A letter to my son 一封给我儿子的信

李星玥

Dear Seth,

亲爱的塞斯，

You're only three years old, and at this point in your life you can't read, much less understand what I'm going to try to tell you in this letter.

你现在仅仅3岁，此刻你还不识字，更不用说让你去理解我接下来想在这封信里对你所说的话了。

But I've been thinking a lot about the life that you have ahead of you, about my life so far as I reflect on what I've learned, and about my role as a dad in trying to prepare you for the trials that you will face in the coming years。

但是我已经苦思冥想了好久，关于你即将面临的人生以及我的生活，我反思我所学会的；思考一个父亲的职责，力图让你为未来岁月中即将面临的困难做好充分准备。

You won't be able to understand this letter today, but someday, when you're ready, I hope you will find some wisdom and value in what I share with you。

你今天并不能理解这封信的含义，但是某一天，当时机成熟，我希望你能在我与你分享的内容当中找寻到些许的智慧和价值。

You are young, and life has yet to take its toll on you, to throw disappointments and heartaches and loneliness and struggles and pain into your path. You have not been worn down yet by long hours of thankless work, by the slings and arrows of everyday life。

你还很年轻，生命还尚未开始摧残你，没有在你的人生道路上布置失望，伤心，孤独，挣扎和苦痛。你还没有被漫长的乏味工作，被日常生活的打击搞得筋疲力尽。

For this, be thankful. You are at a wonderful stage of life. You have many wonderful stages of life still to come, but they are not without their costs and perils。

因此，谢天谢地吧。你正处在人生一个美妙的阶段。还有很多美妙的阶段会来到你面前，但是都不是唾手可得的，你都得付出代价，经历风险。

I hope to help you along your path by sharing some of the best of what I've learned. As with any advice, take it with a grain of salt. What works for me might not work for you。

我希望通过分享一些我所学到的最好的道理能帮助你走好人生路。至于任何建议，且把它当作佐料，因为适合我的并不一定适用于你。

Life Can Be Cruel

生活会很残酷

There will be people in your life who won't be very nice. They'll tease you because you're different, or for no good reason. They might try to bully you or hurt you。

你的生活中一定会有并不友好的人。他们耻笑你因为你不同，而在没有更好的理由。他们可能会欺负你或者伤害你。

There's not much you can do about these people except to learn to deal with them, and learn to choose friends who are kind to you, who actually care about you, who make you feel good about yourself.

对这种人你除了学会和其接触无计可施，同时你也要学会择友，选择那些对你友善的，那些真正关心你的，那些令你对自己感到很好的人做朋友。

When you find friends like this, hold on to them, treasure them, spend time with them, be kind to them, love them。

当你寻找到像这样的朋友，就一定要坚守这份友谊，珍惜他们，花些时间和他们在一起，友善的对待他们并爱他们。

There will be times when you are met with disappointment instead of success. Life won't always turn out the way you want. This is just another thing you'll have to learn to deal with. But instead of letting these things get you down, push on. Accept disappointment and learn to persevere, to pursue your dreams despite pitfalls. Learn to turn negatives into positives, and you'll do much better in life。

有时你会遭遇挫折而非成功。生活并不总会如你所愿。这是另一件你需要学会处理的事情。但你要挺住向前，而不是让这些事让你陷入低谷。接受挫败并学会坚持，不畏风险地追求你的梦想。学会把消极转化为积极，之后你就能做的好得多。

You will also face heartbreak and abandonment by those you love. I hope you don't have to face this too much, but it happens.

你同样会面临心碎时刻以及你深爱的人的抛弃。我希望你无须经历太多此类事件，但如果不幸发生了

Again, not much you can do but to heal, and to move on with your life. Let these pains become stepping stones to better things in life, and learn to use them to make you stronger。

再一次，除了慢慢愈合心中的创伤并继续下去你的生活，你别无选择。让这些痛苦成为你通向更美好生活的垫脚石，并学会利用它们让自己更坚强。

But Be Open to life Anyway

但无论如何，都要张开双臂拥抱生活

Yes, you'll find cruelty and suffering in your journey through life … but don't let that close you to new things. Don't retreat from life, don't hide or wall yourself off. Be open to new things, new experiences, new people。

是的，在你的生命历程中你会遇到残酷，煎熬……但不要让这些让你拒绝接受新鲜事物。不要逃避生活，不要躲藏，抑或封闭自己。拥抱新鲜事物，经历全新体验，接触新的人。

You might get your heart broken 10 times, but find the most wonderful woman the 11th time. If you shut yourself off from love, you'll miss out on that woman, and the happiest times of your life。

你或许心碎了10次，但是在第十一次找到至爱。如果你把自己关在爱的门外，你就会错过这个女子，和你生命中最快乐的时光。

You might get teased and bullied and hurt by people you meet … and then after meeting dozens of jerks, find a true friend. If you close yourself off to new people, and don't open your heart to them, you'll avoid pain … but also lose out on meeting some incredible people, who will be there during the toughest times of your life and create some of the best times of your life。

你可能会被你遇到的人耻笑欺负伤害…而在见了一打这种稀奇古怪的人后，你会找到一个真正的朋友。如果你拒绝接触新人群，并不向他们敞开心扉，你会避免受伤……但是同时也失去了认识这些不可思议的人的机会，他们会在你生命最困难的时刻陪伴着你，并带给你人生当中最美好的时光。

You will fail many times but if you allow that to stop you from trying, you will miss out on the amazing feeling of success once you reach new heights with your accomplishments. Failure is a stepping stone to success。

你会失败多次但是如果你让失败打到了你，不再努力，你就会错过那种当你达到成就新高度的难以言喻的成就感。失败是成功之母。

Love Should Be Your Rule

爱应该成为你的生活准则

If there's a single word you should live your life by, it should be this: Love. It might sound corny, I know … but trust me, there's no better rule in life。

如果让一个词成为你的生活支撑的话，那它应该是爱。也许这听来已是老生常谈，我也清楚… 但是请信任我，再没有更好的生活准则了。

Some would live by the rule of success. Their lives will be stressful, unhappy and shallow。

一些人以成功作为生活准则。他们的生活会很紧张，不开心并且很浅薄。

Others would live by the rule of selfishness — putting their needs above those of others. They will live lonely lives, and will also be unhappy。

另一些人的生活准则是个人利益---他们将个人需要置于他人需要之上。他们孤独一生，终究也不会快乐。

Still others will live by the rule of righteousness — trying to show the right path, and admonishing anyone who doesn't live by that path. They are concerned with others, but in a negative way, and in the end will only have their own righteousness to live with, and that's a horrible companion。

还有一些人他们为正义而生---努力展示其道路的正确性，并试图劝服任何一个不以正义为生活准则的人。他们关心他人，却以一种消极的方式，最终怀抱追寻一生的正义而终，而正却是一个糟糕的伴侣。