《励志英文美文小短文（精彩19篇）》由精心整编，希望在【励志英语短文】的写作上带给您相应的帮助与启发。
The love of beauty is an essential part of all healthy human nature. It is a moral quality. The absence of it is not an assured ground of condemnation, but the presence of it is an invariable sign of goodness of heart. In proportion to the degree in which it is felt will probably be the degree in which nobleness and beauty of character will be attained.
Natural beauty is an all-pervading presence. The universe is its temple. It unfolds into the numberless flowers of spring. It waves in the branches of trees and the green blades of grass. It haunts the depths of the earth and the sea. It gleams from the hues of the shell and the precious stone. And not only these minute objects but the oceans, the mountains, the clouds, the stars, the rising and the setting sun---all overflow with beauty. This beauty is so precious, and so congenial to our tenderest and noblest feelings, that it is painful to think of the multitude of people living in the midst of it and yet remaining almost blind to it.
All persons should seek to become acquainted with the beauty in nature. There is not a worm we tread upon, nor a leaf that dances merrily as it falls before the autumn winds, but calls for our study and admiration. The power to appreciated beauty not merely increases our sources of happiness---it enlarges our moral nature, too. Beauty calms our restlessness and dispels our cares. Go into the fields or the woods, spend a summer day by the sea or the mountains, and all your little perplexities and anxieties will vanish. Listen to sweet music, and your foolish fears and petty jealousies will pass away. The beauty of the world helps us to seek and find the beauty of goodness.
爱美
爱美及是整个健全人性不可或缺之一部分。它是一种道德品质。缺乏这种品质并不能作为受到责难的充分理由，但是拥有这种品质则是心灵美好的永恒标志。品德的高尚与美好所达到的程度可能与对美感受程度成正比。
大自然的美无处不在，整个宇宙就是美的殿堂。美，在春日百花中绽放；美，在绿叶嫩枝间摇曳；美，在深海幽谷里游弋；美，在奇石与贝壳的缤纷色彩中闪烁。不只是这些细微的物品，还有海洋，山川，云彩，繁星，日升日落 。 一切都是洋溢着美。这样的美是如此珍贵，与我们最温柔，最高尚的情愫是如此相宜。然而，想到很多人置身于美之中，却几乎对它熟视无睹，真是令人痛心不已。
所有的人都应该去认识大自然之美。没有一条我们踩过的小虫，没有一片在秋风拂掠之际飞舞的树叶不值得我们研究与赞赏。欣赏美的。能力不仅增加了我们快乐的来源，也加强了我们德性修养。美使我们不安的心平静下来，也驱散了我们的忧虑。到田野或森林去，在夏日的海边或山上呆上一天，那么你所有微不足道的困惑与焦虑都会烟消云散。倾听悦耳的音乐，你那愚蠢的恐惧与狭隘的嫉妒都会过去。世界之美将有助于我们找到为善之美。
There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real! Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go；be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do.
生活中，有时强烈的思念使我们恨不得一把将所爱的人从梦中带走，实实在在地拥抱他们。做自己想做的梦吧，生命只有一次，机会只有一回。
May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trails to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy. Always keep yourself in other’s shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too.
愿你有足够的欢乐，使自己甜蜜；有足够的考验，使自己坚强；有足够的悲伤，使自己富有人情；有足够的希望；使自己幸福。要经常换位思维一件事，要是你感到对自己有伤害，就可能对他人也有伤害。
The happiest people don’t necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness lies for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried, for only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past, you can’t go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
最幸福的人并不是那些拥有最好的东西的人，他们只是能够将得到的东西变得最好。幸福属于那些会哭泣的人，那些受过伤害的人，那些探索的人，以及那些尝试过的人。只有他们才懂得对自己生活有影响的人们的重要。爱以微笑开始，在亲吻中成长，以泪水终结。光明灿烂的`明天建立在忘却的过去之上。只有让以往的失败和伤心随风而去，你才能过得更好。
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you’re the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying.
出生的时候，哭啼的是你，周围的人却在微笑。珍视生活，好好地活着，这样当你死去时，周围的人在哭泣，而你却在微笑。
Please send this message to those people who mean something to you, to those who have touched your life in one way or another, to those who make you smile when you really need it, to those that make you see the brighter side of things when you really down, to those who you want to let them know that you appreciate their friendship. And if you don’t, don’t worry, nothing bad will happen to you, you will just miss out on the opportunity to brighten someone’s day with this message.
请把这些语言送给那些你所关心的人，那些在生活中这样或那样同自己打交道的人，那些需要时能给你带来微笑的人，那些在逆境中依然能使你看到光明的人，那些你珍视与他们之间的友谊的人。即使你没有这样做，也不要紧。没有什么大不了的事情，你只是错过了用这些言语照亮他人日子的机会。
If your life feels like it is lacking the power that you want and the motivation that you need, sometimes all you have to do is shift your point of view.
Your life can be enhanced, and your happiness enriched, when you choose to change your perspective. Don’t leave your future to chance, or wait for things to get better mysteriously on their own. You must go in the direction of your hopes and aspirations. Begin to build your confidence, and work through problems rather than avoid them. Remember that power is not necessarily control over situations, but the ability to deal with whatever comes your way.
Always believe that good things are possible, and remember that mistakes can be lessons that lead to discoveries. Take your fear and transform it into trust; learn to rise above anxiety and doubt. Turn your “worry hours” into “productive hours”。 Take the energy that you have wasted and direct it toward every worthwhile effort that you can be involved in.
A Smile is A Gift That Anyone Can Give It costs nothing, but saves much. It enriches those who receive, without impoverishing those who give. It happens in a flash, and the memory of it sometimes lasts forever. None is so rich that he can get along without it; none so poor that he is not enriched by it. It creates happiness in the home, fosters goodwill in business, and is the countersign of friends. It is rest to the weary, daylight to the discouraged, sunshine to the sick, and nature's best antidote for trouble. It cannot be bought, borrowed, or stolen, for it is no earthly good to anyone until it is given away. If you meet someone too burdened with grief or worry to smile, just give him one of yours. For nobody needs a smile so much as he who has none left to give.
