雷雨中的頓悟

⊙ By Nelson Glueck翻譯：藍藍

雷雨中的頓悟

⊙ By Nelson Glueck翻譯：藍藍

突然遇到傾盆大雨，你的第一反應是不是撒腿就跑，趕緊找個地方躲雨呢？不過，有些景色，在風雨中確實另有一番滋味；而有些領悟，或許只能在等著雨停的時候才會有所感受呢……

Many years ago, I was on a bicycle trip through some1)exceedingly2)picturesque countryside. Suddenly, dark clouds piled up overhead and rain began to fall, but3)strange to relate, several hundred4)yards ahead of me the sun shone brilliantly. Pedaling, however, as rapidly as I could, I found it impossible to get into the clear. The clouds with their rain kept advancing faster than I could race forward. I continued this unequal5)contest for an exhausting half hour, before realizing that I could not win my way to the bright area ahead of me.

Then it6)dawned upon me that I was wasting my strength in unimportant hurry, while paying no attention7)whatsoever to the landscape for the sake of which I was making the trip. The storm could not last forever, and the discomfort was not unendurable. Indeed, there was much to look at which might otherwise have escaped me. As I gazed about with sharpened appreciation, I saw colors and lines and8)contours that would have

1) exceedingly [Ik5si:dINlI] adv. 非常，極端地

2) picturesque [7pIktFE5resk] adj. （景色）如畫的，美麗的

3) strange to relate 說來奇怪，奇怪的是

4) yard [jB:d] n. 碼，1碼=3英尺≈0.914米。

5) contest [5k?ntest] n. 比賽，角逐，競爭

6) dawn upon 意識到，突然想到

7) whatsoever [7hw?tsEJ5evE(r)] pron. 無論什么

8) contour [5k?ntJE(r)] n. 輪廓，外形appeared differently under brilliant light. The rain mists which now9)crowned the wooded hills and the fresh clearness of the different greens were entrancing. My annoyance at the rain was gone, and my eagerness to escape it vanished. It had provided me with a new view and helped me understand that the sources of beauty and satisfaction may be found close at hand within the range of one’s own10)sensibilities.

It helped me realize that there is no sense in my attempting ever to flee from circumstances and conditions which cannot be avoided but which I might bravely meet, and frequently11)mend, and often turn to good account. I know that half the battle is won if I can face trouble with courage, disappointment with12)spirit, and13)triumph with14)humility. It has become ever clearer to me that danger is far from disaster, that defeat may be the forerunner of final victory, and that,15)in the last analysis, all achievement is16)perilously fragile unless based on17)enduring principles of moral conduct.

I have learned that trying to find a carefree world somewhere far off involves me in an endless chase, in the course of which the opportunity for happiness and the happiness of attainment are all too often lost in the chase itself. It has become apparent to me that I cannot wipe out the pains of existence by denying them, blaming them largely or completely on others, or running away from them. The elements of weakness which mark every person cannot18)absolve me from the19)burdens and20)blessings of responsibility for myself and to others. I can21)magnify but never lessen my problems by ignoring,22)evading, or23)exorcising them. I believe that my24)perplexities and difficulties can be considerably25)resolved, if not completely overcome, by my own attitudes and actions. I am convinced that there can be no guarantee of my happiness, except that I help26)evoke and27)enhance it by the work of my hands, and the28)dictates of my heart, and the direction of my striving.

