第1章

Everyone Needs Gratitude每个人都需要感动

1. A man punished his 3-year-old daughter for wasting a roll of gold wrapping paper. Money was tight and he became infuriated when the child tried to decorate a box.

2. Nevertheless, the little girl brought the gift to her father on Christmas morning and said, “This is for you, Daddy.” He was embarrassed by his earlier overreaction, but his anger flared again when he found the box was empty.

3. He yelled at her, “Don’ t you know when you give someone a present, there’ s supposed to be something inside it?”

4. The little girl looked up at him with tears in her eyes and said, “Oh, Daddy, it’ s not empty, I blew kisses into the box. All for you, Daddy.”

5. The father was crushed. He put his arms around his little girl, and he begged for her forgiveness.

6. It was not long before the girl was killed in a terrible accident. It is told that the man kept that gold box by his bed for years and whenever he was discouraged, he would take out an imaginary kiss and remember the love of the child who had put it there.

7. In fact, when you express gratitude, you show your love and appreciation. Everyone needs to feel these things every day. Look at everyone with grateful eyes. Listen to your heart and the heart of your loved ones. Speak words of affirmation every day of your life. Be grateful for your life with all its lessons and blessings. The more grateful thoughts and feelings you experience and express the more instrumental you will be in healing the world. And your outlook on life will improve in the process.

1. 一位父亲惩罚了自己三岁的小女儿，因为她把一整卷精美而昂贵的包装纸剪坏了。当看到女儿用这卷包装纸包盒子时，想到家里低微的收入，这位父亲越发生气了。

2. 不管怎样，在圣诞节那天早晨，女儿还是把她精心用金色包装纸包好的礼物送给了爸爸： “爸爸，这是给你的礼物。” 很显然，此刻爸爸因为之前的过激行为而十分尴尬，当他打开礼物时，却发现里面空空如也。

3. 他非常生气，朝女儿吼道： “难道你不知道，送别人礼物时应该在盒子里放上东西吗？”

4. 小姑娘很委屈，含着眼泪对爸爸说： “不，爸爸，这个盒子不是空的。我把它包好之前，在里面装了满满的吻。都是给你的，爸爸。”

5. 爸爸呆住了，他紧紧地把小女儿抱在怀里，请求她的原谅。

6. 之后不久，一次可怕的事故夺去了小女孩的生命，而这位父亲一生都把这只金色的盒子摆在床头。每当面对非常刺手的问题或是缺乏勇气的时候，他就会打开这只盒子，想象着接受女儿的一个吻，回想着孩子放在里面的爱。

7. 其实，当你表示感动的时候，就展现出了你的爱心和感激。每个人每天都需要这些感受。看下那些感动的眼神，聆听你的内心和你所爱的人的内心，每天说些肯定的话，倾听令你感动的教训和祝福。你拥有的感动的思想和感情越多，你对社会的作用就越大，你对生命的见解也会更深。

一个简单的举止也许会改变人的一生，无论是好是坏。上帝让我们走进彼此的生命，在一定程度上影响着彼此。我们也要在其他人身上寻找到上帝的影子。

Love: The One Creative Force爱：能够创造奇迹的力量

1. A college professor had his sociology class go into the Baltimore slums to get case histories of 200 young boys. They were asked to write an evaluation of each boy’ s future. In every case the students wrote, “He hasn’ t got a chance.” Twenty-five years later another sociology professor came across the earlier study. He had his students follow up on the project to see what had happened to these boys.

2. With the exception of 20 boys who had moved away or died, the students learned that 176 of the remaining 180 had achieved more than ordinary success as lawyers, doctors and businessmen.

3. The professor was astounded and decided to pursue the matter further. Fortunately, all men were in the area and he was able to ask each one, “How do you account for your success?” In each case the reply came with feeling, “There was a teacher.”

4. The teacher was still alive, so he sought her out and asked the old but still alert lady what magic formula she had used to pull these boys out of the slums into successful achievement. The teacher’ s eyes sparkled and her lips broke into a gentle smile. “It’ s really very simple,” she said. “I loved those boys.”