微笑不需要花费你一分钱，但却能带来很多。 它使那些得到它的人富有，却不会使付出它的人贫穷。 它发生在一瞬间，但它的记忆有时却是永恒的。 如果人们可以没有微笑，那么，无论拥有什么都会觉得贫穷。如果人们无法因此而丰富，那么就没有什么比这更贫穷了。 微笑为家庭到来欢笑，为工作增添善意，是友谊的象征。 它是缓解疲劳的良药，是征服气馁的日光，是治疗疾病的阳光，是自然界中战胜困难的灵丹妙药。 它不能买，不能借，也不能偷，因为在它被给予他人之前是毫无用处的。 如果你遇见某人被悲伤和焦虑压得喘不过气来，只要给他一个微笑就行。 因为当一个人无法再给予微笑的时候，他比任何时候都需要微笑！
英语励志经典美文
英语励志经典美文：人像一棵树
Once, while taking my boat down the inland waterway to Florida, I decided to tie up at Georgetown, South Carolina, for the night and visit with an old friend. As we approached the Esso dock, I saw him through my binoculars standing there awaiting us. Tall and straight as an arrow he stood, facing a cold, penetrating wind - truly a picture of a sturdy man, even though in his eighties. Yes, the man was our elder statesman, Bernard Baruch.
有一次，我沿着内河独自驾船前往佛罗里达州。到达南卡洛来纳的乔治敦时，我决定靠岸过夜，顺便去拜访一位老朋友。船一进埃松港，我就从望远镜中看到他站在那里等我们。朋友高而挺拔的身影像一支箭一样，站立在刺骨的寒风中，简直一幅健壮男子汉的画面，虽然画面中人已年过八旬。没错，他就是我们的老一辈政治家，伯纳德。巴鲁克。He loaded us into his station wagon and we were off to his famous Hobcaw Barony for dinner. We sat and talked in the great living room where many notables and statesmen, including Roosevelt and Churchill, have sat and taken their cues. In his eighty-second year, still a human dynamo, Mr. Baruch talked not of the past but of present problems and the future, deploring our ignorance of history, economics and psychology. His only reference to the past was to tell me, with the wonderful sparkle in his eyes, that he was only able to get eight quail out of the ten shots the day before. What is the secret of this great man's value to the world? The answer is his insatiable desire to keep being productive.
伯纳德。巴鲁克的旅行轿车载着我们，径直驶向他那著名的霍布考大庄园用餐。我们就座谈话的大客厅，曾有包括罗斯福和丘吉尔在内的许多贵客与政治家光临，与他交谈，倾听他的意见。如今，巴鲁克先生虽已82岁，却依然活力充沛。他对过去缄口不提，只谈论现在与将来的问题，并为我们对历史学、经济学和心理学知识的匮乏而深表遗憾。他告诉我，昨天他只用10发子弹就射中了8只鹌鹑，这也是他提到的唯一一件“往事”。说话时，他的双眼闪烁着令人愉快的光芒。这位伟大的人物对世界充满价值的奥秘何在？答案就是他对成就一如既往的追求。Another friend of mine, the head of one of our largest corporations, a great steel company, is approaching his middle seventies, and he is still a great leader. He, too, never talks of the past. Instead, he tackles the problems of each day in his stride, brims with plans for the future and, incidentally, shoots in the low seventies on any golf course. He is a happy man because he is productive.
我的另一位朋友领导着一家最大的公司——一个大钢铁公司。年近75岁的他，依然是位优秀的领导者。他也从不谈及往昔，而是游刃有余地处理着每天的问题，头脑中想的满是对未来的计划。并且值得一提的是，70多岁的他，还会不时打打高尔夫球。他是个幸福的人，因为他有所成就。Two of the hardest things to accomplish in this world are to acquire wealth by honest effort and, having gained it, to learn how to use it properly. Recently, I walked into the locker room of a rather well-known golf club after finishing a round. It was in the late afternoon and most of the members had left for their homes. But a half dozen or so men past middle age were still seated at tables, talking aimlessly and drinking more than was good for them. These same men can be found there day after day, strangely enough, each one of these men had been a man of affairs and wealth, successful in business and respected in the community. If material prosperity were the chief requisites for happiness, then each one should have been happy. Yet, it seemed to me, something very important was missing, else there would not have been the constant effort to escape the realities of life through Scotch and soda. They knew, each one of them, that their productivity had ceased. When a fruit tree ceases to bear its fruit, it is dying. And it is even so with man.
人生在世最难完成的两件事就是：用诚实的努力获得财富，以及拥有财富后，学会如何正确地运用。最近，在一个相当知名的高尔夫俱乐部，我打完一轮球后走进衣帽间。当时已近黄昏，多数俱乐部成员都已经回家。然而，六七位年过中旬的人依然坐在桌边，漫无目的地闲聊着，喝得烂醉如泥。他们每天都是如此。令我无比惊奇的'是，他们个个都曾是家财万贯，事业成功，在圈内备受尊敬的人。如果幸福的首要因素是物质财富，那么他们每个人都应该很幸福。+但是，我想，对他们来说，某种非常重要的东西已经失去了，不然他们又怎会逃避现实，每天用苏打水和苏格兰威士忌将自己灌得烂醉如泥？他们明白，自己已经无法突破现有的成就。一棵果树若不再结果便会枯死，人也如此。What is the answer to a long and happy existence in this world of ours? I think I found it long ago in a passage from the book of Genesis which caught my eyes while I was thumbing through my Bible. The words were few but they became indelibly impressed on my mind: “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat thy bread.”
如何才能幸福长寿地生活在世上呢？我想，很早之前在翻阅《圣经》时，我就找到了答案。《创世纪》中有一段话引起了我的注意，它虽然简短，却在我脑海中留下了深刻的印象：“要想糊口，必要汗流满面。”To me that has been a challenge from my earliest recollections. In fact, the battle of life, of existence, is a challenge to everyone. The immortal words of St. Paul, too, have been and always will be a great inspiration to me. At the end of the road I want to be able to feel that I have fought a good fight - have finished the course - I have kept the faith.
对我而言，它是最初的记忆，也是始终的挑战。实际上，对每个人来说，人生之役，生存之役，都是一种挑战。圣。保罗不朽的教诲，也一直并将永远鼓舞着我。但愿，在到达生命之途的终点时
I will know that only those with inferior ability can always be at their best ，and I am not inferior.There will be days when I must IN THE WORLD constantly struggle against forces which would tear me down，Those such sa despair and sadness are simple to recognize but there are others which approach with a smile and the hand of friendship and they can slso destroy me.Against them，too.I must never relinquish control.
