老牛不吃草

导语：德裔美籍人塞缪尔.厄尔曼70多年前写的一篇只有四百多字的短文，首次在美国发表的时候，引起全美国轰动效应，成千上万的读者把它抄下来当作座右铭收藏，许多中老年人把它作为安排后半生的精神支柱。美国的麦克阿瑟将军在指挥整个太平洋战争期间，办公桌上始终摆着装有短文《年轻》复印件的镜框，文中的许多的词句常被他在谈话或开会作报告时引用。后来此文传到日本，文章的观点成为许多日本人生活哲学的基础。松下公司的创始人松下幸之助说：“多年来，《年轻》始终是我的座右铭。”

文章全文如下：

Youth

　　Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is not a matter of rosy cheeks, red lips and supple knees. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life.

　　Youth means a temperamental predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease. This often exits in a man of 60, more than a boy of 20.nobody grows merely by the number of years; we grow old by deserting our ideas. Years may wrinkle the skin, but to give up enthusiasm wrinkles the soul. Worry, fear, self-distrust1 bows the heart and turns the spirit back to dust.

　　Whether 60 or 16, there is in every human being’s heart the lure of wonders, the unfailing childlike appetite of what’s next and the joy of the game of living. In the center of your heart and my heart there is a wireless station; so long as it receives messages of beauty, hope, cheer, courage and power from men and from infinite, so long as you are young.

　　When the aerials are down, and your spirit is covered with the snows of cynicism and the ice of pessimism, then you’ve grown old, even at 20, but as long as your aerials are up, to catch waves of optimism, there’s hope you may die young at 80.

　　Youth is not a time of life; it is a state of mind. It is a matter of the will, a quality of the imagination, vigor of the emotions; it is the freshness of the deep spring of life. These are what I have and what we have at this period of life. So, I'm still young, yes, definitely ! Come on my fellow friends, show your energy and passion to this god damn world ! Let the universe hear our voice, see our cheek, hug our enthusiasm and witness our maturity. We're going to create a brand new future !

Mark Lee

May, 3rd, 2012

The night before the Youth Day

年 轻

—— 塞缪尔·厄尔曼

　　年轻，并非人生旅程的一段时光，也并非粉颊红唇和体魄的矫健。

　　它是心灵中的一种状态，是头脑中的一个意念，是理性思维中的创造潜力，是情感活动中的一股勃勃的朝气，是人生春色深处的一缕东风。

　　年轻，意味着甘愿放弃温馨浪漫的爱情去闯荡生活，意味着超越羞涩、怯懦和欲望的胆识与气质。而60岁的男人可能比20岁的小伙子更多地拥有这种胆识与气质。没有人仅仅因为时光的流逝而变得衰老，只是随着理想的毁灭，人类才出现了老人。

　　岁月可以在皮肤上留下皱纹，却无法为灵魂刻上一丝痕迹。忧虑、恐惧、缺乏自信才使人佝偻于时间尘埃之中。

　　无论是60岁还是16岁，每个人都会被未来所吸引，都会对人生竞争中的欢乐怀着孩子般无穷无尽的渴望。

　　在你我心灵的深处，同样有一个无线电台，只要它不停地从人群中，从无限的时间中接受美好、希望、欢欣、勇气和力量的信息，你我就永远年轻。一旦这无线电台坍塌，你的心便会被玩世不恭和悲观失望的寒冷酷雪所覆盖，你便衰老了—即使你只有20岁。但如果这无线电台始终矗立在你心中，捕捉着每个乐观向上的电波，你便有希望超过年轻的80岁。

　　所以只要勇于有梦，敢于追梦，勤于圆梦，我们就永远年轻！

　　千万不要动不动就说自己老了，错误引导自己！年轻就是力量，有梦就有未来！

小贴士：塞缪尔·厄尔曼(1840.4.13-1924.3.21)，美国作家，1840年生于德国，儿时随家人移居美利坚，参加过南北战争，之后定居伯明翰，经营五金杂货，年逾70开始写作。