優雅的“退場”

Many believe that making a remarkable entrance is of the utmost importance， because “you only get one chance to make a first impression，” right？ I think we’ve all been preached that clichéd idiom more times than we’d like to remember. But what about making an exit？ When’s the right time？ What will be lost or gained from bidding either a premature or overdue adieu to a given circumstance？

I’ve been getting better and better at timing my exits， like Indiana Jones eluding a massive landslide， with just enough time to reach back and grab my trusty hat and whip. Except， in the real world， you don’t need lightning quick reflexes or a diary of anthropological history like “Indy” had； all you have to do is trust your gut instincts and commit to change， because an exit is just the prelude to a new beginning.

For this month’s first feature， Zarrin Darnell-Martin tells unsure students to Drop Out of University and Tune in to Yourselves if you want to discover your true potential. Next， in Why I Told My Daughter to Quit Her Job， Holly Robinson doesn’t get mad when her daughter wants to quit her highpaying environmental engineering job， because she realizes that there is void inside us all that money and power simply cannot fill. And Barbara Ross takes a stroll down memory lane in My Mother Had to Get Rid of a Lifetime of Treasures， as she shares the greatest gift of all with her mother， in the process of moving her into assisted living， by helping find a loving home for all her prized possessions.

So， don’t be afraid to bid a hasty retreat and say goodbye to part of your life， because it’s just another turn of the page， signaling the start of a brand new chapter， in a story with boundless possibilities.

許多人都相信，有一個引人注目的“進場”至關重要，因為“你只有一次機會打造自己的第一印象”，對吧？我想我們所有人都曾被這個陳舊俗語洗腦過，次數多到我們都記不起來。但“退場”又怎樣呢？何時最合適？向一個既定場景作一次提早或遲來的辭別，從中有何得失呢？

我自己在控制“退場”時機方面掌握得越來越好了，就像印第安納·瓊斯躲避一場嚴重的山崩那樣，我有足夠的時間回去拿走我忠誠的帽子和皮鞭。只不過在現實世界，你無需有閃電般的快速反應能力，或者如“印第”般擁有一本人類學歷史的日記；你所需要做的是相信你的直覺本能，投身于變化之中，因為一次“退場”就是一個引領新開始的序幕。

本月的第一篇主題文章，扎琳·達內爾—馬丁告訴那些舉棋不定的學生：要是你想發掘自己真正的潛能，那就《放下學業，投奔自我》。接著，在《“跳槽”有理》一文中，霍莉·羅賓森在其女兒想辭掉高薪的環境工程工作時，并沒有大發雷霆，因為她意識到在我們心中有些空洞是金錢和權力所無法填補的。而在《“珍愛”有所歸》一文中，芭芭拉·羅斯在記憶的小道上漫漫而行。在母親搬至老人院的過程中，通過協助母親為那些“無價之寶”找到一個溫馨的家，她與母親分享最珍貴的贈禮。

所以，別為了一次匆匆的“撤退”和告別人生的一部分而感到恐懼，因為那只是充滿無限可能的人生故事中的又一次翻頁，標志著全新一章的開始。