English Reader

The Chinese dragon

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 23:31:44 +0800

The dragon is an important cultural totem of the Chinese people, who name themselves "the descendants of the dragon". You may have many questions about this mythical and powerful creature in Chinese history and legend. How many animals are featured in the dragon's form? What does the number of dragon claws indicate? Why is the dragon an emblem of imperial power? Where will you find the 9 sons of the dragon? Let's roll down to find the answers in the story.
龙是中华民族的重要文化图腾。作为"龙的传人"，你可知龙的形象中暗藏了哪些动物？龙爪的多少有何寓意？龙何以成为皇权的象征？在哪些地方能看到龙之九子？今天就让我们透过历史和传说的迷雾，找寻那条充满神秘与力量的东方巨龙。

【龙的起源】
Where does the Chinese dragon come from? One theory is that its form originated from totems(图腾) of different tribes in ancient China, as a merger(合并) of totems of various tribes that had merged.
龙从何而来？有一种说法是，龙的形象源于中国远古时期各个部落的图腾，部落之间的合并带来了各部落图腾的融合，并最终形成了龙的样子。

Legend has it that many tribes settled along the Yellow River about 4,000 years ago, each having its own totem bearing the images of tigers, oxen, horses or deer. The first legendary emperor of China, Huangdi, used a snake for the totem of his tribe.
传说在4000前，黄河流域生活着许多部落，他们都拥有自己的图腾，如虎、牛、马、鹿等各种动物。中国古史传说中的始祖――黄帝，用蛇作为其部落的图腾。

Every time Huangdi conquered another tribe, he incorporated his defeated enemy's emblem into his own, and fashioned the image of what has come to be known as a dragon, thus explaining why the dragon appears to have features of various animals.
黄帝四处征战，每胜一个部落，就将那个部落的图腾加到自己的图腾里面。久而久之，便形成了龙的样子。这也解释了为什么龙有多种动物的特征。
【龙的形象】
According to a general description, Chinese dragons have the head of a camel, horns of a deer, eyes of a rabbit, body of a snake, belly of clam(蛤), scales of fish, claws of an eagle, paws of a tiger, and ears of a cow.
龙长什么样？通常人们用9种动物的特征来描述它的形象：头似驼、角似鹿、眼似兔、身似蛇、腹似蜃(大蛤)、鳞似鱼、爪似鹰、掌似虎、耳似牛。

Many pictures of Chinese dragons show a flaming pearl under their chin. The pearl is associated with wealth, good luck and prosperity.
许多绘画当中都可见龙颌下有一颗火珠，这颗龙珠有着财富、吉祥、繁荣等寓意。

The breath of the dragon forms a cloud, which can change into either rain or fire. It is able to expand or shrink its body, and in addition it has the ability to transform itself and become invisible.
龙呵气成云，既能变水，又能变火。龙变化多端，能大能小，能隐能现。

The number of claws or toes of a dragon is no minor matter. It has a connotation of social class status. In the Zhou Dynasty, the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the Son of Heaven, the 4-clawed dragon to the nobles, and the 3-clawed dragon to the ministers.
龙的爪子大有文章，龙爪(趾)数量的多少象征着阶级地位的不同。早在周朝，就有"五爪天子、四爪诸侯、三爪大夫"之说。

From the Yuan Dynasty, 5-clawed dragons were reserved for emperors only. The 4- or 3-clawed dragon was used by lower ranks and the general public.
自元代起，五爪龙的造型只有皇帝可以使用，下臣和百姓只能用四爪或三爪龙的图案。

【龙的职能】
Chinese dragons are strongly associated with water in popular belief. They are believed to be the rulers of moving bodies of water, such as rivers, lakes or seas.
在老百姓心目中，龙与水密不可分，它们能够控制江河湖海等各种水体。

Because of this association, they are seen as "in charge" of water-related weather phenomenon. In pre-modern times, many villages had temples dedicated to their local "dragon king". In times of drought or flooding, the community would offer sacrifices to appease the dragon, either to ask for rain, or a cessation thereof.
也正因如此，龙被奉为司云布雨的神灵。在古代，许多村庄都建造了供奉着当地龙王的庙宇。每逢旱涝，百姓们便献食祭祀，祈求龙王降雨抗旱或避风退洪。

In Chinese palaces, we can sometimes see dragon-head scuppers(排水口) on the base of the walls. This is because people believe dragons control water and they hope the dragon-head scuppers can help their drainage system work better. So nowadays, faucets, in Chinese, are called "Shuilongtou" which means "Water Dragon's Head."
在中国古代宫殿的墙角通常可见龙头形状的排水口，因为人们相信龙能治水，可帮助顺利排水。这也是为什么现在有"水龙头"一说。

【帝王之龙】
Historically, the dragon was the symbol of the emperor of China. According to legend, both of China's earliest emperors, Yandi and Huangdi, were closely related to the dragon.
自古以来，龙就是中国帝王的象征。在民间传说中，中国最早的皇帝，炎帝和黄帝都与龙有着密切联系。

At the end of his reign, Huangdi was said to have ridden on a dragon, and ascended to heaven. The other legendary emperor, Yandi was born from his mother's telepathy with a mythic dragon.
相传黄帝在其统治末期，乘龙而升天。而传说中的另一位帝王――炎帝，则是由母亲与神龙交相感应而生。

