水开了，我装作没有听见水壶发出的警报声。迈克的离去也是如此，来得那么突然，而且毫无挽回的余地。我宁愿沉醉在迷糊中，也不愿就这样结束。我想着，不禁哑然失笑，一杯咖啡竟引发我如此多的哲思和感慨，我一定是老了。
可是镜子里回望着我的仍是一个年轻女子啊！她的前途充满着希望，明亮的双眸和丰满的嘴唇似乎在期待着光明的未来。不论怎样，我也从来没有真正爱过迈克。况且，生命中有比爱更重要的东西，我坚定地对自己说。然后，我盖好咖啡罐，如同封存了所有关于迈克的记忆。
很担心那晚他会出现在我的梦中，然而没有。梦里，我在飞翔，越过田野和森林，俯瞰着大地。突然，我摔了下来……清醒后才发现原来自己被猎人击中了，但是击落我的不是他的子弹，而是他的灵魂。后来我才逐渐明白，原来迈克就是那个击落我的猎人，而我则是那只渴望飞翔的小鸟。第二天晚上，我又做了类似的梦，但是猎人消失了，我一直在自由地翱翔，直到遇上另外一只小鸟，和我比翼双飞。我开始懂得，总会有那么一只鸟，那么一个人在前方等我，这个人或许是一个爱人，或许只是一个朋友，但一定是我的灵魂伴侣，这令我如释重负。我想起曾经觉得自己像一只破碎的花瓶，现在，我意识到我已把自己修整好了。迈克只是我生命中一个小小的过客，他了解的仅仅是我的表面，只是我生命中一个微小的部分。
A Little Piece of Me
Anonymous
When he told me he was leaving； I felt like a vase which has just smashed。 There were pieces of me all over the tidy； tan tiles。 He kept talking； telling me why he was leaving； explaining it was for the best； I could do better； it was his fault and not mine。 I had heard it before many times and yet somehow was still not immune1； perhaps one did not bee immune to such felony2。
He left and I tried to get on with my life。 I filled the kettle and put it on to boil； I took out my old red mug and filled it with coffee watching as each coffee granule3 slipped into the bone china。 That was what my life had been like； endless omissions of coffee granules； somehow never managing to make that cup of coffee。
Somehow when the kettle piped its finishing warning I pretended not to hear it。 That’s what Mike’s leaving had been like； sudden and with an awful finality。 I would rather just wallow4 in uncertainty than have things finished。 I laughed at myself。 Imagine getting all philosophical and sentimental5 about a mug of coffee。 I must be getting old。
And yet it was a young woman who stared back at me from the mirror。 A young woman full of promise and hope； a young woman with bright eyes and full lips just waiting to take on the world。 I never loved Mike anyway。 Besides there are more important things。 More important than love； I insist to myself firmly。 The lid goes back on the coffee just like closure on the whole Mike experience。
He doesn’t haunt my dreams as I feared that night。 Instead I am flying far across fields and woods； looking down on those below me。 Suddenly I fall to the ground and it is only when I wake up that I realize I was shot by a hunter； brought down by the burden of not the bullet； but the soul of the man who shot it。 I realize later； with some degree of understanding； that Mike was the hunter holding me down and I am the bird that longs to fly。 The next night my dream is similar to the previous nights； but without the hunter。 I fly free until I meet another bird who flies with me in perfect harmony。 I realize with some relief that there is a bird out there for me； there is another person； not necessarily a lover perhaps just a friend； but there is someone out there who is my soul mate。 I think about being a broken vase again and realize that I have glued myself back together； what Mike has is merely a little part of my time in earth； a little understanding of my physical being。 He has only； a little piece of me。
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新年沉思
艾伦·吉德曼
与陌生人擦肩而过时，我们中的大部分人会将眼睛转向别处。假如有人停下脚步，帮一位妇女哄哄她的孩子或者帮她把食品搬上楼梯，一定会被别人当作另类。在排队乘地铁或乘公共汽车时，我们很少给别人让座。坐在自己的汽车里，我们宁肯堵车也不会心甘情愿地给别人让路。
平日的这些接触，当他们怒气冲天抑或是令人反感时，会大大缩减我们生活中的乐趣；假如它们是令人愉悦的，则会使我们的精神为之一振。可是，当我们坐在家中做出决策时，我们想到的仅仅是我们的私人空间——家庭和工作中能够实现的目标。许多人已经放弃了他们也是管理着共享的以及公有的世界这个信念。
作为众多个体，我们能够改变一天的面貌、一时的情绪，以及人们的感觉方式。公共生活的毁坏和重建是人们每天每时做出的个人决定的最终结果。其中有：在公交车上给别人让座，面对种种逆境而保持的容忍或乐观的精神；让笨蛋从右车道往左拐，而并不是摇下车窗骂他一声笨蛋。
这就是作为一个文明的、社会的人的决定。
或许，今天是人们为了腰围的缩小和胆固醇的降低而斗争的高峰期。但是，只要我们愿意，反对城市野蛮行为和人际敌对态度的蔓延，也是能够做到的事。礼貌的举止无法制止核战争，也无力为流浪者提供栖身之所，然而它能政变社会集体的面貌，就像举重会改变一个人的体形一样。
如同山谷里的回声一样，人也是相互作用的。你表现出一分敌意，我就会还你两分：相反，我给你两分友善，你则会还我四分……你的一个微笑，就会使我原本暗淡无光、极为普通的一天变得阳光灿烂。
Thoughts for a New Year
Ellen Goodman
Most of us look away when we pass strangers。 It is the exceptional person who stops to help the woman maneuvering her kids and groceries up the staircase。 We rarely give up in line or on the subway or bus。 Locked into our automobiles； we prefer gridlock to giving way。
These daily encounters； when they are angry or alien； diminish our lives。 When they are pleasant； we feel buoyed。 Yet when we sit at home and make resolutions； we think about what we can acplish in private spaces： home； work。 Too many have given up the belief that they control the shared； the public world。
As individuals we can change the contour of a day； the mood of a moment； the way people feel。 The demolition and reconstruction of public life is the result of personal decisions made every day： the decision to give up a seat on the bus； the decision to be patient or pleasant against all odds； the decision to let that jerk take a left…hand turn from a right…hand lane—without rolling down the window and calling him a jerk。
It’s the resolution to be a civil； social creature。
This may be a peak period for the battle against the spread of a waistline and creeping cholesterol。 But it is also within our willpower to fight the spread of urban rudeness and creeping hostility。 Civility doesn’t stop nuclear holocaust and doesn’t put a roof over the head of the horrieless。 But it makes a difference in the shape of a munity； as surely as lifting weights can make a difference in the shape of a human torso。
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自由思想与心灵的作用（1）
杰基·罗宾逊
1947年，世界职业棒球大赛开赛当天。我的心随着美国国歌的响起产生了一种全新的情感。就像曾经为其他人奏响那样，这一次国歌为我奏响。这是职业棒球大赛，我成为了整个赛事的一分子，与其他人一起站在这里。
大约一年之后，乔治亚州的亚特兰大举行了一场棒球表演赛，我参加了这次比赛。这是黑人和白人运动员第一次同时出现在亚特兰大的体育场上，除了我，还有其他的黑人选手。我想，那一刻，我终于实现了自己的信念。
那么，我的信念是什么呢？首先，我知道人无完人，然而人只要能够呼吸和思考，不管经过多么漫长的过程，都一定能够消除这些缺陷。我不认为我们已经找到了完美，或离完美越来越近。在人类社会中，完美并不是必不可少的一部分。残疾、障碍或偏见，这些都是存在于社会中的不完美，我们必须面对它们。