Life offers two choices.

生活有两种选择。

We can live scurrying¹ for survival or soaring to the unlimited² heights. The choices are modelled by these two creatures.

我们可以匆匆忙忙，为生存奔波，也可以将生活提升到无止境的高度。我们可以用两种动物来代表这两种生活选择。

A few months back while sitting in a boat fishing with a couple of friends, I noticed a field mouse on the river bank. He emerged out of his hole, darted³ in a couple of directions, and then scurried⁴ back. I thought of the existence of this little creature. His life is spent running around, frightened and frantic⁵, following his nose.

几个月前，我和几个朋友坐在船上钓鱼，注意到河岸上有一只田鼠。他从洞里出来，朝几个方向猛冲之后又迅速地返回洞里。我开始思考这个小生物的存在方式，他的生活在东奔西跑中度过，惊恐而慌乱，仅凭本能行事。

He darts⁶ here, scurries⁷ there, turns in circles, but never really sees much beyond his nose. He is trying to sniff⁸ his way to successful living, which defined, by a mouse’s existence, is finding some daily morsel⁹, to sustain him, so that he can carry on for the rest of his life, frightened and frantic. Sound familiar.

他这儿跑跑，那儿撞撞，转着圈圈，却从未真正跑出他自己的那一片小天地。他试图通过自己的本能成功地生存下来;作为一只老鼠，这就决定了他只能是每天寻找一口吃的，如此才能维持余生，过着惊恐慌乱的生活。这听起来并不陌生。

A few minutes later I glanced up and noticed soaring high above was an Osprey. Rather than a picture of a frightened and frantic existence, I saw a wide winged creature using the air currents to maneuver¹¹ majestically¹² in the unlimited heights.

几分钟后，我匆匆抬头一看，发现了一只在高空中翱翔的鱼鹰。与方才惊恐而又慌乱的生存图景不同的是，我看到了一只伸展双翅的生物，它利用气流，威严地在无限的高空中飞翔。

Rather than sniffing¹³ out a meager¹⁴ existence, this keen eyed hunter with a panoramic¹⁵ view of the river and lake beneath, was simply waiting for the appropriate time to swoop¹⁶ and capture his prey¹⁰. The amazing creature, rather than return to some tiny hole in the river bank, glides¹⁷ toward a nest fashioned at the top of the tallest of trees.

不是寻寻觅觅只为卑微的生存，而是做一个目光敏锐的捕食者，居高临下，将河流和湖泊的全景都尽收眼底，他只是在等待合适的时机，以便猛扑直下擒获他的猎物。这只令人惊叹的生物，并没有返回河岸边小小的洞穴里，而是一路滑翔到最高大树木顶端筑起的鸟巢里。

The strength in his wings, the power in his talons¹⁸ , the amazing capacity of his vision, the effortless capacity to soar, it is the osprey, not the field mouse that models our human potential.

他拥有强壮的翅膀，威猛的双爪，以及非凡的眼力，还有毫不费力在高空翱翔的能力，这就是鱼鹰，只有他才能代表人类的潜力，而不是田鼠。

I don’t know about you, but it is easy for me to decide which creature I want to exemplify my life. I want to soar. I want to explore. I want to see the big picture. I want to conquer . I want to climb higher, go farther, dive deeper, and experience more.

我不知道你会怎么想，但我可以很容易就确定想以哪种生物来代表自己的生活。我想要翱翔。我想要探索。我想要纵观全局。我想要征服一切。我想要攀登得更高，走得更远，投入得更深，体验得更多。

I want my soul enlarged, my mind expanded, my heart enlivened and my spirit energized¹⁹. I want the scurrying to stop. I want the frantic darting²⁰ about following my nose to end. I want new strength, fresh thinking, clear vision and resolved courage. I want to be more and more like the osprey

我想让我的心灵丰实，思想开阔，心情活跃，精神百倍。我不想再东跑西撞，我想结束仅凭本能乱窜的慌乱生活。我想要全新的力量、新鲜的想法、清晰的视野与果决的勇气。我希望自己越来越像那只鱼鹰。