我将明白只有低能者才会江郎才尽，我并非低能者。我必须不断对抗那些企图摧垮我得力量。失望与悲伤一眼就会被识破，而其他许多敌人是不易察觉的，它们往往面带微笑，伸出友谊之手，却随时有可能将我们摧垮。对它们，我们永远不能放松警惕。
And with this new knowledge I will also understand and recognize the moods of him on whom i call， I will make allowances for his anger and irritation of today for he knows not the secret of controlling his mind.i can withstand him arrows and insults for now I know that tomorrow he will change and be a joy to approach.
有了这项新本领，我也更能体察别人的情绪变化。我宽容怒气冲冲的人，因为他尚未懂得控制自己的情绪，我可以忍受他的指责和辱骂，因为我知道明天他会改变，重新变得随和。
No longer will I judge a man on one meeting；no longer will i fail to call again tomorrow on he who meets me with hate today.this day he will not buy gold chariots for a penny，yet tomorrow he would exchange his home for a tree.My knowledge of this secret will be my key to great wealth.
我不再只凭一面之交来判断一个人，也不再因他今日的可恶而明日不给他打电话。今天不肯花一分钱买金蓬马车的人，明天他也许会用全部家当换一颗树苗。知道了这个秘密，我可以获得极大的财富。
Henceforth I will recognize and identify the mystery of moods in all mankind，and in me.From this moment I am prepared to control whatever personality awakes in me each day.I will master my moods through positive action and when I master my moods I will control my destiny.
我从此领悟到人类和我自己情绪变化的奥秘。对于自己千变万化的个性，我不在听之任之，我将积极主动的控制情绪，从而掌握自己的命运。
I will become master of myself.
我将成为自己的主人。
“人生天地间，若白驹之过隙，忽然而已。”世间最快的东西，一定是时间，就像此时，刚刚过了立秋，后日就是白露了，一夜之间，稻子黄了、归仓了，柿子红了。
我，的确不是那个仗剑走天涯的少年了，小半生，掰着手指，也就过了。从前，喜欢和人争执，凡事见个高低，面红耳赤，现在连话也懒得多说了。看惯了、看淡了，也就沉默了。从前，喜欢什么都写在脸上，喜怒哀乐，不加掩饰，现在脸都僵着，一种职业的笑，好假，却收敛不了。但凡种种，都是现世安稳的样子。
不喜欢闹腾腾的社会，当所有人往热闹处赶，自己却逆向而行，只是一个人，也不觉得有多孤独。那些喜气洋洋的迎来送往，看起来多余了，倒腾来，倒腾去，我还是原来的我，始终还是一个人默默努力，始终坚信人生最大的贵人就是我自己。与人交往，平淡如水，不再把酒言欢，偶尔小酒一杯，也上头，哪怕有人怒激，也无动于衷，对身体的爱，胜过酒席间的朋友之情。
不喜欢无聊的肥皂剧。生活阅历多了，本身就是一部剧本，自己写，自己导演，自己唱主角。当然，也不反对那些为剧情人物担忧的人，因为不在乎，还觉得好笑。如果可以，更愿意一个人坐在时光一隅，敲打属于自己的文字，或许，不成章节，但也消遣了时间，回忆了一段真实的内心故事。
更喜欢朴素了。好几年都不再逛街，穿着打扮自己舒心就行，不太在意别人的眼神。生活是过给自己看，不是被别人左右。虽然不我行我素，但追寻简单朴素，哪怕穿着有些过时，但降低了洋气的回头率，这样，挺好的。
那些成功和失败，也忘记了一些；那追逐功名利禄的躁动少了一些，多了追求安静的想法。或许是因为记忆力在退化，或许是真的学会了放下。内心仍旧有憧憬，但不是很高大上，只是心存一座静谧的小院，可以坐看云卷云舒、夕阳西下。闲暇时候，想种一片花花草草，把日子过成一首诗。
不再做人云亦云的人，对那些中伤自己的话，也学会了忍让。有人告诉我，谁谁谁做了什么大事，谁谁谁说了什么不中听的话，心情都是波澜不惊的样子。自己内心都藏着一大堆的东西，如果再去接受别人的东西，那就超负荷了，每天背着包袱上路，这不是我想要的样子。兵来将挡，水来土掩，一物克一物，何必自寻烦恼，所有的流言蜚语，都止于平常。
对钱也不够敏感了。钱够用就好了，毕竟不是万能的。再多的钱，买不到真正的爱情，换不到父母的长命百岁，战胜不了时光的流逝。如果苦苦追求钱，也就是追求一个虚无缥缈的数字，仅此而已。
当然，走过半生，懂得了淡看人生，坦然面世，并不是生命的堕落，而是生命的沉淀和升华。此刻，做人做事，更加有主见了；目标不好高骛远，而是更加清晰了；遇事，不是走向极端，而是懂得了运筹帷幄了。
走过半生，心仍旧少年，有梦，有情，有心，有爱，给别人温暖，也给自己温暖。
Every life coheres around certain fundamental core ideas whether we realize it or not。 If I were asked to state the ideas around which my life and my life's work have been built it would seem that they were very simple ideas。
无论我们能否认识到这点，每个人的人生都与某种基础的核心思想密切相连的。
An old professor of mine used to say that “effort counts。” “The surest thing in the world，” he would say， “next to death is that effort counts。” This I believe with all my heart。
倘若有人问我，我的生命与工作基于何种观念？我觉得它们非常简单。“一分耕耘，一分收获。”这是我的一位老教授过去常说的话。他说：“除了死亡之外，世界上最确切的事就是‘一分耕耘，一分收获’。”我对此深信不疑。
We seldom realize the sense of glow， the sense of growing self—esteem， the sense of achievement， which can come from doing a job well。 Just working at a thing with enthusiasm and with a belief that the job may be accomplished， however uncertain the outcome， lends zest to life。
我们很少能意识到工作带给我们的乐趣，对我们自尊心的培养，以及给予我们的成就感。只要带着热情去做一件事情，并坚信一定可以完成，无论最终会有怎样的结果，它都会为我们的生活带来激情。
If I were to start life again， I think I would do just what I have done in the past—this past having been done by mere chance。 I would start at some task which very much needed to be done。 I would start in a place which was run down and I would believe with all my heart that if the thing needed to be done and if effort were put into it， results would come for human good。
如果再给我一次生命，我想我仍会做过去所做的事——虽然过去所做的一切纯属偶然。我会从急需去做的事情做起，从破损之处做起；我会由衷地相信，只要是必须做的事，只要付出努力，就一定会获得对人类有益的结果。
Too， from the outset， my wife and I have had the feeling that no matter what else we did in life， we had to devote our best thinking and our best living to our children。
并且，我和妻子从一开始就认为，无论生活中还有任何什么别的事等待我们去做，我们都必须全身心为孩子们提供最好的生活。
Now that they are all grown， we have sincere satisfaction in the fact that trying to do ajob and trying to earn a living did not take away from us this urgency to be and do so that our children could have a feeling of the importance of integrity， honesty and straightforwardness in life。
如今，他们都已长大成人。我们感到无比满足，我们为生计奔波，努力工作，但都不曾忽略孩子，这样孩子们才能真正明白生活中正直、诚实和坦率的重要性。而我觉得，人们通常都忽略了这些。为了在社会中生存，人们不得不去工作，于是忽略了自己的孩子。
It seems to me far too often this is overlooked。 We people in public life do the jobs we have to do and fail to save our own children。 This second thing is important— doing the task you have to do but beginning at home to bring peace， love， happiness and contentment to those whom God has given you。
然而，后者更为重要——做你必须做的`事，但先要把和平、爱心、幸福和满足感带给家中的那些上帝恩赐与你的孩子们。
The third idea， around which I have tried to live and work， is that there is an overshadowing Providence that cares for one。 Ofttimes struggles are too intense， too “eager beaverish” when， as a matter of fact， time and God can solve many problems。
