Be Happy!
[英]劳埃德·莫里斯/Lloyd Morris
“快乐的日子,使我们聪明。”
——约翰·梅斯菲尔德
第一次读到英国桂冠诗人梅斯菲尔德这行诗的时候,我非常惊讶,它真正的寓意是什么呢?不仔细考虑的话,我一直认为这句诗倒过来才对。不过他的冷静与自信却俘获了我,所以我一直无法忘记这句诗。终于,我好像领会了他的意思,意识到其中蕴涵着深刻的观察思考。快乐带来的智慧存在于清晰的心灵感觉中,不因忧虑、担心而困惑,不因绝望、厌烦而迟钝,不因惶恐而出现盲点。
跳动的快乐——不仅是满足或惬意——会突然到来,就像四月的春雨或是花蕾的绽放,然后你发觉智慧已随快乐而来。草儿更绿,鸟儿的歌声更加美妙,朋友的缺点也变得更加可以理解、原谅。快乐就像一副眼镜,可以修正你精神的视力。
快乐的视野并不受你周围事物的局限。只不过当你不快乐的时候,思想便转向你感情上的苦恼,眼界也就被心灵之墙隔断了。而当你快乐的时候,这道墙便崩塌了。
你的眼界更宽了。脚下的大地,身旁的世界——人们、思想、情感、压力——现在都溶进了一个更加宏伟的情境中,每件事都恰如其分。这就是智慧的开端。
"The days that make us happy make us wise."
—John Masefield
When I first read this line by England's Poet Laureate, it startled me. What did Masefield mean? Without thinking about it much, I had always assumed that the opposite was true. But his sober assurance was arresting. I could not forget it.
Finally, I seemed to grasp his meaning and realized that here was a profound observation. The wisdom that happiness makes possible lies in clear perception, not fogged by anxiety nor dimmed by despair and boredom, and without the blind spots caused by fear.