英語美文：今天就去做的十二件事

　　摘要：生活遇到湍急巔峰時，你是樂觀攀登到頂點還是悲嘆著徘徊不前?你已經(jīng)歷過狂風(fēng)暴雨、走過一馬平川，也得到過朋友的幫助，但現(xiàn)在一切已成過往。人生走到這一刻，唯一能確定的便是：最后這一仗，你只能孤身奮戰(zhàn)了。

　　When you’re nearing the summit of this turbulent climb through life, will you reach the top with wild enthusiasm or will you be hobbling with the aching knees of regret? You’ve climbed through storms, passed over green patches and had help from friends, and now it’s almost over. Your whole life has been leading you to this moment and one thing is certain: this final ascent we all have to do alone.

　　What thoughts will flash through your mind? You will be faced with tough questions such as: Did I do enough, love enough, was I happy?

　　生活遇到湍急巔峰時，你是樂觀攀登到頂點還是悲嘆著徘徊不前?你已經(jīng)歷過狂風(fēng)暴雨、走過一馬平川，也得到過朋友的幫助，但現(xiàn)在一切已成過往。人生走到這一刻，唯一能確定的便是：最后這一仗，你只能孤身奮戰(zhàn)了。

　　你想到了什么?是不是想到這樣的棘手問題：我做得夠好嗎?愛得夠多嗎?我快樂嗎?

　　You might leave these questions simmering on the back burner, thinking tomorrow will be a good day to contemplate the answers, but remember—tomorrow might not come!

　　或許你選擇暫且把這些疑問擱置一邊，等明天再好好思考。但是別忘了——明日復(fù)明日，萬事成蹉跎!

　　So here’s what you can do today. Let’s call this an insurance policy for tomorrow’s happiness.

　　下面這些事情是你今天就能做的，姑且看作是明天幸福的保證吧。

今天要去做的十二件事

　　1. Put your health and wellness above everything else

　　健康高于一切

　　There is an old saying: “If you don’t have your health you have nothing,” and this is very true. Your body is housing your soul. Exercise, eat clean and get the proper rest. Take care of your body so that you have the opportunity to lead a long and full life.

　　俗話說：“健康不再，萬事無奈。” 千真萬確。身體是革命的本錢。要運動、健康飲食、恰當(dāng)休息。照顧好自己的身體，這樣才有機會創(chuàng)造完滿人生。

　　2. Take the time to do the things you love

　　花時間做喜歡的事

　　This may sound cliché, but work less and play more. You will never regret taking a vacation, engaging in a new hobby or spending a day with those who make you happy. But you might regret never taking that art class, reading that book or crossing big items off the bucket list. Be a participant in life.

　　雖是陳詞濫調(diào)，但你確實應(yīng)該少操心工作、多學(xué)會享受。去度假、發(fā)展新愛好或和使你快樂的人消磨一天，你絕對不會后悔;但若是沒有去上那堂藝術(shù)課、沒有閱讀某本書或沒能完成某個心愿，你卻會感到后悔。所以，做個生活的積極參與者吧。

　　3. Stop taking life so seriously

　　別過得一本正經(jīng)

　　Why are you taking life so seriously anyway? Really? Find humor in something everyday, and laugh, laugh a lot!

　　干嘛把生活搞得如此嚴(yán)肅呢，嗯?每天找些樂子，多開懷大笑吧!

　　4. Always say what you need to say

　　說該說的話

　　If you love someone, tell them. If someone hurt you, tell them. If you have trouble expressing your feelings, then write a letter. Make sure those around you know each and every day how you feel.

　　如果你愛某個人，那就告白吧;如果某人傷害了你，那就說出來吧。要是你不擅長口頭表達(dá)情感，那就采取寫信的方式。確保身邊的人每天都能知道你的感受。

　　5. Open up your mind to possibilities

　　向機遇敞開心懷

　　If you look in your garage and see a coiled, dark shadow that resembles a snake, your reaction might be to jump with fear, but later when you look closer and realize it’s just a green hose, you might feel silly for believing the tricks of your mind. Stop being controlled by your deluded projections.

　　如果你探頭看到垃圾箱有個貌似蛇的黑乎乎蜷曲著的東西，第一反應(yīng)肯定是嚇了一跳，再細(xì)看時，你發(fā)現(xiàn)其實只是一截綠色水管，原來是自己看錯了啊，你啞然失笑。所以，不要再被自己無端假想給絆住。

　　Change your perspective and open yourself up to a new world of exciting and fulfilling possibilities. Look at your life with fresh eyes and you’ll find improved relationships, more excitement, and less resentments, anger and bitterness.

