we are on a journey
我们在旅途中
henry dyke/亨利·戴克
where you may be，while you turn these pages，i cannot guess，perhaps you are sitting in your own quiet room after a hard day’s work；perhaps you are reading aloud in some circle of friends around the open fire；perhaps you are in the quiet woods，or out in the pleasant orchard under your favorite tree；perhaps you are actually on the deck of a ship travelling across the waters.
我不知道正在阅读这篇文章的你身处何方，也许你已经结束了一天的奔忙，正坐在安静的小屋里；也许你正和朋友们围坐在篝火旁，大声地朗读这篇文章；也许你正身处静谧的森林中；也许你正坐在你最喜欢的树下；也许你正躺在小船的甲板上……but wherever you are，and whoever you may be，there is one thing in which you and i are just alike at this moment，and in all the moments of our existence：we are not at rest；we are on a journey.our life is a movement，a tendency ，a steady，ceaseless progress towards an unseen goal.we are gaining something，or losing something，everyday.even when our position and our character seem to remain pre-cisely the same，they are changing.for the mere advance of time is a change.it is not the same thing to have a bare field in january and in july.the season makes the difference.the limitations that are childlike in the child are childish in the man.
不论你身在何方，不论你是什么人，不论是在此时此刻，还是在生命中的任何一个瞬间，有一件事对你我是完全相同的：我们并不是在休息，而是在旅途之中。我们的生活是一种运动，一种趋势，在向一个看不见的目标持久地稳步前进。每一天，我们在得到某些东西的同时，也会失去一些东西。甚至当我们所处的位置和我们的性格看起来跟以前并无差别时，这一切还是在不断地变化着。因为，时间的前进就是一种变化。对于一片荒地来说，一月和七月是有所不同的，季节会产生某些差异。能力的局限性对于孩子而言，是一种天真的品性；对成人而言，就是一种幼稚的表现。
everything that we do is a step in one direction or another.even the failure to do something is in itself a deed.it sets us forward or backward.the action of the negative pole of a magnetic needle is just as real as the action of the positive pole.to decline is to accept—the other alternative.
after you nearer to your port today than you were yesterday？yes，—you must be a little nearer to some port or other；for since your ship was first launched upon the sea of life，you have never been still for a single moment；the sea is too deep，you could not find an anchorage if you wouht；there can be no pause untill you come into port.
but what is it，then，the haven towards which you are making？what is the goal that you desire and hope to reach？what is the end of life towards which you are drifting or steering ？
我们所做的每一件事都是朝某个方向前进的一个步骤。甚至那些被我们忽略的事情也会给我们造成影响，因为忽略本身已经成为一种事实，它让我们前进或者后退。一根磁针南极和北极所产生的作用是同样真实有效的。拒绝也是一种接受——一切都是二选一的结果。
今天，你是否比昨天更接近你心中的港口呢？是的——你必须接近某个港口。因为，自从你的船驶向生命之海，你便没有停止过前行；海是如此之深.你根本无法找到一个可以抛锚的地点，于是，你不可能停下来，直到你达到自己的港口。
可是，你希望这艘船驶向哪一个港口呢？你渴望完成怎样的夙愿、取得怎样的目标呢？当小船经过风雨飘摇的旅程，终于到达目的地时，又会有怎样一番景象呈现在你面前呢？
there are three ways in which we may look at this question，depending upon the point of view from which we regard human existence.
when we think of it as a work，the question is，“what do we desire to accomplish”
when we think of it as a growth，a development，a personal unfolding，the question is，“what do we desire to become？”
when we think of it as an experience，a destiny，the question is，“what do we desire to become of us？”
人们的生活目标不尽相同，因此，我们可以通过三个不同的方面来看待上述问题。
如果我们所追求的目标与事业有关，那么我们会问：“我们希望获得怎样的成就呢？”
如果我们所追求的目标与成长、发展，以及个性的形成有关，那么我们会问：“我们想要成为怎样的人呢？”
如果我们所追求的目标与体验、命运有关，那么我们会问：“我们希望有怎样的人生际遇呢？”
do not imagine for an instant that these questions can be really separated.they are interwoven8.they cross each other from end to end of the web of life.the answer to one question determines the answer to the others.we cannot divide our work from ourselves，nor isolate our future from our qualities.a ship might as well try to sail north with her jib，and east with her foresail，and south with her mainsail9，as a man to go one way in conduct，and another way in character，and another way in destiny.
what we do belongs to what we are；and what we are is what becomes of us.
不要以为这三个问题是互不相干的，它们之间有着千丝万缕的关系。也正是因为它们相互交织在一起，才构成了我们的生活——它们对我们的未来也起着决定性的作用。也许你的小船想扬帆驶向北方，可前桅的大帆则朝着东方，主帆则朝着南方，如同一个人，心中向往着某一个地方，行为上却朝着另一个地方，而最终决定这一切的，还有一个叫作“命运”的东西。
你是怎样的人，决定你做怎样的事；你做怎样的事，决定你将变成怎样的人！（未完待续）