The Unearned Things

不劳而获的东西

Over the fast year I have read lots of material on self-improvement and success. One common theme I found in almost everything I read was an emphasis on gratitude¹. In an effort to increase gratitude in my life, I have listed the top 5 things that have been given to me for nothing:

去年我看了很多关于自我修养和成功的材料，我发现差不多所有的材料都有一个共同点，那就是强调感恩。为了增强我在生活中的感恩意识，我列出了五个对我来讲最重要的不劳所获。

1 .My Car

1.我的车

When my Gramma bought a new car, she sold her 1997 Ford² Tauras to me for $1 .A white Tauras isn't exactly the coolest car on the block, but I have driven it for 7 years with minimal³ maintenance⁴ costs. After 14 years and 100,000 miles, it still gets me where i need to go

当我的奶奶买新车的时候，她把她原先的1997年产的福特金牛座轿车以一美元的价格卖给了我。白色金牛座虽不是我们那个街区最酷的一辆车，但它却为我效力七年，也没花多少维护费用。在它服役14年、跑了10万英里路之后，它现在仍然可以带我去任何我想去的地方。

2. My Education

2.我的教育

I was fortunate enough to have great parents who decided⁵ at a young age to save money for my education. 1 graduated from Purdue University in 2009 with no student loans and $0 paid by me towards my tuition⁶. They also paid my rent all four years. The only thing I had to do was graduate on time. L know that most people don't get an amazing deal like this and for that I am grateful.

我非常幸运能有一对伟大的父母，他们在我很小的时候就开始为我的教育存钱。一直到2009年我从普渡大学毕业，我没有任何学生贷款，也从未自己付过一分学费。他们甚至还为我支付了四年的房租，而唯一需要我做的事就是按时毕业而已。我知道很多人没有像我这样的好运，为此我心怀感激。

3. My Computer

3.我的电脑

When I graduated from High School in 2005, my parents threw a graduation party for me. I netted about $2,000 in cash gifts and used it to buy a brand new laptop. In 2008, the laptop was stolen when our house was robbed. Good thing my parents had home owners insurance. The laptop was covered for $1,200 which I used to buy a new computer that I still use to this very day.

在我2005年高中毕业的时候，父母为我办了一场毕业欢庆会。我用庆祝会上所收到的大约2000元的礼金买了一台全新的笔记本电脑。2008年，笔记本在房子失窃的时候也被盗了。不过还好是我的父母购买了家财险，我的笔记本获赔1200元，我就又用这笔钱买了一台新电脑，并且一直使用到现在。

4. My Job

4.我的工作

After three years of studying Food Process Engineering at Purdue, I realized that a 9-5 job at one of the big food companies wasn't the life for me. I spent the last year of college building websites for my own personal profit and in the process learned a iot about web development.

在普渡大学学了三年的食品加工工程后，我意识到在一家大的食品公司从事朝九晚五的工作并不是我想要的生活。于是我利用大学里最后的一年时光建起了一个网站，并靠此赚钱，从中也学到了很多有关网络开发的东西。

After I graduated, I made one call to a cousin who owned a web development company. He gave me an opportunity to work on a project which eventually led to a full time gig. I put this on my list because my cousin had no reason to hire me. I had no degree and no professional experience, but he took a chance and gave me an opportunity.

毕业后，我给一位自己经营网络开发公司的表哥打电话。他给了我一个机会，让我参与一个项目，而我最终借此成为全职雇员。我把这个也当成不劳而获的一项，是因为我觉得最开始表哥没什么理由雇佣我。我既没学位，也没专业经验，但他却选择给我这样一个机会。

5. My Websites

5.我的网站

I own and operate several blogs in my spare time. I build my sites on eitherWordPress or Drupal. Both of these website platforms are open source projectsthat are completely free to use.

我利用业余时间经营了几个博客，都是我在Word Press博客引擎上或Drupal内容管理平台上建的—这两个网站平台都是开放资源项目，完全免费使用。

In the web development world, it is so easy to take for granted all of the free information, scripts, programs, and platforms that are available. The cost to develop a blog platform similar to WordPress or Drupal would be in the thousands,not to mention all of the free modules⁷ and add-ons. The WordPress and Drupal communities have created a product that allows me to set up a new blog in minutes for free.

在网络开发的世界里，人们很容易想当然地以为所有可用的信息、脚本、程序、平台都是免费的。而事实上，开发出一个类似Word Press和Drupa}这样的博客平台就要花费上千元，这还不算那些免费的模块和附加程序。Word Press和Drupa社区开发出了一种可以让我在几分钟内免费创建博客的产品。

It was so easy for me to think of these 5 things because I truly feel like I did nothing to get them.

我很容易地就想到了这5件东西，只因为我真的觉得自己什么都没做就得到了它们。

After I became aware of the obvious things, I couldn't help but think of all the not so obvious things I am given on a daily basis. Things like clean water,refrigeration, Internet access, and air conditioning. I pay for all of these things, but I had nothing to do with the invention or discovery of these daily amenities⁸. They simply happened and now I am here to benefit.

在我意识到这些显而易见的东西后，我又不禁思考起日常生活中那些不太明显的事物来，像是干净的水、冷藏技术、网络服务，以及空调。虽然我也它们付钱了，但对于这些日常带给人愉悦的发明或发现我却什么都没做过。它们就那么出现了，现在我就在这儿享用了。

It doesn't stop there though. After I became aware of the more subtle⁹ things I am given, I took the next inevitable¹⁰ step. I became thankful for my existence. I don't know how I ended up in this world, but I wake up everyday grateful for the opportunity to experience life.

可是事情至此还没有结束。在我意识到我所获得的更加细微的事物后，不可避免地，我想到更多。我开始感谢我的生活。我不知道最终将会怎样的方式离开这个世界，但是每天我都是心怀感激醒来，为拥有这样生活的机会。

Waking up every day with gratitude for being alive is like starting the day with a built一in advantage. It doesn't matter what happens the rest of the day because it is all extra. This might sound like a recipe for complacency, but it’s actually the opposite. Being grateful for what I have not only drives me to want more, it creates a flow of abundance¹¹ into my life that will provide for my deepest desires.

每一天，带着感谢生命存在的心情醒过来，好像这天的一开始就与众不同。至于在这一天接下来会发生些什么并不重要，因为这一切都是额外得到的。这听起来也许有点像是自我满足，但事实上恰恰相反。感恩的心不仅让我有了更多的追求，而且它还孕育了一股充盈之流，滋养我最深的渴望。