生活的艺术（1） 清楚了解你能控制与不能控制的
(01) Know what you can control and what you can’t
清楚了解你能控制与不能控制的
Happiness and freedom begin with a clear understanding of one principle: Some things are within our control, and some things are not. It is only after you have faced up to this fundamental rule and learned to distinguish between what you can and can’t control that inner tranquility and outer effectiveness become possible.
快乐与自由始于清楚了解一个原则：有些事情在我们的控制之内，有些则否。唯有在勇敢面对这基本原则且学会分辨能否控制之间的差别之后，内心的宁静与外在行动的有效性才变得有可能。
Within our control are our own opinions, aspirations, desires, and the things that repel us. These areas are quite rightly our concern, because they are directly subject to our influence. We always have a choice about the contents and character of our inner lives.
在我们控制之内的是我们自己的意见、抱负、欲望、以及我们的厌恶。这些领域正是我们所要关注的，因为它们直接受我们的影响。我们永远都可以选择我们内在生命的内容与性质。
Outside our control, however, are such things as what kind of body we have, whether we’re born into wealth or strike it rich, how we are regarded by others, and our status in society. We must remember that those things are external things and are therefore not our concern. Trying to control or to change what we can’t only results in torment.
在我们控制之外的事物，如：我们拥有的是哪一种身体、我们是否生于富裕的家庭或是否平步青云一夕致富、我们的名声、以及我们在社会上的地位。我们必须记住这些都是外在的，因此不是我们关切之所在。尝试去控制或去改变我们不能控制的事物只会带来自讨苦吃的结果。
Remember: The things within our power are naturally at our disposal, free from any restraint or hindrance; but those things outside our power are weak, dependent, or determined by the whims and actions of others. Remember, too, that if you think that you have free rein over things that are naturally beyond our control, or if you attempt to adopt the affairs of others as your own, your pursuits will be thwarted and you will become a frustrated, anxious, and fault-finding person.
要记得：在我们力量范围内的事物自然由我们处置而不受任何限制；但那些在我们力量范围之外的事物则是不牢靠的，不由我们决定的，或是由别人的反复无常的念头与行为来决定。也要记得：如果你认为你可以随意控制那些原本就超乎我们控制的事物，或试图把别人的事情当做自己的事，你的追求一定受阻，你也会变得沮丧、焦躁且吹毛求疵.
生活的艺术（2）紧守你自己的事
(02) Stick with Your Own Business
紧守你自己的事
Keep your attention focused entirely on what is truly your own concern, and be clear that what belongs to others is their business and none of yours. If you do this, you will be impervious to coercion and no one can ever hold you back. You will be truly free and effective, for your efforts will be put to good use and won’t be foolishly squandered finding fault with or opposing others.
将你的注意力完全集中在真正有关你自己的事，要清楚知道别人的事情与你无关。如果你这幺做，你将不受逼迫也没有人能阻碍你。你将真正自由而有效率，因为你会善用你的努力而不会愚蠢地耗费在挑别人的毛病或与人作对。
In knowing and attending to what actually concerns you, you cannot be made to do anything against your will; others can’t hurt you, you don’t incur enemies or suffer harm.
在了解与照顾好实际上与你有关的事情当中，你不会去做任何违背自己意愿的事；别人无法伤害你，你也不会招来敌人或蒙受伤害。
If you aim to live by such principles, remember that it won’t be easy: you must give up some things entirely, and postpone others for now. You may well have to forego wealth and power if you want to assure the attainment of happiness and freedom.
如果你立志以这样的原则生活，要知道那并不容易：你必须完全放弃某些事物，也必须暂缓某些追求。如果你想要确保快乐与自由的获得，你可就得放开财富与权力.
生活的艺术（3） 认清表相的真面目
(03) Recognize Appearances for What They Really Are
认清表相的真面目
From now on, practice saying to everything that appears unpleasant: “You are just an appearance and by no means what you appear to be.” And then thoroughly consider the matter according to the principles just discussed, primarily: Does this appearance concern the things that are within my own control or those that are not? If it concerns anything outside your control, train yourself not to worry about it.
