By Diane Cameron
I wake in the night and listen. The reassuring rumble tells me that the furnace is still on. It's good news and bad. It means we have heat and there's still oil, but it might just as well be dollar bills that I'm burning.
I don't fall back to sleep easily. My fear of cold has an ancient echo. I listen for the furnace at night the way my Polish ancestors woke in their huts to check on the fire. We're told that global warming is a threat, but it's a danger I'd settle for on days like this.
In many wedding albums, there is a picture of the groom carrying the bride over the threshold. That odd custom is also about staying warm. In ancient times, when a woman left her father's home and was set down on the hearth in her new house she was in the most important spot in any ancient home. She literally kept the home fires burning.
Temperature is part of my own married romance. Coming to New York from Baltimore – where there is just one decent snowstorm each year – I, too, was set down on a new hearth.
My husband, Peter, comes from northern Ontario, where winter runs from September to May and wind chill is scoffed at. "When Canadians have 30 below, they mean it," he says. "Wind chill is for wimps."
So to marry this tundra man I had to learn to dress for serious cold. To get me from Baltimore's Inner Harbor to Albany's frozen Hudson, Peter plied me with jackets and sweaters, scarves and gloves, even a hat with earflaps. The gift of Sorel boots – toasty at Canada's 30 below, was a sign we were getting serious.
That first winter together, living in upstate New York, I thought I'd die. My boots were good below freezing, but my fingers could barely tie them. Physical acclimation is real, but it came slowly. Each year gets a bit easier. Now I complain about the cold, but no longer imagine myself as part of the Donner party.
But there is also emotional acclimation to cold. A quote of French author Albert Camus is taped inside the cabinet where I get my coffee mug each morning. It says: "In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invincible summer." Some days that tells me that I have enough beach memories to cling to on freezing days and other days it is the word "invincible" that reminds me that living cold does indeed build character.
But having a warm house is important. I can't swear that my first marriage ended solely over the thermostat setting, but for years I never went on a second date with a man whose response to my "I'm cold," was, "Put on a sweater." Now I'm married to a man who knows that cold hands do not mean a warm heart, and that a big oil bill is better than roses. But surprisingly, I've grown, too. I am willing, in this new life and climate, to go look for that cost-saving sweater.
The word comfortable did not originally refer to being contented. Its Latin root, confortare, means to strengthen. Hence its use in theology: The Holy Spirit is Comforter; not to make us comfy, but to make us strong. This then is our task. We may not be warm but we are indeed comforted; we are strong and we are looking for the sweaters.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Story of Life 生命的故事
Sometimes people come into your life and you know right away they were meant to be there , to serve some sort of purpose ,teach you a lesson,or to help you figure out who you are or who you want to become.You never know who these people maybe (possibly your roommate , neighbor , coworker , long lost friend , lover , or even a complete stranger),but when you lock eyes with them,you know at that very moment they will affect your life in some profound way .
有时候，一些人进入你的生命，你马上知道他们是注定要出现的，他们的到来是为了达成某种目的，给你提供教益，帮助你认清自己以及自己想要成为怎样的人，你不会知道这些人是谁（很可能会是你的室友、邻居、同事、失散多年的朋友、爱人，甚至是素未谋面的陌生人），可是当你的目光锁定他们的那一刻，你就知道他们会给你的生命带来深远的影响。
And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible , painful. and unfair at first , but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential , strength , willpower , or heart.
有时候，发生在你身上的事情看似可怕、痛苦和不公平，但仔细一想，你就会发现，如果不克服这些障碍，你就不会意识到自己的潜能、力量、意志和决心。
Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck.
Illness , injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be ,life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life ,and the success and downfalls you experience , help to create who you are and who you become.
任何事的发生都是有原因的。
没有事情是偶然出现或运气使然。
疾病、伤痛、爱情、与成功失之交臂，以及彻彻底底的糊涂犯错，这些都是你对精神极限的考验。无论这些小小的考验是什么，没有了它们，生命就像是一条不知通往何处的平坦大道，纵然安全舒适，但却了然无趣、毫无意义。
你所遇到的影响你生命的人，你所经历的成功与失败，都有助于塑造和成就你的人生。
Even the bad experiences can be learned from.
In fact ,they are probably the most poignant and important ones.
If someone hurts you , betrays you ,or breaks your heart,forgive them,for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart.
If someone loves you ,love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you ,but because in a way , they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.
