英语名篇诵读 生活的目标

Purpose of Life

生活的目标

Chuck Gallozzi(查克·加洛齐)

After all, a life without purpose is a life wasted. Multitudes of people, drifting aimlessly to

and fro without a set purpose, deny themselves such fulfillment of their capacities, and the

satisfying happiness which attends it. They are not wicked; they are only shallow. They are not

mean or vicious ; they simply are empty — shake them and they would rattle¹ like gourds². They

lack range , depth, and conviction. Without purpose their lives ultimately wander into the

morass³ of dissatisfaction. As we harness our abilities to a steady purpose and undertake the

long pull toward its accomplishment⁴, rich compensations reward us. A sense of purpose

simplifies life and therefore concentrates our abilities; and concentration adds power.

The purpose of life, then, is to lead a life of purpose and its meaning is to give life meaning.

But what is meant by purpose and meaning? They simply mean the “big picture”, vision, chief

aim, or core values that all other goals are subordinate to. For example, our purpose might be to

leave the world a better place than the way we found it, or to make everyone we meet happier.

Either of these purposes would be noble and achievable. How can we help create a better world or

make others happier? Wouldn't you agree that one way is by refusing to steal, criticize, intimidate⁵

注 , gossip or argue? Another way would be to treat others with kindness, generosity⁶, honesty, and

respect. Our goal should be not merely to be good, but to be good for something, to have value

that we offer to the world. Our purpose is the path we follow; it's a broad paintbrush that colors all

areas of our life. When all personal goals such as career, family are aligned⁷ with our purpose,

we will be authentic⁸ beings with integrity.

The Indian philosopher, Patanjali, explains， “When you are inspired by some great purpose,

some extraordinary project, all your thoughts break their bonds: Your mind transcends¹⁰ limitations,

your consciousness expands in every direction, and you find yourself in a new, great, and

wonderful world. Dormant¹¹ forces, faculties¹² and talents become alive, and you discover yourself

to be a greater person by far than you ever dreamed yourself to be.”

Despite the importance of purpose, many of us are still floundering , drifting in an

unknown direction. Why's that? One reason is fear. We're afraid to state our target because we

may miss it. To avoid failure, we avoid having a purpose. But that strategy makes as much sense

as an ostrich¹³ “hiding” from its enemies by burying its head in the sand. If we don't stand for

something, we may fall for anything. What is the purpose of living if we don't have something to

live for?

Those who lead empty lives sometimes turn to bigotry¹⁴ and hatred¹⁵ for solace¹⁶. So we need

to be careful to choose a purpose that will help us to grow, help our potential unfold, and help us

transcend⁹ our present limitations. Our potential is staggering . We are co-creators of the

universe. God has made us partners in creation. He created the universe. We created music. He

created the world. We created the pyramids. He created life. We created language that allows us to

reflect on life.

Considering our unique position in the universe, our purpose should be equally unique. It

should be bigger than life. Since we are only as strong as our purpose, it should be courageous¹⁷ and

uplifting. Buddha¹⁸ offers some advice：“Your work is to discover your work and then with all your

heart to give yourself to it.”

说到底，没有目标的生活就是浪费生命。众生没有目的地沉浮于世，心中没有固定的

目标，不去施展自己的聪明才智，也就享受不了随之而来的满足和幸福。他们并不坏，而

只是浅薄。他们并不卑鄙恶毒，而只是空虚——摇一摇，他们会像葫芦一样咯咯作响。他

们眼光短浅，没有深度，缺乏信心。没有目标，他们的生活最终沦落到凄怆寡欢的困境

中。当我们发挥自己的能力，坚定地朝着目标奋进，努力实现目标时，丰厚的报偿就会犒

劳我们。目标意识能简化生活，因此我们能集中才智，全力以赴，这就使我们力量倍增。

生活的目标就是过一种有目标的生活，其意义就是给生活赋予意义。但是，目标和意

义意味着什么呢？它们意味着“大的图景”、视野、主要目的，即所有其他目标所隶属的核

心价值。例如，我们的目标可能是让这个世界变得更加美好，或者让每个人都更加幸福。

这两个目标都很崇高，值得实现。我们怎样才能创造出一个更好的世界或使他人更幸福

呢？你是否同意，一种方法就是拒绝偷窃、抨击、恫吓、散布流言蜚语和争辩？另一种方

法是待人以善良、慷慨、诚实和尊重。我们的目标不应只是善的，而是要对某些事情有好

处，要有我们向世界拿得出手的价值。我们的目标是我们要走下去的路；它是一支如椽画

笔，能绘出我们生活的灿烂华章。当所有的个人目标如职业、家庭与我们的目标融为一体

时，我们将成为人品高尚的真正的人。

印度哲学家帕坦伽利解释说：“当你受到某个伟大目标、某项非凡的计划激励时，你所

有的思考便会挣脱禁锢；你的头脑便会超越一切限制，你的心灵便会激情四射，发现自己

身处一个新的伟大而奇妙的世界里。潜能澎湃汹涌，你发现自己比你曾梦想的还要伟大得

多。”