Since the Chinese consider Huangdi and Yandi as their ancestors, they sometimes refer to themselves as "the descendants of the dragon". This legend also contributed towards the use of the Chinese dragon as a symbol of imperial power.
由于中国人视黄、炎二帝为祖先，这才有了"龙的传人"这一说法。基于这类传说，龙逐渐成为了皇权的象征。

【龙生九子】
According to Ming Dynasty texts, the Chinese dragon has 9 offspring. Each of them has different interests. Their shapes are used as ornaments according to their nature.
根据明代文献记载，龙生九子，各有不同。人们根据它们的天性喜好，将它们的形象装饰在各种建筑、器物上。

Pulao, which like to cry, are represented on the tops of bells, serving as handles.
蒲牢：平生好鸣，它的头像被用作大钟的钟纽；
Chiwen, which like swallowing, are placed on both ends of the ridgepoles of roofs to "swallow fire".
螭吻：平生好吞，被装饰在屋脊正脊两端，用以辟除火灾；
Qiuniu, which like music, are used to adorn 2-stringed violins.
囚牛：性喜音乐，其形为胡琴琴杆上的刻像；
Yazi, which like to kill, serve as ornaments of sword-grips.(See photo)
睚眦：平生好杀，喜血腥之气，其形为刀柄上所刻之兽像；
Chaofeng, which like precipices, are placed on the corners of roofs.
嘲风：喜好冒险，被置于殿角；
Bixi, which like to carry heavy objects, are placed under grave-monuments.
��：平生好负重，被安放在碑座下驮载石碑；
Bi'an, tiger-like beasts which like litigation, are placed over prison gates.
狴犴：平生好讼，是狱门上虎头形的装饰；
Suanni, which like to sit down, are represented upon the bases of Buddhist idols.
狻猊：平生喜静好坐，因此被用作佛座脚部的装饰；
Fuxi, which are fond of literature, are represented on the sides of grave-monuments.
负�：平生好文，石碑两旁的文龙就是它。

The dragon occupies a very important position in Chinese mythology. There are still many tales to tell about the charismatic creature. It shows up in Chinese arts, poetry, songs and architecture. It leaves its footprints on the thousands of years of Chinese history, and is now deeply rooted in every Chinese person's heart.
龙在中国古代神话中占据着极其重要的位置，关于龙的传说还有很多很多。在中国的艺术作品中，诗词歌赋里，建筑装饰上，无处不见龙的身影。龙在中国的悠久历史中深深烙下它的足印，历经数千年的沉淀，早已根植于每一个中国人的心中。

A Letter to my Future Self

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 21:46:51 +0800

In 1994 I wrote a letter. I stuck it in an envelope, put it away and completely forgot about it.

It wasn't until we moved into our new home in 2006 that I found it again. It was addressed to me with explicit instructions not to open until my birthday 2005. It was now 2006 so I decided to open it. This is what it said:

Dear Sherri

By the time you read this you will be 30. At the age of 18 I had so many hopes and dreams about where you'd be, what you'd be doing and with whom you'd spend your life with.

Right now I hope that you have traveled and seen everything you've always wanted to, both in Canada and overseas, and maybe even settled down somewhere in Australia doing some research in the field of biology (genetics).

I hope you're married to the man of your dreams. The man of mine is Gwynn. He is originally from South Africa (another place I wish to visit).

You'll probably have two children of your own – a girl(Michaela Anne) and a boy (name yet to be decided).

If everything goes according to plan you'll be living in Australia in a big house in a small town outside of a big city with a lot of land, a dog, Gwynn and your two beautiful children. Hopefully you have a career in the medical field, maybe doing research in genetics. Gwynn will be a computer programmer and you will be doing alright for yourselves.

However, if things don't go according to plan for you, I wish you all the love, happiness and joy in the world and don't settle for anything less than the best since that is absolutely what you deserve.

Live long, be happy and live life to it's fullest.

Love Sherri "18″

When I read this for the first time since writing it I was floored. Even now having dug this up again another 4 years later I still can't help but think this is really cool.

So much of what I wanted for myself has materialized.

I did travel to a few more places in Canada although I haven't seen everything I'd like to.
I did marry the man of my dreams and yes he still is my one and only.
I've traveled to the UK, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
I lived in Australia for nearly 4 years in a big house, in a small suburb, in a major city (close enough).
I had a career in Biology in the field of genetics for 10 years.
I have two lovely kids – both boys (names now decided).
I have not one dog but two dogs. Both yellow labs from Australia.
Gwynn is a computer programmer.
We are doing okay for ourselves.

After writing this I quickly forgot about what I had put in here actually. The things that materialized were all met with quite a bit of resistance (all internal) but I suppose these were things that I really did want. Having never strayed too far from home overseas travel was a huge deal. Having never been away from my family moving to Australia for several years was an incredibly huge decision.

I find it fascinating how the dreams of a young and naive little girl can become a grown woman's reality.

I'm curious if you guys have ever written anything to your future self and how it stacks up to your current reality. If you haven't, will you join me in writing a letter now to yourself in say 10 years from now? It's an interesting little experiment.

Enjoy the coffee instead

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 21:38:17 +0800

A group of graduates got together to visit their old university professor.

The conversation soon turned into complaints about stress in work and life. Offering his guests coffee, the professor went to the kitchen and returned with a large pot of coffee and a variety of cups—porcelain, plastic, glass, crystal, some plain-looking, some expensive, some exquisite—telling them to help themselves to the coffee.

