英语名篇诵读 昨天的你

The You of Yesterday

昨天的你

Paula Peisnes Coxe(葆拉·皮兹尼斯·考克斯)

Learning from our mistakes. Picking yourself up from defeat. Loving and being loved. Tears

and smiles. Our experiences of joy and pain in our past contribute to who we are today. From the

time of infancy¹, our subconscious² mind has recorded the affections, emotions, pains, and joys of

childhood. Perhaps as a little child you were told that you weren't good enough, or that you should

be more like your brother or sister or even the neighbor's child. No doubt these comments,

whether intentional³ or not, hurt — particularly if coming from your parents. An indelible scar is

left.

Attempting in vain to please. Looking for control. Fearing abandonment. Seeking approval.

All of these ways of dealing⁴ with people, with the world around us, creates a battle in our hearts

and in our minds. Three of the most common ways we perpetuate⁵ a vicious cycle of inner

chaos⁶ are: looking to others for validation⁷ , expecting that others will act as we desire, and

trying to be something we're not.

The inner chaos results in a constant repetition of “If only...”； “If only I had more

money...”; “If only I were prettier, thinner, happier.” On and on it goes. There is never enough.

The roots of this dissatisfaction can be found in your past. While we cannot rewrite the past,

we can change how we deal with our inner demons⁸, fears, and insecurities related to past

experiences.

The choice is yours. The rewards can be innumerable if, on your path to finding peace of

mind, you truthfully look into your past with forgiveness and confidence, knowing that you can

wrap up your worries and “if only”s in a little private gift box addressed to you alone. You can

then place this imaginary gift box on a shelf in the far corner of your mind, barely visible, in no

way interfering⁹ with who you are today and what you will become tomorrow.

It's time to put your past behind you.

从错误中学习。从失败中鼓起勇气。爱他人，也为他人所爱。有悲伤的泪水，也有灿

烂的笑容。我们过去的悲喜经历铸就了我们的今天。自孩提时期，我们的潜意识里就记录

了儿时的喜爱、情感、痛苦和欢乐。也许，从小时候起，有人就说你不怎么好，你该更像

你的兄弟或姐妹，甚至邻居家的孩子。毫无疑问，这些说法不管是否出于有意，都伤害了

你，特别是出于亲生父母之口，更会留下永久的伤痕。

于是我们徒劳地想要取悦于人，寻求管制，害怕被抛弃，寻求赞许。所有这些跟人

们、跟我们身边的世界打交道的方法，都会引起内心和头脑里的混战。有三种最常见的做

法，使我们无法摆脱内心混乱的恶性循环：指望别人的肯定，期待别人会按我们的意愿行

事，试图成为我们本不适合成为的那种人。

内心世界的混乱导致我们不断重复“要是”“要是我有更多的钱就好了”“要是我更漂亮

点、更苗条点、更幸福点就好了”，如此等等，不一而足。

这种不满足的根源能够在你的过去找到。我们无法改写过去，但我们可以改变如何对

付我们内心的恶魔、恐惧以及与过去经历相关的心神不宁。

选择在于你自己。在寻找内心平静的路上，怀着宽恕与信心坦诚地回顾以往，弄明白

你可以把种种忧虑和“要是”装进一只专为你准备的私人礼品盒中，这样，回报会无比丰

厚。而后，你可以把这个想象的礼品盒放在你内心深处角落里的一个架子上，几乎看不

见，让它一点也不打扰今天的你和明天的你。

该是把昨天抛之脑后的时候了。

1 infancy   

n.婴儿期；幼年期；初期

参考例句：

• He came to England in his infancy.他幼年时期来到英国。
• Their research is only in its infancy.他们的研究处于初级阶段。

2 subconscious   

n./adj.潜意识(的)，下意识(的)

参考例句：

• Nail biting is often a subconscious reaction to tension.咬指甲通常是紧张时的下意识反映。
• My answer seemed to come from the subconscious.我的回答似乎出自下意识。

3 intentional   

adj.故意的，有意（识）的

参考例句：

• Let me assure you that it was not intentional.我向你保证那不是故意的。
• His insult was intentional.他的侮辱是有意的。

4 dealing   

n.经商方法，待人态度

参考例句：

• This store has an excellent reputation for fair dealing.该商店因买卖公道而享有极高的声誉。
• His fair dealing earned our confidence.他的诚实的行为获得我们的信任。

5 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 validation   

n.确认

参考例句：

• If the countdown timer ever hits zero, do your validation processing. 处理这种情况的方法是在输入的同时使用递减计时器，每次击键重新计时。如果递减计时器变为零，就开始验证。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Although the validation control is a very widespread idiom, most such controls can be improved. 虽然确认控件是非常广泛的习惯用法，但还有很多有待改进的地方。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 demons   

n.恶人( demon的名词复数 )；恶魔；精力过人的人；邪念

参考例句：

• demons torturing the sinners in Hell 地狱里折磨罪人的魔鬼
• He is plagued by demons which go back to his traumatic childhood. 他为心魔所困扰，那可追溯至他饱受创伤的童年。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。