Dear Seth, 你現在僅僅3歲，此刻你還不識字，更不用說讓你去理解我接下來想在這封信里對你所說的話了。但是我已經苦思冥想了好久，關於你即將面臨的人生以及我的生活，我反思我所學會的；思考一個父親的職責，力圖讓你為未來歲月中即將面臨的困難做好充分準備。 You’re only three years old, and at this point in your life you can't read, much less understand what I’m going to try to tell you in this letter. But I've been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I've learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you for the trials that you will face in the coming years. 你今天並不能理解這封信的含義，但是某一天，當時機成熟，我希望你能在我與你分享的內容當中找尋到些許的智慧和價值。 You won't be able to understand this letter today, but someday, when you're ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you. 你還很年輕，生命還尚未開始摧殘你，沒有在你的人生道路上布置失望，傷心，孤獨，掙扎和苦痛。你還沒有被漫長的乏味工作，被日常生活的打擊搞得筋疲力盡。 You are young, and life has yet to take its toll on you, to throw disappointments and heartaches and loneliness and struggles and pain into your path. You have not been worn down yet by long hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life. 因此，謝天謝地吧。你正處在人生一個美妙的階段。還有很多美妙的階段會來到你面前，但是都不是唾手可得的，你都得付出代價，經歷風險。 For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful stage of life. You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their costs and perils. 我希望通過分享一些我所學到的最好的道理能幫助你走好人生路。至於任何建議，且把它當作佐料，因為適合我的並不一定適用於你。 I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I've learned. As with any advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for me might not work for you. 生活會很殘酷 Life Can Be Cruel 你的生活中一定會有並不友好的人。他們恥笑你因為你不同，而在沒有更好的理由。他們可能會欺負你或者傷害你。 There will be people in your life who won't be very nice. They'll tease you because you're different, or for no good reason. They might try to bully you or hurt you. 對這種人你除了學會和其接觸無計可施，同時你也要學會擇友，選擇那些對你友善的，那些真正關心你的，那些令你對自己感到很好的人做朋友。當你尋找到像這樣的朋友，就一定要堅守這份友誼，珍惜他們，花些時間和他們在一起，友善的對待他們並愛他們。 There's not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actually care about you, who make you feel good about yourself. When you find friends like this, hold on to them, treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them, love them. 有時你會遭遇挫折而非成功。生活並不總會如你所願。這是另一件你需要學會處理的事情。但你要挺住向前，而不是讓這些事讓你陷入低谷。接受挫敗並學會堅持，不畏風險地追求你的夢想。學會把消極轉化為積極，之後你就能做的好得多。 There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won't always turn out the way you want. This is just another thing you'll have to learn to deal with. But instead of letting these things get you down, push on. Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls. Learn to turn negatives into positives, and you'll do much better in life. 你同樣會面臨心碎時刻以及你深愛的人的拋棄。我希望你無須經歷太多此類事件，但如果不幸發生了，再一次，除了慢慢癒合心中的創傷並繼續下去你的生活，你別無選擇。讓這些痛苦成為你通向更美好生活的墊腳石，並學會利用它們讓自己更堅強。 You will also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love. I hope you don't have to face this too much, but it happens. Again, not much you can do but to heal, and to move on with your life. Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life, and learn to use them to make you stronger. 但無論如何，都要張開雙臂擁抱生活 But Be Open to life Anyway 是的，在你的生命歷程中你會遇到殘酷，煎熬……但不要讓這些讓你拒絕接受新鮮事物。不要逃避生活，不要躲藏，抑或封閉自己。擁抱新鮮事物，經歷全新體驗，接觸新的人。 Yes, you'll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life … but don't let that close you to new things. Don't retreat from life, don't hide or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people. 你或許心碎了10次，但是在第十一次找到至愛。如果你把自己關在愛的門外，你就會錯過這個女子，和你生命中最快樂的時光。 You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time. If you shut yourself off from love, you'll miss out on that woman, and the Happiest times of your life. 你可能會被你遇到的人恥笑欺負傷害…而在見了一打這種稀奇古怪的人後，你會找到一個真正的朋友。如果你拒絕接觸新人群，並不向他們敞開心扉，你會避免受傷……但是同時也失去了認識這些不可思議的人的機會，他們會在你生命最困難的時刻陪伴著你，並帶給你人生當中最美好的時光。 You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet … and then after meeting dozens of jerks, find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don't open your heart to them, you'll avoid pain … but also lose out on meeting some incredible people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life. 你會失敗多次但是如果你讓失敗打到了你，不再努力，你就會錯過那種當你達到成就新高度的難以言喻的成就感。失敗是成功之母。 