On beauty
美
Where shall you seek beauty, and how shall you find her unless she herself be your way and your guide? And how shall you speak of her except she be the weaver of your speech?
如果美不以自身为途径，为向导，你们又到哪里去找她，又怎么能找到她呢？如果她不是你们言语的编织者，你们又如何能谈论她呢？
The aggrieved and the injured say, "Beauty is kind and gentle. Like a young mother half-shy of her own glory she walks among us."
伤心痛苦者说：“美是善良而温柔的。她像一位因自己的荣耀而半含羞涩的年轻母亲，走在我们的身边。”
And the passionate say, "Nay, beauty is a thing of might and dread. Like the tempest she shakes the earth beneath us and the sky above us."
热情奔放者说：“不，美是强烈而令人惊畏的。她如暴风雨般震动我们脚下的大地，摇撼我们头上的天空。”
The tired and the weary say, "Beauty is of soft whisperings. She speaks in our spirit. Her voice yields to our silences like a faint light that quivers in fear of the shadow."
疲惫怠倦者说：“美是温柔的低语，她在我们的心中诉说。她的声音波动在我们的沉默中，犹如一道微弱的光在对阴影的恐惧中颤抖。”
But the restless say, "We have heard her shouting among the mountains, and with her cries came the sound of hoofs, and the beating of wings and the roaring of lions."
但活泼好动者说：“我们曾听到她在山谷中大声呼叫，随其呐喊而来的是足蹄踏地、翅膀拍击和雄狮怒吼的声音。”
At night the watchmen of the city say, "Beauty shall rise with the dawn from the east."
夜晚，城市的守夜人说：“美将与晨光一同从东方升起。”
And at noon-time the toilers and the wayfarers say, "We have seen her leaning over the earth from the windows of the sunset."
正午，辛勤劳作者和长途跋涉者说：“我们曾看到她透过黄昏之窗眺望大地。”
In winter say the snow-bound, "She shall come with the spring leaping upon the hills."
严冬，困在风雪中的人说：“她将与春同至，雀跃于山峦之间。”
And in the summer heat the reapers say, "We have seen her dancing with the autumn leaves, and we saw a drift of snow in her hair."
酷暑，收割庄稼的人说：“我们曾看到她与秋叶共舞，雪花点缀于她的发梢。”
All these things have you said of beauty, yet in truth you spoke not of her but of needs unsatisfied, and beauty is not a need but an ecstasy. It is not a mouth thirsting nor an empty hand stretched forth, but rather a heart enflamed and a soul enchanted. It is not the image you would see nor the song you would hear, but rather an image you see though you close your eyes and a song you hear though you shut your ears. It is not the sap within the furrowed bark, nor a wing attached to a claw, but rather a garden for ever in bloom and a flock of angels for ever in flight.
你们谈到关于美的所有这些，实际并非关于她本身，而是关于你们未被满足的需求，但美并不是一种需求，而是 心醉神迷的欣喜。她不是焦渴的唇，也不是伸出的空空的手，而是一颗燃烧的心，一个充满喜悦的灵魂。她不是你们想看到的形象，也不是你们想听到的歌声，而是 你们闭上眼睛看到的形象，堵住耳朵听到的歌声。她不是伤残树皮下的树液，也不是悬在利爪下的翅膀。而是一座鲜花永远盛开的花园，一群永远在天空飞翔的天使。
Beauty is life when life unveils her holy face.
当生命摘去遮盖她圣洁面容的面纱时，美就是生命。
During a research experiment a marine biologist placed a shark into a large holding tank and then released several small bait fish into the tank.
在一个研究实验中，一个海洋生物学家把一条鲨鱼放进一个大的水箱中，然后投放了一些小的诱饵鱼进去。
As you would expect, the shark quickly swam around the tank, attacked and ate the smaller fish.
你可能已经预料到了，鲨鱼快速地在水箱里四处游动，攻击并吃掉了那些较小的鱼。
The marine biologist then ed a strong piece of clear fiberglass into the tank, creating two separate partitions. She then put the shark on one side of the fiberglass and a new set of bait fish on the other.
