[每天读一点英文：那些给我勇气的句子] A Turtle Who Taught Me Kindness

Life is good, really good. Sometimes I feel like the good karma（karma

 [kar·ma || 'kɑrmə /'kɑː-
]
n.
 羯磨, 业; 因果报应;
命运）
train picked me up, and simply refuses to let me off. I have an amazing
wife, a teenage son that makes me glow with pride, good health, a
wonderful family and the best friends a guy could ask for. I have a lot
to be grateful for. For many years now, “thank you” has become my
meditation（meditation

 [med·i·ta·tion || ‚medɪ'teɪʃn
]
n.
 沉思; 冥想） as I start each day.

But the truth is, life was not always this good. It wasn’t all that
long ago, when the resume’ of my life looked radically different. At
one time, my life was filled with nearly everything people try to
avoid. Experiencing everything from unhappy relationships to financial
struggles, poor health, depression, and an endless stream of negative
habits was a part of my daily life. It seemed that no matter how hard I
tried, happiness was constantly eluding（elude

 [e·lude || ɪ'luːd
]
v.
 逃避, 使困惑,
规避） me and disappointment became my
shadow. It also seemed as if I was paving the way for a future that
sadly resembled my father’s…until he took his own life at the age of
54. This was a defining moment for me. Once the shock of losing my
father began to fade, clarity and a new sense of purpose became the
dominant force in my life. I remember feeling as if I had “met myself”
for the very first time while also becoming conscious of my life’s true
purpose. It was in that moment that I had made a major decision. Not
only would I change my own life, but I would also make a difference in
the lives of others.

Enlightenment and epiphanies（Epiphany

 [i'pifəni

]  

n. 顿悟） can show up in some pretty strange ways.
The Buddha found it under a Boddhi tree, Nelson Mandela in prison and
spiritual guru Ram Dass through psychedelic drugs. Little did I know,
mine would arrive in the form of a hard-shelled reptile（reptile

 ['rep·tile || 'reptl /-taɪl
]
n.
 爬虫动物, 卑鄙的人,
爬虫） simply trying
to cross the road -- a turtle.

But this wasn’t just any turtle, this was the world’s most optimistic
one. He was tenaciously（tenaciously

 [ti'neiʃəsli

]  

adv. 坚韧不拔地, 执着地） determined to cross twenty feet of tar as cars
zoomed by at 55 mph. But today was his lucky day. My wife’s quick
reflexes not only ensured that “turtle soup” would not be for dinner
that night, but her act of kindness would eventually become the
foundation for everything I teach today. As unusual as this sounds, the
simple act of pulling our car over, removing this little turtle from
harms way, and placing him back into the wild, caused something
extraordinary to happen inside of me. As I stood there holding this
tiny creature in my hands, a wave of pure joy came over me. It was that
warm, teary-eyed sensation that we feel during life’s greatest moments;
like falling in love or the birth of a child. I honestly felt as if my
heart was completely opening up as everything stood still around me. In
no way would I have described it as “enlightenment”, but there was no
doubt about it—helping this little turtle just felt so damn good! But
why? After all, it’s just a turtle, right?

And then it hit me. I finally realized what was happening. At that
point, a flood of inspiring thoughts surged（surge

 [sə:dʒ

]  

n. 汹涌,澎湃vi. 汹涌；强烈感到；飞涨） through me. I walked back
to the car, opened my journal and wrote eight words that would later
prove to be life changing for me: “kindness creates happiness” and
“live a life of kindness”. It was the answer I had been looking for.
The secret to inner peace and lasting happiness was kindness. Not
“random acts of” or simply being nice, but rather as...a way of life. I
had already known the benefits of kindness through studying many
eastern philosophies, but I had never actually considered it as a
lifestyle.

But, this day was just beginning…

Just thirty minutes after my mini-epiphany, my wife and I arrived at
our original destination—a country garden show. After walking around
for just a few minutes, a gentle faced 60-something looking man waved
me over to the front porch of his farmhouse, for no apparent reason.
The entire setting was like a scene out of an old movie -- weathered
rocking chairs -- the smell of cookies baking -- and a coon cat that
looked as old as the farmhouse itself. “Let her look around, come and
sit with me” he said.

I had no idea what to expect, but as I sunk into the large wicker chair
beside him, I couldn’t help feeling that he was going to say something
profound. After all, if a turtle can change my life, why not a wise old
farmer? After a brief hello and a polite introduction, we simply sat in
silence and let the sunlight warm our faces. After what seemed like an
eternity, he finally spoke. “You know” he said, “I’ve often thought
that the meaning of life is making things a little bit easier for those
around us
, what do you think?”. I was speechless. It felt like I had
just been hit on the head again with life’s big karma stick. He went on
to tell me his version of “the secrets to life” and how “true happiness
can only be found by loving and serving others”. Finally he finished
with, “oh, and don’t forget…you really gotta’ love the one you’re
with...yourself
”.

Life was obviously trying to tell me something.   In the days and weeks
that followed, the world looked completely different to me. The more I
studied and tested my “kindness creates happiness” theory, the more I
was blown away by its life-changing power.   I realized that most of my
disappointments in life were simply because I had been unkind to others
and especially to myself.

After spending much of my life thinking “what’s in it for me”, my new
inner mantra became; “Am I being kind?”. This one simple question
changed my life. So, whenever I feel the need to disagree with my wife,
lash out at a rude employee in the mall or even before I shove ten
cookies into my mouth, I go within and ask; “am I being kind?”. These
four little words have become my source to inner peace. It has created
many positive changes in me such as recycling and acting more “green”
and consciously respecting all of life. I even stopped setting the
mousetraps in the garage. (My wife is going to kill me when she reads
that last one). Another big change in my life was the irresistible urge
to perform “spontaneous acts of kindness”. Things like buying coffee
for strangers and giving money to the homeless just seemed natural.
Each kind act felt like a blissful surge of energy through my chest.
But what became even more exhilarating were the intense feelings of
warmth towards everyone around me -- especially difficult people.
Whether there was someone who acted rude in traffic or an inconsiderate
person in line at the grocery store, I no longer felt anxious or
offended -- I simply wished for their happiness.  That’s when I
realized what it truly meant to be living kindness.

All thanks to an unexpected turtle crossing the street, that one day.