美文－采访上帝（Interview God）

"Come in," God said to me, "so, you would like to interview me?"
 “进来”，上帝  对我说，“你想采访我?”
"If you have the time." I said.
 “是的，如果您有时间的話。” 我说。
He smiled through his beard and said: "My time is called eternity and is enough to do everything; what questions do you have in mind to ask me?"
 上帝  微笑了，笑容通过他的胡须绽开，说：“我时间的名字叫永恒，足足可以做任何事情。你心里有什麽问题想问我?”
"None that are new to you. What's the one thing that surprises you most about mankind?"
 “对您来说是没有新鲜的提问的。人类让您感到最惊奇的事情是什麽呢?”
He answered: "That they get bored of being children, are in a rush to grow up, and then long to be children again. That they lose their health to make money and then lose their money to restore their health. That by thinking anxiously about the future, they forget the present, such that they live neither for the present nor the future. That they live as if they will never die, and they die as if they never had never lived..."
 上帝  回答道：“人类在做孩子的时候感到无聊，盼望着长大，长大后又向往着返回童年；他们浪费自己的健康去赢得个人的财富，然后又浪费自己的财富去重建自身的健康；他们焦虑地憧憬未来，忘记了眼前的生活，活得既不是为了现在也不是为了将来；他们活得似乎永远不会死，他们死得也好像从来没活过…”
His hands took mine and we were silent. After a long period, I said, "May I ask you another question?"
 上帝  握着我的手，我们一阵沉默。过了好长一段时间，我说：“我可以再问您一个问题吗?”
He replied with a smile.
 上帝用微笑回答了我。
"As a Father, what would you ask your children to do for the new year?"
 “作为天父，在新的一年里您会要求您的子民做什么?”
"To learn that they cannot make anyone love them. What they can do is to let themselves be loved.
 “去学习人不能强迫别人爱自己，能做的是让自己接受爱；
To learn that it takes years to build trust, and a few seconds to destroy it.
 去了解信誉需要多年的努力去建立，但几秒钟就可以毁掉；
To learn that what is most valuable is not what they have in their lives, but who they have in their lives.
 去懂得最有价值的不是他们生活中拥有的东西，而是他们生活里的人；
To learn that it is not good to compare themselves to others. There will be others better or worse than they are.
 去学会把自己和别人攀比是不好的，比上不足比下总是有余；
To learn that a rich person is not one who has the most, but is one who needs the least.
 去学知富有的人不是他的财产最多，而是他对生活的要求最少；
To learn that they should control their attitudes, otherwise their attitudes will control them.
 去学会应该端正他们的态度，否则他们的态度会控制他们；
To learn that it only takes a few seconds to open profound wounds in persons we love, and that it takes many years to heal them.
 去了解深深地伤害我们所爱的人只需要几秒钟，然而要愈合这个伤口需要许多年；
To learn to forgive by practicing forgiveness.
 去通过宽恕的行为学习饶恕。
To learn that there are persons that love them dearly, but simply do not know how to show their feelings.
 去明白有很多人关爱着他们，只是这些人不懂得如何表达自己的情感；
To learn that money can buy everything but happiness.
 去了解钱可以买万物，就是买不到幸福；
To learn that while at times they may be entitled to be upset, that does not give them the right to upset those around them.
 去懂得在某些时候他们有资格愤怒，但愤怒本身没有给他们权力让身边的人不安；
To learn that great dreams do not require great wings, but a landing gear to achieve.
 去学习伟大的梦想不需要有伟大的翅膀，有落地的齿轮才能使梦想成真；
To learn that true friends are scarce, he/she who has found one has found a true treasure.
 去了解真正的朋友非常稀罕，找到了的人找到了真正的财富；
To learn that they are masters of what they keep to themselves and slaves of what they say.
 去懂得自己是守住的言语的主人、脱口的奴隶；
To learn that they shall reap what they plant; if they plant gossip they will harvest intrigues, if they plant love they will harvest happiness.
 去懂得种什么收什么，如果散播流言蜚语他们就收获钩心斗角，如果种植爱心他们就收获欢乐；
To learn that true happiness is not to achieve their goals but to learn to be satisfied with what they already achieved.
 去学会真正的幸福不是实现自己的目标，而是满足于所达到的成就；
To learn that happiness is a decision.  They decide to be happy with what they are and have, or die from envy and jealousy of what they lack.
 去得知幸福是一种决定，他们决定为自己是谁自己有什么快乐地活，或为自己所没有的东西羡慕妒嫉地死；
To learn that two people can look at the same thing and see something totally different.
 去明白两个人看同样的事情会看到完全不同的东西；
To learn that those who are honest with themselves without considering the consequences go far in life.
 去学到那些能诚实地面对自己、不担心后果的人，人生之路能走得很远；   
To learn that even though they may think they have nothing to give, when a friend cries with them, they find the strength to appease the pain.
 去了解尽管有时可能认为自己无能为力，但是当一位朋友同他们一起挥泪的时候，他们能找到生活的勇气去抚平伤痛；
To learn that by trying to hold on to love ones, they very quickly push them away; and by letting go of those they love, they will be side by side forever.
 去懂得试图抓住所爱的人，所爱的人会推开你；给所爱的人以自由，他们会永远在你的左右。
To learn that even though the word "love" has many different meanings, it loses value when it is overstated.
 去学习尽管爱这个字含义很广，滥用这个字会失去她的价值；
To learn that they can never do something extraordinary for Me to love them; I simply do.
 去明白他们永远不能用特殊的举动使我爱他们，我爱人类不需要理由；
To learn that the shortest distance they could be from Me is the "the distance of a prayer."
 去认识到他们和我最靠近的距离是“祈祷者的距离”。