少让泪水滴答! 生活得一边过一边瞧! 车站就会很快到达!By Robert J. Hastings 李端奇译
A Box Full of Kisses
Once upon a time, a man punished his 5-year-old daughter for using up the family's only roll of expensive gold wrapping paper. Money was tight, and he became even more upset when on Christmas Eve, he saw that the child had pasted the gold paper so as to decorate a shoebox to put under the Christmas tree.Nevertheless, the next morning the little girl, filled with excitement, brought the gift box to her father and said, "This is for you, Daddy!"
As he opened the box, the father was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction.But when he opened it, he found it was empty and again his anger flared. "Don't you know, young lady, " he said harshly, "when you give someone a present there's supposed to be something inside the package!"The little girl looked up at him with tears rolling from her eyes and said: "Daddy, it's not empty. I blew kisses into it until it was all full."
The father was crushed. He fell on his knees and put his arms around his precious little girl. He begged her to forgive him for his unnecessary anger.
An accident took the life of the child only a short time later. It is told that the father kept that little gold box by his bed for all the years of his life. Whenever he was discouraged or faced difficult problems he would open the box, take out an imaginary kiss, and remember the love of this beautiful child who had put it there.
In a very real sense, each of us as human beings have been given an invisible golden box filled with unconditional love and kisses from our children, family, friends and God.There is no more precious possession anyone could hold.
【中文译文】：
这个故事说的是以前，一个男人惩罚了他三岁的女儿，因为她浪费了一卷金泊包装纸。家里经济困难，当他知道女儿包了一个盒子放在圣诞树下时，他简直怒气冲天。但第二天，女儿把礼物拿到他面前说“爸爸，这是给你的。”
爸爸为前一天晚上的举动而感到羞愧难当，但当他发现盒子里什么都没装时，他再一次暴怒，对着女儿大吼道“难道你不知道当你送礼物给别人时，你要放东西进去吗？”女儿抬起脸望着他，眼眶里满是泪水，边哭边说：“哦，爸爸。那不是空盒子。我飞了好多好多个亲吻进去，都是给你的。”
爸爸惊呆了，他拥抱着女儿，祈求她的原谅。
不久以后，女儿在一次事故中丧生。爸爸一直把那个金盒子放在床畔，放了很多很多年。每当他心情沮丧时，他就会拿出一个想象中的亲吻，想念着那个将吻吹进盒子的孩子给他的爱。
我们每一个人都有一个金罐子，里面装满了无条件的爱和吻，有孩子的，有家人的，还有朋友的。没有人可以拥有比这更加珍贵的财产。
The Zen of Cat
原来很大的道理不一定需要很难的语言去解释，本文简单地一问一答告诉我们，当身边的人离去时，他们其实活在我们的心里；告诉我们，生命原本是一个无所谓开始更无所谓结束的圆圈；告诉我们，每一段生命的结束都意味着新生命的开始。只要心中还有爱，有思念，我们就可以笑对生死，珍惜人生。——题记
The Man was very sad. He knew that the Cat’s days were numbered.The doctor had said there wasn’t anything more that could be done,that he should take the Cat home and make him as comfortable as possible.
The man stroked the Cat on his lap and sighed.The Cat opened his eyes, purred and looked up at the Man. A tear rolled down the Man’s cheek and landed on the Cat’s forehead.The Cat gave him a slightly annoyed look.
“Why do you cry, Man？”the Cat asded.“Because you can’t bear the thought of losing me？ Because you think you can never replace me？”The Man nodded “yes.”
“And where do you think I’ll be when I leave you？”the Cat asked. The Man shrugged helplessly. “Close your eyes, Man,” the Cat said. The Man gave him a questioning look, but did as he was told.
“What color are my eyes and fur？” the Cat asked. “Your eyes are gold and your fur is a rich, warm brown,” the Man replied.
“And where is it that you most often see me？”asked the Cat. “I see you…on the kitchen windowsill watching the birds…on my favorite chair…on my desk lying on the papers I need…on the pillow next to my head at night.” “Then, whenever you wish to see me, all you must do is close your eyes,” said the Cat.
“Pick up that piece of string from the floor——there, my ‘toy.’” The Man opened his eyes, then reached over and picked up the string. It was about two feet long and the Cat had been able to entertain himself for hours with it. “Now take each end of the string in one hand,” the Cat ordered. The Man did so.
“The end in your left hand is my birth and the end in your right hand is my death. Now bring the two ends together,” the Cat said. The Man complied.
