书城英文图书人生处处充满选择
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第35章 关于信念(11)

Remember to take at least one hour a day and turn that thing off. Do the math, 1/24th. Go dark. Shut it down. Learn where the OFF button is. Take your eyes off the screen, and look into the eyes of the person you love. Have a conversation-a real conversation-with the friends who make you think, with the family who makes you laugh. Don,t just push a button saying I “Like” something. Actually tell them. What a concept! Engage with the world around you … feel … and taste … and smell … and hug what,s there, right in front of you-not what,s a click away. Life is not lived in the glow of a monitor. Life is not a series of status updates. Life is not about your friend count-it,s about the friends you can count on. Life is about who you love, how you live, it,s about who you travel through the world with. Your family, your collaborators, and your friends. Life is a social experience first, and the best aspects of that experience are not lonely ones-they are spent in the company of others. Our modern landscape has changed, yes-but our humanity will always remain, and that, above all else, is what makes us who we are. And who YOU are is a proud, talented group of BU Terriers. Here you have all come to know extraordinary people. Look around-a few years ago you started off on the road with these people, knowing them as boys and girls, wandering around campus, dazed and overwhelmed.Now you are all extraordinary men and women, in total control of your destinies, ready to make your mark not on history-but on the future. And the friendships you forged when the times were good, when the times were bad-and when you realized you just overslept your lecture and needed someone,s notes to catch up with- those are the friendships that will matter for life.The people you have met here will be some of the strongest friends and closest allies you will ever meet in your lives. It,s been that way for me. When you leave here, don,t leave them behind. Don,t leave you behind. Stay close and stay strong. Take them with you wherever you go, and, together, connected, go and change the world.

At times it may have seemed like the road ahead was an impossible slog, incredible. But today, I have the distinct honor of telling you: you have made it.

Now that you,re here, I want you do to another thing: Find a way to say “Yes” to things.

Say yes to invitations to a new country,

Say yes to meet new friends,

Say yes to learning a new language, picking up a new sport.

Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job.

Yes is how you find your spouse, and even your kids.Even if is a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone,

Saying yes means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference in your life-and likely in others, lives as well.

Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, to be the optimist, to stay positive, to be the one everyone comes to for help, for advice, or just for fun.

Yes is what keeps us all young.

Yes is a tiny word that can do big things.

Say it often.

There,s a second thing I want you to do: Do not be afraid to fail. And DO NOT be afraid to succeed.

There,s an old Italian phrase I like, it,s used to describe especially daring circus performers-they do the salto mortale. It means they do a somersault, on a tightrope, without a net.

Graduates, do to do this. Be brave. Work without a net. I promise you, you will land on your feet.

For those who say you,re thinking too big … be smart enough not to listen.

For those who say the odds are too small … be dumb enough to give it a shot.

And for those who ask, how can you do that ?… look them in the eyes and say, I will figure it out.

Above all else, be an “adorer of life”. No further explanation necessary.

I, to be very clear, am happy to have you join us as adults, and the quicker we can have you lead, the better. Time to throw out all us aging baby boomers and replace us with those best-equipped to lead us into a new age, march us all to a better day.

The power and possibility-the intellectual energy and human electricity-seated in this stadium directly in front of me, and in stadiums and auditoriums like this around the country, your generation will break a new day.

Your vast knowledge will seed a new era.

Your new ideas will shape a new reality.

Your agile minds will inspire a new dawn.

You will give our future a heartbeat.

And that beat will be stronger than ever, because of you.

From my perspective looking at this class, you all have the potential to reach higher than any class-than any generation -that came before you. You can reach as high as the face of life itself.

Thank you, and congratulations to you all.