When all the students had a cup of coffee in hand, the professor said,

"If you have noticed, all the nice-looking expensive cups have been 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 want is 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. Savor the coffee, not the cups! Don't let the cups drive you ... enjoy the coffee instead."

Happy Birthday

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 21:44:44 +0800

I like birthdays. I like fuss, a grand gesture. X can't understand the fuss. It's about upbringing, I think: his parents unceremoniously hand him something – not even wrapped – at some point within a few months of the date. I'm fairly sure they don't know when it is. For me, birthdays mean surprises, parties, over-excited children blowing out candles on sponge cakes. Like pencil marks on the wall, they are the backbone around which you hang family rituals. Birthdays are also a way to make up for the failings – perceived or real – of the past 12 months.

We didn't have the stomach for the last round. Absorbed in our own misery, X and I lumped the boys' birthday parties together, a swiftly expedited afternoon in a soft-play centre, a swiss roll with candles. It's hardly the stuff of misery memoirs, but it made me sad.

Now a year has passed and birthday season is upon us, for the first time as a separated family. The boys' birthdays are close together and it feels like a milestone; I want to do it right. On top of my normal birthday fixation, I know the last weeks have been very hard for the children. I am scarcely mother of the year at the moment: I have made no headway in trying to find a new job, which scares me stupid, and am still bruised and shocked from the accident. My temper is short and I cry a lot. I've seen a naked look of worry in the eldest's eyes and felt powerless to make it go away.

It's the youngest's birthday first. He takes after his father in this: he's not really bothered. He likes presents, of course, but doesn't have my – or his brother's –need to turn the day into a Busby Berkeley musical with a firework finale. Even so, I am determined to do it properly, to crank out the old family rituals and create new ones. He'll be at X's on the morning of his birthday, mine in the evening. We've said we'll have dinner together, agreed who should get him which present.

In preparation for the big day, I bring out the stalwart Women's Weekly cake book and canvass his opinion. "So which cake would you like? A robot? A train? A spider? I don't think I'd be very good at the castle but I'll give it a try."

He deflates my ambitions. "I just want a plain square one."

"Are you sure? That's easy. With sweets on it?"

He purses his lips in thought. "Ok." I think he's humouring me. I prod him further, and he chooses something for his birthday dinner, something he has every week. I rather admire how matter of fact he is. He's one of those children that asks for a calculator and a toothbrush for Christmas.

While he's at his father's, I make a square cake. I sneak his age on to the top in Smarties, then make another for school, with chocolate fudge icing. I wrap his presents and write his card. It's very quiet in the empty house and I don't have to hide the cake in a cupboard, or issue dire "Don't come into my bedroom!" warnings. There's no sense of anticipation, and I don't like it. It's even worse in the morning, the first time in years I haven't been woken at five on a birthday morning by an over-excited child. I don't want to do this again, I think, as I take the foil wrapped cake up the road to school.

The evening is better. I collect the boys from school and he opens his presents. Later, X comes round and builds some Lego while I make the requested boring dinner. We eat and then we light the candles, blow them out, take the obligatory pictures. The youngest is smiling his small, careful smile in them. It feels like a birthday, at last. We both need to be there, it turns out: after all, we both made him.

We'll know for next time.

Lie to me

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 21:30:09 +0800

Everyone tells a lie on occasion. Some lies save relationships, some
ease a hectic situation, and others buy us time. Men lie to women.
Women lie to men. The fib "I had no signal" is said to be one of the
most common lies. You agree? Here we present some of the most popular
and interesting lies.
每个人都说过谎。一个恰当的谎言可能会挽回一段恋情，化解一个尴尬场面，或是为我们赢得宝贵的时间。男人对女人说谎，女人也对男人说谎。据说人们最爱拿"手机没信号"当借口了，你同意吗？今天我们就精心挑选了一些最常见最有趣的谎言跟大家一起分享。

[女人篇]
There are crucial differences in the lies women and men tell. A study
by a psychologist at the University of Virginia found that when women
lie, they tend to focus on making others feel better.
在编造谎言方面，女人与男人存在很大区别。弗吉尼亚大学一位心理学家的研究显示，女人撒谎主要是为了照顾对方的感受。

1.Nothing's wrong. I'm fine.
没事儿，我挺好的。
2.I won't get mad if you say I look fat.
你说我胖我也不会生气。
3.It doesn't bother me when you check out other women.
我不介意你盯着其他女人看。
4.I don't care how much money you have.
我并不在乎你有多少钱。
5.You're right.
你说得对。
6.I love sports.
我喜欢运动。
7.I wouldn't change a thing about you.
我不想改变你任何方面。
8.It's what I've always wanted.(See photo)
这个(礼物)正是我一直想要的。

[男人篇]
Compared with women, at the heart of many men's lies, however, is the
male ego. Men lie to build themselves up or to conceal something, the
study shows.
研究显示，比较而言，男人撒谎的根本出发点源自男性自我的一面：或是为了树立高大形象，或是为了掩饰。

1.I like your friends.
我喜欢你那些朋友。
2.You don't look fat in that dress.
你穿那条裙子不显胖。
3.Yes, I cleaned up already.
是的，我已经打扫过了。
4.She's just my friend. Stop doubting please.
她就是我的一个普通朋友，别瞎想了。
5.I love your cooking.
我爱吃你做的饭。
6.I'm not a jealous guy.
我不是一个好吃醋的人。
7.You look great in anything you wear.
你穿什么都好看。
8.I'll come shopping with you because I like to spend time with you.
我陪你一起逛街吧，我喜欢跟你呆在一起。
9.I only had two drinks.(See photo)
我就喝了两杯而已。