上天始终眷顾着我，这是维系我的生活与工作的第三个观念。有时，我们会过于积极，过于“急功近利”，而事实上，上帝和时间会解决很多问题。
Never in my life have I gotten away from the idea that God cares and that He provides that the forces of good in the world are greater than the forces of evil and that if we will lend ourselves to those forces， in the long run we have greater joy and happiness in the thing which we try to achieve。
上帝眷顾着我们，他让我们懂得世界上善的力量总大于恶的力量，只要我们追随着善，就一定会从我们努力成就的事业中获得更多的快乐与幸福，这正是我在一生中都不曾背离的一种观念。它们是我儿时时从母亲那里学到的。
This I learned from my mother as a boy。 Although she was ill and although we were poor—as poor as people can be—I do not now recall a moment of discouragement in her presence。 There was always an overpowering belief that God was in His heaven and that， as Joe Louis said， “God is on our side。”
虽然母亲染病在身，虽然我们的生活一贫如洗，但是在我的记忆中，母亲从未有过一刻的气馁。她始终坚信，正如乔路易斯所说：“上帝与我们同在。”上帝就在天堂。
These things I believe with all my heart。
对于这些观念，我是由衷地相信的。
Years ago a farmer owned land along the Atlantic seacoast。 He constantly advertised for hired hands。 Most people were reluctant to work on farms along the Atlantic。 They dreaded the awful storms that raged across the Atlantic， wreaking havoc on the buildings and crops。 As the farmer interviewed applicants for the job， he received a steady stream of refusals。
Finally， a short， thin man， well past middle age， approached the farmer。 “Are you a good farmhand？” the farmer asked him。
“Well， I can sleep when the wind blows，” answered the little man。
Although puzzled by this answer， the farmer， desperate for help， hired him。 The little man worked well around the farm， busy from dawn to dusk， and the farmer felt satisfied with the man's work。
Then one night the wind howled loudly in from offshore。 Jumping out of bed， the farmer grabbed a lantern and rushed next door to the hired hand's sleeping quarters。 He shook the little man and yelled， “Get up！ A storm is coming！ Tie things down before they blow away！”
The little man rolled over in bed and said firmly， “No sir。 I told you， I can sleep when the wind blows。”
Enraged by the response， the farmer was tempted to fire him on the spot。 Instead， he hurried outside to prepare for the storm。 To his amazement， he discovered that all of the haystacks had been covered with tarpaulins。 The cows were in the barn， the chickens were in the coops， and the doors were barred。 The shutters were tightly secured。 Everything was tied down。 Nothing could blow away。
The farmer then understood what his hired hand meant， so he returned to his bed to also sleep while the wind blew。
New challenges require new ways of thinking
面对新挑战，要有新思路
Part car, part jet fighter, part spaceship, Bloodhound SSC aims to be the first land vehicle to break the 1,000mph barrier. One of the key challenges has been to design the wheels. How do you create the fastest wheels in history, make them stable and reliable at supersonic speeds, and with limited resources?
部分汽车、部分喷气式飞机、部分宇宙飞船，猎犬号超级汽车的目标是做世界上第一辆时速突破1000英里的汽车。而这面临的一项关键挑战是车轮的设计。如果换做是你，你会如何在有限的资源下发明出超音速汽车上用的轮子呢？
After much deliberation, and devising ideas that pushed the boundaries of material technology, Mark Chapman, chief engineer of the Bloodhound project said the team decided to take a step back and change the way they were trying to solve problems. “There’s very little we’ve actually developed that’s new,” he says, “what’s unique is how we apply technologies.”
猎犬号项目的总工程师马克·查普曼思来想去，觉得材料还是不够好。最后他和他的团队决定退回一步、换个角度看有没有别的办法。“我们实际创新的东西并不多”，马克说：“我们的独特之处在于应用技术的方式别具一格。”
They adopted an approach called the design of experiments – a mathematical technique of problem solving through doing lots of little experiments and then looking at the statistics all glued together. “All of a sudden, where we’d been knocking our head against the wall for maybe two, three, four months, we came up with a wheel design that would hold together and was strong enough,” he says.
他们采用实验设计的方法做了很多的小实验，综合所得的数据再得出精确设计。“花了三四个月绞尽脑汁做尽各种实验之后，很突然地我们做出了一个大胆的设计：把各种可用的(飞机、飞船所用的)技术都融合在一辆车上，从而使它足够强大。”马克说。
《Today I begin a new life》
Today I shed my old skin which hath, too long, suffered the bruises of failure and the wounds of mediority.
Today I am born anew and my birthplace is a vineyard where there is fruit for all.
Today I will pluck grapes of wisdom from the tallest and fullest vines in the vineyard,for these were planted by the wisest of my profession who have come before me,generation upon generation.
Today I will savor the taste of grapes from these vines and verily I will swallow the seed of success buried in each and new life will sprout within me.
The career I have chosen is laden with opportunity yet it is fraught with heartbreak and despair and the bodies of those who have failed, were they piled one atop another, would cast a shadow down upon all the pyramids of the earth.
