Another Door

When I come across a good essay in reading newspapers， I am often inclined to cut and keep it. But just as I am about to do so I find the article on the opposite side is as much interesting. It may be a discussion of the way to keep in good health， or advice about how to behave and conduct oneself in society. If I cut the front essay， the opposite one is bound to suffer damage， leaving out half of it or keeping the text without the subject. As a result， the scissors would stay before they start， or halfway done when I find out the regretful consequence that inevitably causes my repentance.

Sometimes two things are to be done at the same time， both deserving your attention. You can only take up one of them， the other has to wait or to be given up. But you know the future is unpredictable—the changed situation may not allow you to do what is left behind. Thus you are caught in a fix and feel sad？ How come that nice opportunities and brilliant ideas should gather around all at once？ It may happen that your life changes dramatically on your preference of one alternative to the other.

In fact that is what life is like： we are often faced with the two opposite aspects of a thing which are both desirable like newspaper cutting. It often occurs that our attention is drawn to one thing only after we are engaged in another. The former may be more important than the latter and give rise to a divided mind. I still remember a philosophers remarks， “When one door shuts， another opens in life.” So a casual or passive choice may not be a bad one.

Whatever we do in our lifetime， wherever lifes storm tosses us， there must be something we can achieve， some shore we can land， that opens up new vistas to us. Dont forget God always keeps an alternative door open for everyone. While the front door is closed， there must be another open for you.

读报的时候，看到一篇好文章，总想把它剪下来收藏。就在我拿起剪刀准备剪的时候，才发现反面的文章也很有趣：它要么讨论如何保持健康，要么建议你怎样为人处世。假如我剪下了这面的文章，那面的文章势必会被损坏，只留下一半或缺少文章题目。因此，举起的剪刀往往停留在半空或是剪到一半舍不得再剪，继而不可避免地后悔、遗憾。

有时候，在同一时间，有两件事要做，并且这两件事都值得你去关注。你只能选择其中之一，另一个只能等到以后再做或者只能放弃。可是你知道，未来不可预知，今后的变化可能不允许你完成剩下的这件事。所以你会觉得郁闷：为什么这么好的机遇和绝妙的想法会聚集到同一个时间？有可能就是因为你选择了这件事而放弃了那件事，你的一生就会发生戏剧性的改变。

这就是生活，像剪报一样，我们经常面临正反都完美的一件事，可是当我们忙碌于这件事的时候，注意力却又被另一件事所吸引。前者或许比后者更重要，我们举棋不定。我仍然记得一位哲学家的话：“当一扇门关闭时，生活会为你开启另一扇门。”所以不经意的选择或被动的选择，或许并不是坏事。

不管我们做什么，不管生活的暴风雨会把我们吹向何处，我们一定可以实现梦想，哪里都有我们可以落脚的海岸，因为生活会为我们开启另一扇门。当有一扇门对你关闭时，一定会有另一扇门为你敞开。

（Lee整理）

小贴士

A Clever Son

One day， the father lets eight?year?old son send a letter. The son took the letter. The father then remembered he didnt write address and addressees name on the envelope.

After the son comes back， the father asks him， “You have thrown the letter into the mail box？”

“Certainly！”

“You didnt notice that the envelope does not have address and addressees name on it？”

“I certainly saw nothing written on the envelope.”

“Then why didnt you take it back？”

“I thought that you did not write address and addressee， because you wouldnt let me know to whom you send the letter！”