英语哲理小故事
英文哲理故事:财富、成功和爱
Wealth Success and Love
A woman came out of her house and saw three old men with long white beards sitting in her front yard. She did not recognize them. She said, "I don't think I know you, but you must be hungry. Please come in and have something to eat."
"Is the man of the house home?", they asked. "No", she replied, "He's out." "Then we cannot come in", they replied. In the evening when her husband came home, she told him what had happened. "Go tell them I am home and invite them in!" The woman went out and invited the men in. "We do not go into a House together," they replied. "Why is that?" she asked.
One of the old men explained: "His name is Wealth," he said pointing to one of his friends, "and he is Success, and I am Love." Then he added, "Now go in and discuss with your husband which one of us you want in your home."
The woman went in and told her husband what was said. Her husband was overjoyed. "How nice!", he said. "Since that is the case, let us invite Wealth. Let him come and fill our home with wealth!" His wife disagreed. "My dear, why don't we invite Success?" Their daughter-in-law was listening from the other corner of the house. She jumped in with her own suggestion: "Wouldn't it be better to invite Love? Our home will then be filled with love." "Let us heed our daughter-in-law's advice," said the husband to his wife. "Go out and invite Love to be our guest."
The woman went out and asked the three old men, "Which one of you is Love? Please come in and be our guest."
Love got up and started walking toward the house.
The other two also got up and followed him. Surprised, the lady asked Wealth and Success: "I only invited Love, Why are you coming in?"
The old men replied together: "If you had invited Wealth or Success, the other two of us would have stayed out, but since you invited Love, wherever He goes, we go with him. Wherever there is Love, there is also Wealth and Success!"
三个白须飘然的老人坐在妇人家院前歇脚，三人中，一个是“财富”，一个是“成功”，一个是“爱”。妇人邀请他们进屋，三个老者笑呵呵地谢了她，身子却没动。
妇人惑然。三个老人说：“我们不能同时进屋呀！不过，你可以去和你的家人商量，看你们最需要我们中的哪一个。”
妇人便进屋把老人的话说了。丈夫惊喜道：“既然如此，我们就邀请财富老人吧，请他进来，让我们的屋里装满财富！”
妇人不同意：“亲爱的，我们为什么不邀请成功老人呢？做一切事情都能成功，那感觉会有多好！”
这时候，儿媳插嘴进来，说：“我们还是邀请爱吧，让我们的家时时处处都充满爱。”
“那我们就听儿媳的吧！”一对夫妇朝儿媳点点头。
于是妇人出门，邀请爱的老人进屋作客。谁知爱的老人起身，成功
老人和财富老人也都跟在后面。妇人感到惊讶：“我们邀请的是‘爱’，你们两位怎么也一起来了？”
三个老人乐了：“哪里有爱，哪里就有财富和成功！”
上帝的咖啡
God's Coffee
一群事业有成的同学回去看望他们的大学老师，很快他们开始抱怨生活和工作中的压力。
A group of alumni, highly established in their careers, got together to visit their old university professor. Conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life.
老师去厨房为客人们准备咖啡，回来时端着一大壶咖啡和各式各样的杯子，这些杯子有陶瓷的、塑料的、玻璃的、水晶的，有的普通，有的昂贵，有的精致，老师让大家随意享用。
Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen
and returned with a large pot of coffee and an assortment of cups - porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain looking,
some expensive, some exquisite - telling them to help themselves to the coffee.
等每个人都端起一杯咖啡，老师说话了：你们注意到吗：所有好看昂贵的杯子都被用了，剩下那些朴素便宜的杯子。你们都只想要最好的，这很正常，这恰恰是你们的问题和压力所在。杯子不会让咖啡的质量变得更好，很多时候，只是让它变得更贵一些，甚至，有时候，让人忽略了到底我们在喝什么。你们真正想要的其实是咖啡，不是杯子，但你们有意识地去拿那些最好的杯子，随后开始打量其他人手上的杯子。想想吧：生活好比咖啡，工作、金钱和社会地位都只是杯子，只是生活的容器，而我们拥有的杯子既无法定义、也无法改变我们生活的质量。有时，由于我们只关心杯子，我们甚至不能够好好品尝上帝赐予我们的咖啡。
When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said: "If you noticed, all the nice looking expensive cups were taken up,
leaving behind the plain and cheap ones. While it is normal for you to want only the best for yourselves, that is the source of your
problems and stress.
Be assured that the cup itself adds no quality to the coffee. In
most cases it is just more expensive and in some cases even hides what we drink.
What all of you really wanted was coffee, not the cup, but you
consciously went for the best cups... And then you began eyeing
each other's cups. Now consider this: Life is the coffee; the jobs, money and position in society are the cups. They are just tools to hold and contain Life, and the type of cup we have does not define,
nor change the quality of Life we live.
Sometimes, by concentrating only on the cup, we fail to enjoy the coffee God has provided us."
上帝冲泡了咖啡，不是杯子。······享受你们的咖啡吧。
God brews the coffee, not the cups.......... Enjoy your coffee!
最快乐的
人们并不是因为他们拥有最好的一切，他们只是把一切当成最好。
"The happiest people don't have the best of everything. They just
make the best of everything."
简单地活着。仁慈地爱着。深深地关心着。友善地说话。
其他的，就留给上帝吧。
Live simply. Love generously. Care deeply. Speak kindly. Leave the rest to God