October 23rd
SHOW THE QUALITIES YOU WERE MADE FOR
“People aren’t in awe of your sharp mind? So be it. But you have many other qualities you can’t claim to have been deprived of at birth. Display then those qualities in your own power: honesty, dignity, endurance, chastity, contentment, frugality, kindness, freedom, persistence, avoiding gossip, and magnanimity.”
—MARCUS AURELIUS, MEDITATIONS, 5.5
It’s easy to blame our circumstances. One person curses that they weren’t born taller, another that they’re not smarter, with a different complexion, or born in a different country. It’d be hard to find a single person on this planet—from supermodels on down—who doesn’t think they’re deficient in at least some way. But whatever your perceived deficits are, remember that there are positive qualities that you can develop that don’t depend on genetic accidents.
You have the choice to be truthful. You have the choice to be dignified. You can choose to endure. You can choose to be happy. You can choose to be chaste. You can choose to be thrifty. You can choose to be kind to others. You can choose to be free. You can persist under difficult odds. You can avoid trafficking in gossip. You can choose to be gracious.
And honestly, aren’t the traits that are the result of effort and skill more impressive anyway?
10月23日
展现你天生能够拥有的品质
“别人并不惊叹于你的聪明才智？那就随他们吧。但你还有许多其他品质，而你不能声称自己出生时就被剥夺了这些品质。那么，就去展现那些掌握在你自己手中的品质吧：诚实、尊严、坚忍、贞洁、知足、节俭、仁慈、自由、坚持、不搬弄是非，以及宽宏大量。”
——马可·奥勒留，《沉思录》，5.5
我们很容易把问题归咎于自己的处境。有人抱怨自己没有长得更高，有人抱怨自己不够聪明、肤色不同，或者没有出生在另一个国家。这个世界上恐怕很难找到一个从未觉得自己在某方面有所欠缺的人——就连超级模特也不例外。但无论你认为自己有什么不足，都要记住：还有许多积极的品质是你可以培养的，而它们并不取决于遗传带来的偶然结果。
你可以选择诚实，你可以选择保持尊严，你可以选择忍耐，你可以选择快乐，你可以选择保持贞洁，你可以选择节俭，你可以选择善待他人，你可以选择自由，你可以在困难和逆境中坚持下去，你可以避免传播流言蜚语，你可以选择宽厚而有风度。
而且说到底，那些通过努力和修炼获得的品质，难道不是反而更令人钦佩吗？
读要读顺口，写要写顺手， 擒字如擒虎，解句如解题。 |