對大多數人來說，人生大概就是吃飯睡覺、養家糊口。然而，我們庸庸碌碌的過完一生，直到最后一刻才發現：

It is not death most people are afraid of. It is getting to the end of life, only to realize that you never truly lived.
大部分人恐懼的不是死亡，而是在走到生命盡頭時，驀然回首才發現，你從未真正活過。

理查德?威廉姆斯（Richard Williams），又名Prince Ea，是美國著名的語言藝術家、詩人、饒舌歌手兼電影導演。他制作了一段關于人生與夢想的小視頻，被網友稱為“反思神曲”。不甘平庸的你看過后或許也會對自己的人生有所反思。

視頻一開始，威廉姆斯先和我們分享了一個小故事：

There was a study done, a hospital study on 100 elderly people facing death close to their last breath. They were asked to reflect about their life's biggest regret.
根據某家醫院的研究，訪問了一百名臨終前的老人，要他們回想，他們人生中最大的遺憾是什么？

Nearly all of them said they regretted not the things they did but the things they didn't do.
幾乎所有人的回答都不是關于他們做過的事，而是關于他們沒做過的事。

The risks they never took the dreams they didn't pursue.
比如沒冒過的險，沒追過的夢…

聽到這里，你有沒有開始想象，自己在彌留之際最遺憾的會是什么。威廉姆斯希望通過這個故事喚醒還在夢想前徘徊的人們，既然當初擁有夢想，為什么讓它從你的眼前溜走，為什么沒有勇氣去實現它。他說：

No, no I don't know much. But I know this every person on this earth has a gift.
雖然我知道的不多，但是有件事我懂，那就是“天生我材必有用”。

See people don't choose dreams, dreams choose them.
不是人們選擇夢想，而是夢想選擇人們。

So the question I'm getting to is, do you have the courage to grab the dream that picked you? That befits you and grips you; or will you let it get away and slip through?
所以我的問題是——你是否有勇氣抓住那個選中你的夢想？那個屬于你、撼動你的夢想！還是你會選擇眼睜睜地看著它溜走！

這番超燃的話語也許讓你感到震撼，追夢的心有些蠢蠢欲動，但是再想想前路的重重困難與挫折，你又有些退縮了。于是，威廉姆斯接著分享了另一個故事：

You know I learned a fact about airplanes the other day. This was – this was so surprising to see, I was talking to a pilot and he told me that many of his passengers think planes are dangerous to fly in. But he said actually, it is a lot more dangerous for a plane to stay on the ground. The plane starts to rust, malfunction and wear, much faster than it ever would if it was in the air.
我最近才知道一項關于飛機的事實——非常令人驚訝的事實——我跟一位駕駛員聊天，他告訴我有很多乘客覺得搭飛機很危險。但是他說事實上，飛機在地面上反而更危險。因為飛機在地面上，生銹、故障、零件老化的速度比在空中飛行時快很多。

As I walked away I thought, yeah, makes total sense because planes were built to live in the skies. And every person was built to live out the dream they have inside. So it is perhaps the saddest loss to live a life on the ground without ever taking off.
我后來想想，對啊，很有道理，因為飛機正是為了在空中飛行而生的，就像人類是為了活出心中的夢想而生的。所以人生在世最悲哀的，也許就是一輩子在陸上行走，我們的心從未起飛過。

你的心里或許擁有夢想，可卻總是因為這樣那樣的原因猶豫不前。但人是為了夢想而生的，不做嘗試就是給人生判了死刑，就像飛機一樣，如果不給自己一個飛翔的機會，那么只能在地上變成一堆廢銅爛鐵。

當然，困難、挫折都是在所難免的，而你只要記得一件事：

There's no such thing as a smooth mountain. If you want to make it to the top then, there are sharp ridges that have to be stepped over.
世界上沒有平滑的山，誰想要登上山頂，誰就必須先爬過陡峭的山脊。

Struggle and criticisms are prerequisites for greatness. That is the law of this universe and no one escapes it. Because pain is life but you can choose what type? Either the pain on the road to success or the pain of being haunted with regret.
煎熬與批評都是成就非凡的先決條件，這就是這個世界運行的法則，沒有一個人會不例外，因為有痛苦才是人生。但你可以選擇痛苦的種類，是邁向成功的痛苦，還是遺憾終生的痛苦。

如果你剛剛被夢想喚醒，不要覺得為時已晚，只要去行動，那就一！點！也！不！晚！你也可以成為舞蹈家、橄欖球明星，甚至可以把握最后一刻，讓生命不留遺憾。

You're not defined by your past instead you were born anew in each moment. So own it now.
過去無法定義你，因為未來的每一刻你都是全新的自己，所以請把握當下。

You cannot go back and make a brand new beginning. But you can start now and make a brand new ending.
你或許無法回到過去重新開始，但你可以從現在開始創造嶄新的未來。

（編輯：董靜）