媽媽的格言

MOTHER’S MOTTO

My mother’s sweet nature and true kindness made a great impression on me. She got a degree in art after high school. Sketching and painting people were her passion. When mother painted someone’s portrait, I was quite interested in watching her mix the paints and apply the paintbrush to the canvas. It seemed that the final portrait made the person look beautiful!

How could this be, I wondered, when some of them really were not beautiful at all? What did she see that I didn’t see?

One summer afternoon, after mother signed the finished portrait of an elderly neighbor, I asked her, “She has bony arms, gray hair and a long nose, but you painted her really pretty. Why?” My mother replied gently, “I emphasize the best and minimize the rest. The portrait ends up being one that both the artist and the subject can be happy with. That’s my way.”

Years later I realized that my mother’s motto was something she also applied to daily life. Friends of all ages often approached me or other members of the family with similar comments, “I have never heard your mother say an unkind word about anyone” or “Your mother always has something nice to say to everybody, even folks who are not very nice”.

Such comments are really touching. Frequently, I reflect on her motto and attempt to follow her wise example. Oh, it doesn’t come naturally, but it does get easier to “Emphasize the best and minimize the rest” when I become familiar with people.

There is something beautiful in everyone. It doesn’t require an artist’s trained eye to find that beauty.

【日積月累】

◇sketch v. 寫生，為……繪草圖；草擬，打草稿

◇canvas n. 帆布，油畫，畫布

◇portrait n.（人的）畫像，照片；（生動的）描述

◇bony adj. 如骨的，瘦骨嶙峋的，多骨的

◇minimize v. 使顯得不重要；貶低，輕視

【參考譯文】

媽媽的格言

我媽媽性格溫和，心地善良，讓我印象深刻。高中畢業后，她攻讀了美術學位。為人作畫是她的熱情所在。當她給別人畫肖像的時候，我總是饒有興致地看著她調和顏料，再用畫筆涂抹在畫布上。成品總是比本人漂亮。

怎么會這樣呢，我納悶，有些人其實一點都不漂亮啊! 為什么她能看見我看不到的地方？

一個夏日的午后，媽媽給一幅鄰居老太太的肖像上簽完名后，我問她，“雖然她手臂瘦骨嶙峋，頭發花白，鼻子那么長，你卻把她畫得那么漂亮。為什么？”媽媽溫柔地回答：“我強調最美的地方，其他都忽略。畫作最后讓畫家和對象都滿意，這就是我的方式。”

數年后我領悟了媽媽還把這條格言應用在了日常生活中。不同年齡層次的朋友常常對我說——家里人也說過相同的話——“我從來沒聽過你媽媽對過任何人一句壞話”，或“你媽媽總是能對每個人說些好聽的話，即使是對那些不怎么樣的人。”

這樣的評價真是讓人感動。我常常想起媽媽的格言，并嘗試追隨她這個智慧的榜樣。這不是與生俱來的，但是當我與人交往越來越熟的時候，“強調最美的地方，忽略其他”讓我的交往變得越來越容易。

每個人身上都蘊藏著美麗，并不需要一雙受過藝術專業訓練的眼睛才能發現。

【人生啟迪】

如果一張白紙上滴上一滴墨水，我們永遠摳住那個黑點不放，而忽略了紙上其他雪白的地方。問題在我們自己身上。用更寬容的心態去面對這個世界，那么你從窗戶看出去就不會只看見地上的爛泥，還有滿天的繁星。