　　換個視覺，敞開心胸接納各種驚奇而有意義的機遇。用全新眼光審視自己的生活，你會發(fā)現(xiàn)更融洽的人際關(guān)系、更多開心，會少一些抵觸、憤怒與痛苦。

　　6. Follow your own path—live a life true to you

　　聽從內(nèi)心——過自己的生活

　　Stop comparing yourself to others and stop striving for perfection. Life is not a masquerade ball—take off the mask, be yourself! If people don’t like it, then maybe it’s time to find a new party. Doing or being any other way will leave you feeling lonely, depressed and hopeless. Stop living a life based on the expectations of others.

　　停止與他人攀比，停止追求完美。生活不是一場化裝舞會——摘掉面具，做回你自己吧!要是別人不喜歡，那就換個環(huán)境。有悖自我只會使你感到孤獨、沮喪甚至絕望。不要再為了他人的期望而生活了。

　　7. Stop living in the past

　　停止活在過去

　　Right now you need to throw away regrets of the past. It’s gone, there is no point dwelling on what could of been, doing so will only rob the present moment of joy.

　　從現(xiàn)在開始，你應(yīng)該拋開對過去的悔恨。既然已經(jīng)過去，后悔不僅于事無補，反倒會掠走當(dāng)下的快樂。

　　The past doesn’t exist except as a memory, it’s a mental story and it can’t be changed. Why not tell the story of your past in a way that enhances your present moment and future.

　　過去除了回憶一無所有，而回憶只是一則無法改變的故事罷了。既然如此，何不以積極的方式講述過去的故事，從而為當(dāng)下及將來提供正能量呢?

　　8. Accept the things you cannot change

　　接受無法改變的事情

　　When you fight against reality, you get bloody in a battle of what ifs and denial. Whether your reality is that you should have married someone else, said something you needed to say, or are dealing with an illness, the reality is you can’t change any these things. Dwelling or worrying is only robbing your present moment of all joy.

　　在與現(xiàn)實的斗爭中，你不斷假設(shè)又不斷碰壁，撞得頭破血流。不論你是在后悔錯過該嫁的人、說了不該說的話，或正身患疾病，現(xiàn)實都無法改變。一味沉溺其中或憂愁焦慮只會喪失當(dāng)下的快樂。

　　What you can do is re-evaluate your life now and take the necessary steps to make the appropriate changes. Follow your instincts, they will tell you when you have veered off the path of where you should be, whether it be your relationship or career. Tune into your inner compass it will guide you in the right direction.

　　你能做的是從現(xiàn)在起重新審視自己的生活，采取必要措施作出恰當(dāng)改變。聽從直覺的指引。不論是感情還是職業(yè)，請讓內(nèi)心指引你到達(dá)正確方向。

　　Take “what if”, “should have” and “why me” out of your story. Move on.

　　把“假如”、“本應(yīng)該”及“為什么是我”從字典里刪除。然后，繼續(xù)前行。

　　9. Practice mindful living

　　試著用心生活

　　Mindful living will in fact slow down time; it will enhance the present moment and fill otherwise mundane days with awe and joy.

　　用心生活能放慢時間、彰顯當(dāng)下時光并使平凡的日子充滿驚喜與快樂。

　　Ten years from now you might think, Where did my life go? When we live mindfully we immerse ourselves in moments. These are the moments that make up our lives. If you don’t practice mindfulness you run the risk of having these precious moments of your life lost to a string of foggy over-thinking. Rest in the spaces in between the major events, these spaces are your life.

　　十年后你可能會問：我這輩子是怎么過來的?如果用心生活，你會盡情過好每分每秒，而正是這些分分秒秒構(gòu)成了全部生活;要是麻木生活，你會錯失生活中美好的瞬間，以后只留下一抹模糊的掠影。享受里程碑間的間歇時光吧——這些就是你的生活呵。

　　10. Stop chasing money, fame, and possessions

　　停止追逐金錢、名利和財富

　　We crave wealth, prestige, fame and popularity, we crave material things and beautiful people. We mistakenly think that happiness is going to arrive when we meet these goals. Instead of enjoying our life, we are in a constant pursuit of something other than where we are right now.

