the secret of true happiness

1、the secret of true happiness 幸福的真諦1 i live in the land of disney, hollywood and year-round sun. you may think people in such a glamorous, fun-filled place are happier than others. if so, you have some mistakes about the nature of happiness.1 我居住在全年陽光普照的好萊塢迪斯尼樂園。你可能認(rèn)為在那么富有魅力，充滿樂趣的地方生活的人一定比其他地方人更為幸福。如

2、果這樣想，那么你對(duì)幸福的本質(zhì)多少有點(diǎn)誤解。2 many intelligent people still equate happiness with fun. the truth is that fun and happiness have little or nothing in common. fun is what we experience during the act. happiness is what we experience after an act. it is deeper, more abiding2 emotion. 2 許多聰明的人仍然將幸福和樂趣等同起來。實(shí)際上樂

3、趣和幸福不但并不一樣甚至是截然不同的兩件事。樂趣是我們行為過程中感受到的，而幸福卻是我們在行為過后的體驗(yàn)。幸福是更深刻、更持久的情感。3 going to an amusement park or ball game, watching a movie or television, are fun activities that help relax, temporarily forget our problems and maybe even laugh. but they do not bring happiness, because their positive effects end

4、when the fun ends. 3 逛游樂園或玩球，看電影或電視是令人快樂的娛樂活動(dòng)，使我們休息放松，暫時(shí)忘記令人困惑的事，甚至能使我們歡笑。但這些活動(dòng)本身并不能帶來幸福，因?yàn)槠湔嫘?yīng)隨著娛樂的結(jié)束而消逝。4 i have often thought that if hollywood stars have a role to play, it is to teach us that happiness has nothing to do with fun. these rich, beautiful individuals have constant access to glamor

5、ous parties, fancy notes cars, and expensive homes, everything that spells “happiness”. but in memoir after memoir, celebrities reveal the unhappiness hidden beneath all their fun: depression, alcoholism, drug addiction, broken marriage, troubled children, profound loneliness. 4 我常思忖如果好萊塢影星還有一角色能充當(dāng)?shù)?/p>

6、話，那就是教給我們幸福同歡樂是完全不相于的兩件事。這些富裕而又漂亮的人物視豪華晚會(huì)、時(shí)髦轎車、寬敞寓所為司空見慣尋常物，一切能給“幸?！奔用岬臇|西，他們都擁有。但接二連三的事例顯示，這些閃光耀眼名人所有歡樂底隱藏的不幸：沮喪消沉、酗酒吸毒、家庭破裂、兒女肇事以及深切的孤獨(dú)感。5 yet people continue to believe that the next, more glamorous party, more expensive car, more luxurious vacation, fancier home will do what all the other parties

7、, cars, vacations, homes have not been able to do. 5 但人們繼續(xù)相信下一個(gè)更富麗豪華的晚會(huì)，更昂貴高檔的轎車，更奢侈的假日消遣，更寬敞時(shí)髦的寓所能夠帶來其它的晚會(huì)、轎車、假日消遣、別墅公館所沒有實(shí)現(xiàn)的東西。6 the way people cling to the belief that a fun-filled, pain-free life equals happiness actually diminishes their chances of ever attaining real happiness. if fun and plea

8、sure are equated with happiness, then pain must be equated with unhappiness. but in fact, the opposite is true more times than not, things that lead to happiness involve some pain. 6 人們堅(jiān)信充滿歡樂、毫不費(fèi)力的生活方式就等于幸福，實(shí)際上反而減少了他們真正獲得幸福的機(jī)會(huì)。如果歡樂和愉快等于幸福，則痛苦就等于不幸福。但事實(shí)真相恰恰相反，經(jīng)常的情況是：能導(dǎo)致幸福的事往往與痛苦相聯(lián)系。7 as a result, man

