“But，” I fancy I hear someone say， “why pass through the darkness of evil at all？” Because， by ignorance， you have chosen to do so， and because， by doing so， you may understand both good and evil， and may the more appreciate the light by having passed through the darkness.
As evil is the direct outcome of ignorance， so， when the lessons of evil are fully learned， ignorance passes away， and wisdom takes its place.
He， therefore， who would shake himself free of the evil which encompasses him， must be willing and ready to learn， and must be prepared to undergo that disciplinary process without which no grain of wisdom or abiding happiness and peace can be secured.
A man may shut himself up in a dark room， and deny that the light exists， but it is everywhere without， and darkness exists only in his own little room.
So you may shut out the light of Truth， or you may begin to pull down the walls of prejudice， self-seeking and error which you have built around yourself， and so let in the glorious and omnipresent Light.
By earnest self-examination strive to realize， and not merely hold as a theory， that evil is a passing phase， a self-created shadow； that all your pains， sorrows and misfortunes have come to you by a process of undeviating and absolutely perfect law； have come to you because you deserve and require them， and that by first enduring， and then understanding them， you may be made stronger， wiser， nobler.
When you have fully entered into this realization， you will be in a position to mould your own circumstances， to transmute all evil into good and to weave， with a master hand， the fabric of your destiny.
不安、疼痛和悲傷如陰影般籠罩著我們的生活。世上沒有一顆心不曾感受疼痛的啃噬；沒有一種思想不曾嚐到煩惱的滋味；沒有一雙眼睛不曾落過傷心的眼淚……
不幸就像一張巨大而不易破壞的網，裏麵裝著多多少少的痛苦、憂愁和災難，等待著我們每一個人落網。
為了逃脫這張網，並在一定程度上減輕不幸帶來的陰影，人們摸索並嚐試了無數方法，以便讓快樂常在、永不消逝。
那些醉鬼和妓女，放縱於情色；那些唯美主義者，關上了與這個悲痛世界的聯係之門，在他自己的世界裏極盡奢華；那些追逐功名利祿的人，為了達到目的而不擇手段；那些尋求安慰的人，為了得到平靜而念經誦佛。
這所有的幸福看起來就在身邊，並且能使我們的靈魂暫時沉迷於幸福，從而忘記不幸的存在。但是，當有一天疾病來臨，巨大的悲痛、**或不幸突然降臨，我們那顆未設防的心連同那美好的幸福都會在瞬間化為烏有。
小孩總想長大成人，成年人卻為失去的美好童年而歎息。貧困的人因自己的窘迫而發愁，富有的人卻怕失去財產而整日憂心。人們為了所謂的“幸福”不停奔走，不知疲倦。
有時，人們會把追求幸福和內心的平靜寄托在宗教之上，擁有智慧的哲學，或是建立藝術的理想，但無法抗拒的**往往證明宗教遠遠無法滿足我們的需求，而那些哲學理論也毫無用處。唯心主義者在經過多年的找尋之後，理想也在他腳下轟然倒塌。
難道世上就沒有擺脫痛苦和不幸的方法了嗎？難道擁有永遠幸福、可靠的財產和持久的安寧就隻能是一個夢想嗎？
不，當然有辦法！我可以很高興地告訴大家，不幸可以永遠遠離我們。這個方法能使疾病、貧窮和所有的困境一去不複返；這個方法能使財產永固，不必擔心災難的降臨，從此盡情享受無盡的幸福和安寧。
這個能使我們心想事成的辦法就是：正確看待不幸，認清其本質。
否認和忽視不幸是行不通的，你必須要懂得：祈求上帝趕走不幸是無濟於事的，你需要找出自己為何會陷入不幸，並從中吸取教訓。
不必為束縛你的事煩惱發怒，這樣毫無用處。你要知道的是，你為什麽會被束縛。所以，首先你必須要認識自己。
不幸不是由你身邊的事物造成的，它隻是我們內心的感受。如果你能細心分析並調整自己的心態，就會看清不幸的根源和本質，從而擁有擺脫不幸的力量。
我們可以改變不幸的命運，要知道它不是永久的。無知是不幸的沃土。如果我們停留在對事物的無知上，那就永遠擺脫不了不幸……
