Life offers two choices.
We can live scurrying for survival or soaring to the unlimited heights. The choices are modelled by these two creatures.
A few months back while sitting in a boat fishing with a couple of friends, I noticed a field mouse on the river bank. He emerged out of his hole, darted in a couple of directions, and then scurried back. I thought of the existence of this little creature. His life is spent running around, frightened and frantic, following his nose.
He darts here, scurries there, turns in circles, but never really sees much beyond his nose. He is trying to sniff his way to successful living, which defined, by a mouse’s existence, is finding some daily morsel, to sustain him, so that he can carry on for the rest of his life, frightened and frantic. Sound familiar.
A few minutes later I glanced up and noticed soaring high above was an Osprey. Rather than a picture of a frightened and frantic existence, I saw a wide winged creature using the air currents to maneuver majestically in the unlimited heights.
Rather than sniffing out a meager existence, this keen eyed hunter with a panoramic view of the river and lake beneath, was simply waiting for the appropriate time to swoop and capture his prey. The amazing creature, rather than return to some tiny hole in the river bank, glides toward a nest fashioned at the top of the tallest of trees.
The strength in his wings, the power in his talons , the amazing capacity of his vision, the effortless capacity to soar, it is the osprey, not the field mouse that models our human potential.
I don’t know about you, but it is easy for me to decide which creature I want to exemplify my life. I want to soar. I want to explore. I want to see the big picture. I want to conquer . I want to climb higher, go farther, dive deeper, and experience more.
I want my soul enlarged, my mind expanded, my heart enlivened and my spirit energized. I want the scurrying to stop. I want the frantic darting about following my nose to end. I want new strength, fresh thinking, clear vision and resolved courage. I want to be more and more like the osprey.
中文译文：
生活有两种选择。
我们可以匆匆忙忙，为生存奔波，也可以将生活提升到无止境的高度。我们可以用两种动物来代表这两种生活选择。
几个月前，我和几个朋友坐在船上钓鱼，注意到河岸上有一只田鼠。他从洞里出来，朝几个方向猛冲之后又迅速地返回洞里。我开始思考这个小生物的存在方式，他的生活在东奔西跑中度过，惊恐而慌乱，仅凭本能行事。
他这儿跑跑，那儿撞撞，转着圈圈，却从未真正跑出他自己的那一片小天地。他试图通过自己的本能成功地生存下来；作为一只老鼠，这就决定了他只能是每天寻找一口吃的，如此才能维持余生，过着惊恐慌乱的生活。这听起来并不陌生。
几分钟后，我匆匆抬头一看，发现了一只在高空中翱翔的鱼鹰。与方才惊恐而又慌乱的生存图景不同的是，我看到了一只伸展双翅的生物，它利用气流，威严地在无限的高空中飞翔。
不是寻寻觅觅只为卑微的生存，而是做一个目光敏锐的捕食者，居高临下，将河流和湖泊的全景都尽收眼底，他只是在等待合适的时机，以便猛扑直下擒获他的猎物。这只令人惊叹的生物，并没有返回河岸边小小的洞穴里，而是一路滑翔到最高大树木顶端筑起的鸟巢里。
他拥有强壮的翅膀，威猛的双爪，以及非凡的眼力，还有毫不费力在高空翱翔的能力，这就是鱼鹰，只有他才能代表人类的.潜力，而不是田鼠。
我不知道你会怎么想，但我可以很容易就确定想以哪种生物来代表自己的生活。我想要翱翔。我想要探索。我想要纵观全局。我想要征服一切。我想要攀登得更高，走得更远，投入得更深，体验得更多。
我想让我的心灵丰实，思想开阔，心情活跃，精神百倍。我不想再东跑西撞，我想结束仅凭本能乱窜的慌乱生活。我想要全新的力量、新鲜的想法、清晰的视野与果决的勇气。我希望自己越来越像那只鱼鹰。
Vocabulary:
1. field mouse: 田鼠；osprey: 鹗，俗称“鱼鹰”，体形像鹰，会在水面上飞翔捕鱼。
2. scurry: 急赶，奔忙；soar: 高飞，翱翔。
3. model: 仿效，模仿。
4. dart: 猛冲，飞奔。
5. frantic: 紧张纷乱的；follow one’s nose: 凭本能行事，凭直觉行事。
6. define: 规定，限定；morsel: （食物的）一口，一小份；sustain: 维持，供养；carry on: 继续活动，进行下去。
7. maneuver: （敏捷或巧妙地）操纵，控制；majestically: 堂皇地，威严地。
8. meager: 粗劣的，不足的；keen: 敏锐的，锐利的；panoramic: 全景的；swoop: 飞扑，猛扑。
9. glide: 滑翔，滑行；fashion: 制作。
10. talon: （猛禽的）利爪，钩爪。
11. exemplify: 作为……的例证（或榜样、典型等）。
12. conquer: 征服。
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