从现在开始，练习对所有显得不愉快的事情说：「你只是表相，事实真相绝不是你表面上所显现的样子。」然后依据前面刚讨论过的原则仔细思考，重点如下：这件事究竟是和自己控制范围内的事，还是控制范围之外的事？如果是关系于你控制范围之外的事，训练自己不要为它烦恼。
生活的藝術（4）欲望要求它自己的成就
(04) Desire Demands Its Own Attainment
欲望要求它自己的成就
Our desires and aversions are mercurial rulers. They demand to be pleased. Desire commands us to run off and get what we want. Aversion insists that we must avoid the things that repel us.
我们的欲望与嫌恶是变化无常的统治者。它们极力要求满足。欲望逼使我们追逐它想要的事物，而嫌恶则坚持我们一定得避开令我们不愉快的事物。
Typically, when we don’t get what we want, we are disappointed, and when we get what we don’t want, we are distressed.
一搬来说，当我们得不到想要的，我们感到失望，而当我们得到不想要的，我们就会感到痛苦。
If, then, you avoid only those undesirable things that are contrary to your natural well-being and are within your control, you won’t ever incur anything you truly don’t want. However, if you try to avoid inevitabilities such as sickness, death, or misfortune, over which you have no real control, you will make yourself and others around you suffer.
如果你只逃避那些违反自然天性的不适当的事物，且又是在你的控制之中，你就不会引来任何你不想要的事物。然而，如果你试图回避不可避免的事物，诸如：生病、死亡、或者厄运，而这些都不是你所能控制的，你就会为自己以及周遭的人带来痛苦。
Desire and aversion, though power, are but habits. And we can train ourselves to have better habits. Restrain the habit of being repelled by all those things that aren’t within your control, and focus instead on combating things within your power that are not good for you.
欲望与嫌恶，虽然强而有力，但也祇是习惯而已。我们可以训练自己拥有较好的习惯。
Do your best to rein in your desire. For if you desire something that isn’t within your own control, disappointment will surely follow; meanwhile, you will be neglecting the very things that are within your control that are worthy of desire.
尽全力控制你的欲望，因为如果你欲求的事物不在你的控制范围内，失望肯定就会跟着来；在这同时，你将会排斥那种值得追求且又是在你的控制范围之内的事物。
Of course, there are times when for practical reasons you must go after one thing or shun another, but do so with grace, finesse, and flexibility.
当然，有些时候为了现实上的理由你不得不去做某件事而回避另外一件，如果是这样就去做它，但要以优雅、精致以及富有弹性的方式去做。
生活的艺术（5）就事物的本来面貌去看
(05) See Things for What They Are
就事物的本来面貌去看
Circumstances do not rise to meet our expectations. Events happen as they do. People behave as they are. Embrace what you actually get.
拥抱（接受）你所得到的一切：情况不如我们的预期，事情总是自行发生，人们也以他们自己的方式表现。
Open your eyes: See things for what they really are, thereby sparing yourself the pain of false attachments and avoidable devastation.
张开你的眼睛：以事物的真实面目去看，藉以省却虚假执着所带来的痛苦以及避免不必要的灾难。
Think about what delights you---the tool on which you depend, the people whom you cherish. But remember that they have their own distinct character, which is quite a separate matter from how we happen to regard them.
想想使你愉快的东西罢－－－你所依赖的工具，你所珍惜的人。但要记得他们有他们自己的属性，这属性和我们平常所认为的是两回事。
As an exercise, consider the smallest things to which you are attached. For instance, suppose you have a favorite cup. It is, after all, merely a cup; so if it should break, you could cope. Next build up to things---or people---toward which your clinging feelings and thoughts intensify.
仔细想想你所执着的最小的事情，把这当作练习，例如，假设你有一个你很喜欢的杯子，不管怎样，它只不是个杯子；所以，如果它破了，你能妥善面对。然后进一步想想那些强烈附着在你的感觉与想法的人、事、物。
Remember, for example, when you embrace your child, your husband, your wife, you are embracing a mortal. Thus, if one of them should die, you could bear it with tranquility.
例如，当你拥抱你的小孩、你的丈夫、你的妻子时，要记得你所拥抱的是个迟早会死的人，如此，如果他们其中之一死了，你可以平静接受。
When something happens, the only thing in your power is your attitude toward it; you can either accept it or resent it.
当事情发生了，你唯一能控制的就是你对事情的态度；你可以接受它或讨厌它。
What really frightens and dismays us is not external events themselves, but the way in which we think about them. It is not things that disturb us, but our interpretation of their significance.
