OWNED BY PARROT01

Life is good, really good. Sometimes I feel like the good karma train picked me up, and simply refuses to let me off.

生活不错，很不错。有时我觉得仿佛坐上了一列善有善报 的列车，想下车都不行。

I have an amazing wife, a teenage son that makes me glow with pride, good health, a wonderful family and the best friends a guy could ask for. I have a lot to be grateful for.

我有个人人夸好的妻子，有个给我脸 上增光的十几岁的儿子，我们身体健康，家庭美满和睦，还有 一帮世上最棒的朋友。我有好多值得感恩的东西。

For many years now, “thank you” has become my meditation as I start each day.

多年来，“感 谢老天” 经成了我开始每一天的默祷词。

But the truth is, life was not always this good. It wasn’t all that long ago, when the resume’ of my life looked radically different.

可是事实上，生活并不总是这么美好。就在不久前，我的 人生简历看上去还是迥然不同。

At one time, my life was filled with nearly everything people try to avoid.

曾经一度，我的生活充满了令 每个人都想躲避的东西。

Experiencing everything from unhappy relationships to financial struggles, poor health, depression, and an endless stream of negative habits was a part of my daily life.

从让人沮丧的婚姻,到困窘的经济状况， 糟糕的健康，抑郁的心情和无穷无尽的坏毛病，都是我每天生 活的一部分。

It seemed that no matter how hard I tried, happiness was constantly eluding me and disappointment became my shadow.

似乎不管我怎么努力，快乐总是躲着我走，而失 望则如影随形。

It also seemed as if I was paving the way for a future that sadly resembled my father’s…until he took his own life at the age of 54.

而且似乎我在亦步亦趋地把日子过成父亲那样， 他在54岁的时候自杀了。

This was a defining moment for me. Once the shock of losing my father began to fade, clarity and a new sense of purpose became the dominant force in my life.

那一刻成了我人生的转折点，一度失 去父亲所受的打击开始消退，慈善和生活的目标感开始支配我 的生活。

I remember feeling as if I had “met myself” for the very first time while also becoming conscious of my life’s true purpose.

我觉着好像有生以来第一次发现了自己，认识到了生 命的真正目的。

It was in that moment that I had made a major decision. Not only would I change my own life, but I would also make a difference in the lives of others.

从那一刻起，我便做了一个重大决定。我不仅 要改变自己的生活，而且要令别人的生活改观。

Enlightenment and epiphanies can show up in some pretty strange ways. The Buddha found it under a Boddhi tree, Nelson Mandela in prison and spiritual guru Ram Dass through psychedelic drugs.

令人茅塞顿开的灵光会以相当奇特的方式出现。佛祖在菩 提树下悟道；纳尔逊?曼德拉在狱中觉醒；灵魂大师瑞姆?达; 斯则在致幻剂中获得升华。

Little did I know, mine would arrive in the form of a hard-shelled reptile simply trying to cross the road — a turtle.

我从未曾料到，我的启示会以一只 试图穿越马路的硬壳爬行动物的形象出现，它是一只乌龟。

But this wasn’t just any turtle, this was the world’s most optimistic one. He was tenaciously determined to cross twenty feet of tar as cars zoomed by at 55 mph.

但这可不是一只普通的乌龟，这是世上最乐观的一只乌龟。 它不屈不挠地打算穿越一条宽20英尺的柏油马路，路上是川流 不息的以时速55英里行驶的车辆。

But today was his lucky day.

可是今天是它的幸运日。

My wife’s quick reflexes not only ensured that “turtle soup” would not be for dinner that night, but her act of kindness would eventually become the foundation for everything I teach today.

我 妻子的快速反应不仅保证了它不会以“乌龟汤”的形式成为今 晚的餐桌一景，而且她接下来的善举还成就了我今天要讲述的 一切的基础。

As unusual as this sounds, the simple act of pulling our car over, removing this little turtle from harms way, and placing him back into the wild, caused something extraordinary to happen inside of me.

这听上去要多玄有多玄，一个简单的将车停到路边， 把这只小乌龟救离险境并将之归还给大自然的举动引发了我内 心深处一场惊天动地的变革。

As I stood there holding this tiny creature in my hands, a wave of pure joy came over me. It was that warm, teary-eyed sensation that we feel during life’s greatest moments; like falling in love or the birth of a child.

当我站在那里,手捧着这个小生命， 一种纯粹的喜悦感席卷了我。那是一种温暖的催人泪下的感觉， 往往发生在人生最伟大的时刻，比如坠入爱河，比如婴儿降生。

I honestly felt as if my heart was completely opening up as everything stood still around me. In no way would I have described it as “enlightenment”, but there was no doubt about it—helping this little turtle just felt so damn good! But why? After all, it’s just a turtle, right?

我真的觉得我的心完完全全地向着我周围静止的万物开启。我 不想把这称之为“启示”，但它又千真万确就是一一帮助这只小 乌龟感觉真是太棒了！可是，为什么会这样？它终究不过是一只乌龟嘛，是吧？

And then it hit me. I finally realized what was happening. At that point, a flood of inspiring thoughts surged through me.

然后事情发生了。我终于明白自己顿悟到了什么。彼时彼刻， 思想的潮水汹涌而至。

I walked back to the car, opened my journal and wrote eight words that would later prove to be life changing for me: “kindness creates happiness” and “live a life of kindness”. It was the answer I had been looking for. The secret to inner peace and lasting happiness was kindness.

我走回车里，打开笔记本，写下8个字， 事后证明这8个字成为了我的人生转折点：“善生乐”，以及“人 生须行善”。这就是我孜孜以求的答案。内心宁静和永远快乐的 奥秘就是善?

