心靈的陽光（節選）

Orison+Marden+奧里森·馬登

“He is stiff as a poker，” said a friend of a man who could never be coaxed or tempted to smile. “Stiff as a poker，” exclaimed another， “why he would set an example to a poker.”

“Mirth is Gods medicine，” says a wise writer. “Everybody ought to bathe in it. Grim care， moroseness， anxiety — all the rust of life， ought to be scoured off by the oil of mirth.” Every man ought to rub himself with it. A man without mirth is like a wagon without springs， in which one is caused disagreeably to jolt by every pebble over which it runs. A man with mirth is like a chariot with springs， in which one can ride over the roughest roads and scarcely feel anything but a pleasant rocking motion.

“I have told you，” said Soothe， “of the Spaniard who always put on spectacles when about to eat cherries， in order that the fruit might look larger and more tempting. In like manner I make the most of my enjoyments； and though I do not cast my eyes away from my troubles， I pack them in as small a compass as I can for myself， and never let them annoy others.” We all know the power of good cheer to magnify everything.

A cheerful man is pre-eminently a useful man. He does not cramp his mind， nor take half-views of men and things. He knows that there is much misery， but that misery need not be the rule of life. He sees that in every state people may be cheerful； the lambs skip， birds sing and fly joyously， puppies play， the whole air full of careering and rejoicing insects.

Hume， the historian， never said anything truer than — “To be happy， the person must be cheerful and gay， not gloomy and melancholy. A propensity to hope and joy is real riches； one to fear and sorrow， real poverty.”

“他真是個呆板的人，”一個人的朋友這樣評價他，因為從未有人能把他逗樂或者讓他露出笑容。而另一個人則大聲說：“他就像撲克牌那樣呆板，簡直可以給撲克牌做樣板了。”

“歡樂是上帝所賜的良藥，”一位博學的作家說，“每個人都應滿懷喜悅，用歡樂將斤斤計較、郁悶、焦慮——這些生活的銹跡清洗干凈。”人人都應用歡樂來洗滌自己的心靈。沒有歡樂的人就像一輛失去彈簧的馬車，每壓過一塊小石頭都會劇烈顛簸，給車內的人帶來不悅。而歡樂的人就像一輛裝有彈簧的戰車，無論行駛在多么崎嶇的路上，也只有輕微舒適的搖擺，而無任何不適。

詩人騷塞說：“我曾說過，西班牙人吃櫻桃時，總會戴上眼鏡，這是為了使櫻桃看起來更大、更誘人。同樣，我也在盡力讓自己更快樂，雖然對于煩惱我無法視而不見，但我會盡可能將它們壓縮到最小，絕不會讓它們妨礙到別人。”我們都知道，歡樂的力量可以讓事物變得更加美好。

一個快樂的人也會成為一位杰出有用的人。他不會束縛自己的思想，也不會片面地看待人和事。他明白這世上有太多痛苦，但生活不能被這些痛苦所掌控。他看到每個地方的人們都滿懷喜悅，羊兒撒歡，鳥兒歡樂地歌唱、飛翔，孩子們玩耍，空中飛舞著忙碌而快樂的昆蟲。

歷史學家休姆曾說過一句至理名言：“要想擁有幸福，必須樂觀、快樂，而不是悲觀、憂郁。心中滿懷希望和快樂，便是真正的富有；而心中充滿恐懼和悲哀，則是真正的貧窮。”