詹姆斯·艾倫/James Allen
Calmness of mind is one of the beautiful jewels of wisdom.It is the result of long and patient effort in self-control.Its presence is an in dication of ripened experience,and of a more than ordinary knowledge of the laws and operations of thought.
A man becomes calm in the measure that he understands himself as a t hought evolved being,for such knowledge necessitates the understanding of others as the result of thought,and as he develops a right understan ding,and sees more and more clearly the internal relations of things by the action of cause and effect he ceases to fuss and fume and worry and grieve,and remains poised,steadfast,serene.
The calm man,having learned how to govern himself,knows how to ada pt himself to others;and they,in turn,reverence his spiritual strengt h,and feel that they can learn of him and rely upon him.The more tranq uil a man becomes,the greater is his success,his influence,his power for good.Even the ordinary trader will find his business prosperity inc rease as he develops a greater self-control and equanimity,for people w ill always prefer to deal with a man whose demeanor is strongly equable.
The strong,calm man is always loved and revered.He is like a shade-giving tree in a thirsty land,or a sheltering rock in a storm."Who d oes not love a tranquil heart,a sweet-tempered,balanced life?" It doe s not matter whether it rains or shines,or what changes come to those p ossessing these blessings,for they are always sweet,serene,and calm.That exquisite poise of character,which we call serenity is the last le sson of culture,the fruitage of the soul.It is precious as wisdom,mor e to be desired than gold-yea,than even fine gold.How insignificant mere money seeking looks in comparison with a serene life-a life that d wells in the ocean of truth,beneath the waves,beyond the reach of temp ests,in the eternal calm!
"How many people we know who sour their lives,who ruin all that is sweet and beautiful by explosive tempers,who destroy their poise of cha racter,and make bad blood!It is a question whether the great majority of people do not ruin their lives and mar their happiness by lack of sel f-control.How few people we meet in life who are well balanced,who hav e that exquisite poise which is characteristic of the finished character!"
Yes,humanity surges with uncontrolled passion,is tumultuous with u ngoverned grief,is blown about by anxiety and doubt.Only the wise man,only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified,makes the winds and the storms of the soul obey him.
Tempest-tossed souls,wherever ye may be,under whatsoever condition s ye may live,know this in the ocean of life the isles of blessedness a re smiling,and the sunny shore of your ideal awaits your coming.Keep y our hand firmly upon the helm of thought.In the bark of your soul recli nes the commanding master;he does but sleep;wake him.Self-control is strength;right thought is mastery;calmness is power.Say unto your hea rt "Peace,be still!"
心靈的平靜是智慧寶藏中的一朵奇葩。長久而耐心的自我控製才造就了心靈的平靜。它的出現暗示著成熟的經曆，也是對思想活動規律更深層次的了解。
一個人是否心平氣和，在於他對自己的熟悉程度，因為一定要先了解自己，才能去了解別人；隨著更深入的了解，他會越來越透徹地觀察到事物內部息息相關的因果關係，便會停止驚訝、憤怒、焦慮或憂愁，從而保持一種泰然自若、鎮定、平靜的態度。
沉著冷靜的人已經學會如何調節自己，也知道如何調節自己與他人交往；相應地，別人也會尊重他的人格魅力，並認為他值得學習，可以依靠。一個人越是心若止水，他的成就、影響力和號召力就越顯著。哪怕是一個普通商人，如果在遇到事情時能夠很好地自我控製且臨危不亂，那麽他的生意便會興隆昌盛，因為人們大都傾向於與一個舉止得體、沉著冷靜的人做生意。
人們通常會對堅強、冷靜的人懷有好感和敬意，這種人如同一棵遮蔽烈日的大樹，或是一塊抵抗暴風雨的巨岩。“有什麽人不愛一顆安靜的心，一個溫和、平實的生命呢？”不管是大雨瓢潑、陽光燦爛，還是天翻地覆、命運逆轉，一切都如過眼雲煙，因為這樣的人任何時候都是謙和、冷靜、沉著的。我們稱之為心若止水的平靜性格，是修養的最高境界，也是靈魂之花的碩果。它的寶貴能與智慧相媲美，人對它的期待勝過黃金——是的，即便赤真金也微不足道。在寧靜的生活麵前，追逐名利的行為是多麽渺小——徜徉在真理的海洋中，潛伏在波濤洶湧之下，躲避暴風雨的侵擾，處在永恒的寧靜之中。
“我們身邊的許多人將生活搞得烏七八糟，一切美好的事物包括安靜的生活都被他們的怒火給毀滅了，並殃及後代！目前的困擾是：大多數人是否由於缺乏自我控製而打破了自己的生活，毀壞了原有的幸福呢？在生活中那種沉著冷靜、擁有成熟性格的人，我們能遇到的機率真是小之又小。”
的確，無法控製的**令人躁動不安，無法抑製的無限悲傷令人起伏不定，焦慮和猜疑令人屢受挫折。在心靈的世界中遊刃有餘，唯有聰明的人，唯有掌控並淨化了思想的人才能做到。
經曆過暴風雨考驗的人們，不管你們身在何方，不管你們處境怎樣，你們都要清楚：在生活的海洋中，幸福的島嶼正向你微笑，陽光照耀的理想之地等待著你去開啟。要緊緊握住思想的方向盤，有一個引領你方向的主宰者就在你靈魂的深處。然而他還在沉睡，喚醒他吧。自我控製是力量，正確的思想是優勢，沉著冷靜是能量。要經常對你的心靈說：“平和，安靜！”
1.The calm man,having learned____to govern himself,knows ho w to adapt himself to others;and they,in____,reverence his spiri tual strength,and____that they can learn of him and rely upon him.
2.That exquisite poise____character,which we call serenity i s the____lesson of culture,the fruitage of the____.It is pre cious as wisdom,____to be desired than gold--yea,than even fine go ld.
3.____the wise man,only he whose thoughts are controlled and purified,____make the winds and the storms of the soul obey____.
1.沉著冷靜的人已經學會如何調節自己，也知道如何調節自己與他人交往。
2.我們稱之為心若止水的平靜性格，是修養的最高境界，也是靈魂之花的碩果。
3.要緊緊握住思想的方向盤，有一個引領你方向的主宰者就在你靈魂的深處。