I guess there must be a law that says you become like those you hang around because when I' m with my mamma, I can see how much we think alike (at least I' d like to think so). We were "visiting" one day when I was about fourteen years old. I had gotten into trouble for something at home (which I' m sure wasn' t my fault), and Mamma listened to me talk and talk. After a while, she began to share with me, and I listened. Then to my surprise, I heard myself say something to her that she might have said to me. I said, "You know, Mamma, no matter how a child is disciplined, it will do no good unless the child receives the correction that is in the discipline." She was so pleased to hear the insight that after discussing the aspects of what I had discovered on my own. I allowed her to "brag" on me a while. I think she uses the law of "accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative" or as the Bible says in Numbers 14, "what you see is what you get." I hope that that' s a true law because my mamma sure says wonderful things about me—to me.
When I' m feeling hopeless or feeling completely frustrated, I hear Mamma' s words："Son, you' re not whipped until you' re whipped inside," and "nothing is hopeless—there' s always an answer... If you look for it, you' ll find it inside yourself." These laws simply say, "Get up and get going!"
Now, most of us teenagers prefer answers to life' s problems in the form of a financially generous person. We don' t always want to use our minds to solve our problems, but when we do, we find a very important and wonderful law that says, "Youth is for living and learning to make tomorrow' s world a better place."
有些人出生在充满爱和同情心的家庭，而有些人出生在令人难以忍受的环境中。无论一个人的生活多么艰辛，我都相信至少会有一个人积极地影响和鼓励他。对我来说，那个人就是我的祖母。
我能够写出许多人生准则，因为我的祖母（称为“奶奶”会更好一些）逐字逐句地、有目的地把许多准则教给我。然而，她常常在最后说：“孩子，我能把我所知道的和经历过的所有东西都告诉你，但是最终你要对你的选择负责。”在我们的生活中，最终还是要自己作出选择，无论好坏。不作选择，本身就是一种选择。选择的规则会控制一个人，但也会将责任赋予作出选择的人。
我推测一定有这样一种规则：“总是跟一个人在一起，你就会越来越像他。”因为当我和我的祖母在一起时，我就发现我们的想法非常相似（至少我这样认为）。在我14岁那年，我去探望祖母，我在家里惹了麻烦（我认为不是我的错），祖母听我诉说。过了一会儿，她开始劝导我，我就听着。令我惊奇的是，我说出了她想要对我说的话：“您知道的，祖母，无论怎样管教孩子，只要他不明白其中的道理，一切都是徒劳。”她非常高兴在我们讨论之后，我能有自己的见解。我任由祖母对我夸奖了一番。我想她是运用了一个准则：“强调积极，排除消极。”还有《圣经》中的话：“所见即所想。”我认为这是一条真理，因为我的祖母确实当面夸我。
当我感到绝望或是希望落空时，祖母的话就会在我的耳边萦绕：“孩子，内心垮了才是真的垮了。”“心中要永存希望——总会找到答案……如果你去寻找，你就会发现，其实答案就在你心里。”这些准则总结起来就是：“振作起来，开始干吧！”
现在，我们中的许多年轻人，更倾向于以一位有钱人的身份来解决人生中的许多问题。我们总是不想动脑筋来解决自己的问题，但我们一旦这样做了，就会发现一个非常重要而有趣的规则：“年轻人的使命就是好好生活和学习，让明天的世界更美好。”
environment [in'vairnmnt] n.环境
She is not used to the new environment.
她不习惯新环境。
literally ['litrli] adv. 逐字地；按照字面上地；不夸张地
The prediction was literally accomplished.
这个预言确实实现了。
ultimately ['ltimtli] adv. 最后；最终
Ultimately, you and your career will pay the price.
最终要付出代价的是你和你的事业。
accentuate [鎘'sentjueit] v. 以重音念；强调；重读；突出
The tight jumper only accentuated his fat stomach.
那件紧身套头毛衣反而更突出了他那肥胖的肚子。
选择的规则会控制一个人，但也会将责任赋予作出选择的人。
当我感到绝望或是希望落空时，祖母的话就会在我的耳边萦绕：“孩子，内心垮了才是真的垮了。”
年轻人的使命就是好好生活和学习，让明天的世界更美好。
Son, I can tell you all I know and all I' ve experienced, but ultimately you are responsible for your choices.
be responsible for：负责；是……原因；导致；对……负责
Son, you' re not whipped until you' re whipped inside.
not... until：直到……才；不到……不；在……之前；直到……
学会真实地生活
Learn to Live in the Present Moment
理查德·卡里森 / Richard Carison
To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment. Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year, and what may or may not happen tomorrow, the present moment is where you are—always!
Without question, many of us have mastered the neurotic art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things—all at once. We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments, so much so that we end up anxious, frustrated, depressed, and hopeless. On the flip side, we also postpone our gratification, our stated priorities, and our happiness, often convincing ourselves that "someday" will be better than today. Unfortunately, the same mental dynamics that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that "someday" never actually arrives. John Lennon once said, "Life is what' s happening while we' re busy making other plans." In short, we miss out on life.
Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date. It isn' t. In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow. When our attention is in the present moment, we push fear from our minds. Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future—we won' t have enough money, our children will get into trouble, we will get old and die, whatever.
To combat fear, the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present. Mark Twain said, "l have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened." I don' t think I can say it any better. Practice keeping your attention on the here and now. Your efforts will pay great dividends.
在很大程度上，能不能生活在此时此刻，是衡量我们内心世界是否平和的一个标准。不论昨日或去年发生了什么，也不管将会发生什么，此刻才是我们的真正所在——并且始终都是！
诚然，许多人把生命耗费在焦虑之中，同时为一连串的事情忧心，因此而导致的神经过敏几乎成了一种我们熟稔的艺术。对过去的困惑和对未来的忧虑占据了我们当前的每时每刻。于是，我们整日忧心忡忡，灰心丧气，情绪低落，甚至悲观绝望。另一方面，我们不断推延让自己获得满足感的时间，推延应当优先考虑的事，推后自己的幸福感，并常用最有力的理由说服自己，“有一天”将会比今天更加美好。遗憾的是，如此期待未来的精神安慰只会周而复始地重复。所以，“有一天”永远都不会真正到来。约翰·列农曾经说过：“生活就是我们忙于制订其他计划时所发生的一切。”总之，我们正在失去生活。
许多人沉迷于对未来的幻想中。现在的生活，对他们而言， 就像是未来生活的彩排。当注意力集中于此刻时，我们就会将恐惧抛至脑后。恐惧是我们对未来可能发生之事的忧虑——我们没有足够的钱，我们的孩子会陷入麻烦，我们会变老甚至死亡，等等。
战胜恐惧最好的策略是，学会将注意力转到现在的每时每刻。马克·吐温说过：“我一生经历过许多恐怖的事，但有一些纯粹是偶然。”我想，没有比这说得更好的了。把你的注意力集中在此时此刻，你的付出终将有所回报。
不沉陷于过去的是是非非中无法自拔，也不沉迷于未来的虚幻不能自已，只有此刻才是最真实的。
irrespective [,iris'pektiv] adj. 不顾的；无关的；没关系的
The law applies to everyone irrespective of race, religion or color.
