英語美文朗讀 第542期 Remember to be a fool

Remember to be a fool. Sounds crazy. A fool is by definition a person who lacks good sense or judgment. But I'm here to tell you that good sense and judgment are highly overrated.

 

記住，要做個傻瓜。這聽起來挺瘋狂的。傻瓜，就是沒有常識和判斷力的人。但是，我要告訴你，人們通常高估了常識和判斷力。

 

Wisdom is too often just a fancy word for cynicism. And foolishness is a condescending word for joy, wonder, and curiosity. George Bernard Shaw said a man learns to skate by staggering about and making a fool of himself. Indeed, he progresses in all things by resolutely making a fool of himself. I couldn't agree more.

智慧，其實就是憤世嫉俗，只不過智慧這個詞更好聽而已。然而，愚蠢這個詞，要是說得通俗一點，其實它意味著快樂，驚嘆，好奇。蕭伯納說過，學滑冰的人，總是要經(jīng)歷跌跌撞撞，出盡洋相。確實，人總要傻傻地地經(jīng)歷很多丟臉的事，才能成長。我認同這個觀點。

 

Turns out the world provides us with virtually infinite opportunities to be a fool. Let's take a look at a couple.

其實，在這個世界上，如果我們想當個傻瓜，機會是無窮的。我們來看看一些例子吧。

 

Only a fool would risk failure. Be that fool. Only a fool would work hard when there's no clear objective. Be that fool. Shouldn't we wait until we have direction before we take decisive action? Otherwise we risk wasting a lot of time and energy. But many times in life, college graduation, for example we, don't have a clear goal.

只有傻瓜才會冒險試錯，做個這樣的傻瓜吧。只有傻瓜，才會盲目地奮斗，做個這樣的傻瓜吧。只有明確了方向，我們才能采取行動，難道不該這樣嗎？不然的話，我們可能會浪費很多時間和精力。但是，在人生中，很多時候，我們并沒有明確的目標，比如大學階段的我們就是這樣。

 

We're overwhelmed by all of the options, or we're scared we don't know enough to succeed at the thing we want. Doesn't matter. Be a fool and work hard at whatever is right in front of you. When you try hard at everything you do, even if it feels utterly foolish to do so, you're opening up future doors and possibilities that you might not be seeing in the moment.

眼前的選擇太多，我們不知所措。我們害怕，怕自己沒有足夠的知識和能力去成功。這些都沒關系。當個傻瓜，好好努力，做好眼前該做的事。你努力地去做每件事，就算這看起來愚蠢至極也沒關系，因為其實你是在為自己的未來鋪路，探索不同的機遇，只是你目前還沒意識到這一點。

 

Only a fool would deliberately scare himself. Be that fool. Here's the thing. Scaring ourselves is, well, it's scary. And that's not necessarily fun for anybody. But you have to do it, because it's the most potent catalyst for growth.

只有傻瓜，才會自己嚇自己，做個這樣的傻瓜吧。我來告訴你吧，自己嚇自己，這確實挺可怕的，而且并不是每個人都喜歡這樣。但是，你必須這樣做，因為只有這樣做，你才能迅速成長。

 

Here's another one. Let's try another. Only a fool would disregard his past and future. Be that fool. We should all learn from our past and plan for our future, right? Well, sort of. The problem is we often take it too far and we undervalue the present. I wish there was a way to know you're in the good old days before you've actually left them. I love that line.

再來舉個例子吧。只有傻瓜，才會放下過去，看淡未來。做個這樣的傻瓜吧。我們應該從過往的經(jīng)歷吸取教訓，為未來做好規(guī)劃，對吧？好吧，也許。但是，問題在于，我們有時候過分專注于過去和未來，而沒有重視當下。你的現(xiàn)在，就是你將來的美好回憶。這個道理，我希望你能早點明白，而不是錯過了現(xiàn)在，將來才追悔莫及。我很喜歡這句話。

 

What exactly are the good old days? When do they happen and why? Here's the thing. Good old days are good because they're the times we look back, and we really liked ourselves. And I contend that good old days are marked by relatively high levels of foolishness.

