Love of Self

佚名 / Anonymous

When I was younger， I thought that to love one’s self was vanity and not a virtuous trait. As I have grown older， that belief has passed away， as have so many others. There is a vast deviation between being vain and loving one’s self.

We are all in this world together striving for more or less the same things. To conduct and have our lives count for something. To love and be loved. To laugh and... yes， to cry.

We seek shelter， nourishment， a mate， warmth， clothing， family， friends； we seek approval， love and self-esteem. We are all imperfect. Often during our search we forget to simply enjoy what life is. We become so caught up in what could have been， what should be， what might be， that many of our today’s are lost. Let yesterday rest， live for today， hope and dream for your tomorrows.

If there is some part of you that lessens your self-image， some part of you that prevents you from loving yourself， change it， for only you can. Life is filled with things we have no control over， but ourselves， we can control. You are the clay， you are the sculptor and you have the ability to create a masterpiece. The shape and form are there. You have only to refine the work.

Is the task an easy one？ No. There will be sips and flaws and you will be required to work and rework just as a sculptor must rework the clay before the piece is completed. Should the sculptor throw out the piece condemning it as worthless because of a blemish or nick？ Of course not， where then would all the world's treasured art be？ I doubt we would have any. How many masterpieces do you think have been created in one fell swoop， a first effort completely successful without error， without change？ Is it possible we fail to see that mankind is the most marvelous of all works of art？ A living， continuous， developing work of art.

How often have you heard the question “what is the human race coming to”？ The answer， in my mind at least， is whatever we make it， for we are the weavers of tomorrow. You are a treasure， beyond price， one of a kind， irreplaceable. Not perfect but well on your way to being a masterpiece. Do not let your yesterdays hinder tomorrow’s achievements.

當我年紀還小的時候，認為自愛是虛榮作祟而非優點。長大了，我才和許多人一樣，逐漸摒棄了這種觀念。虛榮與自愛有天壤之別。

人生在世，都追逐著或多或少相同的東西：付出與獲得人生價值的認可；愛與被愛；歡笑與……是的，悲傷。

我們追求住所、食物、伴侶、溫暖、衣裳、家庭、朋友；我們追求認同、愛情和自尊。我們并不完美。我們在人生追求中甚至忘記了去享受生活本身的樂趣。我們太沉溺于對過去的追悔、對將來的和一切可能性的關注，結果反而錯失了今天。讓昨天暫且釋懷吧！為今天而活，并去勾畫和夢想你的明天。

如果你有一點輕視自身形象，有一點不愿意愛自己，只要你能，改變它吧。生活中確實充斥著許多我們干涉不了的事情，但我們能約束自身。你既是泥土，也是泥塑匠，你有能力創造杰作。現在形態和模樣都有了，你需要做的只是精雕細琢。

這個工程簡單嗎？不。雕塑會有缺損和瑕疵，所以你必須孜孜不倦，就像雕塑家在完工前必須一次又一次地琢磨一樣。難道雕塑家會因為作品有一點瑕疵就認定它一無是處而把它拋棄嗎？當然不會，否則世上哪里還有這一切工藝珍品？我想一件都不會存在。你認為有多少工藝品杰作是在雕刻中一蹴而就，沒有半點失誤，也沒有半點改動的？我們可能都沒看出，人其實是所有藝術品中最了不起的杰作吧？人類是有生命力的、生生不息的、不斷發展的藝術品。

這個問題你聽過多少次——人類將何去何從？至少我以為它的回答是這樣的：我們成就了自己，因為編織著明天的正是我們自己。人本身就是一種財富，是無價之寶，是萬物中無可替代的。雖然人無完人，但應該精益求精。別讓昨天阻礙你奔向明天的輝煌。

記憶填空

1. We are all imperfect. Often our search we forget to simply enjoy what life is. We become so caught up what could have been， what should be， what might be， that many of our today’s are . Let yesterday rest， live for ， hope and dream for your tomorrows.

2. Life is with things we have no control over， but ourselves， we can . You are the clay， you are the sculptor and you have the to create a masterpiece. The and form are there. You have to refine the work.

3. There will be sips and flaws you will be required to work and rework just as a sculptor must rework the clay the piece is completed. 佳句翻譯

1. 當我年紀還小的時候，認為自愛是虛榮作祟而非優點。

2. 人類是有生命力的、生生不息的、不斷發展的藝術品。

3. 至少我以為它的回答是這樣的：我們成就了自己，因為編織著明天的正是我們自己。

短語應用

1. We are all in this world together striving for more or less the same things.

more or less：或多或少；有點兒；大約

2. We become so caught up in what could have been， what should be， what might be， that many of our today’s are lost.

catch up：纏住；很快拾起；趕上