年轻是一种心态：塞缪尔·厄尔曼的经典短文为何激励数代人
真正的年轻，源于心灵的活力与对理想的坚持
70多年前，德裔美籍作家塞缪尔·厄尔曼写下了一篇仅四百余字的散文《年轻》，首次发表便在美国引发轰动。无数读者将其抄录作为座右铭，许多中老年人视其为后半生的精神支柱。松下公司创始人松下幸之助曾坦言：“多年来，《年轻》始终是我的座右铭。”
《年轻》
年轻，不是生命中的某一段时光，也不等于红润的脸颊、健壮的体魄。
它是一种心境，一种意志的体现，是想象力的飞扬、情感的勃发，是生命深处涌动的春意。
年轻意味着敢于舍弃安逸与浪漫，勇敢追寻理想；意味着超越羞怯、懦弱与私欲的勇气。这种气质，60岁的人可能比20岁的青年更具备。人不会因年岁增长而衰老，只会因理想破灭而老去。
岁月能在皮肤上刻下皱纹，却无法在灵魂留下痕迹。唯有忧虑、恐惧与自卑，才会让人屈服于时间的尘埃。
无论16岁还是60岁，每个人心中都对未来充满向往，对人生的挑战怀有孩童般的热望。
在你我心灵深处，都有一座无形的电台。只要持续接收来自人群、来自时空的美好、希望、勇气与力量的信息，我们便永远年轻。一旦这座电台倒塌，心灵将被冷漠与绝望覆盖，即便年仅20岁，也已步入衰老。反之，只要天线高扬，捕捉着乐观向上的电波，即使活到80岁，依然可以“年轻地老去”。
因此，只要敢于梦想、勇于追梦、勤于圆梦，我们就始终年轻。
切勿轻易说自己老了——自我暗示会削弱生命力。年轻就是力量，有梦就有未来！
英文全文：
Youth
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, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exits in a man of 60, more than a boy of 20. Nobody grows merely by the number of years; we grow old by deserting our ideas. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.
Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonders, 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 infinite, so long as you are young.
When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you’ve grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there’s hope you may die young at 80.
Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life. These are what I have and what we have at this period of life. So, I'm still young, yes, definitely! Come on my fellow friends, show your energy and passion to this god damn world! Let the universe hear our voice, see our cheek, hug our enthusiasm and witness our maturity. We're going to create a brand new future!
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