生活就是一項DIY工程

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer of his plans to leave the house building business and live a more leisurely life with his wife and his extended family. He would miss the paycheck， but he needed to retire. They could get by （通過）.

一位上了年紀的木匠打算退休了。他把自己的想法告訴了老板。木匠說自己打算離開房屋建筑這個行業，因為他想和妻子、家人一起享受更悠閑的生活。雖然他會失去這份收入，但他的確該退休了。至于生活還可以維持下去。

The employer 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 in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy （劣質的） workmanship and used inferior （差的，次等的） materials. It was an unfortunate way to end his career.

老板看到木匠要走了，感到很難過。他問木匠能否幫他個忙再建一座房子。木匠同意了，但他顯然有點兒心不在焉了。他失去了往日的工作熱情，他的工藝粗糙，選用低劣的材料。就這樣，他以令人遺憾的方式結束了自己的職業生涯。

When the carpenter finished his work and the employer came to inspect the house and handed the front-door key to the capenter. “This is your house，” he said， “My gift to you.”

當木匠干完活，老板來驗收時，他把房子前門的鑰匙遞給木匠，然后說：“這是我送給你的禮物。”

What a shock！What a shame！If he had only known he was building his own house， he would have done it all so differently. Now he had to live in the house he had built none too well.

木匠先是感到震驚，然后又感到羞辱。如果早知道他在蓋自己的房子，他的干法會截然不同。現在他不得不住在這座不能令他感到滿意的房子里。

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted （分心） way， reacting rather than acting， willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized， we would have done it differently.

其實我們每個人都曾面對和這位木匠一樣的情形：我們沒能精心的打造自己的生活，我們寧愿消極的等待，也不愿積極的爭取；我們寧愿中途放棄，也不愿追求完美。在關鍵時刻，我們不能全力以赴。因此，當我們生活在自己所建造的房子里，注視著眼前的一切時，我們不禁大吃一驚。如果我們能意識到自己在干什么，我們的人生會大不一樣。

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail， place a board， or erect （樹立，建筑） a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more， that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity （尊嚴）. The plaque （匾） on the wall says， “Life is a do-it-yourself project”. Who could say it more clearly？

試著把自己設想成那個木匠，再認真的想一想你的房子。實際上，你每天都在為自己的房子而努力：釘一個釘子，放置一塊木板，砌一面墻。你在用自己的智慧去建造它。同樣，你能打造的生命只有一次。即使你的生命只剩下一天，你也應該高雅而體面的度過它，墻上的飾板仿佛在告訴你：“生命是一項自己打造的工程。”這恐怕是對生命做出的最好的詮釋！