RACE 種族
一個德州人、一個俄羅斯人及一個紐約客一起到倫敦的一家餐館。服務員說：「對不起，如果你們想要吃牛排的話，恐怕沒有，因為缺貨。」
德州人說：「什麼是『缺貨』？」
俄羅斯人說：「什麼是『牛排』？」
紐約客說：「什麼是『對不起』？」
A Texan, a Russian and a New Yorker go into a restaurant in London. The waiter says, “Excuse me, but if you wanted the steak you might not get one as there is a shortage.”
The Texan said, “What's a shortage?”
The Russian said, “What's a steak?”
The New Yorker said, “What's excuse me?”
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在1970年代時，有一艘運著肉品的船抵達蘇維埃共合國。城裏的人們排隊等著領配給品。約一小時後，一個人從商店裏出來宣佈說：「同志們，很抱歉，肉不夠發給每一位，所以猶太人必須離開。」所以排隊中的猶太人很不滿地抱怨離開。
又一小時後，這人又出來宣佈說：「同志們，很抱歉肉還是不夠發給每個人，因此凡不是共產黨員者，都必須要離開。」非黨員要離開時，抱怨就更多了。
幾個小時後，這人又出來宣佈說：「同志們，很抱歉，肉還是不夠發給每個人，因此1956年以前還未入黨者，必須要離開。」比較年輕的黨員帶著抱怨離開了。有一些老人仍在排隊。
又幾個小時後，天越來越黑、越來越冷。同一個人又出來宣佈說：「同志們，很抱歉，肉沒有，請回家吧！」
一個排隊中的老婦人對隔壁的人說：「看吧！就像我說的，猶太人總是得到上等的對待。」
In the 1970s a shipment of meat arrives in a town in the Soviet Union. The townspeople line up at the town store to wait to be given their rations. After about an hour, a man comes out of the store and announces, “Comrades, I'm sorry to tell you, but there isn't enough meat for everyone, so the Jews have to leave.” The Jews in the line leave grumbling.
About an hour later, the man comes out of the store and announces, “Comrades, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there isn't enough meat for everyone, so anyone who is not a member of the Communist party will have to leave.” More grumbling as the non-Party members depart.
Another hour goes by and the man comes out of the store again and announces, “Comrades, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there isn't enough meat for everyone in the line, so anyone who wasn't a member of the Party before 1956 has to leave.” More grumbling as all the younger Party members leave. A few old people remain in the line.
Another hour goes by. It's now getting dark and it's cold. The same man comes out of the store and announces, “Comrades, I'm sorry to tell you this, but there isn't any meat. Go home.”
One old lady in the line turns to her neighbor and says...”See? It's like I told you. The Jews always get the best treatment!”
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RELIGION 宗教
有一天，一名男子在山中旅行徒步時，來到一個隱士的小屋他已經與其他人分離。他奏響了隱士與他交談告訴他的訪問者，是完全自給自足，以滿足自己的需要。他說：「我將樹木和hewed日誌連同木衣夾放在我的小屋。我長大或打獵的食物都是我自己的，我相處得很好。我不需要任何人。」
該名男子看了他一陣，然後說，「告訴我，你是用甚樣懇樹木造你的小屋？」
隱士回答說：「用我的斧頭。」
然後，客人說，「一股人製作斧頭和其他的工具不是採用礦的鐵來做的嗎？你的衣服怎麼樣，都是你做的嗎？」
「沒有，」隱士回答說，「我要旅行外約一年一次獲得新衣服。」
「那麼，」那人說了，「您打獵時怎樣使用子彈在你的槍，你的食物，以及對槍本身又怎樣？你難道不用依賴別人嗎？」
「嗯，」隱士不情願地說，「我想是這樣。」
「事實上是，」客人說，「你是不是想作獨立的人。即使你能保持自己當任何事情完全沒有發生過，我們已經提過，你還是忘記了一個重要的事情，你永遠無法提供或支持自己。」
「那是什麼嗎？」隱士問。
那人看著他的臉，說，「你自己的生命。」於是隱士沉默地，幾乎沒有什麼可說的。
One day a man was hiking in the mountains when he came upon the hut of a hermit who had isolated himself from other human beings. He struck up a conversation with the hermit who told the visitor that he was completely self-sufficient to meet his own needs. He said, “I cut the trees and hewed the logs for my cabin, and I put it together with wooden pegs. I grow or hunt all my own food, and I get along just fine. I don’t need anybody else.”
The man looked at him for a moment, then said, “Tell me, how did you cut the trees you used for your cabin?”
The hermit replied, “With my axe.”
Then the visitor said, “But wasn’t someone else responsible for making that axe and your other tools, and for mining the iron that was used to make them? What about your clothes, do you make all of them?”
“No,” replied the hermit, “I have to make a trip outside about once a year to get new clothes.”
“Then,” said the man again, “what about the shells that you use in your gun when you hunt your food, and what about the gun itself? Weren’t you dependent on someone else for both?”
“Well,” said the hermit reluctantly, “I guess so.”
“The truth is,” said the visitor, “that you are not as independent of others as you like to think. Even if you could sustain yourself completely without any of the things we’ve mentioned, you’re still forgetting one vital thing which you could never supply or maintain by yourself.”