[手机篇]
Phone is building bridges between people, but it is also building ever
stronger walls since some use it to cover themselves.
手机给人与人之间的沟通提供了便利，但它有时也成为一种更坚固的壁垒，因为经常有人用它来为自己掩护。

1.My phone was on silent.
我电话当时设的静音。
2.I wrote your number down incorrectly.
我记错你号码了。
3.I'll call you.
我会给你打电话的。
4.Sorry, I missed your call.
对不起，没接着你电话。
5.I'll phone you back in a minute.
我待会儿给你打回去。
6.I've got a call on the other line.
又有人给我打进电话来了。
7.My battery died.
电池没电了。
8.I didn't get your text.
我没收到你的短信。
9.I had no signal.(See photo)
手机那会儿没信号。

[事业篇]
People around you may give you awful advice. They try to protect you
by shielding you from the possibility of failure, which also shields
you from the possibility of making your dreams a reality.
身边的人给你的热心建议可能并非都是"忠言"。他们试图保护你，使你远离任何失败的风险。殊不知，这样一来，你通往实现梦想的路也被堵死了。

1.You're totally screwed if it doesn't work out.
这事儿要是不成你就完了。
2.That's impossible.
那是不可能的。
3.Only a lucky few "make it."
只有少数的幸运儿才能成功。
4.You need more money saved before you can take the first step.
你需要再多攒些钱才能开始行动。
5.It's safer to stay at your day job.
还是继续做你现在的工作保险点儿。
6.You might fail. And failing is bad.
你可能会失败，后果会很糟糕。
7.You don't have access to the right resources.(See photo)
你没有通往成功所需的有利资源。

[其它]
1.The table will be ready in 5 minutes.
五分钟以后就开饭。
2.Things would have been different if I was there.
我当时要是在场就好了，肯定会是另外一个结果。
3.Yeah, I'll start working on that ASAP.
好的，我尽快去办。
4.If you tell me the truth, you won't get in trouble.
你跟我实话实说，我保你没事儿。
5.I have read and agreed to the Terms of Service.
我已阅读并同意遵守以上服务条款。

Five Things You Can Start Doing Today to Change Your Life

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 16:26:00 +0800

"Everything is something you decide to do, and there is nothing you have to do."
Denis Waitley

"If you wait to do everything until you're sure it's right, you'll probably never do much of anything."
Win Borden

Hey!

Perhaps the most important thing you can do to improve your life is simply to do things. To take action and learn along the way.

Here are five suggestions for "do-habits" that are very helpful to adopt to radically improve your life.

1. Do it first thing in the morning.

How you start your day tends to have a big influence on that day. It sets the context in your mind. I believe that one key to better consistency and improvement in your life is what you do early in the day. Two ways to get a good start to your day are these:
Do the hardest/ most important/ most uncomfortable thing first in your day. If you start your day by doing it you will feel relieved. You feel relaxed and good about yourself. And the rest of the day - and your to-do list - tends to feel a lot lighter and easier to move through. It's amazing what difference this one action makes.
Start small. To get from a state where you just feel like sitting on your chair and doing nothing much to one where you take action over and over you can do this: start small. Getting started with your biggest task or most difficult action may seem too much and land you in Procrastinationland. So instead, start with something that doesn't seem so hard. One of my favorites is simply to take a few minutes to clean my desk. After that the next thing doesn't seem so difficult to get started with since I'm now in a more of a "take action" kind of mode. Experiment with this one and the previous tip and see which one that suits you the best. Or mix them up as you wish.

2. Do it one more time.

Don't give up too soon. It is very easy to give into feeling that you done something enough times and it will never work. You have tried it as many times as you would expect people to do. But these expectations I believe are often a bit unrealistic.

Society, TV and advertising tell us that there is an almost instant solution to any of our problems. You can easily lose 30 pounds within a month. Or with little work and time invested have another extra 20 000 dollars in the bank.

So it is not unreasonable to think that success will come quickly. But instead of doing something as many times as you think others have done it, talk to and read about people who have actually done what you want to do. This will give you a more realistic picture of reality.

Oftentimes you may have to do it more than one more time. But I have often found that doing it just one more time, doing it that extra time even though you may start to feel that this won't work, can bring the results you want in many cases. I actually feel a little bit of excitement sometimes when I feel like giving up because then I remember that at this point success is often not that far away.

3. Do the unusual thing.

When faced with a choice in your daily life, step back for a minute and think. Then take the option that is and feels unusual for you.

If you often back down just don't for this one time. If you are often get into arguments with people then just this one time don't and instead just let it go or treat the other person with kindness. Do the opposite of what you usually do and see what happens (while using common sense of course). Do something new and something you wouldn't expect from yourself.

This is a fun a great way to get new experiences and learn things you wouldn't if you kept going like you usually do.

Getting stuck in the same old routine until it becomes a rut can suck the life out of you. Doing the unusual thing in small and big situations, no matter how it goes, is a great way to feel alive again.

4. Do less.

How do you find time to do what you really want? How do you not get caught up in minor tasks and fill you day with them?

By setting limits. By being a bit ruthless and cutting down on the least important stuff. At some point you will probably have to be honest with yourself and realize that you can never fit all that you want into your day or week. Something has to go. Not only because it takes up time. But also because you only have so much energy, focus and creativity available during your day. If spend it on the less important things then all of that will be gone each day before you get to the big stuff.