我很高兴来到这里,也很荣幸受到邀请来做演讲,有机会看到新一代的波士顿大学毕业生们。

我想送你们一句名言:“我是个真正崇尚生活的人。如果生活的脸高不可及,那我会将我的吻埋在低处,懂得生活的人,自然明了。”同学们,我来解释下为什么这么说。这里曾经有位教授名叫索尔·贝娄,他是个很不错的作家。这句话就出自于他的小说《雨王亨德森》。今天站在你们面前的我也自认是一个崇尚生活的人。我知道拥抱一个完整的人生是怎样的体验。我能以我的经验告诉你,一旦你懂得生活,你就会知道贝娄教授的话是对的,真的无须解释。

去尽情拥抱你的人生吧。这是他一生创作过的无数优美诗句中的一句。但是,我认为这句话很好地概括了一种可以将平淡生活转变为充满优雅、热情和尊严的人生态度。而且,它还很好地象征了波士顿大学这样优秀的学府希望给每个踏进这个美丽校园的学生灌输的思想。无论是科学家、工程师、作家、企业先锋、政府官员、奥运金牌得主、奥斯卡奖得主,还是内阁大臣……都有从这所校门走出,并在文化、社会和全世界留下自己印记的例子。而且还有马丁·路德·金,他就是因为在这里修读了博士,所以才是今天人称的“金博士”。很让人惊叹吧!

现在,轮到你们了。你们正坐在这儿,沐浴着太阳,想着明天凯尔特人队的比赛。也许还未从昨日的宿醉中完全清醒过来。就比如说坐在那边的那位。你们对自己说压力很大呀。我能做些什么呢?我能将我的吻贴在生活的何处呢?嗯,这是你们需要自己来回答的问题,我无法代劳。但是,有一件事情我很确定:没有一届毕业班可以选择他们即将走入的社会就像没人可以选择自己的父母和兄弟姐妹一样!当然也欢迎今天到场的所有家属。

每一届毕业班都面临着独特的挑战,每一届毕业班都会被载入不断谱写的历史中。你们这一届也一样。不同之处在于,每届毕业生创造历史的机遇不同,谱写更宏伟的历史,或者,用我的行话说,“编写”得更好。

而且,从这一点上说,你们拥有的是比现代历史上任何一届毕业生都更伟大的机会,你们能够为我们所有人“编写”历史。你们现在相互联系的程度是你们前辈人做梦都想不到的。而且你们正用着这种紧密的联系,让人与人之间那无形的纽带变得更强大。让我们可以更深刻地了解我们周围的世界,你们象征了这个新时代的各种可能。在过去,总是老一辈人高瞻远瞩地教导下一代人处世之道,让下一代人追随他们的足迹。

毕业生们,我想今天的世界已经完全不同了,是你们在教导着我们。是不是很有趣?你们这一代人是历史上首次完全连接在一起的一代。什么是你们醒来会做的第一件事?看手机?打开电脑?查邮件?过一遍你的社交网络?我醒了,我上线了。对吧?只要一醒来,你就在网上了,和外界联系了起来。也许,你们中的某些人现在就正发着短信,在Twitter发演讲的消息,更新你们的状态。笑一笑,镜头正对着你。这里有一则笑话,说的是一个大学生遇上抢劫,结果这个大学生说:“等一等,让我先更新一下我网上的状态,告诉我朋友我被抢了,然后我就可以把我的手机给你了。”当然这在现实生活中是不可能发生,但它也显示了科技对于你们这一代人的身份以 及和外界联系的能力有多么重要。

身份和联系——这种与人类自身一样古老的概念,主宰着我们是谁,我们该怎样生活。它们决定了社会,定义了人文。身份和联系——你们的任务就是将这些永恒的概念重新创造,让它们重新充满活力,给它们注入新鲜血液。你们能够做到。波士顿大学为你们搭建了实现这个目标的平台。我知道这听起来有些吓人。迎接你们的经济形势也并不乐观。这些我都知道,但是你们有你们的竞争优势,你们天生熟悉新科技,懂得如何去建立和发展那种前人从未拥有过的社会联系。这是一种非常强大的技能,而你们很自然地就掌握了。