“What’s that?” asked the hermit.
Looking him full in the face, the man said, "Your own life." Whereupon the hermit fell silent and had little else to say. (from Illustrations of Bible Truths # 771)
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我從來沒有經歷過痛苦是沒有變成一首詩。
German poet Goethe said, “I never experienced affliction that did not turn into a poem.”
(from Illustrations of Bible Truths # 784)
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中國儒家的人觀，只著重從人與人的倫常關係看人；佛家的人觀，偏重從人與大自然的關係論人；希臘的人觀卻只就人與自己的關係 (即靈魂與身體) 而看人。所有這些思想，雖獲得一鱗半爪的真哩，但卻忽略了一個至基要的問題：就是人與神的關係。 蘇穎睿, 委身 ─ 生命的挑戰, 11頁____
六歲的桃樂西有個比她年輕的玩伴，其父母是基督科學教徒。有一天，她說：「媽媽，你知道嗎？作為一個基督科學教徒比任何一切都好。」媽媽回問說：「為什麼呢？」
桃樂西說：「哦！茱莉亞解釋給我聽，她說，如果你對一個小女孩感到生氣，然後你把她打了一噸，如果你是基督科學教徒，你不用為此向她道歉，因為這傷不了她。」
Dorothy, who is six, has a playmate younger than herself whose parents are Christian Scientists. One day she said:
“Mother, do you know that it is better to be a Christian Scientist than anything else?”
Mother asked “Why?” and Dorothy said:
“Well, Julia has ‘splained it to me. If you get cross with another little girl, and you knock her down, if you are a Christian Scientist you won’t have to apologize to her, because it won’t hurt her any.” (More Toasts, Gertrude Stein)
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有一個古老的猶太故事說到一個拉比和學生討論萬物被創造的目的和意義。拉比對他們說：「神所創造的萬物都有他的目的和理由，所以，都是有意義的。」
有個學生沾沾自喜地說：「就此來看，那些否認神存在的異端又有什麼目的呢？」拉比回答說：「問得好，異端的確有其目的。因為當你面對有需要的人，你應該想像沒有神可以幫忙，而唯有你自己可以滿足這人的需要。」
There’s an old Jewish tale of a rabbi discussing with his students the purpose and meaning of everything in Creation. “Everything in God’s Creation is there for a purpose and a reason, therefore it has meaning,” the rabbi told them.
“In that case,” asked a student smugly, “what’s the purpose of heresy, of denying the existence of God?” “Ah, well asked,” the rabbi replied. “heresy is indeed purposeful. For when you are confronted by another who is in need, you should imagine that there is no God to help, but that you alone can meet this person’s needs.” Appleseeds.org
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統計那些高度憤世嫉俗(或玩世不恭)的人在各年齡層中所佔的比重：
18-29歲的人，佔45%；30-39歲的人，佔59%；
40-55歲的人，佔50%；56-64歲的人，佔47%；65歲以上，佔40%。
Percent by age saying they are highly cynical:
18-29 - 45%
30-39 - 59%
40-55 - 50%
56-64 - 47%
65 and over - 40%
(Times Mirror Center for the People and the Press, USA Today 6/27/95)
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十九世紀的英國浪漫派詩人柯爾雷基，有一天與朋友談論兒童教育的問題。他朋友說，他認為兒童不必施予任何宗教的教育，原因是兒童的心靈不應受大中引導定於某一方向，產生偏見，應該讓他成長足以明辨是非時，才
自由的選擇自己的宗教信仰。柯爾雷基不贊同，但他默默不語。
過了一會兒，他邀朋友參觀他的花園。花圃裡雜草叢生，沒有花，那個朋友驚訝的注視他說：「這怎麼是花園？只是一片雜草而已！」
「對啊！你懂了吧？」柯爾雷基說：「我不限制花草的生長自由，我只是讓花草自由發展，選擇自己生長的方式與機會。」事實上，花園之花草與孩子心靈花園之花草相像，需要有方向性、計劃性的栽培，才能有果效的成長，否則必然雜草叢生凌亂不堪。
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Quotes引證 :
有一句常話說，憤世嫉俗者說：“過去沒有意義，現在是個錯覺，未來沒有希望。”
It’s been said that cynics say the past has no meaning, the present is delusion, and the future holds no hope. (Quotable Quotations 93)
科學沒有宗教是不中用的，宗教沒有科學是瞎的。
Science without religion is lame, religion without science is blind. Albert Einstein
偏見與信念之間的差別在於，你可以解釋一個信念而不致發狂。
The difference between a prejudice and a conviction is you can explain a conviction without getting mad.
人會為了宗教爭吵； 為了宗教而寫； 為了宗教而戰；為了宗教而死； 做任何事物，除了--為了宗教而活。
Men will wrangle for religion; write for it; fight for it; die for it; anything but--live for it. Charles Caleb Colton
假若一個宗教，不能給于任何東西，不需付上代價，沒有損失，是無價值的。
A religion that gives nothing, costs nothing, and suffers nothing, is worth nothing. Martin Luther.