即使是不好的经历，也能从中吸取经验。
事实上，这些经验可能是最深刻和最重要的。
如果有人伤害了你，背叛了你，或伤了你的心，原谅他们把，因为他们帮助你理解了信任，让你懂得了在敞开心扉时保持精神是很重要的。
如果有人爱你，你要无条件地爱他们，不仅因为他们爱你，还因为他们教会了你去爱，以及如何敞开你的心扉、放开你的目光。
Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again.
Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen.
Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high.
Hold your head up because you have every right to.
Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don`t believe in yourself , it will be hard for others to believe in you .
You can make of your life anything you wish.
Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.
让每一天都过的有价值。
珍惜生命中的每一刻，并尽你所能地从中取得收获，因为你不会有从头再来的可能。
跟那些你从来没有说过话的人交谈，并注意聆听。
让自己去爱，挣脱束缚，让目光高远。
要昂起头，因为你有权利这么做。
告诉自己，你是一个伟大的人，并相信自己，因为如果你不相信自己，别人就很难相信你。
你可以做任何想做的事来塑造你的人生。
创造你自己的人生，并无怨无悔地去过这一生吧。
Most impotantly,if you LOVE someone, tell him or her ,for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.
And learn a lesson in life each day that you live.
最重要的是，如果你爱某个人，就告诉他/她。因为你不知道明天将会怎样。
活着的每一天里都要有所收获。
That`s The Story Of Life.
这就是生命的故事。
有时候，一些人进入你的生命，你马上知道他们是注定要出现的，他们的到来是为了达成某种目的，给你提供教益，帮助你认清自己以及自己想要成为怎样的人，你不会知道这些人是谁（很可能会是你的室友、邻居、同事、失散多年的朋友、爱人，甚至是素未谋面的陌生人），可是当你的目光锁定他们的那一刻，你就知道他们会给你的生命带来深远的影响。
And sometimes things happen to you that may seem horrible , painful. and unfair at first , but in reflection you find that without overcoming those obstacles you would have never realized your potential , strength , willpower , or heart.
有时候，发生在你身上的事情看似可怕、痛苦和不公平，但仔细一想，你就会发现，如果不克服这些障碍，你就不会意识到自己的潜能、力量、意志和决心。
Everything happens for a reason.
Nothing happens by chance or by means of good luck.
Illness , injury, love, lost moments of true greatness, and sheer stupidity all occur to test the limits of your soul. Without these small tests, whatever they may be ,life would be like a smoothly paved, straight, flat road to nowhere. It would be safe and comfortable, but dull and utterly pointless.
The people you meet who affect your life ,and the success and downfalls you experience , help to create who you are and who you become.
任何事的发生都是有原因的。
没有事情是偶然出现或运气使然。
疾病、伤痛、爱情、与成功失之交臂，以及彻彻底底的糊涂犯错，这些都是你对精神极限的考验。无论这些小小的考验是什么，没有了它们，生命就像是一条不知通往何处的平坦大道，纵然安全舒适，但却了然无趣、毫无意义。
你所遇到的影响你生命的人，你所经历的成功与失败，都有助于塑造和成就你的人生。
Even the bad experiences can be learned from.
In fact ,they are probably the most poignant and important ones.
If someone hurts you , betrays you ,or breaks your heart,forgive them,for they have helped you learn about trust and the importance of being cautious when you open your heart.
If someone loves you ,love them back unconditionally, not only because they love you ,but because in a way , they are teaching you to love and how to open your heart and eyes to things.
即使是不好的经历，也能从中吸取经验。
事实上，这些经验可能是最深刻和最重要的。
如果有人伤害了你，背叛了你，或伤了你的心，原谅他们把，因为他们帮助你理解了信任，让你懂得了在敞开心扉时保持精神是很重要的。
如果有人爱你，你要无条件地爱他们，不仅因为他们爱你，还因为他们教会了你去爱，以及如何敞开你的心扉、放开你的目光。
Make every day count.
Appreciate every moment and take from those moments everything that you possibly can for you may never be able to experience it again.
Talk to people that you have never talked to before, and actually listen.
Let yourself fall in love, break free, and set your sights high.
Hold your head up because you have every right to.
Tell yourself you are a great individual and believe in yourself, for if you don`t believe in yourself , it will be hard for others to believe in you .
You can make of your life anything you wish.
Create your own life and then go out and live it with absolutely no regrets.