Yet I will not fail, as the others, for in my hands I now hold the charts which will guide through perilous waters to shores which only yesterday seemed but a dream.
Failure no longer will be my payment for struggle.
Just as nature made no provision for my body to tolerate pain neither has it made any provision for my life to suffer failure.
Failure, like pain, is alien to my life.
In the past I accepted it as I accepted pain.
Now I reject it and I am prepared for wisdom and principles which will guide me out of the shadows into the sunlight of wealth, position, and happiness far beyond my most extravagant dreams until even the golden apples in the Garden of Hesperides will seem no more than my just reward.
Time teaches all things to him who lives forever but I have not the luxury of eternity.
Yet within my allotted time I must practice the art of patience for nature acts never in haste.
To create the olive, king of all trees, a hundred years is required.
An onion plant is old in nine weeks.
I have lived as an onion plant.
It has not pleased me.
Now I wouldst become the greatest of olive trees and, in truth, the greatest of salesman.
And how will this be accomplished? For I have neither the knowledge nor the experience to achieve the greatness and already I have stumbled in ignorance and fallen into pools of self-pity.
The answer is simple.
I will commence my journey unencumbered with either the weight of unnecessary knowledge or the handicap of meaningless experience.
Nature already has supplied me with knowledge and instinct far greater than any beast in the forest and the value of experience is overrated, usually by old men who nod wisely and speak stupidly.
In truth, experience teaches thoroughly yet her course of instruction devours men's years so the value of her lessons diminishes with the time necessary to acquire her special wisdom.
The end finds it wasted on dead men.
Furthermore, experience is comparable to fashion; an action that proved successful today will be unworkable and impractical tomorrow.
Only principles endure and these I now possess, for the laws that will lead me to greatness are contained in the words of these scrolls.
What they will teach me is more to prevent failure than to gain success, for what is success other than a state of mind? Which two, among a thouand wise men, will define success in the same words; yet failure is always described but one way.
Failure is man's inability to reach his goals in life, whatever they may be.
In truth, the only difference between those who have failed and those who have successed lies in the difference of their habits.
Good habits are the key to all success.
Bad habits are the unlocked door to failure.
Thus, the first law I will obey, which precedeth all others is --I will form good habits and become their slave.
As a child I was slave to my impulses; now I am slave to my habits, as are all grown men.
I have surrendered my free will to the years of accumulated habits and the past deeds of my life have already marked out a path which threatens to imprison my future.
My actions are ruled by appetite, passion, prejudice, greed, love, fear, environment, habit, and the worst of these tyrants is habit.
Therefore, if I must be a slave to habit let me be a slave to good habits.
My bad habits must be destroyed and new furrows prepared for good seed.
I will form good habits and become their slave.
And how will I accomplish this difficult feat? Through these scrolls, it will be done, for each scroll contains a principle which will drive a bad habit from my life and replace it with one which will bring me closer to success.
For it is another of nature's laws that only a habit can subdue another habit.
So, in order for these written words to perform their chosen task, I must discipline myself with the first of my new habits which is as follows:
I will read each scroll for thirty days in this prescribed manner, before I proceed to the next scroll.
First, I will read the words in silence when I arise.
Then, I will read the words in silence after I have partaken of my midday meal.
Last, I will read the words again just before I retire at day's end, and most important, on this occasion I will read the words aloud.
On the next day I will repeat this procedure, and I will continue in like manner for thirty days.
Then, I will turn to the next scroll and repeat this procedure for another thirty days.
I will continue in this manner until I have lived with each scroll for thirty days and my reading has become habit.
And what will be accomplished with this habit? Herein lies the hidden secret of all man's accomplishments.
As I repeat the words daily they will soon become a part of my active mind, but more important, they will also seep into my other mind, that mysterious source which never sleeps, which creates my dreams, and often makes me act in ways I do not comprehend.
As the words of these scrolls are consumed by my mysterious mind I will begin to awake, each morning, with a vitality I have never known before.
My vigor will increase, my enthusiasm will rise, my desire to meet the world will overcome every fear I once knew at sunrise, and I will be happier than I ever believed it possible to be in this world of strife and sorrow.
Eventually I will find myself reacting to all situations which confront me as I was commanded in the scrolls to react, and soon these actions and reactions will become easy to perform, for any act with practice becomes easy.
Thus a new and good habit is born, for when an act becomes easy through constant repetiton it becomes a pleasure to perform and if it is a pleasure to perform it is man's nature to perform it often.
When I perform it often it becomes a habit and I become its slave and since it is a good habit this is my will.
Today I begin a new life.
And I make a solemn oath to myself that nothing will retard my new life's growth.
I will lose not a day from these readings for that day cannot be retrieved nor can I substitute another for it.
I must not , I will not, break this habit of daily reading from these scrolls and, in truth, the few moments spent each day on this new habit are but a small price to pay for the happiness and success that will be mine.
persistence is important to achieve success, but giving up is also important. why is it essential? why is it necessary to give up? because it allows you to focus your energy on the few things that are truly important. by giving up, you:
坚持是成功的重要条件之一，但是放弃也是成功的重要因素。为什么放弃这么重要？为什么我们需要放弃？因为放弃能让精力集中于少数真 正重要的事情上。放弃之后，你可以：
stop unfruitful effort。
停止无所谓的努力
what’s the point of spending your time and energy on something that doesn’t work? the more you spend your time and energy there, the more you waste your resources。
把时间和精力花在没用的事情上有什么意义？在这些事情上时间和精力花得越多，资源也就浪费得越多。
Life has its ups and downs,its peaks and its one is up all the time,nor are they down all the time.The tough people who survive the tough times do so because they've chosen to react positively to the time never last,but tough people people stick it out.History teaches us that every problem has a problem is permanent.Storms always give way to the sun.
Winter always thaws into spingtime.Your problem will be solved.
What makes a teacher?
It is customary for adults to forget how hard and dull and long school is. The learning by memory of all the basic things one must know is a most incredible and unending effort.
Learning to read is probably the most difficult and revolutionary thing that happens to the human brain and if you don't believe that,watch an illiterate adult try to do it.
School is not easy and it is not for the most part very much fun,but then,if you are very lucky,you may find a real teacher. Three real teachers in a lifetime is the very best of my luck. My first was a science and math teacher in high school, my second , a professor of creative writing at Stanford , and my third was my friend and partner, Ed Ricketts.
