兩篇收藏的好文，致失而復得的青春，在進入人生的下半場...
第一篇：Youth《青春》- 塞繆爾·厄爾曼(Samuel Ullman- 1840--1924）
青春不是年華，而是心境；青春不是桃面、丹唇、柔膝，而是深沉的意志、恢宏的想像、熾熱的感情；青春是生命的深泉在湧流。
青春氣貫長虹，勇銳蓋過怯弱，進取壓倒苟安。如此銳氣，二十後生有之，六旬男子則更多見。年歲有加，並非垂老；理想丟棄，方墮暮年。
歲月悠悠，衰微隻及肌膚；熱忱拋卻，頹唐必致靈魂。憂煩、惶恐、喪失自信，定使心靈扭曲，意氣如灰。
無論年屆花甲，抑或二八芳齡，心中皆有生命之歡樂，奇蹟之誘惑，孩童般天真久盛不衰。人的心靈應如浩淼瀚海，只有不斷接納美好、希望、歡樂、勇氣和力量的百川，才能青春永駐、風華長存。
一旦心海枯竭，銳氣便被冰雪覆蓋，玩世不恭、自暴自棄油然而生，即使年方二十，實已垂垂老矣；然則只要虛懷若谷，讓喜悅、達觀、仁愛充盈其間，你就有望在八十高齡告別塵寰時仍覺年輕。
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind; it is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees; it is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, a vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep springs of life.
Youth means a tempera-mental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exists in a man of 60 more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows old merely by a number of years. We grow old by deserting our ideals.
Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spring back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being's heart the lure of wonder, the unfailing childlike appetite of what's next and the joy of the game of living.
In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station: so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from the Infinite, so long are you young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you are grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there is hope you may die young at 80.
第二篇：
據說，這是英國西敏寺的墓碑上文字, 許多世界政要和名人看到這塊碑文時都感慨不已。有人說這是一篇人生的教義，有人說這是靈魂的一種自省。我考察過應該是來自心靈雞湯, Condensed Chicken Soup for the Soul. Copyright 1996 by Jack Canfield, Mark Victor, Hansen & Patty Hansen.
當我年輕的時候，我的想像力從沒有受到過限制，我夢想改變這個世界。
當我成熟以後，我發現我不能改變這個世界，我將目光縮短了些，決定只改變我的國家。
當我進入暮年後，我發現我不能改變我的國家，我的最後願望僅僅是改變一下我的家庭。但是，這也不可能。
當我躺在牀上，行將就木時，我突然意識到： 如果一開始我僅僅去改變我自己，然後作爲一個榜樣，我可能改變我的家庭；在家人的幫助和鼓勵下，我可能爲國家做一些事情。然後誰知道呢？我甚至可能改變這個世界。
When I was young and free and my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world.
As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable.
As I grew my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it.
And now, as I lie on my death bed, I suddenly realize:
If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country, and who knows, I may have even changed the world.
2017/12/1