It may not be fun to give up a couple of those TV-shows or hanging out on Facebook. But to make room for something new you sometimes have throw out a couple of old things.

5. Do your best.

Why should you do your best? Why not coast a bit and do just what is expected?

Three reasons:
You get better results. Sometimes immediately. Often not right away, but as all your awesome work adds up you start to see new and exciting results.
You raise your self-esteem. When you do what you think is the right thing - like doing your best - then your self-esteem goes up. If you just coast then you tend to feel kinda lame about yourself. So do awesome work and you feel awesome about yourself. Do OK work and feel OK about yourself.
Deservedness. When you feel awesome about yourself you do also feel like you deserve more in life. So you go after it and you won't self-sabotage as much when opportunities pop up.

From: http://www.positivityblog.com/

A happy marriage

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 21:05:16 +0800

A man and his girlfriend were married. It was a large celebration.

All of their friends and family came to see the lovely ceremony and to partake of the festivities and celebrations. All had a wonderful time. The bride was gorgeous in her white wedding gown and the groom was very dashing in his black tuxedo. Everyone could tell that the love they had for each other was true.

A few months later, the wife came to the husband with a proposal, "I read in a magazine, a while ago, about how we can strengthen our marriage," she offered. "Each of us will write a list of the things that we find a bit annoying with the other person. Then, we can talk about how we can fix them together and make our lives happier together."

The husband agreed. So each of them went to a separate room in the house and thought of the things that annoyed them about the other. They thought about this question for the rest of the day and wrote down what they came up with. The next morning, at the breakfast table, they decided that they would go over their lists.

"I'll start," offered the wife. She took out her list. It had many items on it, enough to fill three pages. In fact, as she started reading the list of the little annoyances, she noticed that tears were starting to appear in her husband's eyes.

"What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing," the husband replied, "keep reading your list."

The wife continued to read until she had read all three pages to her husband. She neatly placed her list on the table and folded her hands over the top of it.

"Now, you read your list and then we'll talk about the things on both of our lists," she said happily.

Quietly the husband stated, "I don't have anything on my list. I think that you are perfect the way that you are. I don't want you to change anything for me. You are lovely and wonderful and I wouldn't want to try and change anything about you." The wife, touched by his honesty and the depth of his love for her and his acceptance of her, turned her head and wept.

In life, there are enough times when we are disappointed, depressed and annoyed. We don't really have to go looking for them. We have a wonderful world that is full of beauty, light and promise. Why waste time in this world looking for the bad, disappointing or annoying when we can look around us, and see the wondrous things before us?

The sense of drames

Sat, 29 Oct 2011 00:51:51 +0800

Preparing to sit an exam we're not prepared for, or our teeth falling
out...Our dream world throws up bizarre and confusing images that make
little sense.
惊醒！梦见自己坐在考场里两眼一抹黑? 或者……牙怎么突然掉了? 这些奇奇怪怪的梦境让人不知所措，真是大伤脑筋！
After analyzing more than 100,000 dreams, a British scientist has
found that dreams reflect fundamental life patterns and, by
understanding them, you can see your life in a new light.
一位英国科学家在对超过10万个梦境案例分析后得出结论：梦境是真实生活的写照。如果理解了梦境的含义，说不定能让生活重现曙光呢！

【梦境1：被追】
YOU'RE BEING CHASED

You find yourself being pursued by something or someone you feel is
going to harm you. No matter how fast you run, or where you hide, you
can't escape them.
梦见有东西狂追自己，说不清是人是鬼，总觉得再跑慢点就会挂掉! 可是无论跑多快，无论藏到哪里，就是摆脱不了。这是为什么?

*解梦*
Whatever is chasing you is an aspect of yourself, which is why you
cannot escape it.
无论后面追你的是什么，其实就是你自己，这就是为什么你怎么逃也逃不掉的原因(悲催)。

It represents a part of you or a situation you are scared to confront.
Identify what is causing tension in your waking life. It might seem
easier to avoid it but, you need to be assertive and resolve it.
你目前是不是不敢面对自己或正身处困境，而选择逃避? 首先静下心来想一想，到底生活中有什么事情让你如此困扰! 逃避似乎更容易，但最好的办法还是挺直腰板去面对它吧!

【梦境2：掉牙】
YOUR TEETH FALL OUT

You notice that some of your teeth are becoming loose and starting to
fall out. Or your teeth crumble into powder. You might also be looking
in the mirror and realize your teeth are decayed or that you have
grown vampire fangs.
梦里，突然感觉牙齿松动脱落，或者碎成粉末。照照镜子，牙齿怎么烂成这个鬼样子? 乖乖，连吸血鬼的尖牙都长出来了!

