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Once upon a time, there was a girl who could do anything in the world she wanted.
从前,有一个女孩,她可以做任何她想做的事情.
All she had to do was choose something and focus.
她只需要选择一个目标并专注于它.
So, one day she sat down in front of a blank canvas and began to paint.
于是,有一天,她坐在一块空白的画布前,开始绘画.
Every stroke was more perfect than the next, slowly and gracefully converging to build a flawless masterpiece.
每一笔都比上一笔更完美,缓慢而优雅地汇聚成一幅无瑕的杰作.
当她最终完成绘画时,她骄傲地注视着自己的作品,露出了微笑.
It was obvious to the clouds and the stars, who were always watching over her, that she had a gift.
云朵和星星们都能看出她的天赋,因为它们总是守护着她.
She was an artist.
她是一位艺术家.
And she knew it too.
她自己也知道这一点.
She felt it in every fiber of her being.
她感受到自己每一根神经都在传达这一点.
But a few moments after she finished painting, she got anxious and quickly stood up.
但在完成绘画后的几分钟内,她变得焦虑起来,迅速站起身来.
Because she realized that while she had the ability to do anything in the world she wanted to do, she was simply spending her time moving paint around on a piece of canvas.
因为她意识到,虽然她有能力做任何她想做的事情,但她只是在画布上移动颜料而已.
She felt like there was so much more in the world to see and do--so many options.
她觉得世界上还有太多的东西可以看到和做--那么多的选择.
And if she ultimately decided to do something else with her life, then all the time she spent painting would be a waste.
如果她最终决定做些其他的事情,那么她花在绘画上的时间就会白费.
So she glanced at her masterpiece one last time, and walked out the door into the moonlight.
所以她最后瞥了一眼她的杰作,然后走出了门,走进了月光下.
And as she walked, she thought, and then she walked some more.
她一边走,一边思考,然后继续走.
While she was walking, she didn't notice the clouds and the stars in the sky who were trying to signal her, because she was preoccupied with an important decision she had to make.
在她走路的时候,她没有注意到天上的云朵和星星在试图向她示意,因为她专注于一个重要的决定.
She had to choose one thing to do out of all the possibilities in the world.
她必须从世界上的所有可能性中选择一件事情去做.
Should she practice medicine? Or design buildings? Or teach children? She was utterly stumped.
她应该去从医? 还是设计建筑? 还是教孩子们? 她感到非常困惑.
Twenty-five years later, the girl began to cry.
二十五年后,这个女孩开始哭泣.
Because she realized she had been walking for so long,
and that over the years she had become so enamored by everything that she could do-the endless array of possibilities-that she hadn't done anything meaningful at all.
因为她意识到她走了这么久,
随着岁月的流逝,
她被自己能够做的所有事情--无尽的可能性所迷住,结果却没有做任何有意义的事情.
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And she learned, at last, that life isn't about possibility
---anything is possible.
她最终明白,生活不是关于可能性, 一切都是可能的.
Life is about making a decision ---deciding to do something that moves you.
生活是关于做出决定 ---决定做一些让你感动的事情.
So the girl, who was no longer a girl, purchased some canvas and paint from a local craft store, drove to a nearby park, and began to paint.
于是,这个不再是女孩的女人,从当地的工艺店购买了一些画布和颜料,开车到附近的公园,开始绘画.
One stroke gracefully led into the next just as it had so many moons ago.
每一笔都优雅地连接到下一笔,就像许多月前一样.
And as she smiled, she continued painting through the day and into the night.
她微笑着,继续画画,画了一整天,直到夜晚.
Because she had finally made a decision.
因为她终于做出了决定.
And there was still some time left to revel in the magic that life is all about.
还有时间去陶醉于生活的魔力中.
