建你自己的房子

Building Your House

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his boss of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a free life with his wife and children. He would miss the paycheck each week, but he wanted to retire. He believed that they could get by.

The boss was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but over time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He used poor materials and built the house carelessly. It was a pity to end a dedicated career.

When the carpenter finished his work, his boss came to check the house. Then he handed the front-door key to the carpenter and said, “This is your house... my gift to you.”

The carpenter was shocked!

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

So it is with us. We build our lives, a day at a time, often putting less than our best into the building. Then, with a shock, we realize we have to live in the house we have built. If we could do it over, we would do it much differently.

But, you cannot go back. You are the carpenter, and every day you hammer a nail, place a board, or build a wall. Someone once said, “Life is a do-it-yourself project.” Your attitude, and the choices you make today, help build the “house” you will live in tomorrow. Therefore, Build wisely!

【日積月累】

◇carpenter n.木匠

He is learning the carpenter’s trade. 他在學木匠手藝。

英語中有個慣用表達the carpenter’s son，字面意思為“木匠之子”，常用來代指基督教的創史人“耶穌”，因其父親是一位木匠。

◇over time 隨著時間的推移，久而久之

The pain of this failure will disappear over time. 隨著時間的推移，失敗的傷痛也會逐漸消失。

注意它與合寫的overtime（加班）意思不同。如：

This new order will mean us working overtime. 這一新定單意味著我們得加班加點。

◇dedicated adj.獻身于……的，專心致志的

She’s completely dedicated to her work. 她一心一意撲在工作上。

在be dedicated to結構中，to為介詞，后接動詞時要用動名詞。如：

The organization is dedicated to protecting the environment. 該組織致力于保護環境。

◇a day at a time 得過且過，做一天和尚敲一天鐘

He doesn’t have any beliefs; he just takes a day at a time. 他沒有什么信仰，每天只是得過且過。

【參考譯文】

建你自己的房子

一位上了年紀的木匠準備要退休了，于是他告訴老板說要離開建筑業去與自己的妻子和孩子一起過自由自在的生活。雖然他也不太舍得那每周都會按時入賬的薪水，但他還是決定退休，他相信他們會撐過去。

得知這名優秀員工要離開，老板很是難過，于是他問木匠能否看在個人情份上替他再建一棟房子。木匠答應了，但是隨著時間的推移，人人都看得出他的心已經不在工作上了。他不僅僅使用劣質材料，而且工作三心二意，像這樣來結束自己一生奉獻的事業很是讓人遺憾。

木匠結束工作后，他的老板來檢查房子，然后他給了木匠一把前門鑰匙，告訴他：“這是你的房子，我送給你的禮物。”

木匠震驚了！

他感到非常慚愧，如果早知道這房子是為他自己建的，那他肯定就會用一種完全不同的心態來建這棟房子了。

我們也一樣，自己建造自己的生活，做一天和尚敲一天鐘，從來沒有竭盡全力。然后我們會驚奇地發現，自己必須要住進自己建的這房子。如果可以重來一次的話，我們肯定會換個方式。

但是，事情已經無可挽回了。你就是那個木匠，每天，你都會釘一口釘子，放一塊木板，或者樹一堵墻。曾經有人說過：“生活就是一個’自己動手’工程。”你的態度和你今天的選擇都決定了你明天將要住進去的房子。所以，要明智點“建房”。

【人生啟迪】

其實每個人都是在為自己的未來努力，今天的點點滴滴可能都與自己的未來息息相關，只是我們自己從來都沒意識到，然而等我們意識到時才發現自己已不得不要住進雖是自己建造但自己卻并不滿意的“房子”里，就像這個木匠一樣。所以我們做任何事都要善始善終，堅持是一種品質，是一種美德，是一種讓你老了退休后能住進好“房子”的踏實心情！