You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success. 生命不是一場競賽 Life Isn't a Competition 你會遇到一些人他們總是試圖超過你，在中學，大學，在工作中。他們想要擁有更好的車，更大的房子，更好的衣物，更酷的小玩意。對他們來說，生命就是一場競賽---他們不得不比同輩做得更好來讓自己感到快樂。 You will meet many people who will try to outdo you, in school, in college, at work. They'll try to have nicer cars, bigger houses, nicer clothes, cooler gadgets. To them, life is a competition — they have to do better than their peers to be happy. 這裡有一個秘訣：生命並不是一場競賽。而是一段旅程。如果你在途中一直都試圖給他人留下深刻印象，超過別人，那你就浪費了這段旅程。與之相反，學會享受它，讓之成為快樂之旅，永恆的學習之旅，持久的進步之旅以及愛之旅。 Here's a secret: Life isn't a competition. It's a journey. If you spend that journey always trying to impress others, to outdo others, you’re wasting your journey. Instead, learn to enjoy the journey. Make it a journey of Happiness, of constant learning, of continual improvement, of love. 不要為擁有一輛更好的車或一所更好的房子或者任何物質的東西，即便是一份薪水更高的工作操心。這些根本無足輕重，也不會使你快樂。你可能在擁有了這些之後只是想要更多的。與之相反，學會滿足你已經擁有的---然後學會利用你原本想要浪費在為掙錢買這些東西的時間去做你真正熱愛的事。 Don't worry about having a nicer car or house or anything material, or even a better-paying job. None of that matters a Whit, and none of it will make you happier. You'll acquire these things and then only want more. Instead, learn to be satisfied with having enough — and then use the time you would have wasted trying to earn money to buy Those Things … use that time doing things you love. 找到你的激情，堅持不懈地追求它。別讓自己被一個還債的的工作所累。生命太短暫了，更不可將之浪費在你所厭惡的工作上。 Find your passion, and pursue it doggedly. Don't settle for a job that pays the bills. Life is too short to waste on a job you hate. 愛應該成為你的生活準則 Love Should Be Your Rule 如果讓一個詞成為你的生活支撐的話，那它應該是愛。也許這聽來已是老生常談，我也清楚… 但是請信任我，再沒有更好的生活準則了。 If there's a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: Love. It might sound corny, I know … but trust me, there's no better rule in life. 一些人以成功作為生活準則。他們的生活會很緊張，不開心並且很淺薄。 Some would live by the rule of success. Their lives will be stressful, unhappy and shallow. 另一些人的生活準則是個人利益---他們將個人需要置於他人需要之上。他們孤獨一生，終究也不會快樂。 Others would live by the rule of selfishness — putting their needs above those of others. They will live lonely lives, and will also be unhappy. 還有一些人他們為正義而生---努力展示其道路的正確性，並試圖勸服任何一個不以正義為生活準則的人。他們關心他人，卻以一種消極的方式，最終懷抱追尋一生的正義而終，而正卻是一個糟糕的伴侶。 Still others will live by the rule of righteousness — trying to show the right path, and admonishing anyone who doesn't live by that path. They are concerned with others, but in a negative way, and in the end will only have their own righteousness to live with, and that's a horrible companion. 用愛支撐你的生命。愛你的妻子，你的孩子，你的父母親，你的朋友，全心全意地去愛。給與他們你所需要的，不要流露出任何殘忍，不贊同，冷漠或者失望，只有愛。向他們敞開靈魂。 Live your life by the rule of love. Love your spouse, your children, your parents, your friends, with all of your heart. Give to them what they need, and show them not cruelty nor disapproval nor coldness nor disappointment, but only love. Open your soul to them. 不僅僅愛你深愛的人，也要愛你的鄰居...你的同事…甚至陌生人…他們是你廣義上的兄弟姐妹。給你遇到的任何一個人一個微笑，一句善語。一個友好的姿勢，一隻援助之手。 Love not only your loved ones, but your neighbors … your coworkers … strangers … your brothers and sisters in humanity. Offer anyone you meet a smile, a kind word, a kind gesture, a helping hand. 不僅僅愛鄰居和陌生人…也要愛你的敵人。對你最殘酷的人，對曾經對你不善的人…愛他。他是一個備受折磨的靈魂，最需要你的愛。 Love not only neighbors and strangers … but your enemy. The person who is cruelest to you, who has been unkind to you … love him. He is a tortured soul, and most in need of your love. 最重要的是愛你自己。當別人批評你時，學著不要強加自己，去認為自己丑，笨或者不值得去愛…而要想著自己是一個很完美的人，值得擁有幸福和真愛…並學會愛而今的自己。 And most of all, love yourself. While others may criticize you, learn not to be so hard on yourself, to think that you’re ugly or dumb or unworthy of love … but to think instead that you are a wonderful human being, worthy of Happiness and love … and learn to love yourself for who you are. 最後，要知道我愛你並且永遠都會，你即將開啟一段有點奇怪，令人害怕，令人心悸但最終很不可思議的巧妙旅程，我永遠會支持你。祝萬事如意。 Finally, know that I love you and always will. You are starting out on a weird, scary, daunting, but ultimately incredibly wonderful journey, and I will be there for you when I can. Godspeed.生命不是一場競賽
生命不是一場競賽