成就伟大人生_没有理想何必远方歌词
时间：2019-01-08 03:17:15 来源：柠檬阅读网 本文已影响 人 
People who are great are those who are in tune[合调子] with the societal values of their time. They’re able to identify the right time and place for the parameters[参数] of success. For greatness to take place it has to carry beyond the year, the decade, or the century; it has to be more than just something superficial[表面的], it has to be able to travel well from one area to another.
Greatness doesn’t always produce immediate success. For example, Herman Melville注1 wrote Moby Dick at the height of his creative achievements, but it didn’t sell well. Unable to support himself as a writer, Melville worked as a minor business clerk. Eventually, the culture caught up with him and his writing became a success.
Henry David Thoreau注2, who wrote the classic Walden, went unnoticed during his life, and died in obscurity[无名].
Because of this gap between the lack of immediate success and eventual recognition, it is often said that great people are ahead of their times. People who are great often seem unique, isolated, or even out of touch because they often represent the beginning of change. As a result, the depth of their contribution and their full worth may not be recognized for as long as 500 years.
A good example of this is Leonardo da Vinci, because many of his inventions and ideas � such as the airplane, the helicopter, roller bearings[滚柱轴承], air-conditioning, and the self-driven car � weren’t even comprehended[理解] until the 20th century technology became available.
There are people who achieve greatness just from their very nature and not from their accomplishments. These people don’t have to write symphonies, paint pictures, or write books. For this type of person, greatness is solely on the inside, through their thoughts and feelings, not through their actions.
Most people who are great don’t make for a dramatic biography. The significance of their lives is not what happens to them or what they produce. Rather, they lead lives of inner silence. They represent the other side of greatness, greatness that’s there without fame or fortune. We don’t think of them as “making it” in societal terms. Yet they have a total commitment to the best of life and the betterment of society.
The world has many “greats” who have only limited contact with the wider world. For example, your generous and kind next-door neighbor who is loved by the whole community may not be remembered “by history” after he or she is gone, but in terms of real personal greatness, his or her ability to increase the value of love in others is second to none. Because this person is able to pass on these unique human qualities to his or her family and friends, he or she does have a positive influence on the world, however small.
What this means is that when you look at great people throughout history, the distinction is not so much between being great and not being great, but rather it should be between greatness manifesting[显现] itself in a small arena of life and in a very large one.
Greatness is normal, it’s natural, it’s necessary, and it’s certainly beneficial for us all, even though it may have little to do with fame or fortune. While success is dependent on external circumstances[条件] and achievements, greatness is an inner contact between the individual and the universe to create and discover deepening qualities of life and how best to express them. Ralph Waldo Emerson注3 wrote, “According to the depth from which you draw your life, such is the depth of your accomplishment, manners, and presence.”
Great people are those who allow greatness to blossom. It’s not so much the kind of activity they’re involved in, be it
music, gardening, raising children, or finding a cure for a disease. It’s the effect they have on all of us. It doesn’t really matter whether they’re well-known or not; great people can create great effects even on a quiet level.
We need greatness in the world more than we need any other single human or natural resource. As we move further into the 21st century, perhaps for the first time in history, we can think about the possibility of an entire society of great individuals. Anyone who is willing to take on the responsibility for his or her own greatness is giving the world the best possible gift.
