The view of the high Sierra Lake, nestled in the snow and rock slightly below the timber line, was beautiful from my vantage point some five hundred feet above its shimmering¹ surface. I was anxious to rejoin my companions and try the fishing before are afternoon shadow - edging out from the surrounding array of peaks - entirely² covered the lake. Just a short distance beyond the intervening shale³, the trail zigzagged⁴ down to the valley. I disliked the thought of returning by the long, tedious trail I had ascended⁵, and decided⁶ to chance the shale - even though part of it lay above a sheer drop-off of several hundred feet.

坐落在高山上的谢拉湖，依偎在积雪与岩石的怀抱中，岩层往上是一片森林。从高出湖面约500英尺的观景点看下去，湖面微波荡漾，美不胜收。我着急与同伴再次会合，准备在午后周围群山的阴影尚未笼罩全湖之前，一起钓鱼。离错层的页岩不远，便是一条通往山谷的蜿蜒小路。我不想再走上山时所走的那条漫长而乏味的小道，便决定试着走上页岩——虽然这其中一段路的下面是几百英尺的垂直峭壁。

I started working my way over the loose rock with considerable caution and had covered about half the distance when I became aware of a slight but persistent⁷ yielding of the shale under my feet. Desperately⁸, I looked for something that would offer support and lurched forward to grasp a light outcropping of solid rock just as the surface shale underfoot - loosened from its foundation by the warm noonday sun - cascaded⁹ downward and disappeared over the cliff. Several seconds passed before I heard it rattle¹⁰ into the lake.

我小心翼翼地走在松动的页岩上。大约走到一半时，我发现脚下的页岩正一点点地不断下滑。我急忙寻找可以抓住的东西。我向前一扑，抓住了一块露出地表的坚硬岩石。就在这时，脚下被午后阳光照射的发热的页岩表层开始松动，从山上滑了下去，消失在峭壁上。几秒钟后，我听到它落进湖中的声音。

Finally - after due consideration of the folly¹¹ of short cuts - I managed to move from handhold to handhold and, at last, pulled myself to the trail by the aid of a dwarf¹² juniper root. I have forgotten how many trout¹³ I caught that afternoon, but I have not forgotten the value of handhold.

稍微考虑了一下抄近路这愚蠢行为的后果后，我想办法从一个支撑点挪到另一个支撑点，最终借助一棵矮松的根将自己拉到小路上。那天下午钓了多少鲑鱼，我已经不记得了，但我绝对忘不了支撑点的重要性。

Handholds are needed also during the course of everyday life. They provide security when the things we depend upon seem to be slipping out from under us. What are the spiritual handholds I have found to be most value?

在日常生活中，支撑点也是非常重要的。当我们的依靠即将从脚下溜走时，支撑点会带给我们安全的保障。我发现的最有价值的精神支撑是什么呢？