1. 一个大学教授在上社会学课的时候，让他的学生去巴尔的摩贫民窟找200个男孩的历史记录，并且要求写出对每个男孩未来的评估。对每个孩子，学生都这样评价着： “他这辈子完了。” 25年以后另外一个社会学教授发现了这个早期的研究，并让他的学生继续探究这个研究，看看这些男孩到底怎么样了。

2. 这些男孩中除了已经去世或者迁居的20位以外，学生发现，剩下的180人中有176人都获得了比普通人更大的成就，他们中有律师，医生，还有商人。

3. 教授大吃一惊并决定进一步地探究下去。幸运的是，这些长成人的孩子还都在这个地区，因此教授有机会挨个去问他们： “你是如何获得你的这些成就的？” 很让人感动的是，他们的回答如出一辙： “因为我有一位好老师。”

4. 这个老师还健在。当教授找到这位年迈但仍不失机警的妇人，问她到底有什么魔法能让这些贫民窟的孩子都获得如此成就的时候，这位老师眼里闪耀着光芒，她的嘴唇露出一抹温柔微笑， “很简单，” 她说， “因为我爱这些孩子。”

1. Last year around Halloween, I was invited to participate in a carnival for Tuesday’ s Child, an organization that helps children with the AIDS virus. I was asked to attend because I’ m on a television show; I went because I care. I don’ t think that most of the kids recognize me as a celebrity. They just thought of me as a big kid who came to play with them for the day. I think I liked it better that way.

2. At the carnival they had all kinds of booths. I was drawn to one in particular because of all the children that had gathered there. At this booth, anyone who wanted to could paint a square. Later that square was going to be sewn together with the others, to make a quilt. The quilt would be presented to a man who had dedicated his life to this organization and would soon be retiring.

3. They gave everyone fabric paints in bright, beautiful colors and asked the kids to paint something that would make the quilt beautiful. As I looked around at all the squares, I saw pink hearts and bright blue clouds, beautiful orange sunrises and green and purple flowers. The pictures were all bright, positive and uplifting. All except for one.

4. The boy sitting next to me was painting a heart, but it was dark, empty, and lifeless. It lacked the bright, vibrant colors that his fellow artists had used.

5. At first I thought maybe he took the only paint that was left and it just happened to be dark. But when I asked him about it, he said his heart was that color because his own heart felt dark. I asked him why and he told me that he was very sick. Not only was he very sick, but his mom was very sick also. He said that his sickness was not ever going to get better and neither was his mom’ s. He looked straight into my eyes and said, “There is nothing anyone can do that will help.”

6. I told him I was sorry that he was sick and I could certainly understand why he was so sad. I could even understand why he had made his heart a dark color. But... I told him that it isn’ t true that there is nothing anyone can do to help. Other people may not be able to make him or his mom better... but we can do things like give bear hugs, which in my experience can really help when you are feeling sad. I told him that if he would like, I would be happy to give him one so he could see what I meant. He instantly crawled into my lap and I thought my own heart would burst with the love I felt for this sweet little boy.

7. He sat there for a long time and when he had had enough, he jumped down to finish his coloring. I asked him if he felt any better and he said that he did, but he was still sick and nothing would change that. I told him I understood. I walked away feeling sad, but recommitted to this cause. I would do whatever I could to help.

8. As the day was coming to an end and I was getting ready to head home, I felt a tug on my jacket. I turned around and standing there with a smile on his face was the little boy. He said, “My heart is changing colors. It is getting brighter... I think those bear hugs really do work.”

