On Children——Kahlil Gibran

《论孩子》   文/卡里·纪伯伦

Your children are not your children.

你的儿女，其实不是你的儿女
They are the sons and daughters of Life's longing for itself.

他们是生命对于自身渴望而诞生的孩子

They come through you but not from you,

他们借助你来到这世界，却非因你而来
And though they are with you yet they belong not to you.

他们在你身旁，却并不属于你

You may give them your love but not your thoughts,

你可以给予他们的是你的爱，却不是你的想法
For they have their own thoughts.

因为他们有自己的思想

You may house their bodies but not their souls,

你可以庇护的是他们的身体，却不是他们的灵魂
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,

因为他们的灵魂属于明天，
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.

属于你做梦也无法到达的明天

You may strive to be like them,

你可以拼尽全力，变得像他们一样
but seek not to make them like you.

却不要让他们变得和你一样
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.

因为生命不会后退，也不在过去停留

You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.

你是弓，儿女是从你那里射出的箭
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite,

弓箭手望着未来之路上的箭靶

and He bends you with His might  that His arrows may go swift and far.

他用尽力气将你拉开，使他的箭射得又快又远

Let your bending in the archer's hand be for gladness;

怀着快乐的心情，在弓箭手的手中弯曲吧
For even as He loves the arrow that flies, so He loves also the bow that is stable.
因为他爱一路飞翔的箭，也爱无比稳定的弓

    《论孩子》由“黎巴嫩文坛骄子”卡里·纪伯伦所著。相信这首诗歌道出了不少“儿女”的心声,也给“望子成龙”心切的父母们上了一课。无疑,出于各种原因,父母们常忽视了教育最为重要的目标之一——培养独立人格。他们总喜欢干预子女的一切重大人生选择(他们将此视为“爱”),毕竟在他们看来,孩子不仅是他们爱情的结晶,更是他们生命的延续,意义非凡。而对于一些父母,孩子就像他们脸上的“光彩”,在一定程度上代表着他们的社会地位和生活水平。他们把子女看作自己的“明天”,企图让子女实现他们未尽的梦想,似乎孩子不过是他们思想的衍生品。殊不知孩子就像他们一样,有着自己的思想,而这些思想中,不乏闪光点。而青春期的叛逆更多也是源于孩子对“独立人格”的觉醒。

　　喜欢这首诗歌的最后一节内容——父母就像“弓”,儿女就像“箭”,唯有这弓无比稳定,尽力弯曲,这箭才能射出得更坚定,飞翔得更远!