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So, he explains, it's not worth it to waste our physical, intellectual and spiritual energy agonizing over things that are beyond our control. "I cannot control whether or not I wind up getting swine flu [for example]," he says. "I mean, there are some prudent steps I can take, but ultimately I can not guarantee myself that. So what Epictetus would say is sitting home worrying about that would be wrong and wasteful and irrational. You should live your life attempting to identify and control those things which you can genuinely control." Seek true pleasure To have a meaningful, happy life we need friends. But according to Aristotle - a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great - most relationships don't qualify as true friendships. "Just because I have a business relationship with an individual and I profit from that relationship, it doesn't mean that this person is my friend," he says. "Real friendship is when two individuals share the same soul. It's a beautiful and uncharacteristically poetic image that Aristotle offers."
But unlike the modern definition of Epicureanism as a life of indulgence and luxury, for the ancient Greeks, it meant finding a state of calm, tranquility and mental ease. "This was the highest and most desirable form of pleasure and happiness for the ancient Epicureans," he says. "This is something very much well-worth considering here in the modern era. I don't think we spend nearly enough time trying to concentrate on achieving a sort of equanimity, a sort of contentment in a mental and spiritual way, which was identified by these people as the highest form of happiness and pleasure." Do good to others Other Golden Rules counsel us to master ourselves, avoid excess and not be a prosperous fool. There are also rules dealing with relationships: Be a responsible human being and do not do evil to others. "This is Hesiod, of course, a younger contemporary poet, we believe, with Homer," he says. "Hesiod offers an idea - which you very often find in some of the world's great religions, in the Judeo-Christian tradition and in Islam and others - that in some sense, when you hurt another human being, you hurt yourself. That damaging other people in your community and in your life, trashing relationships, results in a kind of self-inflected spiritual wound." Instead, he says, ancient wisdom urges us to do good. Golden Rule No. 10 for a good life is kindness toward others tends to be rewarded. "This is Aesop, the fabulist, the man of these charming little tales, often depicted in terms of animals and animal relationships," he says. "I think what Aesop was suggesting is that when you offer a good turn to another human being, one can hope that that good deed will come back and sort of pay a dividend to you, the doer of the good deed. Even if there is no concrete dividend or benefit paid in response to your good deed, at the very least, the doer of the good deed has the opportunity to enjoy a kind of spiritually enlightened moment." Michael Soupios says following the 10 Golden Rules based on ancient wisdom can guide us to the path of the good life where we stop living as spectators and become engaged and happier human beings. And that, he notes, is a life worth living. (VOA) |
【VOA朗讀】10 Golden Rules of Life -- 期待大家的意見和建議
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太好了。聽了6小段。很驚豔。之前準備了幾遍?
-戲雨飛鷹-
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01/25/2010 postreply
20:58:26
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慚愧慚愧!沒有一千,也有八百遍吧。練了好幾個月呢。
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:38:08
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占座!
-小千...千與千尋-
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01/26/2010 postreply
10:24:13
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謝謝二姐分享!
-葉紫荊-
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01/25/2010 postreply
20:58:42
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回複:謝謝二姐分享!
-lilac09-
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01/25/2010 postreply
21:24:57
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回複:回複:謝謝二姐分享!
-YuGong-
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01/25/2010 postreply
21:40:00
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謝謝紫荊、Lilac 和YuGong 的討論及分享!
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:40:03
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問好,謝葉紫荊分享,受益匪淺。
-林貝卡-
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01/26/2010 postreply
10:28:28
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喜歡這些優美的音樂和這篇美文,謝謝貝卡!
-葉紫荊-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:54:16
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Great!
-YuGong-
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01/25/2010 postreply
21:07:57
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Thank you!
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:40:40
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睡前頂俺二姐的強讀!!另,您聽著象俺妹, 嘻嘻~~
-lilac09-
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01/25/2010 postreply
21:18:44
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謝妹妹!二姐裝嫩不易,妹子多擔待。
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:42:38
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聲音真好聽。太棒了。
-牧也-
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01/25/2010 postreply
21:21:55
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謝謝牧也鼓勵,期待你的新作。
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:43:12
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頂二姐好讀~~
-天澤園-
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01/25/2010 postreply
21:22:38
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謝謝天妹~~
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:43:42
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回複:【VOA朗讀】10 Golden Rules of Life -- 期待大家的意見和建議
-櫻桃丸子-
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01/25/2010 postreply
22:02:31
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謝謝新朋友!你不會跟我同好,也喜歡美食吧?
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
06:45:07
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回複:【VOA朗讀】10 Golden Rules of Life -- 期待大家的意見和建議
-ntotl-
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01/25/2010 postreply
22:02:51
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ntotl,這,這,這,真是太棒了!
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
07:15:30
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這幾年很少聽國語歌了,這首歌還是第一次聽到。謝謝!
-ntotl-
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01/26/2010 postreply
19:19:51
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great read!
-billnet-
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01/26/2010 postreply
04:36:03
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Thank you, Bill.
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
07:18:23
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Very very nice job.
-xtxd-
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01/26/2010 postreply
09:47:52
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Thank you, my friend.
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:46:56
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仰視二姐!我是練兩遍就煩了。我沒看text聽了一遍,clear as a bell,
-geopolitics-
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01/26/2010 postreply
09:54:06
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你太維護我了。
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:49:21
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謝北京二號朗讀,清晰流暢。
-林貝卡-
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01/26/2010 postreply
10:27:19
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謝謝貝卡!
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:50:03
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我來了,不小心竟然馬架凳都坐不上了?!為你驕傲!
-小千...千與千尋-
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01/26/2010 postreply
13:46:29
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領會你的精神:以鼓勵為主。
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:50:41
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非常好!
-eyeyey-
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01/26/2010 postreply
18:04:42
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給我些時間...
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:52:49
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回複:【VOA朗讀】10 Golden Rules of Life -- 期待大家的意見和建議
-brown-
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01/26/2010 postreply
21:49:11
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你說的都在點子上。
-北京二號-
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01/26/2010 postreply
23:40:28