让每一天都过的有价值。
珍惜生命中的每一刻，并尽你所能地从中取得收获，因为你不会有从头再来的可能。
跟那些你从来没有说过话的人交谈，并注意聆听。
让自己去爱，挣脱束缚，让目光高远。
要昂起头，因为你有权利这么做。
告诉自己，你是一个伟大的人，并相信自己，因为如果你不相信自己，别人就很难相信你。
你可以做任何想做的事来塑造你的人生。
创造你自己的人生，并无怨无悔地去过这一生吧。
Most impotantly,if you LOVE someone, tell him or her ,for you never know what tomorrow may have in store.
And learn a lesson in life each day that you live.
最重要的是，如果你爱某个人，就告诉他/她。因为你不知道明天将会怎样。
活着的每一天里都要有所收获。
That`s The Story Of Life.
这就是生命的故事。
在思考中成长 Growth That Starts From Thinking
It seems to me a very difficult thing to put into words the beliefs we hold and what they make you do in your life. I think I was fortunate because I grew up in a family where there was a very deep religious feeling. I don’t think it was spoken of a great deal. It was more or less taken for granted that everybody held certain beliefs and needed certain reinforcements of their own strength and that that came through your belief in God and your knowledge of prayer.
我的信念是什么，它在我的人生中起到了什么作用------这些问题我觉得很难用言语解释清楚。我认为自己很幸运，因为我出生在一个笃信宗教的家庭。家里人对宗教谈论得并不多。每个人心中或多或少都有某些信仰，都希望通过某种方式获得力量，而这力量就来自信奉上帝并懂得如何祈祷。
But as I grew older I questioned a great many of the things that I knew very well my grandmother who had brought me up had taken for granted. And I think I might have been a quite difficult person to live with if it hadn’t been for the fact that my husband once said it didn’t do you any harm to learn those things, so why not let your children learn them? When they grow up they’ll think things out for themselves.
我是在祖母身边长大的。随着年龄的增长，我对许多祖母视作理所当然的事产生了怀疑。我甚至拒绝让孩子们接触这些东西，似乎成了一个不近情理的人。直到有一次我丈夫劝我，这些东西你年少时也接触过，对你也并无坏处。既然如此，何不让孩子们也有了解它们的机会呢？他们长大以后会独立思考这些问题的。
And that gave me a feeling that perhaps that’s what we all must do—think out for ourselves what we could believe and how we could live by it. And so I came to the conclusion that you had to use this life to develop the very best that you could develop.
他的话使我感到或许我们每个人都应该这样做------独立思考自己应该信仰什么以及如何在生活中坚守自己的的信仰。我认为人一生就应该尽全力做最好的自己------我想这就是我的信仰。
I don’t know whether I believe in a future life. I believe that all that you go through here must have some value, therefore there must be some reason. And there must be some “going on.” How exactly that happens I’ve never been able to decide. There is a future—that I’m sure of. But how, that I don’t know. And I came to feel that it didn’t really matter very much because whatever the future held you’d have to face it when you came to it, just as whatever life holds you have to face it exactly the same way. And the important thing was that you never let down doing the best that you were able to do—it might be poor because you might not have very much within you to give, or to help other people with, or to live your life with. But as long as you did the very best that you were able to do, then that was what you were put here to do and that was what you were accomplishing by being here.
我不知道自己是否相信未来。我相信的是我们现在经历的一切一定有价值，因此必有某些道理，也必然预示着有些事情“将要发生”。但这些事情如何发生，我却不能决定。一定有未来------对此我深信不疑。但它会怎样降临。我不知道，然而着一点，我渐渐感到并不重要。因为无论未来如何，我们到时候总得面对，正如无论生活中发生了什么，我们都必须面对一样。真正重要的是要倾尽自己的全力。也许你能力有限、贡献不多，无法给予他人更多的帮助，或者无法活得那么精彩，但只要你能倾尽自己的全力，你就能完成来到人世间的使命，能体现人生的价值。
And so I have tried to follow that out—and not to worry about the future or what was going to happen. I think I am pretty much of a fatalist. You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.
这就是我一直奉行的生活原则------不担心未来的事，也不为下一刻发生的事操心。我想我算是一个相信宿命的人吧。无论发生什么，我们都得勇敢面对，关键是面对的时候我们要勇敢，要倾尽自己的全力。
我的信念是什么，它在我的人生中起到了什么作用------这些问题我觉得很难用言语解释清楚。我认为自己很幸运，因为我出生在一个笃信宗教的家庭。家里人对宗教谈论得并不多。每个人心中或多或少都有某些信仰，都希望通过某种方式获得力量，而这力量就来自信奉上帝并懂得如何祈祷。
But as I grew older I questioned a great many of the things that I knew very well my grandmother who had brought me up had taken for granted. And I think I might have been a quite difficult person to live with if it hadn’t been for the fact that my husband once said it didn’t do you any harm to learn those things, so why not let your children learn them? When they grow up they’ll think things out for themselves.