真正使我们害怕和惊慌的并不是事件本身，而是我们思考事件的方式。困扰我们的不是事件，而是我们对事件的解释。
Stop scaring yourself with impetuous notions, with your reactive impressions of the way things are!
别再用急躁的见解或直接反射的印象来吓唬你自己！
Things and people are not what we wish them to be, nor what they seem to be. They are what they are.
事情和人并不会如我们所希望的那样，也不会是看起来好象是的样子。他们就是他们的样子。
生活的艺术（6）将你的行动与真实生活相互和谐
(06) Harmonize Your Actions with the Way Life Is
将你的行动与真实生活相互和谐
Don’t try to make your own rules.
不要试图制订自己的法则。
Conduct yourself in all matters, grand and public or small and domestic, in accordance with the laws of nature. Harmonizing your will with nature should be your utmost ideal.
要依据自然的法则去处理一切事情，不论是重大的公众事务还是琐碎的家务事。使你的意志和自然和谐应该是你最高的理想。
Where do you practice this ideal? In the particulars of your own daily life with its uniquely personal tasks and duties. When you carry out your tasks, such as taking a bath, do so---to the best of your ability---in harmony with nature. When you eat, do so---to the best of your ability ---in harmony with nature, and so on.
要在哪里实践你的这个理想？就在你自己的日常生活当中，尤其是独有的私底下给自己设定的考验与责任。当你接受考验，诸如沐浴时，要尽全力顺其自然。当你用餐时，尽全力顺其自然。等等。
It is not so much what you are doing as how you are doing it. When we properly understand and live by this principle, while difficulties will arise---for they are part of the divine order too---inner peace will still be possible.
重要的并不在于你在做什幺，而是在于你如何做。当我们对这有足够的了解并依据这原则生活时，虽然困难增加（因为这也是神圣秩序的一部分）但依然有可能保持内在的平静。
生活的艺术（7）伤害我们的不是事件本身，而是我们对事件的看法
07) Events Don’t Hurt Us, But Our Views of Them Can
伤害我们的不是事件本身，而是我们对事件的看法
Things themselves don’t hurt or hinder us. Nor do other people. How we view these things is another matter. It is our attitudes and reactions that give us trouble.
事件本身不会伤害或阻碍我们，别人也不会。我们如何看待这些事情则是另一回事，而带来麻烦的正是我们的这些态度与反应。
Therefore even death is no big deal in and of itself. It is our notion of death, our idea that it is terrible, that terrifies us. There are so many different ways to think about death---and everything else. Are they really true? Are they doing you any good? Don’t dread death or pain; dread the fear of death or pain.
因此，即便是死亡本身也不是什幺大不了的事情。可怕的是我们对死亡理解与观念，是这些想法使我们恐惧。关于死亡有非常多不同的想法，其它事情也是这样。真的都是这样吗？这样对你有什幺好处？不要害怕死亡或痛苦；害怕自己对死亡或痛苦的恐惧。
We cannot choose our external circumstances, but we can always choose how we respond to them.
我们不能选择外在的环境，但我们永远可以选择如何去反应。
生活的艺术（8）没有惭愧也没有责难
(08) No Shame, No Blame
没有惭愧也没有责难
If it is our feelings about things that torment us rather than the things themselves, it follows that blaming others is silly. Therefore, when we suffer setbacks, disturbances, or grief, let us never place the blame on others, but on our own attitudes.
如果真的是我们对事物的感觉在折磨我们，而不是事物本身，那幺，责怪别人就很愚蠢了。因此，当我们为挫败、艰困或悲痛而受苦时，让我们不再责难别人，该为此负责的是我们自己的态度。
Small-minded people habitually reproach others for their own misfortunes. Average people reproach themselves. Those who are dedicated to a life of wisdom understand that the impulse to blame something or someone is foolishness, that there is nothing to be gained in blaming, whether it be others or oneself.
眼光狭小的人习惯于将自己的不幸怪罪别人。一般的人则会怪罪自己。而那些献身智能生活的人则了解责怪某人或某事的冲动是愚蠢的。不管是责怪别人还是自己都不会带来任何好处。
One of the things of the downing of moral progress is the gradual extinguishing of blame. We see the futility of finger-pointing. The more we examine our attitudes and work on ourselves, the less we are apt to be swept away by stormy emotional reactions in which we seek easy explanations for unbidden events.
