I saw the most beautiful thing ever one morning.

某个早晨，我看到了世间最美的东西

It was early with a slight frost on the ground,时候尚早，地上还有薄薄的冰霜

and I was walking on dewy grass down to the horse paddocks我踩在结着露珠的草地上，向养马的围场走去

- my mind on the days chores.

心里想着这一天要干的活儿

Suddenly a blazing laser flash erupted straight from the ground about 15 feet in front of me,忽然，在距离我大约15英尺的地方，一道镭射闪光突然破土而出and shot up into the sky.

直冲天际

It was so brilliant, clear and clean, it literally¹ topped me in my tracks.

那光芒如此耀目，澄澈而晶莹，我站在路中间，目瞪口呆I thought the only thing that could make such a dazzling flash must be a diamond我想，那东西能发出如此耀目的光芒，只可能是一颗钻石了- maybe someone had lost some kind of jewelry².

也许这是某人丢失的珠宝

Or some kind of weird³ reverse lightning strike抑或是某种奇异的反向雷电

- so bright.

如此耀眼！

I waited to see if it repeated but it didn't.

我等待着，看它会不会再闪一次，结果并没有

I walked slowly towards it.

我慢慢走向它

There was nothing to see.

却什么也没有看到

I stared down at the grass,

我低头看向草丛深处

searching for a glint of gold or some kind of metal.

寻找金子或者其他金属折射的亮光

Nothing.

还是一无所获

So I dropped down really close and there it was!

于是我俯身竭力靠近地面，终于找到了

A tiny - no bigger than a dime⁴ - trapdoor spider's web,原来是一张活板门蜘蛛的蛛网，小小的，不比一枚硬币大多少delicately hanging between blades of grass,

正好接在两片玻璃中间

glistening⁵ with miniature drops of dew,

透过小小的露珠折射着光芒

flashing and twinkling in a myriad⁶ of colors.

闪烁出千百种不同的色彩，灼灼逼人

The rising sun had caught the exact angle of the dewdrops,升起的太阳从刚刚好的 角度射向露珠

and that laser light had exploded up into the sky.

于是就有一道镭射光破土而出，直指天空

It was incredible and stunning⁷,

这景象令人震惊，令人折服

such a powerful flash from something so small and fragile,透过如此渺小，如此脆弱的东西，却可以折射出如此强大的光芒and I would have crushed it beneath my feet.

我差一点就将它踩碎

It was as though the unseen world was giving me a heads-up.

宇宙中我并未知晓的神秘世界已经对我发出了提醒

Hello! Look what's around you.

嘿，看看你的周围！

I've never forgotten that moment.

我从未忘记过那一刻

So I say to everyone-

我还要对每个人说

take some time to notice the miracle of nature that most of us never even see.

大自然中有许多奇迹，我们中大多数人从未目睹，花点时间去留意它们吧！

So much beauty all around us if we would only take the time.

只要我们肯付出一点时间，会发现周遭有如此多的美景！

Look at the brilliant colors and intricate patterns of tiny flowers that cover playing fields看看在孩子们玩耍的空气上开得烂漫的小花儿吧，它们的色彩如此明艳，结构如此精美- we walk all over them without a second glance.

我们从它们身旁走过时，常常不会看第二眼

Watch a bee harvesting pollen⁸ .

看看收集花蜜的蜜蜂吧

So busy with a purpose.

为了心中的使命辛勤忙碌

Tiny ants going about their day.

小小的蚂蚁四处奔忙，它们也有自己的生活

Birds singing and fluffing their wings, being bossy⁹.

鸟儿歌唱，拍打着翅膀，似乎是在耀武扬威

Busy iridescent¹⁰ beetles¹¹ and glossy¹² lizards¹³.

看看忙碌的甲壳虫色彩多么斑驳，蜥蜴的色彩多么光亮The subtle shading and colors of practically any flower on earth are breathtaking and all natural大地上，即使是不起眼的树影，还有每一朵花的色彩，都美的如此夺人心魄，不着雕饰- if we would only notice.

只要我们稍加留意，就会发现

It doesn't have to be a garden.

这样的美景不一定只出现在花园里

It can even be a weed flowering in the pavement crack.

人行道的裂缝中，一株开出花儿的野草，也有自己的美丽So I say -

所以我想告诉你们

take the time

花些时间去留意吧

and each day discover from nature one secret beautiful thing that you can keep in your heart.

每天你都能从大自然找到一样不被发现的美丽事物，把它留存在你的心里And get your children to do the same.

让你的孩子们也这样去做吧

Take a picture.

拍一张照片记录下来吧

it's what life really consists of.

正是这样的美丽汇聚成我们的生活

And it's free.

它们是完全免费的哦！