这是杨绛的《走到人生边上》+Randy Pausch 《The Last Lecture 》(最后的演讲)的读书笔记。
这两本书是杨绛和Randy将要离开人世时的作品。他们如此地不同,一中一美,一文一理,一个喜欢安静,一个偏爱展现,一个自然去世,一个被突然袭来的绝症逼迫着行动;
杨绛在人生边缘上开始疑惑,
向后看,我已经活了一辈子,人生一世,为的是什么呢?我要探索人生的价值。向前看呢,就什么都没有了吗?当然,我的躯体火化了,没有了,我的灵魂呢?灵魂也没有了吗?有人说灵魂是上帝给的,可是上帝存在吗?灵魂不死吗?
要回答这些问题,杨绛写到,要分清两件事:
一、比喻不是论断。
“人死烛灭”或“油干灯尽”用火来比喻生命,油或脂等燃料比喻躯体。而另一个常用的比喻“薪火相传”也把火比喻生命,把木柴比喻躯体。但“薪火相传”却是说明躯体消灭后,生命会附着另一个躯体继续燃烧,恰恰表达灵魂可以不死。这就明确证实比喻不能用来判断事物的真伪虚实。
二,名与实必须界说分明。“灵魂”可以有不同的名称,而“灵魂”和“生命”虽叫法不同,会不会是一样事物呢?既然灵魂是生命,谁又没有生命呢?
杨绛于是下结论,人由两部分组成,一是身体,而是主导身体的生命,也就是灵魂了。
而这两部分,经常相斗相杀,肉体有无穷的欲念,而人的灵性良心却时时刻刻地管制着肉体。灵与肉的斗争中,在人与命的斗争中,谁做主?杨绛举得自己和烈士的例子来说明,做主的是自己。
下面是最关键的问题,如何做主?
吃苦。
一个人经过不同程度的锻炼,就获得不同程度的修养,不同程度的效益。好比香料,捣得越愈碎,磨得愈越细,香得愈浓烈。
于是人生的价值,就是在世界的大熔炉里,烧炼出一批又一批品质不同而且和原先品质也不想同的灵魂。
到这里,杨绛的自问自答就结束了,而具体如何磨炼,咱请出Randy:
乍看,Randy 是不同意杨绛的「人生实苦」的,他提到最多的一个词是“fun”,但是Randy 比谁都辛苦工作,比谁都努力经营婚姻;所以本质上,Randy和杨绛做的事是一样的,结果也是相似的。
摘十条认真引领人生的具体建议(IT'S about how to lead your life. If you lead your life the right way,the karma will take care of itself.The dream will come to you.)
1.允许自己梦想,有大梦想。(Dream big)
Randy 八岁的时候,人类首次登上月球,于是他就知道,没有什么事是不可能的。
Give yourself permission to dream. Fuel your kids' dreams,too.
2.认真比时髦更重要(Earnest Is Better Than Hip)
My parents taught me:you buy new clothes when old clothes wear out. Anyone who saw what I wore to my last lecture knows this is advice I live by!
这一点上,杨绛比Randy 有过之而无不及,杨绛把毕生的积蓄捐给清华,创了一个“好读书”奖学金,估计家境贫寒刻苦读书的孩子。有一次采访,别人注意到她穿的鞋很别致,她说是钱媛(其女儿)的。
3.不要抱怨,只管更努力地工作(Don't Complain, Just Work Harder )
Jackie Robinson,第一位在职业棒球联盟打球的非裔美国人,他所承受的种族歧视是现在年轻人无法想象的。他发誓,即使球迷向他吐唾沫,他也不会抱怨。
Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals.And it won't make us happier.
这句话我写在了桌子上,我知道我做得不够好。
4.发现每个人的美好(Look for the best in everybody)
有些时候你因为别人烦恼,生气,这是因为你没有给他们足够的时间。
If you wait long enough, people will surprise and impress you. Sometimes this took great patience,even years. But in the end, people will show you their good side. Almost everybody has a good side. Just keep waiting. It will come out.
5.当男人对你感兴趣的时候…忽略他们所有的言语,注意他们的所作所为即可。
Randy 《最后的演讲》
My colleague told me:"It took a long time,but I finally figured it out.When it comes to men who are romantically interested in you,it's really simple. Just ignore everything they say and only pay attention to what they do."
6.做第一只企鹅(Be the First Penguin)
去失败!
Experience is what you get when you didn't get what you want.Failure is not acceptable,it's often essential.
7.手写感谢信!(The Lost Art of Thank-you Notes )
Despite all that is now going on in my life and with my medical care,I still try to handwrite notes when it's important to do so. It's just the nice thing to do. And you never know what magic will happen after it arrives in someone's mailbox.
8.乐观主义意味着时刻准备好(All You Have Is What You Bring With You)
I've always felt a need to be prepared for whatever situation I've found myself in.
乐观的悲观主义者总是准备好最坏的情况。Randy 被确诊癌症后,他一边跟别人说希望他的墓碑上刻的字是“一个被确诊癌症之后又活了三十年的人”一边把最后的演讲,出书,和朋友相聚,给孩子留视频,每天不放弃运动…一切都准备地妥妥帖帖。
我个人经历过“船到桥头自然直”的日子,也经历着“时刻准备好”的日子,后者绝对更值得过,也更幸福。
9.说实话。(Tell the Truth )
Tell the truth.All the time.You're only as good as your word.Most people who have told a lie think they got away with it ……when in fact, they didn't.
10.只管去问(All you have to do is ask)
Ask those questions.Just ask them.More often than you'd suspect, the answer you will get is"sure".
很多时候是你遇到麻烦,是因为你没有问对问题。作为一个小时候去问肯德基前台拿番茄酱的姑娘,开始问问题之后发现,的确有奇迹发生。
中外两大学者,一百五十多年的认真生活和思考,如此不同的生活轨迹,却如此默契地向我展现了两个过得很好的人生。
现在,
还轮到咱们了吧。
网友评论