I have come to believe that a great teacher is a great artist and that there are as few as there are any other great artists. It might even be the greatest of the arts since the medium is the human mind and spirit.
My three had these things in common:they all loved what they were doing. They did not tell, they catalyzed a burning desire to know. Under their influence, the horizons sprung wide and fear went away and unknown became knowledge. But most important of all ,the truth,that dangerous stuff,became beautiful and precious.
I shall speak only of my first teacher because in addition to the other things, she brought discovery.
She aroused us to shouting,book-waving discussion. She had the noisiest class in school and she didn't even seem to know it . We could never stick to the subject. Our speculation ranged the world.
She breathed curiosity into us so that we brought in facts or truths shielded in our hands like captured fireflies.
She was fired and perhaps rightly so, for failing to teach fundamentals. Such things must be learned. But she left a passion in us for the pure knowable world and she inflamed me with a curiosity which has never left . I could not do simple arithmetic but through her I sensed that abstract mathematics was very much like music. When she was relieved, a sadness came over us but the light did not go out.
为师之道
成年人常常会忘记在学校上学时的艰辛、单调和漫长。凭借记忆去学习必须了解的基本常识是一件最不可思议并需要不懈努力的事。学会阅读大概是人的大脑活动中最困难的、最具创新性的一项任务。
你如果不信的话，可以去观察一个成年文盲的尝试过程。上学不容易，而且大部分时光也确实枯燥无味。 但如果你很幸运的话，你会遇见一位优秀的教师。我所遇到的三位真正的教师是我一生中最大的幸运：第一位是我在高中时任教的自然科学兼数学教师；第二位是斯坦福大学教创造性写作的教授；最后一位是我的朋友，同时又是我的搭档埃德·理克茨。
我坚信杰出的教师就像杰出的艺术家。这样的教师和其它任何杰出的艺术家一样罕见。 正因良师所传授的`是人类的思想和精神，这使得教育甚至可能是最伟大的艺术。
我的三位老师的共同之处是：他们都热爱自己的职业。他们从不说教，而是激发学生强烈的求知欲。在他们的熏陶下，学生们开阔了视野，驱散了恐惧，消除了疑问，不懂的知识也迎刃而解。但最重要的是，我们所寻求的真知不再是令人望而却步的东西，而是变得美妙而珍贵了。
我只想谈谈我的第一位老师，因为她除了教授书本知识，还教会我们如何去发现。
她激发我们手挥书本、高声嚷叫地进行讨论。她的课堂是学校最吵闹的，而她似乎没有觉察到。我们从不局限于一个主题。我们的视野扩大到整个世界。她把好奇心注入我们心中，使我们懂得事实与真理，把它们像捕捉萤火虫一样掌握在手中。
她被解雇了，或许也该如此，因为她没有教好书本上的基础知识。这些基础知识是必须掌握的。但她却留给我们追求真知的热情，点燃了我永不泯灭的好奇心。我做不出简单的算术题，但她却让我领悟到抽象的数学就像音乐一样有其内在的韵律。 当她被解雇时，我们都沉浸在忧伤之中，但是她点燃的智慧之光并未熄灭。
拉尔夫。里士满
A New Look from Borrowed Time By Ralph Richmond
Just ten years ago, I sat across the desk from a doctor with a stethoscope. “Yes,” he said, “there is a lesion in the left, upper lobe. You have a moderately advanced case…” I listened, stunned, as he continued, “You’ll have to give up work at once and go to bed. Later on, we’ll see.” He gave me no assurances.
十年前的一天，我坐在一名手持听诊器的医生对面。“你的左肺叶上部确实有一处坏损，而且病情正在恶化”——听到这里，我整个人一下懵了。“你必须停止工作卧床休息，有待观察。”医生对我的病情也是不置可否。
Feeling like a man who in mid-career has suddenly been placed under sentence of death with an indefinite reprieve, I left the doctor’s office, walked over to the park, and sat down on a bench, perhaps, as I then told myself, for the last time. I needed to think. In the next three days, I cleared up my affairs; then I went home, got into bed, and set my watch to tick off not the minutes, but the months. two and a half years and many dashed hopes later, I left my bed and began the long climb back. It was another year before I made it.
就这样，事业方面方兴未艾的我仿佛突然被人判了死刑，却说不准何时执刑。我离开医生的办公室，来到公园的长椅上坐下。这也许是最后一次来这儿了，我对自己说。我真得好好整理一下思绪。接下来的三天我把手头的事务全部处理完毕。我回到家，躺到床上，然后把手表从显示分钟改为显示月份。两年半的时间过去了，在无数次的失望之后，我终于可以离开病床，艰难地向从前的生活状态回归。一年之后，我做到了。
I speak to this experience because these years that past so slowly taught me what to value and what to believe. They said to me: Take time, before time takes you. I realize now that this world I’m living in is not my oyster to be opened but my opportunity to be grasped. Each day, to me, is a precious entity. The sun comes up and presents me with 24 brand new, wonderful hours—not to pass, but to fill.
我之所以谈起这段经历，是因为那段度日如年的岁月让我懂得应该珍惜什么，信仰什么。那段岁月让我明白一个道理：牢牢抓住时间，而不是让时间将你套牢。现在我终于明白，我生活着的这个世界不是等待我去打开的一扇牡蛎，而是需要我去抓住的一个机会。每一天我都视若珍宝，每一轮太阳带给我的崭新的二十四小时都鲜活而精彩，我绝不可将其虚度。
I’ve learned to appreciate those little, all-important things I never thought I had the time to notice before: the play of light on running water, the music of the wind in my favorite pine tree. I seem now to see and hear and feel with some of the recovered freshness of childhood. How well, for instance, I recall the touch of the springy earth under my feet the day I first stepped upon it after the years in bed. It was almost more than I could bear. It was like regaining one’s citizenship in a world one had nearly lost.
从前，我终日忙碌，无暇顾及生活中某些重要的细节，诸如水波上的光影，松林间的风吟——现在，我终于学会去欣赏它们的美好。如今，我仿佛重返童年，又觉得自己所见所闻所感的一切都那么新鲜。当我卧床数年后重新将双脚踏在大地上的那一刻，脚下那久违了的松软土壤让我激动得情难自抑，仿佛重新拥有我差一点就失去的世界。
Frequently, I sit back and say to myself, Let me make note of this moment I’m living right now, because in it I’m well, happy, hard at work doing what I like best to do. It won’t always be like this, so while it is I’ll make the most of it—and afterwards, I remember—and be grateful. All this, I owe to that long time spent on the sidelines of life. Wiser people come to this awareness without having to acquire it the hard way. But I wasn’t wise enough. I’m wiser now, a little, and happier.