9) crown [kraJn] v. 加在頂上

10) sensibility [7sensI5bIlItI] n. 敏感性，感受力

11) mend [mend] v. 改進，改良

12) spirit [5spIrIt] n. 活力，銳氣

13) triumph [5traIEmf] n. 勝利，成功

14) humility [hju:5mIlItI] n. 謙恭，謙遜

15) in the last analysis 歸根結底

16) perilously [5perIlEslI] adv. 危險地

17) enduring [In5djJErIN] adj. 持久的，永久的

18) absolve [Eb5z?lv] v. 解除（承諾、義務等）

19) burden [5b:d(E)n] n. 負擔，重任

20) blessing [5blesIN] n. 幸福，可喜的事情

21) magnify [5mA^nIfaI] v. 放大，擴大

22) evade [I5veId] v. 逃避，規避

23) exorcise [5eksR:saIz] v. 驅趕，抹去

24) perplexity [pE5pleksEtI] n. 困惑，混亂

25) resolve [rI5z?lv] v. 解決

26) evoke [I5vEJk] v. 喚起，引起

27) enhance [In5hAns] v. 增加，提高

28) dictate [5dIkteIt] n. （發自內心、非遵守不可的）指令

Then it dawned upon me that I was wasting my strength in unimportant hurry, while paying no attention whatsoever to the landscape for the sake of which I was making the trip.

短語for the sake of是一個我們在日常生活中經常會聽到、看到的詞組，可以表達“由于，為了，為了……的利益”等意思，強調短語后面引出的內容正是目的所在，如：He gave up smoking for the sake of health. （出于健康考慮，他把煙都戒了。）

許多年前，我騎著自行車出外游玩，路過一片風景絕美的鄉村郊野。突然大片烏云壓頂，大雨傾盆而下；不過說來奇怪，就在前方幾百碼的地方，竟是一派陽光燦爛。即便我蹬著車，盡快往前沖，卻怎么也到不了天晴的地方。烏云夾著大雨不斷推進，速度比我還快。筋疲力盡地騎了半個小時后，我放棄了這場不對等的比賽，終于意識到自己根本無法到達前頭那片晴朗的天地。

那一刻，我突然明白了，我之前一直在毫無意義地匆匆趕路，浪費自己的體力，卻不曾好好欣賞沿途的各色景致——而后者其實才是我這次出游的目的。暴雨不會沒完沒了地下，而淋雨的不適感還算可以忍受。的確，這一路上有許多值得一看的景致，平時的我大概不會注意到這一切。我以更敏銳的目光欣賞著周圍的景色，看到的各種色彩、線條與輪廓，都與它們在明媚日光下的模樣大異其趣。朦朧煙雨籠罩著樹木繁茂的青山，各種不同的綠意清新明朗，令人神迷。至此，我對大雨的懊惱早已消散，急于避雨的沖動也消失了。大雨帶給我一種全新的視角，讓我懂得了一個道理——只要我們自身具備感受力，就能找到身邊的美好與滿足。

這次經歷讓我明白了一個道理：對于無法避免的處境與狀況，企圖逃避是毫無意義的；但我可以勇敢面對，時常改善，最后事情多半能有好結果。我知道，只要勇敢地面對困難，振奮地面對失望，謙遜地面對成功，那人生的戰役便已成功了一半。我也更清楚地意識到，危險遠非災難，而失敗也許就是最后勝利的前兆。因此，歸根結底，只有以經受得起時間考驗的道德準則為基礎，已經取得的各種成就才不會脆弱不堪、危如累卵。

我發現，試圖在遙遠的地方尋找一個無憂無慮的世界只會讓我陷入無休無止的追尋之中——正是在這種追尋的過程中，一個人常常會錯過獲得幸福的機會，以及取得成就的快樂。我逐漸明白了，拒絕承認痛苦，或者將多數或全部的問題歸咎于他人，或者選擇逃避了事，其實都無法消除生活的苦難。

盡管每個人都會有他的不足之處，但這并不意味著我就不需要對自己和他人負責，這種責任帶來的負擔與福氣并不能因此免除。置之不理、避之不談或是拋諸腦后都不會讓問題大事化小，這些做法或許只會讓情況更加惡化。我相信，哪怕無法徹底克服，我所遇到的各種疑難依然可以通過自己的態度與行為得到一定的解決。我確信，只要靠著自己的雙手努力工作，聽從內心的指引，朝著目標奮斗進取，我才能喚起并提高內心的幸福感，才能真正獲得幸福。