*解梦*
You show your teeth when you smile and when you bite, so they reflect
how self-assured and assertive you feel. Teeth falling out indicates
that a situation is causing you to lose confidence. Vampire teeth
indicate you are relying on other people to provide your
self-assurance.
想想什么时候才能露出牙齿? 微笑? 咬东西? 所以，梦到牙齿跟你的自信和坚定程度有很大关系! 梦到牙齿脱落，暗指你的自信心被打击了!
梦到自己长出吸血鬼牙齿，说明你在依靠别人来获取自信。

You should be more confident in whatever situation is challenging you.
Rather than seeing the unknown as a threat,relish it as a challenge.
面对困境，自信一点吧! 虽然未知很可怕，但当作挑战来enjoy一下也是不错的。

【梦境三：找不到厕所怎么办?】
YOU CAN'T FIND A LOO

You are desperate for the toilet. The only ones you can find are in
strange places or in public view. You might find yourself in a queue
and when you finally get there, the toilet is unusable.
急啊，就是找不到厕所怎么办? 或者找到的厕所全是在那些奇奇怪怪的地方，有的甚至在公共场合！？即使找到厕所，不是队排得老长，就是根本不能用(坑爹啊)。

*解梦*
You have a need you are unable to express. Queuing means you hope your
needs will be met if you look after other people's wants. But the best
way to resolve this situation is to put yourself first. This may seem
selfish, but it is much easier to look after other people's needs when
you attend your own.
这说明你内心深处有不能表达的欲望。排队意味着你有着这样的期望：如果先满足了别人的需要，自己也会得到满足。但解决问题的最好办法，就是把自己放在第一位。这样听起来有点自私，但其实当你努力实现了自己的愿望时，满足别人的需求也会变得容易的多。

【梦境4：发现自己在街上一丝不挂?】
YOU'RE NAKED IN PUBLIC

You are surprised to find yourself naked in a public place and are
making frantic attempts to shield your body. Everyone else is fully
dressed but they don't seem to notice your condition.
你惊讶地发现自己在公共场合一丝不挂，并且发了疯似的想要遮掩自己的身体。与此同时，其他人都衣着整齐，而且貌似没有注意到你有任何异常。

*解梦*
You feel vulnerable and exposed, perhaps in a new job or relationship.
No one sees your nakedness because you seem secure and confident to
them. The dream usually indicates a positive and healthy progression
in our lives, as we are being invited to step into unfamiliar
territory and display our talents. It might be nerve-racking, but
express your true self without thinking about how people are judging
you.
这说明你对于眼前的新工作或新恋情，感到脆弱无助。周遭人士对你的裸体毫不在意，说明在他们眼中，你足够强大自信。这种梦境其实暗示你目前状态不错，尤其是到了新环境要施展才华的时候。虽然这很让人伤脑筋，但是抛弃世俗的眼光，勇敢地表现你自己吧!

【梦境5：这是考哪门子试?】
YOU'RE UNPREPARED FOR AN EXAM

You are sitting an important exam but are shocked to realize you have
done no studying. It's too late to do anything and you are
disappointed.
梦见自己坐在考场里参加一场重要考试，但面对考卷却脑袋空空，大惊失色。但为时已晚，追悔莫及。

*解梦*
Your lack of preparation shows you usually prepare meticulously for
every task. You set yourself high standards and feel a constant
anxiety that you will end up with a poor result. But it's not others
that are judging - it's you.
这其实暗示了你在做任何事情时都准备得事无巨细。你对自己高标准要求，常常感到焦虑，害怕自己最后搞砸。其实根本没有人会说三道四，是你自己放不开。

When you judge yourself too harshly, you will feel like a failure, no
matter how successful you are. The best way to move on from this dream
is to consider what makes you happiest and most fulfilled in life.

【梦境6: 咦? 我怎么飞起来了?】
YOU'RE FLYING

First you have the sensation of floating, then you soar into the sky
and fly through the air. You have a tremendous feeling of
exhilaration.
你感觉自己飘起来了，然后直冲云霄，享受畅游在空中的感觉。是不是觉得很爽呢?

*解梦*
You have been released from circumstances that were weighing you down.
You are free of constraints, making you feel "as free as a bird".
Although you may regard this feeling of liberation as luck, you
created the opportunity yourself. Consider other chances in your life
where you could go off into the realms of new possibilities.
这暗示你刚刚从很郁闷的状态中解脱出来。现在的你无拘无束，就像一只自由的小鸟。或许你把这一切归功于运气好。但这自由，却是你亲手创造出来的。尝试一下其它机会吧，说不定在别的领域又是一番新天地呢。

【梦境7：失重跌倒或摔下去】
YOU'RE FALLING

Everything seems normal, but then you suddenly feel your legs give way
as you stumble and fall. Sometimes the fall is minor, other times you
tumble downstairs or plummet off a cliff into a chasm.
周遭一切都看起来很正常，但突然自己腿一软就一头栽了下去。这还算轻的，有时甚至是从楼上摔下去，甚至从悬崖摔落到山间裂缝中。

*解梦*
This signifies a fear of losing control. Falling suggests you need to
let go of responsibilities that are dragging you down. This dream is
often triggered by stress and so is encouraging you to take a more
relaxed approach in certain areas of your life. Try relaxing your
muscles before going to bed.
这映射了你对失去控制的恐惧。是不是身上的担子太重了才会让你如此不堪?
如果梦境中出现类似情况，大多是因为压力引起，所以还是没有必要把自己逼太紧! 试着在睡觉之前放松下肌肉吧。

【梦境8：车失去控制，怎么办?】
YOU'RE IN AN OUT-OF-CONTROL VEHICLE

You are in a vehicle that is spinning out of control. You desperately
try to slow down because you are scared of crashing.
疾驶在路上的车失去了控制! 你发了疯的想减速，谁也不想撞车!