9. On my way home I felt my own heart and realized it, too, had changed to a brighter color.

1. 去年大约在万圣节前夕，我应邀参加了一个由 “TUESDAY’ S CHILD” 主办的嘉年华，该组织旨在帮助那些感染了艾滋病的儿童。我之所以受邀是因为我是一个电视节目的主持人；我之所以参加是因为我也很关注他们。我想绝大多数孩子并不会把我当作一位名人。他们只会把我当作一个在这里陪他们玩的大孩子而已。我想我更喜欢这样。

2. 在嘉年华上，孩子们有各种各样的棚。我看到所有孩子都聚在一个棚子下面，我也被他们吸引了过去。在棚下，大家都想画一个棉桃。一会后，棉桃彼此错综在一起，做成了一个被子，这个被子将被送给将其一生奉献给这个组织的人，他不久将会退休。

3. 他们把鲜艳的、色彩各异的颜料发给每个孩子，让孩子在这个被子上画点什么东西把它弄好看。我在场地转悠，看到他们画的有红色的心，湛蓝色的云彩，橘黄色的日出，翠绿的绿叶和紫罗兰色的花朵。所有的图案都是那么明亮，乐观和向上。可只有一幅例外。

4. 坐在我的旁边的那个男孩，正在画一个心形，可这个心却是暗淡的，空荡荡的，死气沉沉的。它没有他的 “大作家” 伙伴们所画的那样色彩明亮，富有活力。

5. 起初，我还认为是他碰巧画了这么一幅色调暗淡的图画，但当我问他时，他说他的心就是这种颜色的，因为他感到生活的灰暗。当我问他为什么时，他说他的身体有病，而且他妈妈病情也很重。他注视着我的双眼说： “对于这样的情况，谁也无能为力。”

6. 我对他说听到他生病的情况我也很难过。我非常理解他的悲伤，甚至都能明白他为什么把心绘成灰色的原因。但是……我告诉他不是 “谁都无能为力” 。其他人可能不能让他和他妈妈的身体好一点，但我们可以做一些自己力所能及的事情，比如一个温暖的拥抱，特别是当他们感到悲伤时，一个拥抱能发挥意想不到的作用。我告诉他如果他愿意的话，我会很高兴拥抱他一下的，让他明白我的用心。他立即跳到我的腿上。此刻，就是这个可爱男孩，使我感觉心里已经充满了爱。

7. 他在我腿上待了好久，坐到心满意足后，才跳下去完成自己的涂色工作。我问他是否感觉舒服多了，他说是的，可自己的病还是没有好，一切都无法改变。我对他说我知道。我离开时心情很悲伤，但我会再为这件事做些努力的，尽自己的一切力量帮助他。

8. 天快黑时，我正准备回家。这时，我感到有人在拽我的夹克衫，我回头一望，原来是他，站在那里，稚嫩的脸蛋上挂着灿烂的微笑。他说： “我心里的颜色在变，它将变得越来越亮……我想那温暖的拥抱真的有用。”

9. 回家的路上，我触摸着我的心脏，意识到它的颜色也变得越来越亮了。

For Three Solid Years’ Waiting整整三年的等待

1. Located in the checkroom in Union Station as I am, I see everybody that comes up the stairs.

2. Harry came in a little over three years ago and waited at the head of the stairs for the passengers from the 9:05 train.

3. I remember seeing Harry that first evening. He wasn’ t much more than a thin, anxious kid then. He was all dressed up and I knew he was meeting his girl and that they would be married twenty minutes after she arrived.

4. Well, the passengers came up and I had to get busy. I didn’ t look toward the stairs again until nearly time for the 9:18 and I was very surprised to see that the young fellow was still there.

5. She didn’ t come on the 9:18 either, nor on the 9:40, and when the passengers from the 10:02 had all arrived and left, Harry was looking pretty desperate. Pretty, soon he came close to my window so I called out and asked him what she looked like.

6. “She’ s small and dark,” he said, “and nineteen years old and very neat in the way she walks. She has a face,” he said, thinking a minute, “that has lots of spirit. I mean she can get mad but she never stays mad for long, and her eyebrows come to a little point in the middle. She’ s got a brown fur, but maybe she isn’ t wearing it.”

7. I couldn’ t remember seeing anybody like that.

8. He showed me the telegram he’ d received: ARRIVE THURSDAY. MEET ME STATION. LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE. MAY. It was from Omaha, Nebraska.

9. “Well,” I finally said, “why don’ t you phone to your home? She’ s probably called there if she got in ahead of you.”

