雙語(yǔ)美文|人生如筷

■ 人生如筷

Life as Chopsticks

◎ Steven Porter

Chopsticks . Right now, millions of people are digging into their food with two sticks that have stood the test of time as a utensil for humans, even when countless thousands of other tools, gadgets and products haven’t. But what’s so special about them?

What can we learn from mere chopsticks?

Personally, I have used them all my life, but it was only recently I realized the depth of influence they had in many people’s way of life. They teach us the importance of:

Simplicity. They can come in all kinds of colors and sizes but essentially they are just two long sticks. There’s hardly anything more simple than two bits of wood being pushed together. With new technology being released everyday and adverts bombarding us with the need to be able to do more with less, multi-tasking and multiple-use devices, it is sort of refreshing to still have something which has just one use—simply to eat. Chopsticks are a living example that simplicity simply works, and we don’t need to keep developing, improving and fixing things all the time.

名 人 語(yǔ) 庫(kù)

Habit is habit, and not to be flung out of the window by any man, but coaxed downstairs a step a time.

~Mark Twain

習(xí)慣就是習(xí)慣，誰(shuí)也不能將其扔出窗外，只能一步一步地引它下樓。

——馬克·吐溫

筷子。 現(xiàn)如今，當(dāng)無(wú)數(shù)的工具、器具和產(chǎn)品都已被時(shí)間淘汰時(shí)，只有筷子經(jīng)受住了時(shí)間的考驗(yàn)，成千上萬(wàn)的人用它來(lái)夾取食物。然而，它究竟有什么特別之處？

從這簡(jiǎn)單的筷子中，我們可以學(xué)到什么？

就我個(gè)人而言，我一生都在使用筷子，但直到最近，我才意識(shí)到它深深地影響了許多人的生活方式。它教會(huì)了我們?cè)S多重要的事：

簡(jiǎn)單。 雖然筷子顏色各異，長(zhǎng)短不同，但實(shí)質(zhì)上它們就是兩根長(zhǎng)棍。沒(méi)有什么比兩根靠在一起就能使用的木棍更簡(jiǎn)單的東西了。在科技日新月異的今天，鋪天蓋地的廣告告訴我們應(yīng)該使用那些事半功倍的多功能設(shè)備，筷子卻仍舊保持著單一的用途——只是用來(lái)吃飯，這真是讓人覺(jué)得不同尋常啊?？曜舆@個(gè)活生生的例子說(shuō)明：簡(jiǎn)簡(jiǎn)單單的東西照樣能派上用場(chǎng)，我們并不需要總是不斷地改善、發(fā)展、革新。

Versatility. Chopsticks can be used for picking up all kinds of food; meat, vegetable, rice, even the bones from fish, because by nature, their simplicity means that they are adaptable. Instead of aiming for a niche in an attempt to find a “gap in the market”, or to fill a hole that probably doesn’t need filling, they cater to a wide range purposes. Imagine being like chopsticks in this way, able to appeal to many people because you are useful, without worrying about being “more innovative” or “better” in anyway. They just do what they are made to do; they just are.

Aim. If you’ve ever tried using them, you know that you can’t get what you want by just haphazardly stabbing at the plate. To be able to get what you want, you have to aim for it. There’s no way you can pick up everything in one go. Know what you want, and just do it. Sometimes, a little bit of focus makes the difference between failure and success.

Practice. Using chopsticks doesn’t come naturally. You have to learn to use them and practice it. But how will you learn? Should you just read about it? Most would agree that there’s no better way to practice than to look at the delicious food in front of you and tell yourself that you can’t have any until you can use the chopsticks to get it. In real life, you can read in books as much as you like about all the things you want to do, but it will just amount to dreams and theory if you don’t try actually doing it. Don’t just watch others eating, put yourself out there and give the chopsticks a go.

Slowing Down. A common health tip is to try to eat with chopsticks when you can. Why? Because it slows you down and allows your stomach to tell your brain you’re full before you overeat. Eating with chopsticks is a slower process, but that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes we need to slow down and take things one step at a time, break it down at each stage so that we have time to think, to realize that we’re actually full and that we don’t have to keep charging full speed through life.

多樣化。 筷子可以用來(lái)夾取各種各樣的食物，如肉類(lèi)、蔬菜、米飯，甚至是魚(yú)骨頭，因?yàn)樗鼈兒?jiǎn)單的本質(zhì)就意味著它們的適應(yīng)性夠強(qiáng)。它們能滿足各種廣泛的要求，而不是只瞄準(zhǔn)于彌補(bǔ)某些“市場(chǎng)空白”，或者填充那些可能沒(méi)必要填充的空洞。想象一下筷子的哲學(xué)：有自己的用途且無(wú)須擔(dān)心被“革新”或被“改善”，所以深受人們喜愛(ài)?？曜又皇亲隽怂鼞?yīng)該做的，筷子就是筷子。

目標(biāo)。 如果你曾試過(guò)用筷子吃飯，你就知道在餐盤(pán)上隨意亂戳是夾不到你想要的東西的。你必須瞄準(zhǔn)目標(biāo)。你不可能一次性?shī)A到所有東西。認(rèn)清你要什么，然后去做。有時(shí)，成功與失敗的區(qū)別就在于那一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)的準(zhǔn)確性。

不斷實(shí)踐。 沒(méi)人生來(lái)就會(huì)使用筷子。你必須學(xué)著使用它們并不斷練習(xí)。然而，你該怎樣學(xué)呢？?jī)H僅只是閱讀說(shuō)明書(shū)嗎？絕大多數(shù)人都認(rèn)可，最好的練習(xí)方法是盯著你面前的美食，然后告訴自己不用筷子夾到它就沒(méi)法吃。在我們的現(xiàn)實(shí)生活中，你可以從書(shū)中閱讀到任何你想要做的事情，但是如果你不試著將其付諸實(shí)踐，它也就僅僅只是夢(mèng)想和理論。不要只是看著別人吃，自己也要去拿雙筷子，自己去試試。

放慢節(jié)奏。 一個(gè)眾所周知的健康秘訣就是盡可能使用筷子吃飯。為什么？因?yàn)樗鼤?huì)讓你放慢節(jié)奏，在你吃撐之前，你的胃會(huì)告訴你的大腦你已經(jīng)吃飽了。用筷子吃飯是個(gè)緩慢的過(guò)程，但這未必是一件壞事。有時(shí)候，我們需要放慢腳步，凡事要一步一步，在每個(gè)階段停頓一下，這樣我們就有時(shí)間去思考，意識(shí)到我們其實(shí)已經(jīng)飽了，我們不應(yīng)該總是保持高速度的生活。

Sometimes it’s nice to enjoy each morsel of life as it comes.

有時(shí)候，享受生活的一點(diǎn)一滴是很美好的事。