然后海洋生物学家将一面强韧的透明纤维玻璃插入到容器中，创建了两个单独的分区。然后，她把鲨鱼放在纤维玻璃的一边，另一边是一组新的诱饵鱼。
Again, the shark quickly attacked. This time, however, the shark slammed into the fiberglass divider and bounced off. Undeterred, the shark kept repeating this behavior every few minutes to no avail. Meanwhile, the bait fish swam around unharmed in the second partition. Eventually, about an hour into the experiment, the shark gave up.
再次，鲨鱼迅速攻击。然而，这一次，鲨鱼撞上了玻璃纤维隔板并被弹了回来。每隔几分钟，鲨鱼就不信邪地重复这徒劳的行为。同时，那些作为诱饵的鱼在另一个区域里毫发无伤地游来游去。最后，经过大约一个小时的实验，鲨鱼放弃了。
This experiment was repeated several dozen times over the next few weeks. Each time, the shark got less aggressive and made fewer attempts to attack the bait fish, until eventually the shark got tired of hitting the fiberglass divider and simply stopped attacking altogether.
在接下来的几个星期里，这个实验重复了几十次。每一次，鲨鱼的攻击性都变得更弱，并较少尝试攻击诱饵鱼，直到最终鲨鱼厌倦了冲击纤维玻璃隔板，并完全停止攻击。
The marine biologist then removed the fiberglass divider, but the shark didn’t attack. The shark was trained to believe a barrier existed between it and the bait fish, so the bait fish swam wherever they wished, free from harm.
海洋生物学家然后拿走了纤维玻璃隔板，但鲨鱼没有攻击。鲨鱼被训练得相信了它和诱饵之间存在一道屏障，所以鱼儿游到任何地方，都不会受伤害。
The moral: Many of us, after experiencing setbacks and failures, emotionally give up and stop trying. Like the shark in the story, we believe that because we were unsuccessful in the past, we will always be unsuccessful. In other words, we continue to see a barrier in our heads, even when no ‘real’ barrier exists between where we are and where we want to go.
寓意：我们中的许多人，在经历挫折和失败后，会从情感上选择放弃，并停止尝试。好比这个故事中的鲨鱼，因为过去失败过，所以就觉得永远不会成功。换句话说，我们经常会在我们的脑中看到一个障碍，即使我们所在的位置和我们想要达到的`位置之间并没有“真正的”障碍。
How To Make Friends And Connect With People In Challenging Times
在逆境中如何与人交朋友并建立牢固的关系。
It can be difficult to make friends living in a big city, especially when you don’t know many people.
生活在一个大城市里是很难交到朋友的，尤其是当你还不认识很多人的时候。
Over years of experience and studying social skills, I discovered that it’s possible to make friends without even trying. There are just a few strategies that you have to use on a consistent basis.
根据多年的经验以及对社交技能的研究，我发现其实你甚至能毫不费力地交到朋友。这里有一些你一直可以用得上的策略。
That’s what I’ll outline a few simple steps.
在这里我将列出几个简单的步骤。
Be seen without trying to get attention.
不刻意地引人注意也能获得他人的注意。
You don’t have to say anything witty or interesting to get people’s attention, all you have to do is place yourself in environments where people will see you.
你不必说诙谐或有趣的事情来吸引人们的注意，你所要做的只是将你自己置于人们能注意到的地方。
This can be done anywhere you go, such as the supermarket or your yoga studio.
这可以在你去的任何地方奏效，比如超市或是瑜伽馆。
Use the power of listening.
使用倾听的力量。
There’s an interesting phenomenon that occurs when you listen to other people, they’ll keep talking. Just keep giving them good eye contact and show with your body language that you care.
有一个有趣的现象，当你听别人说话时，他们会一直说话。只要和他们保持良好的眼神接触，并用你的身体语言显示出你对他们的关心。
Listening is a mechanism to build trust and likeability.