“You have made a continuous circle,” said the cat.“Does any point along the string appear to be different, worse or better than any other part of the string？” The Man inspected the string and then shook his head “no.”
“Close your eyes again,” the Cat said.“Now lick your hand.” The Man widened his eyes in surprise.
“Just do it,” the Cat said.“Lick your hand,think of me in all my familiar places, think about all the pieces of string.”
The Man felt foolish, licking his hand, but he did as he was told. He discovered what a cat must know, that licking a paw is very calming and allows one to think more clearly. He continued licking and the corners of his mouth turned upward into the first smile he had shown in days. He waited for the Cat to tell him to stop,and when he didn’t, he opened his eyes. The Cat’s eyes were closed.The Man stroked the warm, brown fur, but the Cat was gone.
The Man shut his eyes hard as the tears poured down his face. He saw the Cat on the windowsill, then in his bed, then lying across his important papers. He saw him on the pillow next to his head, saw his bright gold eyes and darkest brown on his nose and ears. He opened his eyes and through his tears looked over at the circle of string he still held clutched in his hand.
One day, not long after, there was a new Cat on his lap. She was a lovely calico and white…very different from his earlier beloved Cat and very much the same.
【中文译文】：
男人非常伤心。他知道猫余下的日子不多了。医生说已经没得治了，他只能把猫带回家，并尽可能地让他在剩下的时间里过得舒服些。
男人把猫放在腿上，叹了口气。猫睁开眼睛，呼噜呼噜地叫着，抬眼看了看男人。一滴眼泪从男人的脸颊边滑落，落在了猫的额头上。猫有点不高兴地看了他一眼。
“你哭个什么啊，伙计？”猫问道，“因为你无法承受将要失去我的念头？因为你认为永远都没有什么能代替我？”男人点了点头。“是啊。”
“那么你认为我离开你以后，会到什么地方去了呢？”猫问道。男人无望地耸了耸肩。“闭上眼睛吧，伙计，”猫说。男人疑惑地看了他一眼，但还是听话地闭上了眼睛。
“我的眼睛和毛皮是什么颜色的？”猫问。“你的眼睛是金色的，你的毛皮是浓郁而温暖的褐色的。”男人回答道。
“那你最常在什么地方见到我呢？”猫问。“我经常见到你……在厨房地窗台上看鸟……在我最喜欢的椅子上……躺在桌子上我需要用的文件上……晚上睡在我脑袋边的枕头上。”“那么，无论什么时候你想见我，你只要闭上你的眼睛就可以了。”猫说。
“把地上的那段绳子捡起来——那里，我的‘玩具’。”男人睁开眼睛，伸手捡起了绳子。绳子大约有两英尺（约0.6米）长，猫曾经能够玩着绳子自娱自乐一玩就是几个小时。“现在用两只手捏住绳子的两端。”猫命令道。男人照做了。
“你左手捏着的那端就是我的出生，而右手的那端就是我的死亡。现在把两端连在一起。”猫说道。男人又照做了。
“你做出了一个连贯的圆圈，”猫说，“这个绳子上的任意一点同其他点有什么不同吗？比绳子的其他部分更好或者更差吗？”男人审视着那根绳子，然后摇了摇头。“没有。”
“再次闭上你的眼睛，”猫说，“现在舔舔你的手。”男人惊讶地睁大了眼睛。
“照我说的做吧，”猫说。“舔舔你的手，想想我在所有我熟悉的地方，想想所有的绳子。”
要舔自己的手，男人觉得很蠢，不过他还是照做了。他发现了猫所知道的秘密——舔爪子能让你平静下来，并让你能够思考得更加清楚。他继续舔着，他的嘴角开始上翘，好多天来第一次露出了微笑。他等待着猫叫停，可是没等到，于是他睁开了眼睛。猫的眼睛已经闭上了。他摸了摸猫温暖的褐色皮毛，可是猫已经去了。
男人用力地闭上了眼睛，泪如泉涌。他看到猫蹲在窗台上，然后是他的床上，然后躺在他的重要文件上。他看到猫在他脑袋边的枕头上，看到他明亮的金黄色的眼睛还有鼻子和耳朵上深褐色的毛发。他睁开眼睛，透过泪水看向他依然捏在手里的绳圈。
不久以后的某一天，他的膝上有了一只新的猫咪。她是一只可爱的白色花斑猫——与之前那只他深爱的猫是那么的不同，然而又是那么的相同。
参考资料：http://blog.beanwoo.com/english/30