Western society promotes being busy at all times and at all costs. As a result, it seems that we are always rushing. We live by the calendar and we are run by the clock. We learn early on in life that you had better be on time for things or bad stuff will happen. Be late to turn in your papers and your grade gets lowered. Be late to pay your bills and you get stuck with a penalty. Be late to finish your work and you may be out of a job.

西方社会让人们不惜一切代价、每时每刻都忙碌不停。结果我们似乎总是在赶时间。我们生活在日程表之下，按照时钟运转。生活中我们很早就明白，你最好按时完成事情，否则坏事就要发生。没按时交论文你的分数就会降低；没按时付账单你就要被罚款；没按时完成工作你就可能被炒鱿鱼。

As a result many people conclude that time is their enemy. It must be battled and beaten. But there is no permanence in any victory over time — the clock gets reset tomorrow and the calendar at the first of the month, or at the very latest at the first of the year.

因此许多人断定，时间是他们的敌人。他们要和时间作战并且战胜它。然而，面对时间，并没有永远的胜利。明天时钟又会归零，每个月又会有新的开始，一年也会终结，来到新的一年。

Consider the popular phrase, “Life is too short to __________.” Here are some beauties you hear all the time:

想想这个流行的说法，“人生如此短暂，所以……”下面这几句动人的话你总是会听到：

Life is too short to hold on to regret.

人生如此短暂，所以不能后悔。

Life is too short to work at a job you hate.

人生如此短暂，所以不要做你讨厌的工作。

Life is too short to play small.

人生如此短暂，所以要尽情玩乐。

Life is too short to {insert your favorite here}.

人生如此短暂，所以[加上你最喜欢的吧]

Aphorisms like these certainly imply that time is your enemy. However, time is not the reason why you ought to give up regret, revamp your career, or up your game. Even the shortness of life is not the reason. There is an assumption going on here that entirely misses where the real problem lies.

像这样的警句毫无疑问在暗示时间是你的敌人。然而，时间并不是你应该放弃悔恨、改换事业、尽情享乐的理由。甚至人生的短暂也不是理由。这些都是假设，而掩盖了真正的问题所在。

A short life and limited time would be a blessing in these circumstances. After all, the less time one spends in some undesired state, the better. A short amount of regret? Sounds great. A short time at a crummy job? Excellent. A short time of cowering in the corner? What could be better?

在这些情况里，短暂的人生和有限的时间其实是好事情。毕竟一个人在一些不喜欢的状态中花的时间越少越好。少一些悔恨？听起来不错。少做一些寒酸的工作？好极了。少花些时间缩在角落？还有什么能比这更好呢！

So let me give you a different way to look at things:

那么让我们换一种方式来看问题：

“Life is too long to __________.”

“人生如此漫长，所以……”

When you approach your problems and challenges from this standpoint, time is not only not your enemy, it is your best friend. It is because of the abundance of time and life that you are motivated to seek change and transformation. After all, since you are going to be here for some time, don’t you want to make the best of it?

当你站在这个立场去处理你的问题和挑战，时间不仅不是你的敌人，而且成为了你最好的朋友。正因为有了丰富的时间和人生，你就有了动力去寻求挑战和转变。毕竟你要活很长时间，你难道不想做到最好吗？

When you have a habit or circumstance that needs fixing, imagine what your life would be like if you delayed taking action to fix it. See yourself a year from now with this problem still hanging around. What impact has it had on you? How has it hurt your relationships? What is it doing to you at work? What cost have you paid to your health?

当你有某种习惯或现状需要修复，想象一下如果你推迟行动，你的生活会怎样。想象一下一年之后这个问题依然存在。它会对你构成什么影响？它会怎样伤害你的人际关系？它会对你的工作产生什么影响？你会为你的健康付出什么代价？

Now take it out to five years. What have you lost? What have you suffered? What have the people close to you been forced to pay?

然后再想象一下五年之后的情景。你失去了什么？你经受了哪些折磨？你亲近的人被迫付出了什么代价？

Time keeps marching on. It is now ten years with your unresolved problem. What has happened to your faith and hope? How insurmountable does this problem now look? How much weaker are you now than when this problem first arose?

时间还在继续前进。现在你已经带着这个未解决的问题生活了十年。你的信念和希望遭遇了什么？这个问题现在看起来有多么难以克服？和这个问题刚出现时相比，你现在脆弱了多少？

We are far from the end of the calendar. Twenty years go by. Can you even remember life without your problem? Can you muster the energy to even care anymore? Are you locked in to a state of resignation?

我们还远没有到达人生的尽头。二十年过去了，你还能记得没有这个问题时的生活吗？你还有精力去想这个问题吗？你是否被困在一种无可奈何的状态中？

When you consider the impact that leaving something unresolved for a long period of time can heap upon you, you start to realize the value of taking action in this moment. Time isn’t out to hurt you here. It is giving you an opportunity. Some resolutions will require hours or days, some weeks or months. But time is there for you. Take what you need.

当你思考拖着某个问题长期不解决的影响时，会对你带来震撼。你开始意识到此时此刻开始行动的价值。时间并不是来伤害你的，它在给你机会。解决有的问题需要几小时或几天，有的需要几周或几个月。但你有时间，好好利用它们。

Time has no agenda. It will allow you whatever you need. This is not to say that some problems don’t have deadlines. But it is not time that imposes such restrictions. Time will either offer you volume or impetus. It is on your side.

时间没有日程表。不论你需要多少，它都会给你。这并不是说有的问题没有期限，但这些限制并不是时间强加给你的。时间会给你空间，也会给你动力。这由你决定。

Waiting for the perfect moment is a fool’s errand. You don’t have to be very experienced in life to know the truth of that. Partner with time to get the most out of life. Time is waiting for you.

只有傻瓜才等待最佳的时机。你不需要在生活中经历了许多才明白这个真谛。和时间做朋友，实现人生的最大价值。时间正在等你。


上篇 【中英文】发明冰箱以前，人类如何保存食物？

下篇 双语美文：自律，才能带来真正的自由