在所有壞的人中，虔誠的壞的人是最壞的。
Of all bad men religious bad men are the worst. C.S. Lewis
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RESPONSIBILITY 責任
有一天，一位潛水員正在海拔20尺以下享受著海底世界。他看見一個人潛水潛到與他一樣深，卻沒有穿潛水套裝。
那位潛水員再往下20尺，但那個人幾分鐘後也一樣潛到那裏。於是，那位潛水員再往下25尺，但那個人幾分鐘後也一樣潛到那裏。那位潛水員感到很納悶，便拿出防水的寫字板，寫道：「您是如何在沒有裝備下，潛到如此之深的呢？」
那個人拿起寫字板，擦掉潛水員所寫的，然後寫道：「我正在溺水，您真儍！」
One day a diver was enjoying the aquatic world 20 feet below sea level. He noticed a guy at the same depth he was, but he had on no scuba gear whatsoever.
The diver went below another 20 feet, but the guy joined him a few minutes later. The diver went below 25 feet, but minutes later, the same guy joined him.
This confused the diver, so he took out a waterproof chalk-and-board set, and wrote, “How are you able to stay under this deep without equipment?” The guy took the board and chalk, erased what the diver had written, and wrote, “I'M DROWNING, YOU MORON!!!”
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無論你生活的工作是什麼，做好它。 一個人應該把他的工作做好到一個地步，以至於活的人、死的人、甚至還未出生的人都不能做得更好。 如果是一個街道清洁工，做打掃街道的工作就像米開朗基羅畫一幅畫一樣，像莎士比亞寫一首詩，像貝多芬作一支樂曲一般；街道清掃得那樣好，以至於所有天上和地上的群體都不得不暫停而說，“有一位街道清洁工生活在這裡，他清掃的工作做得如此之好”。
Whatever your life’s work is, do it well. A man should do his job so well that the living, the dead and the unborn could do it no better. If it falls your lot to be a street sweeper, sweep streets like Michelangelo painted pictures, like Shakespeare wrote poetry, like Beethoven composed music; sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will have to pause and say, “Here lived a great street sweeper, who swept his job well.” Martin Luther King, Jr. (Readers’ Digest 4/92)
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有一次一位女士對俄國的國王抱怨。 她說，“我的丈夫對我不好。”國王回答，“那不關我的事。”然後那婦女說，“是，但他也說你的壞話”。國王就說，“那不關你的事。”
A lady once made a compliant to the king of Russia. She said, “My husband is treating me badly.” The king replied, “That’s none of my business.” The woman then said, “Yes, but he speaks badly of you, too.” The king said then, “That is none of your business.”
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有一對兄弟，他們的家主在八十層樓。
有一天他們出去爬山，回家的時候，卻發現大樓停電了！ 雖然他們揹著一大包的行李，但看來沒什麼選擇，於是哥哥對弟弟說：「我們爬樓梯上去吧！」
於是，他們就揹著一大包行李開始往上爬。 到了二十樓的時候，他們開始累了！ 哥哥告訴弟弟說：「包包太重了，這樣吧！我們把它放在二十樓，先爬上去，等電來了再坐電梯下來拿。」，弟弟說：「好！你真聰明！」，於是他們就把包包放在二十樓，繼續往上爬。卸下了沈重的包袱，輕鬆多了！他們一路有說有笑地往上爬。
但好景不常，到了四十樓，兩人實在累了，想到只爬了一半，往前看，竟還有四十樓要爬，兩人開始互相抱怨，指責對方不注意停電公告，才會落得如此下場。他們邊吵邊爬，就這樣一路到了六十樓。 到了六十樓，也許是累得連吵架的力氣都沒有了，哥哥對弟弟說：「只剩二十層樓了， 我們就不要吵了，默默地爬完它吧！」
於是他們安靜地繼續走，終於，八十樓到了！到了家門口，哥哥擺出了一個很帥的姿勢：「弟弟，開門！」，弟弟說：「別鬧了！鑰匙不是在你那兒嗎？」
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Quotes引證 :
成長的第一階段在於身體方面，一般到18歲發展成熟。第二階段在於心智方面，這需要花多幾年的時間成長。第三階段，也是最後的階段，則決定於你為前兩個階段盡了多少責任。
The first stage of growth is Physical and is usually developed around 18 years of age. The second stage is mental and takes several more years to develop. The third, and final, stage of growth occurs when you take responsibility for the first two stages. Frank Delessio
如果你對自己不在乎，那也很困難去在乎別人。
If you don’t matter to you, it’s hard to matter to others. Malcolm Forbes.
在我們的社會中有三種人： 1.無法看見或者拒絕看見問題的那些人； 2. 看見問題，但因他們不是問題的製造者所以責備其它人的那些人； 3.最後，看見了問題，儘管他們不是問題的製造者，但願意承擔起責任去解決問題的那些人。
There are three kinds of people in our society: those who can’t see or refuse to see the problems; those who see the problems and because they didn’t personally create them are content to blame someone else; and those who see the problems and though they didn’t create them are willing to assume personal responsibility for solving them. John Perkins
PRIDE – Personal Responsibility in Daily Events
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