心灵鸡汤英文Word下载.docx

心灵鸡汤英文Word下载.docx

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tacceptthis."

Thestrangerreplied"

Youdon'

thaveachoice,"

closedthedoorandleft.

Obviouslythatexperiencehadaprofoundimpactonmylife.IpromisedmyselfthatsomedayIwoulddowellenoughfinanciallysothatIcoulddothesamethingforotherpeople.BythetimeIwaseighteenIhadcreatedmyThanksgivingritual.Iliketodothingsspontaneously,soIwouldgooutshoppingandbuyenoughfoodforoneortwofamilies.ThenIwoulddresslikeadeliveryboy,gotothepoorestneighborhoodandjustknockonadoor.IalwaysincludedanotethatexplainedmyThanksgivingexperienceasakid.Thenoteconcluded,"

AllthatIaskinreturnisthatyoutakegoodenoughcareofyourselfsothatsomedayyoucandothesamethingforsomeoneelse."

IhavereceivedmorefromthisannualritualthanIhavefromanyamountofmoneyI'

veeverearned.

SeveralyearsagoIwasinNewYorkCitywithmynewwifeduringThanksgiving.Shewassadbecausewewerenotwithourfamily.NormallyshewouldbehomedecoratingthehouseforChristmas,butwewerestuckhereinahotelroom.

Isaid,"

Honey,look,whydon'

twedecoratesomelivestodayinsteadofsomeoldtrees?

WhenItoldherwhatIalwaysdoonThanksgiving,shegotexcited.Isaid,"

Let'

sgosomeplacewherewecanreallyappreciatewhoweare,whatwearecapableofandwhatwecanreallygive.Let'

sgotoHarlem!

Sheandseveralofmybusinesspartnerswhowerewithusweren'

treallyenthusiasticabouttheidea.Iurgedthem:

"

C'

mon,let'

sgotoHarlemandfeedsomepeopleinneed.Wewon'

tbethepeoplewhoaregivingitbecausethatwouldbeinsulting.We'

lljustbethedeliverypeople.We'

llgobuyenoughfoodforsixorsevenfamiliesforthirtydays.We'

vegotenough.Let'

sjustgodoit!

That'

swhatThanksgivingreallyis:

Givinggoodthanks,noteatingturkey.C'

mon.Let'

sgodoit!

BecauseIhadtodoaradiointerviewfirst,Iaskedmypartnerstogetusstartedbygettingavan.WhenIreturnedfromtheinterview,theysaid,"

Wejustcan'

tdoit.TherearenovansinallofNewYork.Therent-a-carplacesarealloutofvans.They'

rejustnotavailable."

Look,thebottomlineisthatifwewantsomething,wecanmakeithappen!

Allwehavetodoistakeaction.ThereareplentyofvanshereinNewYorkCity.Wejustdon'

thaveone.Let'

sgogetone."

Theyinsisted,"

We'

vecalledeverywhere.Therearen'

tany."

Lookdownatthestreet.Lookdownthere.Doyouseeallthosevans?

Theysaid,"

Yeah,weseethem."

sgogetone,"

Isaid.FirstItriedwalkingoutinfrontofvansastheyweredrivingdownthestreet.IlearnedsomethingaboutNewYorkdriversthatday:

Theydon'

tstop;

theyspeedup.

Thenwetriedwaitingbythelight.We'

dgooverandknockonthewindowandthedriverwouldrollitdown,lookingatuskindofleery,andI'

dsay,"

Hi.SincetodayisThanksgiving,we'

dliketoknowifyouwouldbewillingtodriveustoHarlemsowecanfeedsomepeople."

Everytimethedriverwouldlookawayquickly,furiouslyrollupthewindowandpullawaywithoutsayinganything.

Eventuallywegotbetteratasking.We'

dknockonthewindow,they'

drollitdownandwe'

TodayisThanksgiving.We'

dliketohelpsomeunderprivilegedpeople,andwe'

recuriousifyou'

dbewillingtodriveustoanunderprivilegedareathatwehaveinmindhereinNewYorkCity."

Thatseemedslightlymoreeffectivebutstilldidn'

twork.Thenwestartedofferingpeople$100todriveus.Thatgotusevencloser,butwhenwetolthemtotakeustoHarlem,theysaidnoanddroveoff.

Wehadtalkedtoabouttwodozenpeoplewhoallsaidno.Mypartnerswerereadytogiveupontheproject,butIsaid,"

It'

sthelawofaverages:

Somebodyisgoingtosayyes."

Sureenough,theperfectvandroveup.Itwasperfectbecauseitwasextrabigandwouldaccommodateallofus.Wewentup,knockedonthewindowandweaskedthedriver,"

Couldyoutakeustoadisadvantagedarea?

We'

llpayyouahundreddollars."

Thedriversaid,"

thavetopayme.I'

dbehappytotakeyou.Infact,I'

lltakeyoutosomeofthemostdifficultspotsinthewholecity."

Thenhereachedoverontheseatandgrabbedhishat.Asheputiton,Inoticedthatitsaid,"

SalvationArmy."

Theman'

snamewasCaptainJohnRondonandhewastheheadoftheSalvationArmyintheSouthBronx.

Weclimbedintothevaninabsoluteecstasy.Hesaid,"

lltakeyouplacesyounevereventhoughtofgoing.Buttellmesomething.Whydoyoupeoplewanttodothis?