我是在祖母身边长大的。随着年龄的增长，我对许多祖母视作理所当然的事产生了怀疑。我甚至拒绝让孩子们接触这些东西，似乎成了一个不近情理的人。直到有一次我丈夫劝我，这些东西你年少时也接触过，对你也并无坏处。既然如此，何不让孩子们也有了解它们的机会呢？他们长大以后会独立思考这些问题的。
And that gave me a feeling that perhaps that’s what we all must do—think out for ourselves what we could believe and how we could live by it. And so I came to the conclusion that you had to use this life to develop the very best that you could develop.
他的话使我感到或许我们每个人都应该这样做------独立思考自己应该信仰什么以及如何在生活中坚守自己的的信仰。我认为人一生就应该尽全力做最好的自己------我想这就是我的信仰。
I don’t know whether I believe in a future life. I believe that all that you go through here must have some value, therefore there must be some reason. And there must be some “going on.” How exactly that happens I’ve never been able to decide. There is a future—that I’m sure of. But how, that I don’t know. And I came to feel that it didn’t really matter very much because whatever the future held you’d have to face it when you came to it, just as whatever life holds you have to face it exactly the same way. And the important thing was that you never let down doing the best that you were able to do—it might be poor because you might not have very much within you to give, or to help other people with, or to live your life with. But as long as you did the very best that you were able to do, then that was what you were put here to do and that was what you were accomplishing by being here.
我不知道自己是否相信未来。我相信的是我们现在经历的一切一定有价值，因此必有某些道理，也必然预示着有些事情“将要发生”。但这些事情如何发生，我却不能决定。一定有未来------对此我深信不疑。但它会怎样降临。我不知道，然而着一点，我渐渐感到并不重要。因为无论未来如何，我们到时候总得面对，正如无论生活中发生了什么，我们都必须面对一样。真正重要的是要倾尽自己的全力。也许你能力有限、贡献不多，无法给予他人更多的帮助，或者无法活得那么精彩，但只要你能倾尽自己的全力，你就能完成来到人世间的使命，能体现人生的价值。
And so I have tried to follow that out—and not to worry about the future or what was going to happen. I think I am pretty much of a fatalist. You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give.
这就是我一直奉行的生活原则------不担心未来的事，也不为下一刻发生的事操心。我想我算是一个相信宿命的人吧。无论发生什么，我们都得勇敢面对，关键是面对的时候我们要勇敢，要倾尽自己的全力。
永不放弃 Never Give up Believing in Yourself
By Jack Canfield
Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded.
Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
Colonel Sanders had the construction of a new road put him out of business in 1967. He went to over 1,000 places trying to sell his chicken recipe before he found a buyer interested in his 11 herbs and spices. Seven years later, at the age of 75, Colonel Sanders sold his fried chicken company for a finger-licking $15 million!
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas. Disney also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.
Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution, gave up a medical career and was told by his father, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat catching.” In his autobiography , Darwin wrote, “I was considered by my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect.
Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” He was refused admittance to Zurich Polytechnic School. The University of Bern turned down his Ph.D. dissertation as being irrelevant and fanciful.
The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in Hollywood before 20th-Century Fox finally produced it. It went on to be one of the largest grossing movies in film history. Louis Pasteur was only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15 out of 22 in chemistry.
When General Douglas MacArthur applied for admission to West Point, he was turned down, not once but twice. But he tried a third time, was accepted and marched into the history books.
After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, said, “Can’t act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!” Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.
The father of the sculptor Rodin said, “I have an idiot for a son.” Described as the worst pupil in the school, Rodin failed three times to secure admittance to the school of art. His uncle called him uneducable.
Babe Ruth, considered by sports historians to be the greatest athlete of all time and famous for setting the home run record, also holds the record for strikeouts.
Eighteen publishers turned down Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, before Macmillan finally published it in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than seven million copies in the U.S. alone.
Margaret Mitchell’s classic Gone with the Wind was turned down by more than twenty-five publishers.
In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere… son. You ought to go back to driving a truck.” Elvis Presley went on to become the most popular singer in America.
Never give up believing in yourself!