10. He gave me a sick look. “I’ ve only been in town two days. We were going to meet and then drive down South where I’ ve got a job. She hasn’ t any address for me.” He touched the telegram.

11. When I came on duty the next day he was still there and came over as soon as he saw me.

12. “Did she work anywhere?” I asked.

13. He nodded. “She was a typist. I telegraphed her former boss. All they know is that she left her job to get married.”

14. Harry met every train for the next three or four days. Of course, the railroad lines made a routine checkup and the police looked into the case. But nobody was any real help. I could see that they all figured that May had simply played a trick on him. But I never believed that, somehow.

15. One day, after about two weeks, Harry and I were talking and I told him about my theory. “If you’ ll just wait long enough,” I said, “you’ ll see her coming up those stairs some day.” He turned and looked at the stairs as though he had never seen them before.

16. The next day when I came to work Harry was behind the counter of Tony’ s magazine stand. He looked at me rather sheepishly and said, “Well, I had to get a job somewhere, didn’ t I?”

17. So he began to work as a clerk for Tony. We never spoke of May anymore and neither of us ever mentioned my theory. But I noticed that Harry always saw every person who came up the stairs.

18. Toward the end of the year Tony was killed in some argument over gambling, and Tony’ s widow left Harry in complete charge of the magazine stand. And when she got married again some time later, Harry bought the stand from her. He borrowed money and installed a soda fountain and pretty soon he had a very nice little business.

19. Then came yesterday. I heard a cry and a lot of things falling. The cry was from Harry and the things falling were a lot of dolls and other things which he had upset while he was jumping over the counter. He ran across and grabbed a girl not ten feet from my window. She was small and dark and her eyebrows came to a little point in the middle.

20. For a while they just hung there to each other laughing and crying and saying things without meaning. She’ d say a few words like, “It was the bus station I meant” and he’ d kiss her speechless and tell her the many things he had done to find her. What apparently had happened three years before was that May had come by bus, not by train, and in her telegram she meant “bus station,” not “railroad station.” She had waited at the bus station for days and had spent all her money trying to find Harry. Finally she got a job typing.

21. “What?” said Harry. “Have you been working in town? All the time?”

22. She nodded.

23. “Well, Heavens. Didn’ t you ever come down here to the station?” He pointed across to his magazine stand. “I’ ve been there all the time. I own it. I’ ve watched everybody that came up the stairs.”

24. She began to look a little pale. Pretty soon she looked over at the stairs and said in a weak voice, “I never came up the stairs before. You see, I went out of town yesterday on a short business trip. Oh, Harry!” Then she threw her arms around his neck and really began to cry.

25. After a minute she backed away and pointed very stiffly toward the north end of the station. “Harry, for three years, for three solid years, I’ ve been right over there working right in this very station, typing, in the office of the stationmaster.”

1. 由于我工作的地方在联合车站的行李寄存处，我看得见每一个上楼的人。

2. 哈里3年多以前来到这里，站在楼梯口等待9:05到达的火车旅客。

3. 我还记得那第一晚见到哈里时的情景。那时，他瘦瘦的，神情焦虑，就像个孩子似的。他穿戴整齐，我知道他是在等女朋友，而且在她到达20分钟之后他们就要结婚。

4. 旅客们过来了，我得忙碌起来。等到9:18的那趟车快到的时候我才再往楼梯方向看去，我吃惊地发现那个年轻人还在那里。

5. 她也没乘9:18的那趟车来，9:40的车上也没她。等10:02那趟车的旅客全都到达并离开后，哈里显得很失望。很快他走近我的窗口，我就招呼他，问她长得什么模样。

6. “她个子小，皮肤黑，” 他说， “19岁。走路的样子很利落。她的脸，” 他想了一会儿，说， “很有个性。我的意思是说她会生气，但从不会生气太久。她的眉心处有一个小点儿。她有一件褐色毛皮大衣，不过可能没穿着。”

7. 我想不起来看见过有谁长得像那样。

8. 他给我看他收到的电报：星期四到。车站接我。爱爱爱爱。--梅。电报寄自内布拉斯加州的奥马哈市。