我现在时常舒舒服服地坐着，提醒自己要记住当下的每分每秒，因为现在的我健康、快乐，能努力做自己最爱做的工作。这一切如此美好，却终将消逝，在如此美好的生活消逝之前，我一定要倍加珍惜。在它逝去之后，我会记得曾经拥有的美好，并心存感激。这一切改变都得益于我在生命边缘徘徊的那几年。智者无需被逼到如此境地也能明白这些道理——可惜我从前太愚钝。现在的我比从前多了几分睿智，我也因此更加快乐。
“Look thy last on all things lovely, every hour.” With these words, Walter de la Mare sums up for me my philosophy and my belief. God made this world—in spite of what man now and then tries to do to unmake it—a dwelling place of beauty and wonder, and He filled it with more goodness than most of us suspect. And so I say to myself, Should I not pretty often take time to absorb the beauty and the wonder, to contribute a least a little to the goodness? And should I not then, in my heart, give thanks? Truly, I do. This I believe.
英国诗人沃尔特。德拉。梅尔曾说过：“时刻记住，最后看一眼所有美好的事物！”这句诗正好总结了我的人生哲学与信仰。上帝创造的这个世界——这个人类时常试图毁灭的世界——是个美丽奇妙的家园。这里充满了上帝所赐予的美好事物，超过我们大多数人的想象。我于是常常自问，难道自己不应该去细细品味这些美丽与奇迹，尽绵薄之力去创造世间的美好吗？难道我不应心存感激吗？我确实应该——这就是我的信仰。
英语励志美文：奉献是支付租金
李·黑斯廷斯·布里斯托尔
Paying the Rent of Service By Lee Bristol
In a complex society and a complex civilization, the individual is inevitably confused much of the time. But I believe that the basic solution of all world and group problems must first be solved by the individual himself. Each one of us, whether we publicly admit it or not, has a deeply spiritual side. Not one of us can conceal it—scratch the surface and it’s always there. So first of all—and underlying all my credo—I believe in God and in an orderly universe.
人类生活在复杂的社会和文明中，总会不可避免地感到困惑。然而，我相信：人类自身才是解决全世界和群体问题的根本，无论是否公开承认，每个人的内心深处都藏着一个精神家园。揭开覆盖在它表层的东西，它永远在那里，没有人能够将其隐藏。我相信上帝和有序的宇宙，这是我所有信条中的第一个。
As a mortal, passing through this life for just a limited period of time, I believe that happiness is a truly basic objective—happiness for one’s self and, hopefully, happiness for others. It hasn’t taken too much living on my part to discover that real happiness, which sounds so selfish and so self-centered, is never achieved merely by selfish materialism—it can only have depth and real satisfaction if it is bound up with unselfishness—with a consideration for others. Service is the very essence of it. It has been said that “service is the rent we pay for our place on earth.” That kind of service brings the true happiness that we all seek.
生命是有限的，我相信，人类应该为自己追求幸福，同时也为他人带去幸福，这才是人类真正要追求的最基本的生活目标。回顾自己丰富的生活阅历，我明白了，真正的幸福似乎是自私和以自我为中心。但是，那些牟取私利、满足个人物质需要的人永远不会拥有真正的幸福。只有当幸福与无私、体谅他人联系在一起时，这种幸福才会是有深度、真正令人满意的幸福。幸福的本质是奉献，这种奉献带来了我们所有人所追求的真正幸福。曾经有人说过这样的话：“幸福是我们为在地球上占据的空间而支付的租金。”
The antithesis of all this is selfishness, which is outstandingly the greatest world-wide vice. It seems though all the world had the “gimmies,” selfishly grasping for power, and more and more, at national levels, with individuals selfishly struggling for material things at their own level.
自私自利是世界上最令人憎恶的恶行，它是一切幸福的对立面。世界的每一个角落似乎都存在着这种恶行，国家之间对于权利的贪婪追求，人与人之间为了物质财富而进行的斗争。
Each one of us needs a sense of humor with its balancing factor of a sense of proportion. I believe a sense of humor brings poise and a start towards understanding.
每个人都需要一种幽默感和分寸感，我相信幽默感是理解的开端，能够使人类沉着、冷静。
My credo embraces a joyous approach for me toward my fellow man and for collective groups towards each other. I want none of that grim hellfire-and-brimstone stuff that flourished in the early days of our country—a religion of frightening fear of the hereafter. Why, even their old church pews were as uncomfortable as straitjackets! A joyous approach towards living even cheers you yourself—to say nothing of its warmth that eases the burdens of others.
我的信条是：同胞之间、群体之间应该快乐地相处。我反对我国早期曾盛行的宣扬残酷的地狱之火及战火这样的谬论，这让人类对来世的信仰产生了巨大恐惧。为什么连教堂里靠背椅的椅背都像件瘦小的外套，令人很不舒服！快乐地面对生活不但使自己感到高兴，还能温暖他人，减轻他人的生活负担。
I believe that brotherhood can grow from this to help destroy forever the seeds of friction and injustice that stem from group minority prejudices.
我相信，幸福能够产生兄弟情谊，有助于消除小群体偏见产生的冲突和不公平的苗头。
If only each one of us can develop a sound philosophy and work out a course of conduct as individuals, then I believe we can solve our world problems at the international level. Thomas Mann once gave this challenging definition: “War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.” With faith and good will in our hearts and with peace in our souls and minds, surely we can leave this world the better for our having lived in it.
只要每个人都能确立一个正确的哲学观，制定出一套个人行为规范，我相信我们能够解决国际问题。托马斯·曼曾经提出了这样一条富有挑战性的定义：“战争只是对和平解决问题方式的逃避。”只要心中有信仰，有良好的愿望，只要思想和灵魂追求和平，我们就一定能够在有生之年让世界变得更加美好。
Each human being is born as something new, something that never existed before. Each is born with the capacity to win at life. Each person has a unique way of seeing, hearing, touching, tasting and thinking. Each has his or her own unique potentials---capabilities and limitations. Each can be a significant, thinking, aware, and creative being---a productive person, a winner.