ItoldhimmystoryandthatIwantedtoshowgratitudeforallthatIhadbygivingsomethingback.

CaptainRondontookusintopartsoftheSouthBronxthatmakeHarlemlooklikeBeverlyHills.Whenwearrived,wewentintoastorewhereweboughtalotoffoodandsomebaskets.Wepackedenoughforsevenfamiliesforthirtydays.Thenwewentouttostartfeedingpeople.Wewenttobuildingswheretherewerehalfadozenpeoplelivinginoneroom:

squatters"

withnoelectricityandnoheatinthedeadofwintersurroundedbyrats,cockroachesandthesmellofurine.Itwasbothanastonishingrealizationthatpeoplelivedthiswayandatrulyfulfillingexperiencetomakeevenasmalldifference.

Yousee,youcanmakeanythinghappenifyoucommittoitandtakeaction.Miracleslikethishappeneveryday-eveninacitywhere"

therearenovans."

AnthonyRobbins

ThereAreNoVans.ReprintedbypermissionofAnthonyRobbins

TheBaggyYellowShirt

byPatriciaLorenz

Thebaggyyellowshirthadlongsleeves,fourextralargepocketstrimmedinblackthreadandsnapsupthefront.Notterriblyattractive,bututilitarianwithoutadoubt.IfounditinDecember1963duringmyfreshmanyearincollegewhenIwashomeonChristmasbreak.

PartofthefunofvacationathomewasthechancetogothroughMom'

shoardofrummage,destinedforthelessfortunate.Sheregularlyscouredthehouseforclothes,beddingandhousewarestogiveaway,andthecollectionwasalwaysstoredinpaperbagsonthefloorofthefronthallcloset.

LookingthroughMom'

scollectiononeday,Icameacrossthisoversizedyellowshirt,slightlyfadedfromyearsofwearbutstillindecentshape.

Justthethingtowearovermyclothesduringartclass!

Isaidtomyself.

You'

renottakingthatoldthing,areyou?

Momsaidwhenshesawmepackingit."

IworethatwhenIwaspregnantwithyourbrotherin1954!

sperfectforartclass,Mom.Thanks!

Islippeditintomysuitcasebeforeshecouldobject.

Theyellowshirtbecameapartofmycollegewardrobe.Ilovedit.Allduringcollege,itstayedwithme,alwayscomfortabletothrowovermyclothesduringmessyprojects.TheunderarmseamshadtobereinforcedbeforeIgraduated,buttherewasplentyofwearinthatoldgarment.

AftergraduationImovedtoDenverandworetheshirtthedayImovedintomyapartment.ThenIworeitonSaturdaymorningswhenIcleaned.Thosefourlargepocketsonthefront-twobreastpocketsandtwoathiplevel-madeasuperplacetocarrydustcloths,waxandpolish.

Thenextyear,Imarried.WhenIbecamepregnant,Ifoundtheyellowshirttuckedinadrawerandworeitduringthosebig?

bellydays.ThoughImissedsharingmyfirstpregnancywithMomandDadandtherestofmyfamily,sincewewereinColoradoandtheywereinIllinois,thatshirthelpedremindmeoftheirwarmthandprotection.IsmiledandhuggedtheshirtwhenIrememberedthatMotherhadwornitwhenshewaspregnant.

By1969,aftermydaughter'

sbirth,theshirtwasatleast1yearsold.ThatChristmas,Ipatchedoneelbow,washedandpressedtheshirt,wrappeditinholidaypaperandsentittoMom.Smiling,Ituckedanoteinoneofthepocketssaying:

Ihopethisfits.I'

msureitwilllookgreatonyou!

WhenMomwrotetothankmeforher"

real"

gifts,shesaidtheyellowshirtwaslovely.Shenevermentioneditagain.

Thenextyear,myhusband,daughterandImovedfromDenvertoSt.LouisandwestoppedatMomandDad'

shouseinRockFalls,Illinois,topickupsomefurniture.Dayslater,whenweuncratedthekitchentable,Inoticedsomethingyellowtapedtoitsbottom.Theshirt!

Andsothepatternwasset.

Onournextvisithome,IsecretlyplacedtheshirtbetweenthemattressandboxspringsofMomandDad'

sbed.Idon'

tknowhowlongittookhertofindit,butalmosttwoyearspassedbeforeIgotitback.

Bythenourfamilyhadgrown.

ThistimeMomgotevenwithme.Sheputitunderthebaseofourliving?

roomlamp,knowingthatasamotherofthreelittleones,housecleaningandmovinglampswouldnotbeeverydayevents...~.

WhenIfinallygottheshirt,Iworeitoftenwhilerefinishing"

earlymarriage"

furniturethatIfoundatrummagesales.Thewalnutstainsontheshirtsimplyaddedmorecharactertoallitshistory.

Unfortunately,ourliveswerefullofstains,too.

Mymarriagehadbeenfailingalmostfromthebeginning.Afteranumberofattemptsatmarriagecounseling,myhusbandandIdivorcedin1975.ThethreechildrenandIpreparedtomovebacktoIllinoistobeclosertotheemotionalsupportoffamilyandfriends.

AsIpacked,adeepdepressionovertookme.IrwonderedifIcouldmakeitonmyownwiththreesmallchildrentoraise.IwonderedifIwouldfindajob.AlthoughIhadn'

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