A carpenter's story

木匠的故事

An elderly carpenter was ready to retire. He told his employer-contractor of his plans to leave the house-building business to live a more leisurely life with his wife and enjoy his extended family. 

有个老木匠准备退休，他告诉老板，说要离开建造行业，回家与妻子儿女享受天伦之乐。

He would miss the paycheck, but he needed to retire. They could get by.The contractor was sorry to see his good worker go and asked if he could build just one more house as a personal favor. The carpenter said yes, but in time it was easy to see that his heart was not in his work. He resorted to shoddy workmanship and used inferior materials. It was an unfortunate way to end a dedicated career.

虽然老板给他的工资很高，可是，他更想享受退休生活。生活总能维持下去。老板很不舍得他的好工人离开，问他是否能帮忙再建一座房子。老木匠答应了。但是大家后来都看得出来，他的心已不在工作上，他使用的是次料，做工也很粗糙。这真是一种令人遗憾的结束自己全心全意所从事的事业的方式。

When the carpenter finished his work, his employer came to inspect the house，the contractor handed the front-door key to the carpenter. "This is your house," he said, "my gift to you."

房子建好的时候，老板前来视察，然后把大门的钥匙递给他，“这是你的房子，“他表示”是我送给你的礼物。”

The carpenter was shocked!

老木匠惊呆了！

What a shame! If he had only known he was building his own house, he would have done it all so differently.

真是丢脸啊！如果他早知道是在给自己建房子，他一定不会这么应付了事的。

So it is with us. We build our lives in a distracted way, reacting rather than acting, willing to put up less than the best. At important points we do not give the job our best effort. Then with a shock we look at the situation we have created and find that we are now living in the house we have built. If we had realized that we would have done it differently.

我们又何尝不是这样。我们漫不经心地“建造”自己的生活，不是积极行动，而是消极应付，凡事不肯精益求精，在关键时刻不能尽最大努力。等我们惊觉自己的处境，早已深困在自己建造的“房子”里了。如果能够重新来过，我们一定不会这么做。

Think of yourself as the carpenter. Think about your house. Each day you hammer a nail, place a board, or erect a wall. Build wisely. It is the only life you will ever build. Even if you live it for only one day more, that day deserves to be lived graciously and with dignity. The plaque on the wall says, "Life is a do-it-yourself project." Your life tomorrow will be the result of your attitudes and the choices you make today.

你就是那个木匠，在建造“生活”这所房子，每天敲进去一颗钉，加上去一块板，或者砌起一面墙。用你的智慧去建造你的"房子"吧！这是你将要建立的生活，即使你只住一天，这一天也值得过得优雅而有尊严。墙上的牌匾告诉我们：“生活就是一项DIY的工程。”你今天的态度与选择决定了你明天会住在什么样的“房子”里。