An Identity of One’s Own
佚名 / Anonymous
In the eternal universe， every human being has a one-off chance to live—his existence is unique and irretrievable， for the mold with which he was made， as Rousseau said， was broken by God immediately afterwards.
Fame， wealth and knowledge are merely worldly possessions that are within the reach of anybody striving for them. But your experience of and feelings about life are your own and not to be shared. No one can live your life over again after your death. A full awareness of this will point out to you that the most important thing in your existence is your distinctive individuality or something special of yours. What really counts is not your worldly success but your peculiar insight into the meaning of life and your commitment to it， which add luster to your personality.
It is not easy to be what one really is. There is many person in the world who can be identified as anything—either his job， his status or his social role—that shows no trace about his individuality. It does do him justice to say that he has no identity of his own， if he doesn’t know his own mind and all his things are either arranged by others or done on others’ suggestions； if his life， always occupied by external things， is completely void of an inner world. You won’t be able to find anything whatever， from head to heart， that truly belongs to him. He is， indeed， no more than a shadow cast by somebody else or a machine capable of doing business.
在浩渺的大千世界中，每个人都仅有一次生存的机会——它是独一无二，不可挽回的。正如卢梭所说，上帝创造了你，即刻打碎了那个属于你的特定模子。
名誉、财富、知识等仅为身外之物，并且每个人都在为获取它们而努力奋斗着。但你的人生经历和感受却是你的私人财产，无人可与你分享。你死后，也无人能替你再活一次。如果你真正意识到了这一点，你就会懂得，人生在世，活出自己的独特个性和滋味是最重要的。衡量你的人生有意义与否的标准不是外在的成功，而是你对人生意义的独特理解和感悟，从而使个性绽放异彩。