The word “winner” and “loser” have many meanings. When we refer to a person as a winner, we do not mean one who makes someone else lose. To us, a winner is one who responds authentically by being credible, trustworthy, responsive, and genuine, both as an individual and as a member of a society.
Winners do not dedicated their lives to a concept of what they imagine they should be; rather, they are themselves and as such do not use their energy putting on a performance, maintaining pretence and manipulating others. They are aware that there is a difference between being loving and acting loving, between being stupid and acting stupid, between being knowledgeable and acting knowledgeable. Winners do not need to hide behind a mask.
Winners are not afraid to do their own thinking and to use their own knowledge. They can separate facts from opinions and don’t pretend to have all the answers. They listen to others, evaluate what they say, but come to their own conclusions. Although winners can admire and respect other people, they are not totally defined, demolished, bound, or awed by them.
Winners do not play “helpless”, nor do they play the blaming game. Instead, they assume responsibility for their own lives. They don’t give others a false authority over them. Winners are their own bosses and know it.
A winner’s timing is right. Winners respond appropriately to the situation. Their responses are related to the message sent and preserve the significance, worth, well-being, and dignity of the people involved. Winners know that for everything there is a season and for every activity a time.
Although winners can freely enjoy themselves, they can also postpone enjoyment, can discipline themselves in the present to enhance their enjoyment in the future. Winners are not afraid to go after what he wants, but they do so in proper ways. Winners do not get their security by controlling others. They do not set themselves up to lose.
A winner cares about the world and its peoples. A winner is not isolated from the general problems of society, but is concerned, compassionate, and committed to improving the quality of life. Even in the face of national and international adversity, a winner’s self-image is not one of a powerless individual. A winner works to make the world a better place.
生而为赢
人皆生而为新，为前所未有之所存在；人皆生而能赢。人皆有其特立独行之方式去审视，聆听，触摸，品味及思考，因而都具备独特潜质-能力和局限。人皆能举足轻重，思虑明达，洞察秋毫，富有创意，成就功业。
“成者”与“败者”含义颇多。谈及成者我们并非指令他人失意之人。对我们而言，成者必为人守信，值得信赖，有求必应，态度诚恳，或为个人，或为社会一员皆能以真诚回应他人。
成者行事并不拘泥于某种信条，即便是他 他们明了爱与装家，愚蠢与装傻，博学与卖弄之间迥然有别。成者无须藏于面具之后。
成者敢于利用所学，独立思考，区分事实与观点，且并不佯装通晓所有答案。他们倾听，权衡他人意见，但能得出自己的结论。尽管他们尊重，敬佩他们，但并不为他们所局限，所推翻，所束缚，也不对他人敬若神灵。
成者既不佯装“无助”，亦不抱怨他人。相反，他们对人生总是独担责任，也不以权威姿态凌驾他人之上。他们主宰自己，而且能意识到这点。
成者善于审时度势，随机应变。他们对所接受的信息做出回应，维护当事人的利益，康乐和尊严。成者深知成一事要看好时节，行一事要把握时机。
尽管成者可以自由享乐，但他更知如何推迟享乐，适时自律，以期将来乐趣更盛。成者并不忌惮追求所想，但取之有道，也并不靠控制他们而获取安然之感。他们总是使自己立于不败。
成者心忧天下，并不孤立尘世弊病之外，而是置身事内，满腔热情，致力于改善民生。即使面对民族，国家之危亡，成者亦非无力回天之个体。他总是努力令世界更好。
Whether sixty or sixteen, 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 the infinite, so long are you young.
An individual human existence should be like a river—small at first, narrowly contained within its banks, and rushing passionately past boulders and over waterfalls. Gradually the river grows wider, the banks recede, the waters flow more quietly, and in the end, without any visible break, they become merged in the sea, and painlessly lose their individual being.
Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity,of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease.This often exists in a man of sixty more than a boy of grows old merely by a number of years.We grow old by deserting our ideals.
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.
life doesn't always give us the joys we want. we don't always get our hopes and dreams, and we don't always get our own way. but don't give up hope, because you can make a difference one situation and one person at a time.
现实生活并非总是都如你所愿。希望有时会落空，梦想有时会破灭，我们不能一切随心所愿。但是别放弃希望，因为事物并非一成不变；不同时间，不同场合，你会呈现不同的面貌。
look for the beauty around you--in nature, in others, in yourself--and believe in the love of friends, family, and humankind. you can find love in a smile or a helping hand, in a thoughtful gesture or a kind word. it is all around, if you just look for it.
处处留心你身边的美丽：自然中的美，他人的美，你自己的美。请相信，美来自朋友、家庭乃至全人类的融融爱意。一个微笑，一双援助之手，一个关心的举止，一句友善的话语，无不传达着爱。如果你有心去寻找，爱无所不在。
It seems to me a very difficult thing to put into words the beliefs we hold and what they make you do in your life。 I think I was fortunate because I grew up in a family where there was a very deep religious feeling。 I don’t think it was spoken of a great deal。 It was more or less taken for granted that everybody held certain beliefs and needed certain reinforcements of their own strength and that that came through your belief in God and your knowledge of prayer。
But as I grew older I questioned a great many of the things that I knew very well my grandmother who had brought me up had taken for granted。 And I think I might have been a quite difficult person to live with if it hadn’t been for the fact that my husband once said it didn’t do you any harm to learn those things， so why not let your children learn them？ When they grow up they’ll think things out for themselves。
And that gave me a feeling that perhaps that’s what we all must do—think out for ourselves what we could believe and how we could live by it。 And so I came to the conclusion that you had to use this life to develop the very best that you could develop。
I don’t know whether I believe in a future life。 I believe that all that you go through here must have some value， therefore there must be some reason。 And there must be some “going on。” How exactly that happens I’ve never been able to decide。 There is a future—that I’m sure of。 But how， that I don’t know。 And I came to feel that it didn’t really matter very much because whatever the future held you’d have to face it when you came to it， just as whatever life holds you have to face it exactly the same way。 And the important thing was that you never let down doing the best that you were able to do—it might be poor because you might not have very much within you to give， or to help other people with， or to live your life with。 But as long as you did the very best that you were able to do， then that was what you were put here to do and that was what you were accomplishing by being here。
And so I have tried to follow that out—and not to worry about the future or what was going to happen。 I think I am pretty much of a fatalist。 You have to accept whatever comes and the only important thing is that you meet it with courage and with the best that you have to give。