伟大人物指的是那些能顺应其所处年代的社会价值的人。他们能够辨别出正确的时机和地点等成功参数。成就伟业需要经历年年岁岁的磨练,有时磨练长达一个世纪;伟大并不浮于表面,而是无论在任何区域都能经得起考验的品质。
伟大所带来的成功并不总能立竿见影。例如赫尔曼・梅尔维尔在其创作巅峰时期写下《白鲸》,然而这本小说当时的销量并不好。梅尔维尔无法靠写作养活自己,转而当上了一名小小的商务职员。
最后,时代文化终于赶上了他的思想,他的作品大获成功。亨利・大卫・梭罗写下了经典小说《瓦尔登湖》,生前却不为人知,在籍籍无名中死去。
由于即时功绩与最终认可之间的这道鸿沟,人们常常说伟大人物总是走在时代的最前面。伟人总是显得与众不同,特立独行,甚至不谙时势,因为他们常常代表着变革的开始。因此,他们的深远贡献和完整价值也许要到五百年后才能得到人们的认可。
里昂纳多・达・芬奇便是这方面的好例子。他的许多发明和想法,比如飞机、直升飞机、滚柱轴承、空调和自动驾驶汽车等,直到科技达到20世纪的发展水平才被人们所理解。
有许多人造就伟大是出于自己的天性,而不是来自个人所取得的成就。这些人不一定能写出交响乐、懂得绘画或者写书立著。对于这类人来说,伟大发自内心,出自个人想法和感受,而非通过他们的行动表现出来。
大多数伟人没有跌宕起伏的人生。其生命的重要意义并不是他们所经历的事情或者创造的产物。更确切地说,他们内心平和地过日子。他们所代表的是伟大的另一面,一种不需要名誉和财富的伟大。我们不认为他们属于社会上那些“功成名就”之辈,然而他们对成就美满生活和促进社会进步功不可没。
世界上有很多伟人与外面世界的接触并不多。比如你隔壁那位慷慨仁慈的邻居受到全社区居民的爱戴。而他(她)离世之后未必能名留青史,但是就个人的伟大品质而言,他(她)提高他人互相关爱方面的能力首屈一指。因为这个人能将这些独特的品格传承给家人和朋友,
他(她)就对世界产生了积极影响――不论这些影响多么微不足道。
也就是说,当你纵观历史,对比各位伟人的时候,你会发现他们的区别并不在于是否伟大,而在于究竟是在一个微小还是偌大的人生舞台上表现出伟大精神。
伟大其实很平常、很自然,而且必不可少,即便它可能与名声和财富无甚关系,所有人都能在伟大中受益匪浅。成功依靠外在环境和成就,而伟大则是个人与世界的内在联系,这种联系能够创造和发现埋藏在人生深处的优秀品质以及表现它们的最佳方式。
拉尔夫・沃尔多・爱默生曾经写道:“你对人生规划的深度将成为判断你的成就、言行以及存在的重要性的根据。”
伟大的人是那些允许伟大精神开花结果的人。伟大与他们所参与的活动关系不大,无论是玩音乐、种花草、养孩子或者治愈病痛。他们给我们带来的影响才是关键。他们是否出名并不重要;伟大的人即使是在无名的岗位上也能创造出巨大的影响。
比起任何一个人或者任意一种自然资源,我们这个世界更需要的是伟大精神。随着我们向21世纪逐步迈进,这也许是有史以来人们首次看到由伟大个人组成一个社会的可能性。每一位愿意为自己的伟大品质担负责任的人,都可能会为这个世界送上一份最棒的礼物。
注1:赫尔曼・梅尔维尔(1819-1891),美国作家、诗人,他以其海上经历为基础写成寓言杰作《白鲸》(Moby Dick,1851),这部小说被认为是美国最伟大的小说之一。他的其他作品包括小说《皮埃尔》(Pierre,1852)、《比利伯德》(Billy Budd,1924)、短篇小说散文集《广场故事》(The Piazza Tales,1856)等。
注2:亨利・戴维・梭罗(1817-1862),美国散文家、诗人、自然主义者、改革家、哲学家,是19世纪美国思想史上一个有创见、最具有世界影响力的人物,代表作包括《论公民的不服从》(Civil Disobedience,1849)和 《瓦尔登湖》(Walden,1854)等。
注3:拉尔夫・瓦尔多・爱默生(1803-1882),美国散文作家、思想家、诗人。其思想被称为超验主义的核心,他本人则被冠以“美国的文艺复兴领袖”之美誉。