*解梦*
You're thinking about the path you are taking in life, usually in your
career. An imminent crash shows you are going to be in contact or
conflict with something unavoidable. Rather than abandoning your
present position, consider the areas where you do have control. Don't
be afraid to ask others for help; they can help you get back into the
driver's seat. Accept there are some situations over which you have no
control.
这说明你在重新权衡你现在选择的道路，通常是事业上的选择。即将发生的车祸暗指你马上会跟不能避免的情况打交道，甚至产生冲突。先不要放弃你目前的选择，看看周遭还有什么是在你控制之下的。困难当头，应该及时向他人求救，他们可以帮你步入正轨。记住，人不可能一切尽在掌握，接受现实吧。

【梦境9：发现神秘房间】
YOU DISCOVER AN UNUSED ROOM

You are walking through your house when you notice a door you haven't
seen before. You open it to find a room you had completely forgotten
about.
你在自己的房子里游荡，突然发现一扇从未见过的门。打开门看到的房间让你一点印象都没有。

*解梦*
Homes in dreams symbolize ourselves and different rooms are aspects of
our character. The unnoticed door indicates you have a chance to step
into an exciting new possibility. The size of the room reflects the
size of the chance. You might think you know your achievements and
limitations, but you have talents you have yet to discover. Be open to
even the most unexpected opportunities.
梦里的家就是我们自己，而不同的房间则代表我们个性的不同方面。一扇你从未见过的门暗示你将有机会踏入崭新的领域。房间大小不同，机遇大小也不同。也许你知道自己这么多年的得失是什么，但你身上还有尚待挖掘的闪光点。即使是最不可能的机会，也不要轻易放过！

【梦境10：梦见自己迟到了!】
YOU'RE LATE

You are on your way to an appointment and realize you are late. You
keep looking at the clock and are alarmed at time passing. You feel as
if you'll never get where you need to be.
在赴约的路上，你发现自己迟到了。你不断看表，但时间过得飞快，你感觉似乎永远也到达不了目的地。

*解梦*
You are worried you are missing an opportunity and that time is
running out to carry out a plan, such as starting a family or
achieving a career goal. Commit to meaningful action rather than
involving yourself in meaningless action. Once a decision has been
made, your direction will become clear and your time becomes your own,
rather than being subject to the whims of what is happening around
you.
你担心自己错过某个机会，或者执行某个计划的时间不够了，比如组建家庭或达到某个事业上的目标。还是把心思放在有意义的行动上吧，别做无用功了。一旦做出决定，方向也就明确，时间也就完全变成你自己的了。千万不要把时间花在那些有的没的上面。

Selling My Mother's Dresses

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 20:25:30 +0800

I like to think that a bit of her laughter, sense of wonder and fun travels with them and that any tears or sadness are long since washed away.

I moved from Chicago to Brooklyn in July of 2004, just in time to watch my mother die. That wasn't why I moved back. She was supposed to be getting better; the chemo was working. I came because I'd rented an apartment with Jay, this cute guy I'd started dating, who was originally from New York too. But a week after pulling up in a U-Haul, I found myself cleaning out my childhood home with my siblings. Our parents were both gone now; anything that we couldn't take with us had to fit in a 20-cubic-yard Dumpster.

I could barely squeeze the little I saved into the one-bedroom Jay and I shared. I didn't even try to unpack the boxes of my parents' books, the bags of my mom's dresses. Jay (who held me up at the funeral and painted our place all my favorite colors and quickly proved to be much more than just a cute guy) had to shimmy sideways to get between my father's easy chair and my mother's broken desk. I was claustrophobic from the mountains of photos and misplaced knickknacks, and yet I found myself drawn to someone else's castoffs. We hadn't lived there more than a month and already I was claustrophobic from the mountains of photos and misplaced knickknacks. So it made no sense when, out walking one Saturday later that summer, something caught my eye ― a pale green scrap of fabric ― and suddenly I was steering Jay toward someone else's castoffs. My first stoop sale.

Laid out on the pavement was a batik scarf with dangling earrings, glass candle-holders, a small wooden jewelry box, books from Heidegger to Nora Ephron, a videotape of "Risky Business." Draped on the wrought iron fence behind: a tan knit shawl, a few pairs of jeans, a green cotton dress with buttons that looked like the inside of a seashell. I'd never owned anything green, but I had to feel those buttons between my fingers, the cotton so thin it was maybe two washes away from disintegration.

"You can try it on if you want. There's a mirror over by the tree."

I looked up to find her face. I'd inspected all of her things without even saying hello.

I saw a smile that was working hard. Her skin was pale; her shoulders thin and her hair cut very short. Or was it new peach fuzz, just growing in?

I was at once embarrassed and humbled. I'd thought people who hosted stoop sales just had too many clothes or were looking to cash in on some scratched records. But there was something else happening here. This woman looked like she was getting rid of a past she didn't need or want. A dress that was too big for her. A chest of drawers that took up too much space, space she needed, maybe, to heal or grow.

"Thanks," I whispered. I wasn't planning on buying anything really, but now I needed to, to show her that I appreciated her things and would give them a safe home. I paid her 20 bucks for her green dress, her wooden jewelry box and her blue candle-holder.

From that day on, I became devoted to stoop sales. Some of my favorite things ― including the sundress I'm wearing today and the Winnie the Pooh car that Jay is pushing our daughter in ― are from someone else's life. I find no joy in shopping at regular stores anymore. I've been known to break down in cranky tears by the checkout of Ikea. I'd love to say I'm trying to speak out against sweatshop conditions or conserve thread. But it's much more selfish than that. I love trying to sniff out a memory from a bud vase or a favorite song from a case of L.P.'s. The stains and broken switches, the bend in the knee of an old pair of jeans. Sometimes I just want to look at how many Mason jars one person can collect and imagine what they might've held. It's comforting to know that someone has breathed and laughed inside a sweater before me. That I am part of a continuum.

