追寻幸福

曾经感觉“每个人的幸福都是一样的，不幸却是千差万别的”这句话很有道理，但是现在却觉得并不尽然。因为其实每个人对“幸福”都有自己的定义，每个人都在追寻着自己的“幸福”。我的“幸福”是什么？你的呢？

By Charissa Newkirk

段会香 译注

The other day, I was texting a good friend about school, college, and what our future plans are. He said he wasn't sure what he wanted to be. Naturally, I reassured him that he didn't have to worry about that now, but I told him, "If you're going to do something, do what makes you happy." Then he asked something I thought was peculiar: "Well, how would you define 'happy'?"

几天前，我给一个好朋友发短信，我们谈到了大学前的学校生活、大学生活以及未来。他说他不知道自己想干什么。于是，我安慰他说不用现在就担心那些，但是“如果你要干点儿什么，干可以让你感到幸福的事。”接着，他问了个让我觉得很奇怪的问题：“那你如何定义‘幸福’呢？”

For some reason, I was really taken aback[1] by this question. I then began thinking about who I, as a teenager, consider to be a person that's "happy"? My first thoughts about my own happiness were immature: happiness is having a boyfriend, being pretty, having friends, etc. I stopped myself, though, and started to think like an adult (I'm 16; I'm going to have to start eventually!). I pictured[2] what I'd want my life to look like in 20 years. I saw myself doing lab work at a university. I saw myself being able to have lunch with my mom and dad once in a while. Very simple.

不知为什么，我确实被这个问题惊住了。我开始思考我作为一个十几岁的少年所认为的“幸福”。考虑到自己的幸福，我的第一反应是不成熟的：幸福就是找个男朋友、长得漂亮、有一群朋友等等。但是我打断了自己的这种想法，开始像个成年人一样思考（我已经十六岁了，早晚也得以成年人的方式思考）。我想象自己在未来二十年内所期望的生活：我看到自己在一所大学的实验室工作；我看到自己可以偶尔跟爸妈吃顿午饭。很简单的生活。

After considering this, my answer to him was, "Happiness is being comfortable in your own skin[3], being surrounded with people you truly care about, and having a good amount of wisdom."

想完这些后，我回答他说：“幸福就是对自己的现状很满意，周围有自己真正关心的人，并且拥有足够的智慧。”

"Those things take time, though, Charissa," was his reply.

“但是这些事情都需要时间，克拉丽莎。”他回答道。

"What do you expect?" I asked. "Why, do you have something better?"

“那你的幸福是什么？”我问他，“你有什么更好的吗？”

"Make a good amount of money in the least amount of time possible!" was his answer.

他的回答是“在最短的时间内赚最多的钱”。

And you know what? I don't blame him for saying that.

你知道吗？我并没有因为他的回答而责怪他。

Look at us today. The value placed on hard work and dedication to achieving a goal has really diminished. Often, for girls my age, myself included, having the potential to solve the world's problems by committing to doing something we love is often trumped[4] by the lure of becoming one of the "basketball wives," who, with no effort at all, seem to have all the money they could ever need.

看看现在的我们。那种为达到目标而付出的努力和奉献精神都已经贬值。对于我这个年龄的女孩，包括我来讲，那种通过执着于我们所喜欢的事情来解决问题的可能性都会被成为“篮球明星的妻子”的诱惑所击败，因为她们不用付出任何努力便可以拥有大笔大笔的钱。

In ending his speech to Stanford graduates in 2005, Steve Jobs advises them to "Stay hungry. Stay foolish." Ever since I read Jobs' speech, it has stuck with me. It's made me look around at what seems like a world full of people just settling and want to push for more. It's reaffirmed to me that, in a generation full of entitlement and a desire to get everything "now," hard work and dedication to something you love -- anything you love -- really seems so much more fulfilling.

2005年，史蒂夫•乔布斯在斯坦福大学毕业典礼上演讲时用“求知若饥，虚心若愚”作为结束语来勉励学生。自从读了乔布斯的演讲，这句话就一直伴随着我。它让我重新审视这个人们永不知足的世界。它让我更加确信，在充满急功近利的权利和欲望的一代人中，为自己所喜欢的事情——任何事情——而努力并付出，实在是非常有意义的。

So as I sat texting my friend, I committed at that moment to stay hungry and do what I love with my life... even if it takes a little longer, I have to work a little harder, or I have to suffer a few disappointments. And with that, I think I'll have a helluva good one.

所以在我给朋友回短信的同时，我就下定决心要“求知若饥”并终生做自己喜欢的事情，即使这需要的时间更长，我必须付出的努力更多，或者我不得不经历一些挫败。有了这些想法，我相信我所喜欢的事情将是非常不错的事情。

Vocabulary

1. take aback: 使吃惊，惊吓。

2. picture: 想象，画，描写。

3. comfortable in your own skin: 对现状满意，自信，认可自己。

4. trump: 胜过，打败，超过，超越。

（来源：英语学习杂志）