9、y people avoid the very endeavors that are the source of true happiness. they fear the pain inevitably brought by such things as marriage, raising children, professional achievement, religious commitment, civic or charitable work, and self-improvement. 7 因此，許多人逃避了能成為真正幸福源泉的艱苦努力，他們害怕諸如結(jié)婚、撫育子女、專業(yè)發(fā)展、宗教

10、承擔(dān)的義務(wù)、社會(huì)服務(wù)和慈善事業(yè)和自我進(jìn)步所必然帶來的痛苦。8 ask a bachelor why he resists marriage even though he finds dating to be less and less satisfying. if hes honest, he will tell you that he is afraid of making a commitment. for commitment is in fact quite painful. the single life is filled with fun, adventure, exciteme

11、nt. marriage has such movement, but they are not its most distinguishing features. 8 獨(dú)身者為什么不想結(jié)婚，倘若能說實(shí)話，他會(huì)告訴你原因是害怕承擔(dān)責(zé)任，因?yàn)槌袚?dān)責(zé)任的確是一件很痛苦的事。獨(dú)身生活充滿歡樂、冒險(xiǎn)、激情?；槟冯m也有這類體驗(yàn)，但程度上要大為遜色。 9 similarly, couples who choose not to have children are deciding in favor of painless fun over painful happiness. they can dine

12、out whenever they want, travel wherever they want and sleep as late as they want. couples with infant children are lucky to get a whole nights sleep or a three-day vacation. i dont know any parents would choose the word fun to describe raising children. 9 同樣地，不想要孩子的夫妻決定寧要不痛苦的歡樂也不要痛苦的幸福。他們能隨時(shí)上館子用餐，到處

13、旅游，想多晚睡都行，而有嬰兒的夫妻能睡一晚好覺，或有三天假期就算幸運(yùn)的了。我想任何父母都不會(huì)用歡樂這一詞來形容他們養(yǎng)育子女的過程。10 but couples who decide not to have children never experience the pleasure of hugging them or tucking them into bed at night. they never know the joy of watching a child grow up or of playing with a grandchild. 10 但不要孩子的夫妻永遠(yuǎn)體會(huì)不到擁抱孩子或

14、晚上把孩子塞進(jìn)被窩的那種愉快，他們永遠(yuǎn)不知道看著一個(gè)孩子成長時(shí)，或逗弄孫兒孫女時(shí)的樂趣。11 of course i enjoy doing fun things. i like to play racquetball, joke with kids (and anybody else), and i probably have too many hobbies. 11 當(dāng)然我喜歡做歡樂的事，喜歡打短網(wǎng)墻球，同孩子們（或任何人）開玩笑。我也可能有太多的興趣愛好。12 but these forms of fun do not contribute in any way to my happin

15、ess. more difficult endeavors writing, raising children, creating deep relationship with my wife, trying to do good in the world will bring me more happiness than can ever be found in fun, that least permanent of things. 12 但這些形形色色的娛樂在任何意義上都不構(gòu)成我的幸福。更為艱難的事情寫作、撫養(yǎng)子女、同我妻子建立更深厚的關(guān)系，在世界上做好事將比尋求娛樂給我?guī)砀嘈腋＃?/p>

16、為娛樂只是暫時(shí)的，一瞬間就消逝的。13 understanding and accepting that true happiness has nothing to do with fun is one of the most liberating realizations we can ever come to. it liberates time: now we can devote more hours to activities that can genuinely increase our happiness. it liberates money: buying that new

17、car or those fancy clothes that will do nothing to increase our happiness now seems pointless. and it liberates us from envy; we now understand that all those rich and glamorous people we were so sure are happy because they are always having so much fun actually may not be happy at all. 13 了解并接受真正幸福與娛樂是毫不相干的兩回事，能使我們最大限度地獲得自由。在時(shí)間上自由了：現(xiàn)在我們可以集中更多時(shí)間從事那些能增進(jìn)我們真正幸福的活動(dòng)中去。在金錢上自由了：購買那種新車或那些流行新款時(shí)裝如不能增加幸福則對(duì)我們毫無意義。同時(shí)也使