Not “random acts of” or simply being nice, but rather as…a way of life. I had already known the benefits of kindness through studying many eastern philosophies, but I had never actually considered it as a lifestyle.

不是“偶尔为之”或简单发发善心，而是变成一 种生活方式。我已经通过研究许多东方哲学知道了善的妙处， 但从没想过要把它变成一种生活方式。

But, this day was just beginning…

可是，这一天来临了。

Just thirty minutes after my mini-epiphany, my wife and I arrived at our original destination—a country garden show. After walking around for just a few minutes, a gentle faced 60-something looking man waved me over to the front porch of his farmhouse, for no apparent reason.

就在我小小顿悟完毕的30分钟后，我和妻子到了原定的目 的地，那是一个乡村花园展览所。四处走了一小会儿 一个60 岁左右的慈眉善目的男人在他的农舍门前向我挥手，好像没什 么明显的理由。

The entire setting was like a scene out of an old movie — weathered rocking chairs — the smell of cookies baking — and a coon cat that looked as old as the farmhouse itself. “Let her look around, come and sit with me” he said.

这一幕完全像是老电影中的场景：老旧的摇椅， 烘烤糕点的气息，一只看上去和农舍一样老的长毛猫。“让她随 意走走，你过来坐坐。”他说，

I had no idea what to expect, but as I sunk into the large wicker chair beside him, I couldn’t help feeling that he was going to say something profound.

我不知道将要发生什么，但当我坐进他身旁那张宽大的藤 椅里，不由觉得他会对我说些意味深长的话。

After all, if a turtle can change my life, why not a wise old farmer? After a brief hello and a polite introduction, we simply sat in silence and let the sunlight warm our faces.

毕竟，要是一只 乌龟都能改变我的人生，为什么一个睿智的老农不能呢？

After what seemed like an eternity, he finally spoke. “You know” he said, “I’ve often thought that the meaning of life is making things a little bit easier for those around us , what do you think?”.

简单 寒暄之后，我们都静静地坐着，阳光温暖地照着脸庞。好像过 了—辈子那么久，他终于开□了。“你瞧，”他说，“我常以为， 生命的意义是让周围的人过得好一点，你说呢？”

I was speechless. It felt like I had just been hit on the head again with life’s big karma stick.

我哑口无言。 好像脑袋上又挨了人生的一记闷棍。

He went on to tell me his version of “the secrets to life” and how “true happiness can only be found by loving and serving others”.

他继续跟我说起他理解的“人生奥秘”，和“真正的快乐只能从关爱和服务他人中获得’

Finally he finished with, “oh, and don’t forget…you really gotta’ love the one you’re with…yourself ”.

最后他说，“喚，别忘了……你必须得爱你与之相伴的那个人, 就是你自己”。

Life was obviously trying to tell me something. In the days and weeks that followed, the world looked completely different to me.

显然，生活会让我领悟到些什么。随后的几天和几个星期， 整个世界在我眼中完全变了模样。

The more I studied and tested my “kindness creates happiness” theory, the more I was blown away by its life-changing power.

我越是研究和验证我的“善生 乐”理论，我越是为它那改变人生的力量所倾倒。

I realized that most of my disappointments in life were simply because I had been unkind to others and especially to myself.

我发现生活中 绝大多数失望都是源于我对别人的不善，尤其是对自己的不善。

After spending much of my life thinking “what’s in it for me”, my new inner mantra became; “Am I being kind?”. This one simple question changed my life. So, whenever I feel the need to disagree with my wife, lash out at a rude employee in the mall or even before I shove ten cookies into my mouth, I go within and ask; “am I being kind?”. These four little words have become my source to inner peace.

花了大半辈子琢磨人生的意义，我的新灵魂咒语变成，“我 有没有为善？”这个简单的问题改变了我的生活。当我想和妻子 争论的时候，当我想对粗鲁的商店售货员训斥的时候，甚至当 我想往嘴巴里狂塞饼干的时候，我都会自问，“我有没有为善广 这几个字成为我内心平静的源泉。

It has created many positive changes in me such as recycling and acting more “green” and consciously respecting all of life. I even stopped setting the mousetraps in the garage. (My wife is going to kill me when she reads that last one).

它在我内心生出许多好的变 化，比如循环再利用资源，做环保人士，而且有意识地尊重一 切事物。我甚至不再在车库里安置捕鼠器（我妻子要是读到这 最后一句可能会杀了我)。

Another big change in my life was the irresistible urge to perform “spontaneous acts of kindness”. Things like buying coffee for strangers and giving money to the homeless just seemed natural. Each kind act felt like a blissful surge of energy through my chest.

另一个大变化是我控制不住地要去做 “自然而然的善行”。比如给陌生人买咖啡，把零钱给流浪汉等， 这样的行为做起来是那么自然。每个蕃行都好似一股幸福的能 量在我胸膛里汹涌澎湃。

But what became even more exhilarating were the intense feelings of warmth towards everyone around me — especially difficult people. Whether there was someone who acted rude in traffic or an inconsiderate person in line at the grocery store, I no longer felt anxious or offended — I simply wished for their happiness. That’s when I realized what it truly meant to be living kindness.

但最让人愉快的是对我周围每一个人 的强烈的亲切感，尤其是对那些坏脾气的人。不管是粗野无礼 的司机，还是食品店排队加塞的家伙，我不再觉得焦灼不安或 是怒不可遏，我只是希望他们能快乐。那是当我明白了人生须 行蕃的真意之后。

All thanks to an unexpected turtle crossing the street, that one day.

所有这一切，都要归功于那天的一只不期而至穿过马路的乌龟。