最成功的投资(2)

最成功的投资

One is the fact that I have come to see life as a gamble. The other is a belief in what some people call the hereafter. I try to live fully so that when and if my luck changes there will be little room for regret or recrimination over time lost or misspent.

　　My belief in the hereafter is wrapped in the intangible but stubborn thoughts of a layman. Very likely I would get lost in trying to describe or defend, by cold logic, my belief in God but nobody could argue me out of it.

　　我想我之所以能够重新振作起来，其中有两个重要的原因：一是我认为生活其实就是一场赌博，二是我对人们所说的来世深信不疑。为了在晦运时，不至于因虚度时光而后悔或自责，我努力让自己充实地生活。

　　作为一个普通信徒，无形而坚定的思想正是我信仰来世的来源。我信仰上帝，也许我难以用冷冰冰的逻辑来描述这个信仰或为它辩护，但谁也无法说服我放弃它。

　　I have come to believe that I owe life as much as it owes me, and I suppose that explains this fine satisfaction I get out of endeavoring to do a job to the best of what ability I have, and out of helping somebody else.

　　As a kid I used to ride a rake in the hayfields. I got a tremendous kick out of trying to sweep every field clean as a whistle. Here I made a surprising and happy discovery: that there could be actual enjoyment in the exercise of thoroughness and responsibility, and that duty didn’t have to be a drudge.

　　我相信，我对生活付出多少，就会得到多少。因此，我认为，我最大的满足正是来源于尽自己最大的努力去做一份工作或是帮助别人。

　　孩提时，我常会在干草地上开耙草机。在将每片草地耙干净的过程中，我总会获得极大的成就感，并惊奇地发现：尽心而尽责地完成一件事会为你带来真正的快乐，而尽责也并不一定是做苦工。

　　I don’t know exactly why, but I like to do things for other people. Not only family responsibilities, work on a hospital board, and various church organizations but also the most inconsequential things that might hardly seem worth the time.

　　我很喜欢为人服务。我不仅为家庭负责，在一家医院的理事会及各种教会组织中工作，我还会去做一些看似浪费时间的最无关紧要的琐事。

　　My office happens to be on Independence Square and now and then I have occasion to direct a tourist to the Liberty Bell or fill him in on a little of the history of Philadelphia. The tourist doesn’t seem to mind and it makes me feel good. I’m afraid

　　I’m not very profound. that I have found it a good investment. It has paid me a very high return, undoubtedly more than I deserve.I have tried to comprehend why something so simple and so sound as the Golden Rule is so often forgotten or held in disrepute. I can only say—and I say this quite selfishly—

　　我的办公室正好在独立广场，因此我偶尔会为去独立钟的游客带路，一路上给他讲一些费城的历史。虽然游客并不在乎这些，但我却乐此不疲。

　　我自己并非知识渊博之人。我常常想弄明白，像黄金定律那样简单而合理的箴言为何总被人们遗忘或不屑一顾。我只能说，也自私地说，我发现为人服务是一项最成功的投资。毫无疑问，它给予我的回报远远高于我的应得。