美好的回憶，到底是什么？它們是什么時候發(fā)生的？為什么它們那么美好？其實，美好的回憶，它們之所以美好，是因為，在我們回憶過去時，我們很欣賞當時的自己。我認為，回憶之所以美好，是因為我們當時做過一些很傻的事。

 

Case in point, College. College is almost always considered good old days and for good reason. It's one of the great incubators for foolishness. You went out of your way to meet the other kids on your hall. You helped your neighbors move in. Over the next four years you worked hard, but you probably also went to some weird jazz concerts or poetry readings.

舉個例子吧，你的大學時光。人們都認為，大學那幾年，是非常美好的回憶。大學時光，是最適合做傻事的時光。你想盡辦法去跟其他朋友見面，你幫新來的鄰居搬家。在這四年里，你努力奮斗，同時，你也會去聽一些奇怪的爵士音樂會，或者參加什么詩朗誦會。

 

Maybe a party or two. I don't know. Perhaps you stayed up late debating and Rand versus Karl Marx or skipped class to go on a great hike. You joined clubs. You scoured the course catalog to find subjects that ignited your curiosity.

你會去參加稀奇古怪的派對，這很難說。也許，你會通宵達旦地與別人爭論，Rand和Karl Marx誰更強。也許，你會翹課，而這只是為了去遠足。你參加各種社團，你翻遍了課程安排，只為找到一門激發(fā)你好奇心的科目。

 

The world will tell you that that's all well and good. But it's time to grow up now and leave those foolish youthful diversions behind. Don't fall for that. I'm here to tell you those foolish diversions are the real nectar of life. Don't relegate them to the good old days. Take them with you. Keep creating good old days.

這個世界會告訴你，大學時光很美好，但，是時候長大了，是時候變得聰明，不要再像年輕時那樣犯傻了。這種話，你千萬不要信！我要告訴你，犯傻，是生命美好的一部分。犯傻，并不是回憶里才有的事。請你保持做傻事的勁頭，不斷創(chuàng)造美好的回憶。

 

Let me ask you something. Have you ever heard a profound insight and thought, wow, that is so true! Whether it's Confucius or Mark Twain or Shakespeare or Aristotle, the only reason for found insights resonate with us is because at some level we already know them. That's an important thing to realize, because it means that all of us are brilliant and profound.

我問你，你有沒有過這樣的經(jīng)歷？你聽到一個特別深刻的道理，然后，你在想，哇！確實如此！無論這個道理，是出自孔子、馬克吐溫、莎士比亞還是亞里士多德，我們認同別人的真知灼見，是因為，在某種程度上，我們早就明白了他們說的道理。意識到這一點，是非常重要的，因為，這意味著，其實我們都很聰明，我們的見解都很深刻。

 

Somewhere deep inside, we all share the secrets of the world, the human condition, all of the arts and sciences. How you live your life determines how many of those secrets will be revealed to you.

在內(nèi)心深處，我們都知道世界的奧秘，知道人類的現(xiàn)狀，知道美好的藝術，知道神奇的科學，而你能明白這其中的多少，取決于你如何度過自己的一生。

 

Pursuing knowledge and responsibility gives you halfway there. The other half can only be tapped by being a glorious and wonderful fool. The world out there cultivates conformity and cynicism, but you don't have to. Take a stand. Put up a fight. Be a fool!

如果你能保持追求真理，追求使命，那么你已經(jīng)完成了一半的功夫。而另一半，就需要你做個自豪的、優(yōu)秀的傻瓜。這個世界會把人變得千篇一律，憤世嫉俗，但你不必如此。站穩(wěn)自己的立場，勇敢地去奮斗。做個傻瓜吧！