尽管目标非常重要，我们许多人仍然愚顽不化，无头苍蝇般四处乱撞。为什么会那

样？一个原因是畏惧。我们不敢讲明我们的目标，因为我们害怕失败。为了避免失败，我

们不再订立目标。但是那种策略犹如鸵鸟把头“藏”进沙子里来逃避敌人一样愚蠢。如果我

们无所希冀，我们便会一事无成。如果我们的人生没有目标，我们生而为人又有何意义？

那些生活空虚的人有时候会转向偏执和仇恨寻求安慰。因此，我们需要精心选择一个

目标，帮助我们成长，帮助我们施展潜能，帮助我们超越现在的局限性。我们的潜力是惊

人的。我们是宇宙的共同创造者。上帝使我们成为创世的伙伴。他创造了宇宙，我们创造

了音乐；他创造了世界，我们创造了金字塔。他创造了生命，我们创造了让我们思考生活

的语言。

鉴于我们在宇宙中的独特地位，我们的目标应该同样独特。目标应该大于生活。因为

目标有多远大，我们就会有多强大，我们应该勇敢无畏，高瞻远瞩。佛陀给了一些忠

告：“你的任务就是发现你的任务，然后全身心投入其中。”

1 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

2 gourds   

n.葫芦( gourd的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Dried gourds are sometimes used as ornaments. 干葫芦有时用作饰品。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The villagers use gourds for holding water. 村民们用葫芦盛水。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 morass   

n.沼泽，困境

参考例句：

• I tried to drag myself out of the morass of despair.我试图从绝望的困境中走出来。
• Mathematical knowledge was certain and offered a secure foothold in a morass.数学知识是确定无疑的,它给人们在沼泽地上提供了一个稳妥的立足点。

4 accomplishment   

n.完成，成就，（pl.）造诣，技能

参考例句：

• The series of paintings is quite an accomplishment.这一系列的绘画真是了不起的成就。
• Money will be crucial to the accomplishment of our objectives.要实现我们的目标，钱是至关重要的。

5 intimidate   

vt.恐吓，威胁

参考例句：

• You think you can intimidate people into doing what you want?你以为你可以威胁别人做任何事？
• The first strike capacity is intended mainly to intimidate adversary.第一次攻击的武力主要是用来吓阻敌方的。

6 generosity   

n.大度，慷慨，慷慨的行为

参考例句：

• We should match their generosity with our own.我们应该像他们一样慷慨大方。
• We adore them for their generosity.我们钦佩他们的慷慨。

7 aligned   

adj.对齐的，均衡的

参考例句：

• Make sure the shelf is aligned with the top of the cupboard.务必使搁架与橱柜顶端对齐。

8 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

9 transcend   

vt.超出，超越(理性等)的范围

参考例句：

• We can't transcend the limitations of the ego.我们无法超越自我的局限性。
• Everyone knows that the speed of airplanes transcend that of ships.人人都知道飞机的速度快于轮船的速度。

10 transcends   

超出或超越（经验、信念、描写能力等）的范围( transcend的第三人称单数 )； 优于或胜过…

参考例句：

• The chemical dilution technique transcends most of the difficulties. 化学稀释法能克服大部分困难。
• The genius of Shakespeare transcends that of all other English poets. 莎士比亚的才华胜过所有的其他英国诗人。

11 dormant   

adj.暂停活动的；休眠的；潜伏的

参考例句：

• Many animals are in a dormant state during winter.在冬天许多动物都处于睡眠状态。
• This dormant volcano suddenly fired up.这座休眠火山突然爆发了。

12 faculties   

n.能力( faculty的名词复数 )；全体教职员；技巧；院

参考例句：

• Although he's ninety, his mental faculties remain unimpaired. 他虽年届九旬，但头脑仍然清晰。
• All your faculties have come into play in your work. 在你的工作中，你的全部才能已起到了作用。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 ostrich   

n.鸵鸟

参考例句：

• Ostrich is the fastest animal on two legs.驼鸟是双腿跑得最快的动物。
• The ostrich indeed inhabits continents.鸵鸟确实是生活在大陆上的。

14 bigotry   

n.偏见，偏执，持偏见的行为[态度]等

参考例句：

• She tried to dissociate herself from the bigotry in her past.她力图使自己摆脱她以前的偏见。
• At least we can proceed in this matter without bigotry.目前这件事咱们至少可以毫无偏见地进行下去。

15 hatred   

n.憎恶，憎恨，仇恨

参考例句：

• He looked at me with hatred in his eyes.他以憎恨的眼光望着我。
• The old man was seized with burning hatred for the fascists.老人对法西斯主义者充满了仇恨。

16 solace   

n.安慰；v.使快乐；vt.安慰(物)，缓和

参考例句：

• They sought solace in religion from the harshness of their everyday lives.他们日常生活很艰难，就在宗教中寻求安慰。
• His acting career took a nosedive and he turned to drink for solace.演艺事业突然一落千丈，他便借酒浇愁。

17 courageous   

adj.勇敢的，有胆量的

参考例句：

• We all honour courageous people.我们都尊重勇敢的人。
• He was roused to action by courageous words.豪言壮语促使他奋起行动。

18 Buddha   

n.佛；佛像；佛陀

参考例句：

• Several women knelt down before the statue of Buddha and prayed.几个妇女跪在佛像前祈祷。
• He has kept the figure of Buddha for luck.为了图吉利他一直保存着这尊佛像。