（第一句有看没有懂，有谁可以帮忙吗？）我们看到指责毫无益处。我们越是检视自己的态度并且更加努力工作自己，我们就越不容易被激烈的情感反应给吹垮，在这反应当中我们只会为那些不邀自来的事件寻找容易的解释。
Things simply are what they are. Other people think what they will think; it is of no concern to us. No Shame. No Blame.
事情就只是事情本身。别人想他们会想的；这不关我们的事。没有惭愧也没有责难。
生活的艺术（9）创造你自己的价值
(09) Create Your Own Merit
创造你自己的价值
Never depend on the admiration of others. There is no strength in it. Personal merit cannot be derived from an external source. It is not to be found in your personal associations, nor can it be found in the regard of other people. It is a fact of life that other people, even people who love you, will not necessarily agree with your ideas, understand you, or share your enthusiasms. Grow up! Who cares what other people think about you!
绝不依赖别人的赞美，其中一点好处也没有。个人价值无法从外面得到，不能从你参与的社团获得，也无法从别人那里获得。这是生活的真相：其它人，包括那些爱你的人，都没有必要同意你的观念，没有必要去了解你，也没必要去分享你的热情。长大吧！谁会在乎别人怎幺想你！
Create your own merit.
创造你自己的价值。
Personal merit cannot be achieved through our associations with people of excellence. You have been given your own work to do. Get to it right now, do your best at it, and don’t be concerned with who is watching you.
个人价值无法透过与卓越的人交往当中获得。你已经被赋予该做的工作，别再犹豫，尽全力做去，别再理会有谁在看你。
Do your own useful work without regard to the honor or admiration your efforts might win from others. There is no such thing as vicarious merit.
做好你自己的工作，别管你这努力会不会赢得别人的赞美或其中有什幺光荣，想象的成就根本不存在。
Other people’s triumphs and excellences belong to them. Likewise, your possessions may have excellence, but you yourself don’t derive excellence from them.
别人的成就和卓越属于别人。同样的，你所拥有的东西可能很优秀，但你不能从中获得自己的优秀。
Think about it: What is really your own? The use you make of the ideas, resources, and opportunities that come your way. Do you have books? Read them. Learn from them. Apply their wisdom. Do you have specialized knowledge? Put it to its full and good use. Do you have tools? Get them out and build or repair things with them. Do you have a good idea? Follow up and follow through on it. Make the most of what you’ve got, what is actually yours.
仔细想想：什幺是真正你自己的？你对迎面而来的观念、资源、以及机会的运用。你有书吗？拿起来读，从中学习，运用其中的智能。你拥有什幺特别的知识？好好地充分利用它们。你有工具吗？拿出来制造些什幺或用来修复些什幺。你有什幺好点子吗？跟随它并贯彻到底。充分运用你所有的，真正属于你自己的东西。
You can be justifiably happy with yourself and at ease when you’ve harmonized your actions with nature by recognizing what truly is your own.
当你透过认清真正属于自己的东西而顺其自然时，你就能心安理得地快乐与自在。
生活的艺术（10）专注于你的主要职责
(10) Focus on Your Main Duty
专注于你的主要职责
There is a time and place for diversion and amusement, but you should never allow them to override your true purpose. If you were on a voyage and the ship anchored in a harbor, you might go ashore for water and happen to pick up a shellfish or a plant. But be careful; listen for the call of the captain. Keep your attention directed at the ship. Getting distracted by trifles is the easiest thing in the world. Should the captain call, you must be ready to leave those distractions and come running, without even looking back.
某些时候某些场合也需要休闲与娱乐，但你绝不让这休闲娱乐糟蹋你真正的目标。如果你在航海旅行，而船在某个港口靠岸，你有可能上岸取水，顺便捡拾贝壳或挑选一棵盆栽。千万小心；要注意船长的召唤，你的注意力始终要保持在船的方向。被鸡毛蒜皮的事情分心是世界上最容易的事。对于船长的召唤，你必须随时准备好放掉那些让你分心的事物并且以最快的速度头也不回地跑回船上。
If you are old, do not go far from the ship, or you might fail to appear when you are called for.
如果你年纪大了，可别离船太远，要不然你就有可能赶不及回到船上。