To melt and be like a running brook that sings its melody to the night.
To know the pain of too much tenderness.
To be wounded by your own understanding of love;
And to bleed willingly and joyfully.
To wake at dawn with a winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving;
To rest at the noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy;
To return home at eventide with gratitude;
And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips.
― <The Prophet> (Excerpt) by Khalil Gibran
愿化涓涓溪流，入夜色尽唱清歌。
愿尝多情之苦楚。
愿为懂爱而伤痕累累；
纵是飞蛾扑火亦欣然不悔。
愿曙光初现，唤醒心神飞扬，感念有爱的每一日；
愿午间小憩，亦能冥思爱的执迷；
愿日暮还家，仍心怀感激；
更愿夜夜枕畔，祈福心中所爱，轻喃颂歌同入梦。
— 节选自 纪伯伦《先知》
每每不经意间看到纪伯伦的这段话，总是会被诗中那种温馨美好的境界所感动，于是试着自己译了个中文版，权当说说自己心中对爱的理解吧。
由不得你不信，无私的爱的确有一种莫名的力量，就是会让你鼻子发酸，心头发颤。圣人固然有他普度众生的爱，而我们这些凡人呢，却也并非没有机会这样去爱，只是有时候，参不透一些执念，到头来只落得患得患失，伤心绝望的结果。
身边有很多的例子，以爱为名，却做着伤害对方的事：父母不许孩子从事自己喜欢的工作，选择自己喜欢的对象，恋人不许对方离开自己去外打拼，儿女不许年迈的父母再婚……在他们心里，爱是有条件的，不然，自己的爱就打了水漂。
这样有条件的爱，于人于己，都是负荷。这样的他们，都没有明白，真正的爱，其实是件再简单不过的事了。想爱，就去爱吧，就像诗中写的那样，但要切记两件事，一是要无怨无悔，爱不要怕伤害，二是要无欲无求，爱不要怕付出。
爱，不应是筹码，用来索取回报；爱，不应是枷锁，用来束缚他的翅膀；爱，更不应是施舍，用来让人对你感激涕零。爱，如同呼吸、吃饭、喝水、睡觉一样，是人生最最基本的情感诉求，在我们付出爱的同时，就已经得到了快乐和满足。
也许，你曾毫无保留地爱了，却被伤透了心，甚至发誓不再去爱，但正是这样才让我们变得更加成熟，懂得了珍惜和感恩。也许，你曾真心实意地爱了，却只换来别人的无动于衷，甚至误解怨恨，但也正是这样才让我们变得更加坚强，学会了淡然和豁达。爱是成长的必修课，没有爱的人生，是一片贫瘠荒漠，就算坐拥金山银山也是枉然。
于是，想起了另一段话, Father Alfred D'Souza 说过的话，一段被许多人津津乐道的话：
For a long time it seemed to me that life was about to begin, real life. But, there was always some obstacle in the way, something to be gotten through first, some unfinished business, time still to be served or a debt to be paid. Then life would begin. At last it dawned on me that there is no way to happiness. Happiness is the way. So treasure every moment that you have and treasure it more because you share it with someone special, someone special enough to spend your time with. Make the most of your time. Don’t waste too much of your time studying, working, or stressing about something that seems important. Do what you want to do to be happy but also do what you can to make the people you care about happy. Remember that time waits for no one. So stop waiting until you take your last test, until you finish school, until you go back to school, until you have the perfect body, the perfect car, or whatever other perfect thing you desire.
Stop waiting until the weekend, when you can party or let loose, until summer, spring, fall or winter, until you find the right person and get married, until you die, until your born again, to decide that there is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is a journey, not a destination.
So work like you don’t need the money,
Love like you have never been hurt,
Sing like no one is listening,
Dance like no one’s watching.
And live life every day as if it were your last.
爱，同样是过程，而非结果，如果终其一生都能这样无所畏惧，毫无保留地去爱，本身就是一种莫大的幸福了……
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