　　我們渴望財富、聲望與名利，我們渴望物質(zhì)和俊男美女。我們錯誤地以為，只要得到這些，幸福就會降臨。我們忘了要享受生活、忽視當(dāng)下時光，轉(zhuǎn)而樂此不疲地追求其他東西。

　　At the end of your life, your expensive BMW will not be what’s flashing through your mind. You will more likely smile at the memory of your loyal dog. Stop chasing material possessions, there is no real happiness there, only an endless pursuit.

　　咽氣之際，你腦中閃現(xiàn)的或許不是寶馬汽車，而是讓你微笑的忠誠老狗。停止追逐物質(zhì)財富吧。物質(zhì)并不能帶來真正的快樂，只會招來永無止境的貪婪。

　　11. Always practice gratitude

　　常常感恩

　　“Gratitude unlocks the fullness of life. It turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos to order, confusion to clarity. It can turn a meal into a feast, a house into a home, a stranger into a friend.” — Melody Beattie

　　“感恩開啟生活的圓滿。它使我們擁有更多，變拒絕為接受，化混亂為有序，使困惑變澄澈。它能將簡餐變成盛宴、房屋變成家園、陌生人變成好朋友。”—— 梅洛迪-貝蒂

　　Gratitude improves health, happiness, spirituality, connection, relationships, self-worth and simply gives life intense meaning.

　　感恩改善健康、快樂、精神、關(guān)系、人際和自我價值，并賦予生活深刻內(nèi)涵。

　　Even if your life isn’t perfect—and here’s a secret, it never will be perfect—you still have a lot to be grateful for. So every day remember to take the time to smile, laugh and truly say thanks for all the small and big joys in your life.

　　哪怕你的生活并不完美(其實生活從來不曾完美)，你仍有許多可以感恩的地方。所以，每天要記得微笑大笑，感激生活中或大或小的樂趣。

　　12. Love

　　愛心

　　This is an excerpt by the famous Martha Beck that has made an enormous impact on my life. It sums up regret beautifully:

　　下面一段話摘自瑪莎-貝克的文字，把遺憾總結(jié)非常美妙，我感到受益匪淺：

　　“So the ultimate lesson of regret, the one that will help guide you into a rich and satisfying future, is this: Every time life brings you to a crossroads, from the tiniest to the most immense, go toward love, not away from fear. Think of every choice in terms of “What would thrill and delight me?” rather than “What will keep my fear—or the events, people, and things I fear—at bay?”

　　“最后一課是關(guān)于遺憾。能指引你走向豐富而圓滿的未來的是：每次生活中遇到十字路口，不論大小，都選擇愛心那條路，而不是恐懼方向。每次都告訴自己‘前方有什么有趣的事情在等我’，而不是暗示自己‘前方有什么可怕的事情或人物’。”

　　Pay attention to all of the sources of love in your life and you’ll develop a growing sense of abundance of how much beauty surrounds you each day.

　　關(guān)注生活中的點滴愛心，慢慢你會發(fā)現(xiàn)，每天的生活都那么豐富而美妙!

　　So let’s summarize: A cheat sheet to living without regrets

　　現(xiàn)在讓我們總結(jié)一下：無悔生活的貼士

　　Take care of your health

　　保持健康

　　Make time to do the things you love, work less, laugh and play

　　花時間做喜歡的事，少操心工作、多享受歡樂

　　Say what you need to say

　　說該說的話

　　Practice mindfulness

　　用心生活

　　Change your perspective

　　改變視覺

　　Let go of the past

　　放開過去

　　Accept the things you can not change

　　接受無法改變的事情

　　Stop thinking happiness is a future event

　　不要再認(rèn)為幸福在于未來

　　Stop chasing money and material wealth

　　停止追逐金錢和物質(zhì)財富

　　Live authentically

　　真實生活

　　Take off the mask

　　摘下面具

　　Follow your instincts

　　聽從直覺

　　Practice gratitude

　　學(xué)會感恩

　　Don’t make your decisions based on fear

　　別讓恐懼牽制你的決定

　　Love, love love!

　　充滿愛心!

　　There is no guarantee that you won’t make any bad decisions, but when you start living your life with these tools in mind, your days will naturally become meaningful. Your wise eyes will be full of adventure and tales: adventures that might not be perfect, but at the very least won’t be filled with regrets.

　　誰也不能保證你絕不會做出糟糕的決定，但一旦你在生活中謹(jǐn)記以上建議，一切自然會變得充滿意義。你的眼里寫滿冒險和故事：冒險或許并不完美，但絕對會讓你無悔!