I have great respect for people who organize stoop sales. It must be an emotional way to spend your weekend. Arranging your history on a card table so strangers can snoop and evaluate. There's also a certain freedom and recklessness to putting a price tag on an ex's mix CD or "The Marx-Engels Reader" you never read in college and are finally ready to admit you never will.

I am very big on purging my own things. Every few weeks I drop off a load of clothes at the resale shop around the corner or cart a stack of books to the curb. The more I read about Buddhism while the stock market dips and flips, the more I feel like I have to practice non-attachment. Maybe it has to do with losing my parents at a young age. Maybe I can't bond with anyone or anything without also seeing us eventually separated. Whatever the cause, I know that once I love a scarf or shirt too dearly, it needs to find a new home. Even that green dress ― which I turned into a blouse after deciding it made me look like a celery stalk ― is long gone by now.

The one thing I haven't been able to do is manage my own stoop sale. I've come close. A few weeks ago, I carried the last of my mother's dresses to a friend's stoop. These were Mom's best items ― strong taffetas and feathered collars, cream brocade and lavender chiffon. My mother was elegant, whether she was in a tailored suit or her limp blue bathrobe. I tried to remind myself of this as I watched, from the park across the way, for hours, those dresses wilt on the cement stair. The sidewalks were crowded with iced coffees and farmers' market gladioluses. Nobody even glanced at my mother's finery.

"C'mon," I finally said to my 2-year-old daughter. I pulled her out of the swings. "I'm going to show you Grandma Joanie's dresses."

Grandma Joanie is just a name to my daughter. Even when I show her pictures, there is no perfumed hug or ice cream afternoon to make her a real person. And those dresses were equally meaningless to her. Empty pieces of hot fabric that were once worn by the most important person in my life. For all my hours with Thich Nhat Hanh's teachings on letting go, I still hold on tightly sometimes, whether I want to or not. I still think her stuff is as sacred as her memory.

I did not buy back my mother's things.

I did not pick up her skirt that was dusting the sidewalk.

Instead, I bought a new/used raincoat for $10, put my daughter on my shoulders, and walked us a new route home.

Attitude Is Everything

Sun, 09 Oct 2011 16:05:00 +0800

Jerry was the kind of guy you love to hate. He was always in a good mood and always had something positive to say. When someone would ask him how he was doing, he would reply, "If I were any better, I would be twins!"

He was a unique manager because he had several waiters who had followed him around from restaurant to restaurant. The reason the waiters followed Jerry was because of his attitude. He was a natural motivator. If an employee was having a bad day, Jerry was there telling the employee how to look on the positive side of the situation.

Seeing this style really made me curious, so one day I went up to Jerry and asked him, "I don't get it! You can't be a positive person all of the time. How do you do it?"

Jerry replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, 'Jerry, you have two choices today. You can choose to be in a good mood or you can choose to be in a bad mood.' I choose to be in a good mood. Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it. Every time someone comes to me complaining, I can choose to accept their complaining or I can point out the positive side of life. I choose the positive side of life."

"Yeah, right, it's not that easy," I protested.

"Yes, it is," Jerry said. "Life is all about choices. When you cut away all the junk, every situation is a choice. You choose how you react to situations. You choose how people will affect your mood. You choose to be in a good mood or bad mood. The bottom line: It's your choice how you live life."

I reflected on what Jerry said. Soon thereafter, I left the restaurant industry to start my own business. We lost touch, but I often thought about him when I made a choice about life instead of reacting to it.

Several years later, I heard that Jerry did something you are never supposed to do in a restaurant business: he left the back door open one morning and was held up at gunpoint by three armed robbers. While trying to open the safe, his hand, shaking from nervousness, slipped off the combination. The robbers panicked and shot him.

Luckily, Jerry was found relatively quickly and rushed to the local trauma center. After 18 hours of surgery and weeks of intensive care, Jerry was released from the hospital with fragments of the bullets still in his body.

I saw Jerry about six months after the accident. When I asked him how he was, he replied, "If I were any better, I'd be twins. Wanna see my scars?" I declined to see his wounds, but did ask him what had gone through his mind as the robbery took place.

"The first thing that went through my mind was that I should have locked the back door," Jerry replied. "Then, as I lay on the floor, I remembered that I had two choices: I could choose to live, or I could choose to die. I chose to live."

"Weren't you scared? Did you lose consciousness?" I asked.

Jerry continued, "The paramedics were great. They kept telling me I was going to be fine. But when they wheeled me into the emergency room and I saw the expressions on the faces of the doctors and nurses, I got really scared. In their eyes, I read, "He's a dead man." "I knew I needed to take action."

"What did you do?" I asked.

"Well, there was a big, burly nurse shouting questions at me," said Jerry. "She asked if I was allergic to anything. "Yes," I replied. The doctors and nurses stopped working as they waited for my reply. I took a deep breath and yelled, "Bullets!"

Over their laughter, I told them. "I am choosing to live. Operate on me as if I am alive, not dead."

Jerry lived thanks to the skill of his doctors, but also because of his amazing attitude. I learned from him that every day we have the choice to live fully.

Attitude, after all, is everything.