目录
Chapter 1/The Time You Enjoy Wasting
享受的时光并非虚度
Every Day Is a Gift/002
Girls of Summer/008
Rainy Days Can Be Good Days/014
Admire Their Glow/020
The Time You Enjoy Wasting Isn’t Wasted Time/024
Boost Your Feeling by Eight Strategies/028
On Solitude/034
What I Have Lived for/038
Relish the Moment/042
Ten Reasons to Smile-Health Benefits of Smiling/046
How to Spend the Life You Have Left/052
每一天都是一份礼物/002
夏日女孩/008
雨天也是好日子/014
珍视爱的光辉/020
享受的时光并非虚度/024
八条迅速快乐法则/028
享受孤独/034
我为何而生/038
拥抱此刻的阳光/042
我们该微笑的十个理由/046
如何度过余下时光/052
Chapter 2/Accidental Blessings and Gifts
生命种种意外的恩赐
A Doll From Santa/060
Flowers on the Bus/066
Jessie’s Glove/072
Roses for a Dime/076
The Smile/084
A Homeless Man’s Gift/090
Love Is in the Moment/094
Life Needs Gratefulness/100
The Hardest Work You Will Ever Do/106
Reasons to Make Laughter a Priority Every Day/110
来自圣诞老人的洋娃娃/060
巴士上的鲜花/066
杰西的手套/072
售价十美分的玫瑰/076
微笑的力量/084
流浪汉的礼物/090
爱在此时此刻/094
生活需要感动/100
最难做的事/106
把笑作为每天的首要任务/110
Chapter 3/The Good That We Can Give
我们可以给予的美好
All in a Day’s Work/118
How Selfless Real Love Is/122
The Art of Giving/128
The Circle of Love/136
Tiny Wisdom: The Good That We Can Give/142
Carnations With a Smile at a Supermarket/146
My Mom’s First Truly Anonymous Kind Act/150
The Villager and the Happy Man/156
The Goodness of Life/160
温柔的触碰/118
真爱无私/122
奉献的艺术/128
爱的循环/136
小智慧:我们可以给予的美好/142
超市里微笑的康乃馨/146
一件无形的礼物/150
快乐之源/156
生命中的美好/160
Chapter 4/Stop Complaining and Enjoy Living
不抱怨,才会更快乐
Playing a Violin With Three Strings/166
An Incomplete Circle/170
The Most Beautiful Heart/172
Finding Happiness After a Diagnosis/176
A Complaint Free, Happier Life/180
On Motes and Beams/184
Five Balls of Life/188
I Believe That I Always Have a Choice/192
Finding Happiness in the Midst of Grief/196
Things You Should Give up to Be Happy/202
“There” Is No Better Than “Here”/212
断弦的小提琴/166
不完整的圆圈/170
最美丽的心/172
在病痛中寻找幸福/176
不抱怨,生活会更快乐/180
细小如尘,高大如梁/184
生命中的“五个球”/188
我相信我总能选择/192
悲伤弥漫之处,仍觅幸福踪迹/196
若想幸福,你需要放下十五件事/202
知足者常乐/212
Chapter 5Everything IsArranged Perfectly
一切都是最好的安排
The Most Important Thing in Your Life/220
Each Life Has Its Place/224
When “Good Enough” Is Better Than Perfect/230
This Moment Is Worth Savoring/234
Your Mind Is a Garden/238
Never Too Late/244
Rules of Life/252
Simplify Your Life/258
Happiness/270
生命中最重要的东西/220
每个生命都有自己的价值/224
完美不美,知足最美/230
品味每一刻,且行且珍惜/234
心如花园/238
为时未晚/244
生命中必修的人生法则/252
简化你的生活/258
幸福九部曲/270
Chapter 6/Embrace the Sunshine of This Moment
拥抱此时此刻的阳光
Work With the “Now”/280
How to Grow Happiness/286
I Make My Home a Heaven of Peace and Harmony/290
Have You Ever Experienced a “Sacred Moment”/294
Power of Passion/302
Giving Life Meaning/308
Twenty-one Habits of Happy People/312
Accept the World and You’ll Be Happy/322
You Are the Only One Who Can Make You Happy/326
活在当下/280
种植幸福三步骤/286
家如天堂,平静祥和/290
你是否经历过“神圣时刻”/294
激情的力量/302
赋予生命意义/308
迈向幸福的二十一个习惯/312
接受这世界,你会快乐/322
你的快乐你负责/326
內容試閱:
?■?每一天都是一份礼物
Every Day Is a Gift
◎Ann Wells/安?威尔斯
【美 丽 语 录】
If it’s worth seeing or hearing or doing, I want to see and hear and do it now.
如果值得去看、去听或去做,我当即就要去看、去听或去做。
My brother-in-law opened the bottom drawer of my sister’s bureau and lifted out a tissue wrapped package. “This,” he said, “is not a slip. This is lingerie.” He discarded the tissue and handed me the slip.
It was exquisite, silk, and handmade and trimmed with a cobweb of lace. The price tag with an astronomical figure on it was still attached.
