孩子
On Children
你的孩子不是你的孩子，
他們是「生命」的子女，是生命自身的渴望。
他們經你而生，但非源自於你，
他們雖然和你在一起，卻不屬於你。
你可以給他們愛，但別把你的思想也給他們，
因為他們有自己的思想。
你的房子可以供他們安身，但無法讓他們的靈魂安住，
因為他們的靈魂住在明日之屋，
那裡你去不了，哪怕是在夢中。
你可以勉強自己變得像他們，但不要想讓他們變得像你。
因為生命不會倒退，也不會駐足於昨日。
Your children are not your children.
They are the sons and daughters of Life’s longing for itself.
They come through you but not from you,
And though they are with you, yet they belong not to you.
You may give them your love but not your thoughts,
For they have their own thoughts.
You may house their bodies but not their souls,
For their souls dwell in the house of tomorrow,
which you cannot visit, not even in your dreams.
You may strive to be like them, but seek not to make them like you.
For life goes not backward nor tarries with yesterday.
你像是弓，孩子是從你身上射出的生命之箭。
弓箭手看見無窮路徑上的標靶，
於是祂大力拉彎你這把弓，好讓祂的箭飛馳得又快又遠。
You are the bows from which your children as living arrows are sent forth.
The archer sees the mark upon the path of the infinite, and He bends
you with His might that His arrows may go swift and far.
欣然屈服在上帝的手中吧，
因為祂既愛那疾飛的箭，
也愛那穩定的弓。
Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;
For even as He loves the arrow that flies,
so He loves also the bow that is stable.
孩子可以說是先知這本書中最被人廣知也最多人介紹的一篇，
也是一篇小鹿覺得不管是父母與子女各自唸來都有其感觸的一篇，
小鹿很喜歡其中說明親子之間那種混和著對等的、煩惱、依戀與成全的愛，
而小鹿自己最喜歡的是最後的
”Let your bending in the Archer’s hand be for gladness;For even as He loves the arrow that flies,so He loves also the bow that is stable.”
這一段有許多的翻譯選擇，小鹿都覺得它深深傳達出上帝對我們的愛與支持，
一種只要我們願意感受，都能清楚感知到上帝對我們的心情。
上帝對我們不也是如此嗎，愛卻不緊緊地將我們綁在身邊，
希望我們了解卻不過度干預，只能勸告與教誨，牽腸掛肚又尊重放手。
大家覺得呢?
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