人生不設(shè)限·我的美就在于我的“不同”

人真的很無(wú)聊。我們花了一半的時(shí)間融入人群，然后再花另一半時(shí)間企圖讓自己顯得突出。怎么會(huì)這樣?我有這種狀況，相信你也有，因?yàn)檫@似乎很普遍，是人性的一部分。為什么我們就是無(wú)法對(duì)自己滿(mǎn)意，不知道自己是上帝的造物，用以反映他的榮耀?

We humans are a silly bunch. We spend half our time trying to fit in with the crowd and the other half trying to stand out from it. Why is that? I'm guilty of it, and I'm sure you are too, because it seems to be universal, part of our human nature. Why can't we be comfortable with ourselves, knowing that we are God's creations, made to reflect His glory?

還在念書(shū)時(shí)，我費(fèi)盡心力想融入周遭環(huán)境，就像大多數(shù)青少年一樣。你有沒(méi)有注意到，即使是想要“與眾不同”的青少年，也總是和那些穿著、談吐、舉止都跟他們差不多的人混在一起?那是怎么回事?如果你跟身邊的人一樣，穿黑色衣服、涂黑色指甲油、抹黑色唇膏、畫(huà)黑色眼線，這樣你會(huì)有什么出眾之處?不是反而成了隨眾嗎?

As a schoolboy, I was desperate to fit in, just as most teens are. Have you ever noticed that even the teens who want to be "different" usually hang out with kids who dress, talk, and act just like them? What's with that, mate? How can you be an outsider if everyone you hang with wears the same black clothing, black nail polish, black lipstick, and black eyeliner? Doesn't that make you an insider instead?

在身上刺青和打洞曾經(jīng)被視為粗獷個(gè)人主義的表現(xiàn)，不過(guò)，現(xiàn)在連婆婆、媽媽都去刺青、打洞了呢。想要表現(xiàn)你的獨(dú)特性，應(yīng)該有比跟隨一時(shí)的流行更好的方式吧?

Tattoos and piercings used to be a rebellious statement of rugged individualism. Now soccer moms in the grocery have tattoos and piercings. There has to be a better way to celebrate your individuality than following the same fads and trends as every mum at the mall, doesn't there?

我采取的態(tài)度或許可以供你參考：我認(rèn)定我的美就在于我的“不同”，因?yàn)槭聦?shí)上，我就是跟人家不一樣。我就是獨(dú)一無(wú)二的我，從來(lái)不會(huì)有人認(rèn)為我很“一般”，或者叫我“另一個(gè)家伙”。在人群中，我站起來(lái)可能不高，但肯定很醒目。

I've adopted an attitude that might work for you. I've decided that my beauty lies in my differences, in the fact that I'm not like everybody else. I'm uniquely me. Nobody will ever call me "average" or "just another guy." I may not stand tall in a crowd, but I definitely stand out.

這個(gè)態(tài)度對(duì)我還挺管用的，因?yàn)闊o(wú)論大人小孩，第一次看到我都會(huì)有一些很奇怪的反應(yīng)。小孩子會(huì)認(rèn)為我是從另外一個(gè)星球來(lái)的，或者是某種怪獸;青少年比較會(huì)亂想，所以他們覺(jué)得我是被斧頭殺人狂砍斷手腳之類(lèi)的;大人也會(huì)有奇怪的結(jié)論，常常懷疑我是人形模特兒或玩偶。

That attitude has served me well because I often draw strange reactions from children as well as adults when they see me for the first time. Kids tend to reckon I'm from another planet or I'm some sort of monster. Teens tend to have lurid imaginations so they assume I was maimed by an ax murderer or something equally gruesome. Adults leap to strange conclusions too. Often they suspect that I'm a mannequin or a Muppet.

有一次去加拿大拜訪親友，他們第一次帶我去進(jìn)行萬(wàn)圣節(jié)的“不給糖就搗蛋”活動(dòng)。他們找來(lái)一個(gè)很大的恐怖老人面具，套在我整個(gè)身體上，然后抱著我挨家挨戶(hù)去拜訪。一開(kāi)始沒(méi)引起什么反應(yīng)，后來(lái)我們發(fā)現(xiàn)原來(lái)大部分人都以為我不是“真的人”——有一位女士把我最喜歡的棒棒糖塞進(jìn)我的袋子里，我就跟她說(shuō)：“謝謝!不給糖就搗蛋!”結(jié)果把這位女士嚇得往后跳開(kāi)。

Once when I was visiting relatives in Canada, they took me trick-or-treating for the very first time. They found a big scary old man mask that covered my entire body, and then they carried me door to door. At first we didn't get much reaction from people, until we figured out that they didn't think I was real. We finally realized this when a woman dropped some of my favorite lollies in my bag, and I said, "Thank you! Trick or treat!"

“里頭有個(gè)小孩嗎?”她大叫，“我以為你們帶的是個(gè)洋娃娃!”

The woman shrieked and jumped backward. "There's a child in there?" she screamed. "I thought you were carrying a doll!"

“嗯，我是很可愛(ài)了。”我心想。

Well, I am pretty cute, I thought.

當(dāng)我也很愛(ài)鬧時(shí)，還頗能享受這種獨(dú)特性的種種好處。我喜歡跟堂兄弟姊妹和朋友們?cè)谫?gòu)物中心亂逛，幾年前的某天，我們?cè)诎拇罄麃喴患屹?gòu)物中心看到邦茲內(nèi)衣的櫥窗展示——邦茲是個(gè)歷史悠久的內(nèi)衣褲品牌。

When I'm feeling frisky, I've been known to take full advantage of my uniqueness. I love to cruise around shopping malls with my cousins and friends. One day a few years ago we were in a mall in Australia when we spotted a window display for Bonds underwear, which is the Down Under version of Haines or Jockey, a briefs brand that has been around for a long, long time.

櫥窗里的人形模特兒穿著邦茲的白色緊身內(nèi)褲，這個(gè)模特兒的身體跟我一樣，只有頭和軀干，沒(méi)有四肢——但是有六塊漂亮的腹肌。那天我剛好也是穿邦茲內(nèi)褲，因此我的堂兄弟跟我決定讓我也去當(dāng)櫥窗模特兒。我們走進(jìn)店里，堂哥和堂弟把我舉起來(lái)，放進(jìn)櫥窗里，讓我就站在那個(gè)人形模特兒旁邊。

The male mannequin was wearing a pair of Bonds "tighty whitey" underwear. He had a body just like mine: all head and torso, no limbs—and a nice six-pack of abs. I happened to be wearing my own Bond brand drawers, so my cousins and I decided that I too could serve as a window model. We went into the store. My cousins hoisted me into the window display case. I then took up a position next to the mannequin.

接下來(lái)的五分鐘，魚(yú)兒不斷上鉤。每當(dāng)有人停在櫥窗前，或是看我一眼，我就扭一扭、笑一下、眨個(gè)眼、鞠個(gè)躬，結(jié)果把他們嚇壞了!當(dāng)然，這個(gè)小把戲讓我的共犯在店外頭笑到快翻過(guò)去。后來(lái)他們說(shuō)，如果我的演講事業(yè)不怎么順利的話(huà)，應(yīng)該可以去百貨公司當(dāng)展示用的假人。

For the next five minutes, I baited mall rats. Whenever window shoppers stopped or glanced at me, I twitched, smiled, winked, or bowed—to their utter shock and horror! Of course, this bit of punking provoked uproarious laughter from my co-conspirators watching from outside the store. Afterward they made the case that if my public speaking career ever faltered, I could always find work as a department store dummy.