The Happy Door
快乐之门
Happiness is like a pebble dropped into a pool to setin motion an ever-widening circle of ripples. As Stevenson has said, beinghappy is a duty.
There is no exact definition of the word happiness.Happy people are happy for all sorts of reasons. The key is not wealth orphysical well-being, since we find beggars, invalids and so-called failures,who are extremely happy.
Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend. Butstaying happy is an accomplishment, a triumph of soul and character. It is notselfish to strive for it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.
Being unhappy is like an infectious disease. It causespeople to shrink away from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone, miserableand embittered. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at firstglance, ridiculous; if you don’t feel happy, pretend to be!
It works. Before long you will find that instead ofrepelling people, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is tobe the center of wider and wider circles of good will.
Then the make-believe becomes a reality. You possessthe secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service toothers.
Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit,opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged with grateful friends.
快乐就像一块为了激起阵阵涟漪而丢进池塘的小石头。正如史蒂文森所说，快乐是一种责任。
快乐这个词没有确切的定义，快乐的人快乐的理由多种多样。快乐的关键并不是财富或身体健
康，因为我们发现有些乞丐、残疾人和所谓的失败者也都非常快乐。
快乐是一种意外的收获，但保持快乐却是一种成就、一种灵性的胜利。努力追寻快乐并不自私，
实际上，这是我们对自己和他人应尽的责任。
不快乐就像传染病，它使得人们都躲避不快乐的人。不快乐的人很快就会发现自己处于孤独、
悲惨、痛苦的境地。然而，有一种简单得看似荒谬的治病良方：如果你不快乐，就假装你很快乐！
这很有效。不久你就会发现，别人不在躲避着你了，相反，你开始吸引别人了。你会发觉，做
一块能激起好意涟漪的小石头有多么值得。
然而假装就会变成了现实。你拥有了使你心灵平静的秘密，会因帮助别人而忘我。
一旦使你认识到快乐是一种责任并使快乐成为习惯，通向不可思议的乐园的大门就会向你敞开，
那里满是感激你的朋友。
特别提示：本文选自《生而为赢-新东方英语背诵美文30篇》，如需，请购买正版图书。