看看你周圍
A very special teacher in a high school had a husband who died suddenly of a heart attack. About a week after his death, she shared some of her thoughts with a classroom of students. As the late afternoon sunlight shined through the classroom windows, and when the class was nearly over, she moved a few things aside on her desk and sat down there.
一個很特別的高中老師，其丈夫死於突發性心臟病。在他死後大約一周，她便把她的一些所思所想講給全班學生。下午的陽光透過教室的窗戶照射進來，快要放學了，她把一些東西放在講桌上，坐了下來。
With a gentle look on her face, she paused and said,"Before class is over, I would like to share with all of you a thought which I feel is very important. Each of us is put here on earth to learn, share, love, appreciate and give of ourselves...and none of us knows when this fantastic experience will end. It can be taken away at any moment. Perhaps this is a sign that we must make the most out of every single day."
她臉上帶著溫柔的表情，稍稍停頓了一下，便開始講話：「在放學前，我想跟你們分享一種我認為很重要的想法。我們每個人都生活在地球上，學習、分享、愛護別人、欣賞和付出自我，卻沒有一個人知道這種美好的體驗什麼時候就會結束了。它隨時都可能被帶走。也許這預示著我們必須最大限度地利用每一個日子。」
Her eyes beginning to water, she went on,"So I would like you all to make me a promise...from now on, on your way to school, or on your way home, find something beautiful to notice. It doesn't have to be something you see---it could be a scent ---perhaps of freshly baked bread wafting out of someone's house, or it could be the sound of the breeze slightly rustling the leaves in the trees, or the way the morning light catches one autumn leaf as it falls gently to the ground. Please, look for these things, and remember them.
她的眼睛開始溼潤了，她接著說：「因此我想讓你們每個人答應我：從今以後，在你上學或者放學的路上，要發現一些美麗的事物。它不一定是你看到的某個東西----它可能是一種香味----也許是新鮮烤麵包的味道從某一座房裡飄出來，也許是微風輕拂樹葉的聲音，或者是晨光照射在輕輕飄落的秋葉上的方式。請你們尋找這些東西並且記住它們吧。」
"For, although it may sound silly to some people, these things are the 'stuff' of life. The little things we are put here on earth to enjoy. The things we often take for granted. We must make it important to notice them, for at any time...it can all be taken away."
「因為，儘管聽起來有些傻氣，這些東西卻就是生活的內容，是我們活在世上要欣賞的一些小東西。這些東西我們經常認為是理所當然的。我們必須注意它們，這很重要，因為說不定在什麼時候，它就被帶走了。」
The class was completely quiet. We all picked up our books and filed out of the room silently. That afternoon, I noticed more things on my way home from school than I had that whole semester. Every once in a while, I think of that teacher and remember what an impression she made on all us, and I try to appreciate all of those things that sometimes we all overlook.
整個教室裡非常安靜。我們都收拾起課本，整理好，一個個默默地走出教室。那天下午，在放學回家的路上我注意到很多事物，比我以前整個學期發現的事物還要多。不時地，我會想到那位老師，回憶起她給我們留下的深刻印象，我便會盡力去欣賞有時我們都忽略的東西。
Take notice of something special you see on your lunch hour today. Go barefoot. Or walk on the beach at sunset. Stop off on the way home tonight to get a double dip ice cream cone. For as we get older, it is not the things we did that we often regret, but the things we didn't do.
今天中午吃飯的時候專注一下你所看到的特別事物。光著腳丫散散步。或在日落時分在沙灘上漫步。今晚在回家的路上，要駐足仔細品味一下冰淇淋蛋卷。因為隨著我們年齡的增長，並不是做過的事情值得我們後悔，而是那些沒有去做的事情。
選自 英語美文朗讀