挖掘黃金

When I was a young boy in Santa Cruz， California， I used to help my Grandfather in the fields by his home. This was not his land but back in those days it was not unusual to barter with the neighbours to worked it for them so he could grow the vegetables that he loved. He would then share them with the neighbour for payment. He grew corn， beans， peas， zucchini， cucumbers and garlic. And nobody could grow bigger dahlias than my Grandfather.

As I worked alongside him he used to love to tell this story of a named Giuseppe （Joe） and his wife who moved to a new farm with their three sons. They were settling into the new community when a nearby farmer told Joe that there was gold in the dirt of his new property. Joe took that statement as that there was actual gold in the land. He thought to himself， “I have three healthy sons， I will tell them about it.” Indeed he told his sons that there was gold to be found in their new property. Needless to say his sons actually took charge of their personal enterprise right on their own land. They had visions of what they would do when they found gold. Each son had a different vision. For as young as they were， they set up quite a professional approach in the digging for gold.

They began in one corner with a certain width and kept going until they got to the end. Once they got to the property line they would start another swath and go back the other direction. They began to realize that digging for gold was fun！ This procedure went on for about six months.

Meanwhile Joe thought he would plant some crops in the area where the dirt had been turned thoroughly. He planted corn， tomatoes， potatoes and onions. His sons continued to dig through the soil， determined to find gold. As more dirt was available. Joe planted more crops. An interesting point here is that Joe had never farmed before but it had always been a dream of his to do so.

As each different crop became ready to be harvested Joe started to realize that there was more than he and his family could ever eat. One of Joes neighbors suggested that he set up a vegetable stand. Joe and his wife did that very thing. They called it Joe and Family Vegetables. Joe even had to leave some crops on the ground because he had more than enough to meet the demands at the vegetable stand.

What were Joes sons doing in the meantime？ They were still working the land even after they had finished the entire parcel. They started once again in the original corner， working in the leftover plant material while they were still on their quest to find gold.

This process went on for years and Joe and his wife became quite wealthy from their little vegetable stand. They were even able to send their sons off to college simply because they wanted to find gold.

Remember at the beginning of the story when Joe was told by his new neighbor that there was gold in the land？ Well， the truth is. Joes understanding of the English language was less than perfect. His new neighbor friend actually told him that his land had rich soil. So you can see where the concept of gold came in.

Did Joes sons become slaves to the digging？ No， they were inspired because they had visions of what money could do for them and did not focus on the money itself.

Is there a way we can take this story to a higher level？ Yes. The Universe provides us opportunity and sometimes dangles the carrot to inspire us. In essence， Joes sons were inspired with the possibility of finding gold in the soil. Some of you， Im sure， will draw your own meaning， but here is one to consider. Go out and pretend that there is gold in all your challenges and setbacks so that you can be inspired to motivate yourself to allow the Universe to provide all that you need and then some.

在我很小的時候，我的祖父家住在加利福尼亞的圣克魯斯城，我常常去祖父家附近的田地里幫他干農活。盡管那塊田地是屬于祖父的鄰居，但在那個時候，鄰居之間作實物交易是很常見的，所以祖父也能在那塊田地種上自己喜愛的蔬菜。而作為報酬，在收獲時祖父就與鄰居們一同分享果實。祖父通常種植玉米、大豆、豌 豆、南瓜、黃瓜和大蒜。祖父的農藝很高超，就連他種的大麗花長得也要比鄰居們種的高大許多。

當我在一旁幫祖父干農活時，他總愛給我講一個名叫喬的一家人的故事。故事是這樣的：喬帶著妻子和三個兒子搬到了一個新的農場。當喬一家人住進一個新社區以后，附近的一位農夫告訴喬說他的地里有黃金。喬聽后以為這片土地上有真的黃金存在，就在心里暗想：我有三個健壯的兒子，我應該把這件事告訴他們。于是，喬告訴他的兒子說，在他們家的這塊新地產上可以找到黃金。不必說，他的兒子們立刻去地里挖掘黃金了，就好像把這件事當成了自己的事業一樣。他們幻想著找到黃金以后去做什么，但每一個人都有各自不同的夢想。因為他們如此年輕，還提出了一個相當專業的挖掘黃金的方法。

他們先從一個角落開始挖掘，并以特定的一個寬度繼續向前挖，一直挖到這塊土地的盡頭。當他們挖到盡頭，他們會開始另外挖一條并反向挖回去。他們漸漸覺得挖掘黃金這件事充滿了無窮的樂趣！就這樣不知不覺，他們連續挖了六個月。

與此同時，喬有了新的想法，他打算在這些徹底翻新過的土地上種一些農作物。于是，他開始種玉米、西虹柿、馬鈴薯和洋蔥。而他的兒子們仍在這塊土地上繼續不停地挖掘著，一心想找到黃金。隨著可利用的土地越來越多，喬的農作物也越種越多。有趣的是，喬以前從來不會種田，那似乎是他所不敢想象的，然而現在他卻做到了。

當到了各種農作物快要被收割的時候，喬意識到這要比他一家人所需要的食物多得多。這時喬的一位鄰居建議他在地里設立一個蔬菜區用來出售。于是喬和妻子聽取了他的意見，并把它稱為“喬家蔬菜”。喬在蔬菜區留了足夠多的蔬菜，以滿足顧客的需求。

那么與此同時，喬的兒子們在做什么呢？他們仍然在這塊土地上挖掘著黃金，甚至當所有的土地都被翻過以后。他們在開始的角落里又重新挖了起來，而這時地里的莊稼已經收割完，他們在這塊留有農作物殘枝敗葉的土地上仍然繼續追逐著他們的黃金夢。

幾年過去了，喬和妻子靠著他們的那塊蔬菜地，已經變得相當富有。他們甚至能供得起兒子去上大學，而不想再看到他們的兒子只想著挖黃金。

再讓我們回顧一下故事的開頭，不正是喬的新鄰居告訴他地里有黃金的嗎？然而，事實是：喬對英語理解得還不夠透徹。他的新鄰居其實是說他那塊土地有肥沃的土壤，所以你應該知道黃金的概念來自哪兒了吧。

喬的兒子們成為挖掘土地的奴隸了嗎？不，他們只是一昧地幻想著金錢能為他們做什么，并被無數個幻想所激勵，但從未考慮過獲取金錢的正確途徑。

我們對這個故事是否可以有一個更深刻的理解呢？答案是肯定的。這個世界提供給我們的機會有很多，然而，有時候上天對我們的這些賞賜又是懸而未定的。事實上，喬的兒子們是被在土壤里找到黃金的這種可能性所激勵。我相信，每一個人對此都有自己不同的理解，但有一點是值得大家借鑒的。在面對挑戰與挫折時，假設它們當中也有“黃金”，讓它激勵著你勇敢向前，讓這個世界為你創造出你所需要的一切。