黑暗往往是不幸的象征，而光明則是幸福的代名詞，這兩種象征正是對不幸和幸福的完美詮釋。幸福，就像一束光芒照亮地球，而黑暗僅僅是一些斑點，或是幾縷光芒在一些物體上的投影。所以光明是積極的，充滿活力的，它給萬物以力量，而不幸則是自私投下的無關緊要的陰影。因此我們要努力衝破黑暗，找到光明的入口。
夜晚降臨，世界被一片黑暗籠罩。可是，無論夜多黑，它遮住的隻是半個地球，整個世界還是閃爍著耀眼的光芒，每個靈魂都知道光明終將隨著黎明到來。
既然如此，當悲哀、疼痛或不幸這些黑暗降臨在我們頭上時，當你邁著疲勞而躊躇的腳步蹣跚而行時，你完全可以選擇永遠快樂、永遠幸福，或是選擇無盡的黑暗。
黑暗不過是消極的陰影，到處徘徊卻沒有托身之所。所以當黑暗的陰影消散，我們的心靈也會被照亮。
“但是，”有人就問了，“為什麽我們要經曆黑暗的不幸呢？”由於無知，你不知不覺間使自己陷入困境。也正因如此，你才會明白，什麽是幸福，什麽是不幸，才更會珍惜穿過黑暗而得來的光明。
不幸是無知的產物，所以當我們真正了解了不幸時，智慧就會取代無知。
如果有誰想擺脫不幸，那麽他必須時刻準備學習，並且樂於經曆這個磨煉的過程。沒有這個過程，就無法得到智慧，幸福不會持久，安全也沒有保障。
誰都可以把自己關在一個黑暗的小屋裏，否認光明的存在。但處處都有光明，黑暗隻存在於那個人的小屋。
所以你可以把真理之光拒之門外，也可以推倒環繞在自己周圍的偏見、自私和錯誤之牆，讓自己置身於無盡的光明中。
通過對自我的認真審視來認識，而不僅僅是把它看做是一個理論：不幸隻是匆匆過客，隻是自私的陰影；你所有的痛苦、悲哀和不幸隻是你身邊的一種必然的完美法則；它們來到你身邊是因為你需要它們，通過最初的磨煉，你可以更好地理解它們，並因此變得更加強大，更加聰明，更加高貴。
當你能夠真正認識到這些，你就可以改變自己的境況，將所有的不幸化為幸福，用你那雙神奇之手，創建美好的未來！
記憶填空
1. The child cries to be a man or__； the man and woman sigh for the__ felicity of childhood. The__ man chafes under the chains of poverty by which he is bound， and the rich man often lives in__ of poverty， or scours the world in search of an elusive shadow he calls__.
2. A man may__ himself up in a dark room， and deny that the__ exists， but it is everywhere without， and darkness exists only in his own little__ .
3. So you may shut out the light of__， or you may begin to pull down the__ of prejudice， self-seeking and error which you have__ around yourself， and so let in the glorious and omnipresent Light.
佳句翻譯
1. 不幸不是由你身邊的事物造成的，它隻是我們內心的感受。
譯______________
2. 貧困的人因自己的窘迫而發愁，富有的人又為怕失去財產而整日憂心。
譯______________
3. 不幸是無知的產物，所以當我們真正了解了不幸時，智慧就會取代無知。
譯______________
短語應用
1. And to all the happiness sought seems to come…
seem to：似乎；好像；看起來
造______________
2. ...pathways by which they fondly hope to enter into a happiness which will not pass away.
enter into：討論；成為……的一部分
造______________
激發意誌的人生
Will Inspired Life
佚名 / Anonymous
The little country school house was heated by an old-fashioned， pot bellied coal stove. A little boy had the job of coming to school early each day to start the fire and warm the room before his teacher and his classmates arrived.
One morning they arrived to find the schoolhouse engulfed in flames. They dragged the unconscious little boy out of the flaming building more dead than alive. He had major bums over the lower half of his body and was taken to a nearby county hospital. From his bed the dreadfully burned， semi-conscious little boy faintly heard the doctor talking to his mother. The doctor told his mother that her son would surely die—which was for the best， really—for the terrible fire had devastated the lower half of his body.