生命的精神支撐

小弗雷德·道·法格博士

The view of the high Sierra Lake， nestled in the snow and rock slightly below the timber line， was beautiful from my vantage point some five hundred feet above its shimmering surface. I was anxious to rejoin my companions and try the fishing before the afternoon shadow—edging out from the surrounding array of peaks—entirely covered the lake. Just a short distance beyond the intervening shale， the trail zigzagged down to the valley. I disliked the thought of returning by the long， tedious trail I had ascended， and decided to chance the shale—even though part of it lay above a sheer drop-off of several hundred feet.

I started working my way over the loose rock with considerable caution and had covered about half the distance when I became aware of a slight but persistent yielding of the shale under my feet. Desperately， I looked for something that would offer support and lurched forward to grasp a light outcropping of solid rock just as the surface shale underfoot—loosened from its foundation by the warm noonday sun—cascaded downward and disappeared over the cliff. Several seconds passed before I heard it rattle into the lake.

Finally， after due consideration of the folly of shortcuts， I managed to move from handhold to handhold and， at last， pulled myself to the trail by the aid of a dwarf juniper root. I have forgotten how many trout I caught that afternoon， but I have not forgotten the value of handhold.

Handholds are also needed during the course of everyday life. They provide

security when the things we depend upon seem to be slipping out from under us. What are the spiritual handholds I have found to be most valuable？

First， the teachings of the humble carpenters of Nazareth—for their insistence on the supreme worth of the individual， for their stressing of the significance of sympathetic understanding， and for their unsurpassed evidence of dauntless faith.

Second， the conviction that， while every person should delight in making a courageous and self-reliant effort to live up to his capabilities， there are well-springs of power outside himself that can be tapped—if he will avail himself of them.

Third， the nature of this world and of the people in it is determined more by our individual vision， understanding and conduct than by any material environmental factors， and that—in other words—nothing will produce the good world but the good man.

These are the principal spiritual handholds I have found to possess enduring value. They offer both an exciting challenge and a calm assurance. They are the things I believe.

坐落在高山上的謝拉湖，依偎在積雪與巖石的懷抱中，巖層往上是一片森林。從高出湖面約500英尺的觀景點(diǎn)看下去，湖面微波蕩漾，美不勝收。我著急與同伴再次會(huì)合，準(zhǔn)備在午后周圍群山的陰影尚未籠罩全湖之前，一起釣魚(yú)。離錯(cuò)層的頁(yè)巖不遠(yuǎn)，便是一條通往山谷的蜿蜒小路。我不想再走上山時(shí)所走的那條漫長(zhǎng)而乏味的小道，便決定試著走上頁(yè)巖——雖然這其中一段路的下面是幾百英尺的垂直峭壁。

我小心翼翼地走在松動(dòng)的頁(yè)巖上。大約走到一半時(shí)，我發(fā)現(xiàn)腳下的頁(yè)巖正一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)地不斷下滑。我急忙尋找可以抓住的東西。我向前一撲，抓住了一塊露出地表的堅(jiān)硬巖石。就在這時(shí)，腳下被午后陽(yáng)光照熱的頁(yè)巖表層開(kāi)始松動(dòng)，從山上滑了下去，消失在峭壁上。幾秒鐘后，我聽(tīng)到它落進(jìn)湖中的聲音。

最后，適當(dāng)考慮了一下抄近路這個(gè)愚蠢的行為后，我想辦法從一個(gè)支撐點(diǎn)挪到另一個(gè)支撐點(diǎn)，最終借助一棵矮松的根將自己拉到小路上。那天下午釣了多少條鱒魚(yú)，我已經(jīng)不記得了，但我絕對(duì)忘不了支撐點(diǎn)的重要性。

在日常生活中，支撐點(diǎn)也是非常重要的。當(dāng)我們的依靠即將從腳下溜走時(shí)，支撐點(diǎn)會(huì)帶給我們安全的保障。我發(fā)現(xiàn)的最有價(jià)值的精神支撐點(diǎn)是什么呢？

首先，是卑微的拿撒勒木匠們的教誨——他們主張個(gè)人價(jià)值至上，強(qiáng)調(diào)同情與理解的重要性，并為堅(jiān)定的信仰提供了卓越的證明。

其次，盡管我們每個(gè)人都應(yīng)該樂(lè)于勇敢、獨(dú)立地發(fā)揮自己的能力，但也要相信，只要我們?cè)敢?，我們也能從外界獲得力量之源。

再次，世界和人類的本質(zhì)更多的是取決于我們個(gè)人的視野、理解和行為，而不是物質(zhì)環(huán)境因素——也就是說(shuō)——唯有出色的人才能創(chuàng)造出美好的世界。

這些便是我所發(fā)現(xiàn)的最重要的精神支撐點(diǎn)，它們具有永恒的價(jià)值。它們給予的不僅是刺激的挑戰(zhàn)，還有令人安心的承諾。它們是我的信仰。

Word Study

shale /?e?l/ n. 頁(yè)巖

ascend /?'send/ v. 上升;升高;登高

lurch /l??t?/ v. 突然前傾（或向一側(cè)傾斜）

dauntless /'d??ntl?s/ adj. 無(wú)所畏懼的;嚇不倒的;勇敢的

avail /?'ve?l/ v. 有幫助;有益;有用

assurance /?'???r?ns/ n. 保證;擔(dān)保;自信