我总结了一下我昨天的幸福时刻:首先是我合上最后一个午餐饭盒,独自在家时的那种无比幸福;然后过了一个写作不受干扰的上午,令我愉快;等到孩子们回家,我享受安静的一天过后他们吵闹的声音。
You never know where happiness will turn up next. When I asked friends what makes them happy, some mentioned seemingly insignificant moments. "I hate shopping," one friend said. "But there's this clerk who always chats and really cheers me up."
你永远无法知道下一次幸福何时来临。我问朋友们什么能使他们感到幸福,一些人举出一些似乎不太重要的时刻。“我不喜欢购物,”一位朋友说,“但那里有一个爱聊天的售货员,让我感到很愉快。”
Another friend loves the telephone. "Every time it rings, I know someone is thinking about me."
另一位朋友喜欢接电话。“每次电话铃声响,我就知道有人正想着我呢。”
We all experience moments like these. Too few of us register them as happiness.
我们都经历过类似的事,但视之为幸福的人寥寥无几。
While happiness may be more complex for us, the solution is the same as ever. Happiness isn't about what happens to us; it's about how we perceive what happens to us. It's the knack of finding a positive for every negative, and viewing a set-back as a challenge. It's not wishing for what we don't have, but enjoying what we do possess.
虽然幸福对我们来说也许更错综复杂,但是获得幸福的途径永远是一样的。幸福不在于我们的遭遇如何,而在于我们如何看待所遭遇到的事情。这是化消极为积极、将挫折看作挑战的诀窍。幸福不是凭空许愿,而是享受拥有。