美文賞析:我決定從此過上幸福的生活

It was many years ago. I was a young dad sitting on the couch reading a fairy tale to my little girl. She sat next to me with her head on my arm as I told the tale. When it came to the end I finished with those famous words: "And they lived happily ever after." As I looked over to her with her wavy, brown hair and big, innocent eyes I could see the smile on her face and I never wanted it to end. It dawned on me then that the ending of the book was what I wanted for her. I wanted her to "live happily ever after."
很多年前我還是個年輕的爸爸，坐在沙發上給小女兒講童話故事。她坐在我身邊，頭枕在我胳膊上聽我講故事。故事的最後我用那句經典的話作結束語：“從此他們過上了幸福的生活。”我看着她，她有着捲曲的棕色頭髮和大大的、天真的眼睛，我能從她的臉上看到微笑，我希望能永遠這樣看着她。那時我明白了故事的結尾也是我對她的期望，我希望她“從此過上幸福的生活。”

Still, deep in my heart I knew that this couldn't always be so. I knew that there would be times when her heart was broken. I knew there would be times when she cried in grief and I couldn't comfort her. I knew there would be times when all she felt was fear, sadness, sorrow, and despair. As I stroked her hair and smiled at her I hoped that those times would be brief and that she would have joy in her life more often than not. Living happily ever after, though, seemed out of the question.
然而內心深處我知道現實並非總能如我所願。我知道有時她會傷心；我知道有時她會傷心地哭泣，而我卻不能給她安慰；我知道有時她只會感到恐懼、傷心、懊悔和絕望。我撫摸着她的頭髮，對她微笑，我希望那些時刻都能很快過去，希望她的生活中更多的是快樂，然而，從此過上幸福生活似乎是不可能的。

It took me a lot of years to realize that it IS possible to live happily ever after. You just have to do it "one day at a time." Happiness you see isn't some reward that you get at the end of your journey. Happiness isn't something dependent on what life hands you. Happiness is something you create in your life choice by choice and day by day.
很多年以後我才意識到從此過上幸福生活是可以實現的。你只需要“認真過好每一天”。你看到的幸福並非你人生旅程最終的獎勵，幸福不是取決於生活賜予你什麼，而是你日復一日通過一個個選擇在生活中創造出來的。

The truth is happiness comes when you love. Love is a gift from God. It is love that mends broken hearts. It is love that heals grief. It is love that gives us joy. Choose to "live happily ever after, one day at a time."
事實是幸福就是付出愛時的體驗，愛是上帝恩賜的禮物。只有愛才能修復受傷的心靈；只有愛才能撫平傷痛；只有愛才能給我們帶來快樂。選擇“從此過上幸福的生活，過好每一天。”