双语有声阅读：The Happy door

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The Happy door

 

Happiness is like a pebble¹ dropped into a pool to set in motion an ever-widening circle of ripples². As Stevenson has said, being happy 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 or physical well-being³, since we find beggars, invalids⁴ and so-called failures, who are extremely happy.

Being happy is a sort of unexpected dividend⁵. But staying happy is an accomplishment⁶, a triumph of soul and character. It is not selfish to strive for it. It is, indeed, a duty to ourselves and others.

 

Being unhappy is like an infectious disease. It causes people to shrink away from the sufferer. He soon finds himself alone, miserable⁷ and embittered⁸. There is, however, a cure so simple as to seem, at first glance, ridiculous; if you don’t feel happy, pretend to be!

 

It works. Before long you will find that instead of repelling⁹ people, you attract them. You discover how deeply rewarding it is to be the center of wider and wider circles of good will.

 

Then the make-believe becomes a reality. You possess the secret of peace of mind, and can forget yourself in being of service to others.

Being happy, once it is realized as a duty and established as a habit, opens doors into unimaginable gardens thronged¹⁰ with grateful friends.

 

快乐之门

 

快乐就像一块为了激起阵阵涟漪而丢进池塘的小石头。正好史蒂文森所说，快乐是一种责任。

快乐这个词并没有确切的定义，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，别人不再躲着你了，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。

 

然后假装就变成了现实。你拥有了使心灵平静的秘密，会因帮助他人而忘我。

一旦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。

 

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