A Full-Time School Called Life

 生活是一所全日制学校

      You are enrolled in a full-time school called “life”. Each day in this school you will have the opportunity to learn lessons. You may like the lessons or hate them, but you have designed them as part of your curriculum.

    生活是一所全日制学校，而你则是这里的学生。在这所学校里，每天你都有机会学习到各种课程；不管你是否喜欢，这些课程将是你必修的内容。

　　Why are you here? What is your purpose? Humans have sought to discover the meaning of life for a very long time. What we and our ancestors have overlooked, however, is that there is no one answer. The meaning of life is different for every individual.

    你为什么会在这个世上？你的生活目的是什么？很长时期以来，人们从未停止过对人生意义的探索。但是，我们和我们的祖先都无视了这样一个事实，即人生的意义因人而异，根本没有一个确定的答案。

　　Each person has his or her own purpose and distinct path, unique and separate from anyone else's. As you travel your life path, you will be presented with numerous lessons that you will need to learn in order to fulfill that purpose. The lessons you are presented with are specific to you; learning these lessons is the key to discovering and fulfilling the meaning and relevance of your own life.

        人各有志，各人的人生目的和道路都独一无二，各不相同。在人生旅途上，你需要不断地学习知识、接受教训，以期有朝一日实现你的人生目的。你所要学习的内容是专门为你量身定制的；而认真学习这些经验、教训，则是探索人生意义、实现人生目的的关键。

　　As you travel through your lifetime, you may encounter challenging lessons that others don't have to face, while others spend years struggling with challenges that you don't need to deal with. You may never know why you are blessed with a wonderful marriage, while your friends suffer through bitter arguments and painful divorces, just as you cannot be sure why you struggle financially while your peers enjoy abundance. The only thing you can count on for certain is that you will be presented with all the lessons that you specifically need to learn; whether you choose to learn them or not is entirely up to you.

        在你的人生旅途中，别人无需面对你所要承受的挑战和教训；当然，你也无需应付别人奋战多年的各种挑战。你也许永远弄不懂为什么你能幸运地拥有美好婚姻，而你的朋友却饱受婚姻不和之苦、离婚之痛；同样，你也无法明白为什么你生活拮据、疲于谋生，而你的朋友却生活优裕。但是有一点你可以确信无疑，即你将有缘见识你所注定要学的知识和经验；至于你是否乐意学习，则完全是你自己的选择。

　　The challenge here, therefore, is to align yourself with your own unique path by learning individual lessons. This is one of the most difficult challenges you will be faced with in your lifetime, as sometimes your path will be radically different from others. But, remember, don't compare your path to the people around you and focus on the disparity between their lessons and yours. You need to remember that you will only be faced with lessons that you are capable of learning and are specific to your own growth.

        由此可见，这里的挑战在于你要汲取各种不同的经验和教训以使自己的生活符合自己独特的人生道路。这是你终生需要面对的最严峻的挑战，因为有时你的人生道路会与别人的截然不同。但是，切记不要拿你的人生道路和你周围的人的相比，计较不同的经验和教训；切记你所要学习的是你力所能及的，并且是为你的成长所特设的。

　　This process may not be easy, but the rewards are well worth the struggle. In this course, you will most likely encounter the basic lessons of openness and fairness. Look at the lessons as tools to help you discover your own unique purpose.

        学习的过程可能并不轻松，但其回报完全值得你的拼搏。在这过程中，你最可能要面临两项基本课程：思想开明和公平感。学习这些课程有助于你找到自己独特的人生目的。

　　Openness means being receptive. Life will present you with innumerable lessons, none of which will be useful to you unless you recognize them and are open to their inherent value. These lessons will show up every day of your life, and as difficult as some of them may be, you need to change your perception and come to see them as gifts, or guides along your path toward self-perfection.

        思想开明就是善于接受。生活中，你所要学习的课程数不胜数，你必须正视它们，承认它们的内在价值，只有这样你才可以从中获益。这些课程会随时出现在你的生活里，有些可能难以接受。这时，你需要改变观念，把它们视作上帝的恩赐，或视作你走向自我完善的指南。

　　I am often asked how people can recognize their lessons. My response is that each person's lessons are always self-evident; it is just a matter of what lenses the person is wearing at the time. It is easy to spot those lessons that you perceive as opportunities, because they are attractive. Getting a big promotion at work does present certain lessons, like trust and compromise. Becoming a parent for the first time teaches the lessons of patience and discipline. These lessons are easily recognized because they come wrapped in attractive packages. Being open to these lessons isn't so hard. More difficult to recognize are the lessons that come wrapped in less attractive packages and tend to cause most people to quickly put on their resistance lenses. When you are not open to seeing your lessons, losing your job looks like a catastrophe rather than an opportunity to learn the lessons of forgiveness or flexibility. Becoming a parent for the first time to a child who is disabled can appear to be punishment, rather than a chance to learn about healing or support. While the less attractive lessons may not be fun, they can actually be the biggest gifts you receive.

        人们经常问我，怎样才能识别他们的课程。我的回答是，每个人的课程都总是显而易见的，问题在于人们当时戴着什么样的眼镜去看待。有些课程是不难识别的，因为在你看来，它们是富有吸引力的机遇。工作上的晋升将教给你某些诸如关于信任与妥协的道理。初为父母将教给你耐心和磨练。识别这些都是易事，因为它们是带着漂亮的包装而来的。接受这些课程并不很困难。难就难在识别那些没有漂亮包装的课程。对于它们，大多数人往往会迅速戴上反抗型的眼镜，拒不接受。在这种情况下，你认为丢掉工作就是大难临头，而不是学习宽厚和灵活的机会；初为父母时生下了一个残疾孩子，这看起来可能是个惩罚，而不是学习求医和支持的机会。诚然，这些缺乏吸引力的课程可能没有乐趣，但它们才是生活赐予你的厚礼。

　　Our sense of fairness is the expectation of equity--the assumption that all things are equal and that justice will always prevail. Life is not, in fact, fair, and you may indeed have a more difficult life path than others around you, deserved or not. Everyone's circumstances are unique, and everyone needs to handle his or her own circumstances differently. If you want to move toward serenity, you will be required to move out of the complaining phase of “it's not fair”. Focusing on the unfairness of circumstances keeps you comparing yourself with others rather than appreciating your own special uniqueness. You miss out on learning your individual lessons by distracting yourself with feelings of bitterness and resentment.

        所谓公平感就是我们期望事事公正、人人平等。但是，生活其实并不公平。也许命运不该如此安排，但你的一生就是可能比你周围的人艰难、坎坷。每个人的境况各不相同，因此对待自己的境遇也需要有不同的方法。要想寻求心灵的平静，你必须摆脱抱怨世道不公的心态。过分计较世事不公会使你自轻自贱，看不到自己的独特之处。由于愤世懊恼情绪的干扰，你可能错过学习自己该学的课程。