倾听是一种建立信任和魅力的途径。
Think about what you can give to the other people.
想想你能给别人什么。
So often we think about what we can get out of others when we try to make friends, but that thinking needs to be flipped around.
当我们试图交朋友的时候，我们经常会考虑我们能从别人那里得到什么，但是我们需要扭转这种想法。
Try offering a piece of helpful advice or invite someone you just met to grab coffee or lunch with you the following week.
试着提供一个有用的建议或邀请你刚才遇到的人来喝杯咖啡或者邀请他在接下来的一周和你一起共进午餐。
Always have 3 good stories to tell other people.
总是有3个好故事来告诉别人。
When you have at least a few stories to share with others, you’ll never run out of things to talk about.
当你至少有几个故事与他人分享时，你将永远有谈不尽的话题。
Smile like there’s no tomorrow.
尽情微笑。
It may not be natural for some of us to smile, but a smile is one of the most attractive things that someone can display when they’re meeting new people.
对有些人来说，微笑可能是件不自然的事情，但是微笑是最有吸引力的事情之一。当结识新人时，人们可以传递他们的微笑。
Think about these 5 strategies as tools. They’re always available if you want to connect with people instantly and develop true lasting friendships.
我们可以把这5种策略作为工具。如果你想与人立即建立关系，并且发展成真正长久的友谊，它们总是有用的。
It was a beautiful letter， but there was no way， except for the name Michael， to identify the owner. Maybe if I called information， the operator could find a phone listing for the address on the envelope. The operator suggested I speak with her supervisor， who hesitated for a moment， then said， "Well， there is a phone listing at that address， but I can't give you the number. " She said as a courtesy， she would call that number， explain my story and ask whoever answered if the person wanted her to connect me.
这是一封精美的信，但是除了迈克尔的名字以外，没有其他办法确定皮夹的主人。或许询问信息台，话务员可以通过信封上的住址查到电话。话务员建议我和她的负责人说，那位负责人犹豫了一会儿，然后说：嗯，“有那个住址的电话号码，但我不能给你。”她说出于礼貌，她可以打那个电话，说明我的情况后，看接电话的人是否愿意让她再与我联系。
I waited a few minutes and then the supervisor was back on the line. "I have a party who will speak with you. " I asked the woman on the other end of the line if she knew anyone by the name of Hannah. She gasped. " Oh！ We bought this house from a family who had a daughter named Hannah. But that was thirty years ago！" "Would you know where that family could be located now?"
I asked. "I remember that Hannah had to place her mother in a nursing home some years ago， "the woman said. "Maybe if you got in touch with them， they might be able to track down the daughter. "She gave me the name of the nursing home， and I called the number. The woman on the phone told me the old lady had passed away some years ago， but the nursing home did have a phone number for where the daughter might be living. I thanked the person at the nursing home and phoned the number she gave me. The woman who answered explained that Hannah herself was now living in a nursing home. This whole thing is stupid， I thought to myself. Why am I making such a big deal over finding the owner of a wallet that has only three dollars and a letter that is almost sixty years old?
我等候了几分钟，然后那位负责人回到线上：“有一位女士将会和你说。”我问电话另一端的女士，她是否认识一个叫汉娜的人。她吃惊地说：“哦！我们从一户人家买来这栋房子，他们家的女儿叫汉娜。但已经是30年前的事了！”“你知道那户人家现在可能住在哪里吗？”
我追问。“我记得汉娜数年以前将她的母亲送到一家养老院，”女人说，“如果你和他们联系，他们可能会找到她女儿。”她给了我养老院的名字，我拨通了电话。电话中的女人告诉我老妇人数年前就已经过世，但是养老院确实有个电话号码，老妇人的女儿可能住在那里。我谢过养老院的人并按她给我的号码去了电话。接电话的女人解释说现在汉娜自己也是住在一家养老院内。我想这整件事真是太傻了，为什么我费这么大的劲去找只有３美元和一封信的钱夹主人，而那封信差不多已有60年了？