1 Henry Ford: 亨利?福特（1863—1947），1903年创建福特汽车公司，享有“汽车大王”的美誉。
2 Beethoven: 贝多芬（1770—1827）, 德国最伟大的作曲家之一。
3 Colonel Sanders: 桑德斯上校，1939年桑德斯研发出一套由11种香料组合而成的独家炸鸡配方，1952年他在美国的肯塔基州创建了肯德基炸鸡餐厅，后发展为全球连锁的快餐厅。have a construction of a new road: 在这里是比喻用法，指掌握了一种新方法；out of business: 破产的，失业的。
4 figer-licking: 让人垂涎三尺的，作者借用了肯德基著名的广告语“It’s figer-licking good!（好吃到你吃完要舔手指头）”中的finger-licking，衍生出了这个意思。
5 Walt Disney: 沃尔特?迪斯尼（1901—1966），创造了米老鼠、唐老鸭等一系列家喻户晓的卡通形象，创办了迪斯尼
Henry Ford failed and went broke five times before he finally succeeded.
Beethoven handled the violin awkwardly and preferred playing his own compositions instead of improving his technique. His teacher called him hopeless as a composer.
Colonel Sanders had the construction of a new road put him out of business in 1967. He went to over 1,000 places trying to sell his chicken recipe before he found a buyer interested in his 11 herbs and spices. Seven years later, at the age of 75, Colonel Sanders sold his fried chicken company for a finger-licking $15 million!
Walt Disney was fired by a newspaper editor for lack of ideas. Disney also went bankrupt several times before he built Disneyland.
Charles Darwin, father of the theory of evolution, gave up a medical career and was told by his father, “You care for nothing but shooting, dogs, and rat catching.” In his autobiography , Darwin wrote, “I was considered by my father, a very ordinary boy, rather below the common standard in intellect.
Albert Einstein did not speak until he was four years old and didn’t read until he was seven. His teacher described him as “mentally slow, unsociable and adrift forever in his foolish dreams.” He was refused admittance to Zurich Polytechnic School. The University of Bern turned down his Ph.D. dissertation as being irrelevant and fanciful.
The movie Star Wars was rejected by every movie studio in Hollywood before 20th-Century Fox finally produced it. It went on to be one of the largest grossing movies in film history. Louis Pasteur was only a mediocre pupil in undergraduate studies and ranked 15 out of 22 in chemistry.
When General Douglas MacArthur applied for admission to West Point, he was turned down, not once but twice. But he tried a third time, was accepted and marched into the history books.
After Fred Astaire’s first screen test, the memo from the testing director of MGM, dated 1933, said, “Can’t act! Slightly bald! Can dance a little!” Astaire kept that memo over the fireplace in his Beverly Hills home.
The father of the sculptor Rodin said, “I have an idiot for a son.” Described as the worst pupil in the school, Rodin failed three times to secure admittance to the school of art. His uncle called him uneducable.
Babe Ruth, considered by sports historians to be the greatest athlete of all time and famous for setting the home run record, also holds the record for strikeouts.
Eighteen publishers turned down Richard Bach’s Jonathan Livingston Seagull, before Macmillan finally published it in 1970. By 1975 it had sold more than seven million copies in the U.S. alone.
Margaret Mitchell’s classic Gone with the Wind was turned down by more than twenty-five publishers.
In 1954, Jimmy Denny, manager of the Grand Ole Opry, fired Elvis Presley after one performance. He told Presley, “You ain’t goin’ nowhere… son. You ought to go back to driving a truck.” Elvis Presley went on to become the most popular singer in America.
Never give up believing in yourself!
1 Henry Ford: 亨利?福特（1863—1947），1903年创建福特汽车公司，享有“汽车大王”的美誉。
2 Beethoven: 贝多芬（1770—1827）, 德国最伟大的作曲家之一。
3 Colonel Sanders: 桑德斯上校，1939年桑德斯研发出一套由11种香料组合而成的独家炸鸡配方，1952年他在美国的肯塔基州创建了肯德基炸鸡餐厅，后发展为全球连锁的快餐厅。have a construction of a new road: 在这里是比喻用法，指掌握了一种新方法；out of business: 破产的，失业的。
4 figer-licking: 让人垂涎三尺的，作者借用了肯德基著名的广告语“It’s figer-licking good!（好吃到你吃完要舔手指头）”中的finger-licking，衍生出了这个意思。
5 Walt Disney: 沃尔特?迪斯尼（1901—1966），创造了米老鼠、唐老鸭等一系列家喻户晓的卡通形象，创办了迪斯尼
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