“Jan bought this the first time we went to New York, at least 8 or 9 years ago. She never wore it. She was saving it for a special occasion.”
“Well, I guess this is the occasion.”
He took the slip from me and put it on the bed, with the other clothes we were taking to the mortician. His hands lingered on the soft material for a moment, and then he slammed the drawer shut and turned to me, “Don’t ever save anything for a special occasion. Every day you’re alive is a special occasion.”
I remembered those words through the funeral and the days that followed when I helped him and my niece attend to all the sad chores that follow an unexpected death. I thought about them on the plane returning to California from the Midwestern town where my sister’s family lives. I thought about all the things that she hadn’t seen or heard or done. I thought about the things that she had done without realizing that they were special.
I’m still thinking about his words, and they’ve changed the weeds in the garden. I’m spending more time with my family and friends and less time in committee meetings. Whenever possible, life should be a pattern of experience to savor, not endure. I’m trying to recognize these moments now and cherish them.
I’m not “saving” anything; we use our good china and crystal for every special. Event such as losing a pound, getting the sink unstopped, the first camellia blossom ... I wear my good blazer to the market if I feel like it. My theory is if I look prosperous, I can shell out $28.49 for one small bag of groceries without wincing . I’m not saving my good perfume for special parties; clerks in hardware stores and tellers in banks have noses that function as well as my party going friends.
“Someday” and “one of these days” are losing their grip on my vocabulary. I’m not sure what my sister would’ve done had she know that she wouldn’t be here for the tomorrow we all take for granted.
I think she would have called family members and a few close friends. She might have called a few former friends to apologize, and mend fences for past squabbles. I like to think she would have gone out for a Chinese dinner, her favorite food. I’m guessing. I’ll never know.
It’s those little things left undone that would make me angry if I knew that my hours were limited. Angry because I put off seeing good friends whom I was going to get in touch with someday. Angry because I hadn’t written certain letters that I intended to write one of these days. Angry and sorry that I didn’t tell my husband and daughter often enough how much I truly love them.
I’m trying very hard not to put off, hold back, or save anything that would add laughter and luster to our lives. And every morning when I open my eyes, I tell myself that every day, every minute, every breath truly, is a gift from God.
姐夫拉开姐姐衣柜的最底层抽屉,拿出一个用纸包装的包裹。“这件,”他说,“不是一般的内衣,而是件豪华内衣。”他剥掉包装纸,把衣服递给我。
这条丝绸内衣是纯手工缝制的,工艺精湛,边缘有一圈蕾丝花边。价格标签还没撕下,上面的数字高得惊人。
“这件是简在我们第一次去纽约时买的,至少八九年前的事了。她还从没穿过,她说要留到特别的场合穿。”
“唉,现在就是那个特别的场合了吧。”
他从我手中接过内衣放在床上;床上还有别的衣服,我们将它们一并带到殡仪馆。他的手在那柔软的面料上抚摸了一会儿,随即砰地关上抽屉,转身对我说:“永远都不要把任何东西留给什么特殊的日子。你活着的每一天都是特别的。”
这两句话久久地回荡在我耳边,伴我度过了葬礼以及帮姐夫和侄儿处理姐姐意外身亡的后事那伤心的几天。我从位于中西部小镇的姐姐家回加州时,在飞机上也一直思考着这些话。我想到她来不及看、来不及听和来不及做的事,想到那些她做了但没意识到其特殊性的事。
我至今还在想着他的话,这些话就如去除院子里的杂草一样,改变了我的心情。我和家人朋友在一起的时间长了,花在开会上的时间短了。无论何时,生活应当是一种“品味”,而非一种“忍受”。我在学习着欣赏每一刻,并珍惜每一刻。
我不再去“珍藏”任何东西;只要有一点儿好事,我们就不吝惜地使用精美瓷器和水晶制品,比如庆祝体重减了1英镑,庆祝堵塞的水槽被疏通了,庆祝第一枝山茶花绽放……只要我想穿,我就穿着名牌服装去市场购物。我的理论是,只要我看起来还富有,面对价值28.49美元的一小堆杂货时,我会毫不眨眼地买下来。我不会把好香水留到特别的派对上才用;五金店店员、银行出纳们的嗅觉,并不比派对朋友来得差。
“某一天”“总有一天”正从我的常用词汇中淡出。人人都理所当然地以为自己必然有明天,不知若姐姐知道自己没有明日,她会做些什么。
我想,她会给家人和几个密友打电话,可能还会和以前吵过架的朋友致电道歉,重修旧好。我觉得她会去吃她最爱的中国菜。我只是猜测。我永远也不会知道。
假如我知道自己时间不多了,没做这些小事会让我很恼火。恼火是因为我一拖再拖,没能看成“有朝一日”会去看的好友们。恼火是因为我没有写出我“终有一天”要写的信。恼火和内疚是因为我没能经常告诉我的丈夫和女儿,我有多爱他们。
我正努力地拥抱任何可以给生活增添欢乐和光彩的事物,毫不迟疑,毫无保留。每天清晨一睁眼,我便告诉自己:每一天、每一分钟、每一次呼吸,都是上帝赐予我的礼物。