The US Fortune magazine once posed to its readers such a question in a questionnaire: “If you were to choose again, what would you like to be?” “I’d like to run a grocery store in the countryside,” a high-ranking official in the military responded. “My dream,” said a woman minister, “is to go down to the beach of Costa Rica and open a small inn.” A mayor indicated that his desire is to start afresh as a photographer. The Minister of Labor preferred to become the manager of a beverage company. The answers from several businessmen, however, were by far the most bizarre. One wanted to become a woman; another wanted to be a dog; one even indicated his wish to withdraw from the human world and simply transform into a plant. People in other trades answered the same question in various ways. Some wished to run for President, others wanted to be diplomats, and still others cherished the idea of working in a bakery. Whatever they set their minds on, none was willing to remain what they are should a new choice arise.

美国《幸福》杂志曾在征答栏中刊登过这么一个题目：假如让你重新选择，你做什么？一位军界要人的回答是去乡间开一个杂货铺；一位女部长的答案是到哥斯达黎加的海滨经营一个小旅馆；一位市长的愿望是改行当摄影记者；一位劳动部长是想做一家饮料公司的经理。几位商人的回答最是离奇。一位想变成女人；一位想成为一条狗。更有甚者，想退出人的世界，化为植物。其间也有一般百姓的回答。想做总统的，想做外交官的，想做面包师的，应有尽有。但是，很少有人想做现在的自己。

 

 

People are forever in a dilemma. They live a fairly good life and their circumstances are as good as can be, but from time to time they grow tired of all this. One can hardly attribute this mentality, arising from life’s monotony and lack of passion, to insatiability on the part of humans.

人有时非常矛盾。本来活得好好的，各方面的环境都不错，然而当事者却常常心存厌倦。对人类这种因生命的平淡和缺少激情而苦恼的心态，有时是不能用不知足来解释的。

 

I used to envy a married couple who lived in a forest, where groves of fir trees and bamboos flourished, with quiet and secluded cobble stone paths meandering through the woods, birds chirping beautifully and flowers permeating fragrance. Yet when they realized that they had unwittingly become an object of admiration owing to the unique location of their house, they were truly perplexed. In their eyes, there was little in the forest which deserved to be seen or made such a fuss about when compared to the fun and abundant life a metropolis can provide!

我曾对住在森林公园的一对夫妻羡慕不已，因为公园里有清新的空气，有大片的杉树、竹林，有幽静的林间小道，有鸟语和花香。然而，当这对夫妇知道有人羡慕他们的住所时，却神情诧异。他们认为这儿没有多少值得观光和留恋的景致，远不如城市丰富有趣。

 

That experience told me that when one becomes too familiar with something, one stops enjoying it. The couple had long been used to everything within their sight—he trees and the flowers, breezes and the moon—that those were no longer regarded as natural wonders but simply a constituent part of their unvarying life.

当时，我的感觉是，熟悉的地方没有风景。这对夫妇对这儿太熟悉了，花草树木，清风明月，在他们漫长的日子里，已不再有风景的含义，而是成为习以为常的东西。

 

During a life’s journey, the worst thing that can happen to a person is perhaps not poverty nor misfortune, but an unutterable, nagging sense of languor. What may have moved him so much, no longer does. What he once found so charming has lost its charm. Even things that infuriated him so much fail to make a single stir in his heart! Such being the case, the person truly needs to go elsewhere to look for different scenery.

在人生的旅途中，最糟糕的境遇往往不是贫困、不是厄运，而是精神和心境处于一种无知无觉的疲惫状态。感动你的一切不能再感动你；吸引过你的一切不能再吸引你；甚至激怒过你的一切也不再激怒你，这时，人就需要寻找另一片风景。