A long time ago, there was a huge apple tree. A little boy loved to come and lay around it every day. He climbed to the tree top, ate the apples, took a nap under the shadow... He loved the tree and the tree loved to play with him.

很久很久以前，有一棵又高又大的蘋果樹。一位小男孩，天天到樹下來，他爬上去摘蘋果吃，在樹蔭下睡覺。他愛蘋果樹，蘋果樹也愛和他一起玩耍。

Time went by... the little boy had grown up and he no longer played around the tree every day. One day, the boy came back to the tree and he looked sad. “Come and play with me,” the tree asked the boy. “I am no longer a kid, I don’t play around trees anymore.” The boy replied, “I want toys. I need money to buy them.” “Sorry, but I don’t have money...but you can pick all my apples and sell them. So, you will have money.” The boy was so excited. He grabbed all the apples on the tree and left happily. The boy never came back after he picked the apples. The tree was sad.

后來，小男孩長大了，不再天天來玩耍。一天他又來到樹下，很傷心的樣子。蘋果樹要和他一起玩，男孩說：“不行，我不小了，不能再和你玩，我要玩具，可是沒錢買。”蘋果樹說：“很遺憾，我也沒錢，不過，把我所有的果子摘下來賣掉，你不就有錢了?”男孩十分激動，他摘下所有的蘋果，高高興興地走了。然后，男孩好久都沒有來。蘋果樹很傷心。

One day, the boy returned and the tree was so excited. “Come and play with me,” the tree said. “I don’t have time to play. I have to work for my family. We need a house for shelter. Can you help me?” “Sorry, but I don’t have a house. But you can chop off my branches to build your house.” So the boy cut all the branches off the tree and left happily. The tree was glad to see him happy but the boy never came back since then. The tree was again lonely and sad.

有一天，男孩終于來了，樹興奮地邀他一起玩。男孩說：“不行，我沒有時間，我要替家里干活呢，我們需要一幢房子，你能幫忙嗎?”“我沒有房子，”蘋果樹說，“不過你可以把我的樹枝統統砍下來，拿去搭房子。”于是男孩砍下所有的樹枝，高高興興地運走去蓋房子。看到男孩高興樹好快樂。從此，男孩又不來了。樹再次陷入孤單和悲傷之中。

One hot summer day, the boy returned and the tree was delighted. “Come and play with me!” the tree said. “I am sad and getting old. I want to go sailing to relax myself. Can you give me a boat?” “Use my trunk to build your boat. You can sail far away and be happy.” So the boy cut the tree trunk to make a boat. He went sailing and never showed up for a long time. The tree was happy, but it was not true.

一年夏天，男孩回來了，樹太快樂了：“來呀!孩子，來和我玩呀。”男孩卻說：“我心情不好，一天天老了，我要揚帆出海，輕松一下，你能給我一艘船嗎?”蘋果樹說：“把我的樹干砍去，拿去做船吧!”于是男孩砍下了她的樹干，造了條船，然后駕船走了，很久都沒有回來。樹好快樂……但不是真的。

Finally, the boy returned after he left for so many years. “Sorry, my boy. But I don’t have anything for you anymore. No more apples for you...” the tree said.

“I don’t have teeth to bite,” the boy replied.

許多年過去，男孩終于回來，蘋果樹說：“對不起，孩子，我已經沒有東西可以給你了，我的蘋果沒了。”

男孩說：“我的牙都掉了，吃不了蘋果了。”

“No more trunk for you to climb on.”

“I am too old for that now,” the boy said.

“I really can’t give you anything... the only thing left is my dying roots,” the tree said with tears.

蘋果樹又說：“我再沒有樹干，讓你爬上來了。”

男孩說：“我太老了，爬不動了。”

“我再也沒有什么給得出手了……，只剩下枯死下去的老根，”樹流著淚說。

“I don’t need much now, just a place to rest. I am tired after all these years.” The boy replied.

“Good! Old tree roots is the best place to lean on and rest. Come, Come sit down with me and rest.” The boy sat down and the tree was glad and smiled with tears...

男孩說：“這么多年過去了，現在我感到累了，什么也不想要，只要一個休息的地方。”

“好啊!老根是最適合坐下來休息的，來啊，坐下來和我一起休息吧!”男孩坐下來，蘋果樹高興得流下了眼淚……

This is a story of everyone. The tree is our parent. When we were young, we loved to play with Mom and Dad... When we grown up, we left them, and only came to them when we need something or when we are in trouble. No matter what, parents will always be there and give everything they could to make you happy. You may think that the boy is cruel to the tree but that’s how all of us are treating our parents.

這就是我們每個人的故事。這顆樹就是我們的父母。小時候，我們喜歡和爸爸媽媽玩……長大后，我們就離開他們，只在需要什么東西或者遇到麻煩的時候，才回到他們身邊。無論如何，父母永遠都在那兒，傾其所有使你快樂。你可能認為這個男孩對樹很殘酷，但這就是我們每個人對待父母的方式。

Take time out during the day for quiet time to listen to your inner voice. You may want to use your quiet time to meditate or pray. However you use this time, the key is to shut out all of the noise around you by focusing deep within yourself. Breathing deeply during quiet time will also help you focus. I know it’s hard to find quiet time during a particularly busy day, but it’s so important — even if it’s just 10 minutes a day and you have to sneak away to get it. Quiet time can really make a difference in your life. It enables you to hear God speaking to your heart reminding you of His perfect love for you.

白天花些時間出去，獨自傾聽自己的心聲。你可能想利用這段安靜的時間沉思或祈禱。無論如何利用這段時間，關鍵是要排除周圍所有的噪音，關注自己的內心深處。安靜的時間進行深呼吸也能幫你集中注意力。我知道在特別忙碌的日子找到安靜的時間很難，然而這很重要——即使一天只有10分鐘，你也要溜開抓住它。安靜的時間確實能使你的生命變得不同，它促使你傾聽上帝與你的心靈對話，使你想起他賦予你的完美的愛。

Be honest with yourself by paying attention to your actions. Actions speak louder than words, and they always tell the truth. What do your actions say about you? If you say you love your job, but your actions say otherwise, which do you think is more true — your words or your actions? On the other hand, if you say you’re not good at a certain job, but your actions say otherwise, that’s also important. What do you do with this insight? You can use it to make more beneficial choices in your life. By being honest with yourself based on your previous actions, your actions moving forward will be based on truth instead of just what you tell yourself.

坦誠對己，注重行動吧。事實勝于雄辯，行動才能證明事實。你的行動是如何說明你的呢?如果你說熱愛自己的工作，而你的行動正好相反，你認為哪個更有說服力呢——言語還是行動?另一方面，如果你說不擅長某項工作，但你的行動正好相反，這也很重要。你怎么處理你這種能力?你可以由此在生活中做出更多的選擇，坦誠對己也建立在以前的行為上，你以后的行動將會以事實為基礎，而不只是你的言詞。

Despite what your subconscious may be telling you, you can have love with no limits. The key is to unconditionally love yourself first.

不管你的潛意識告訴你什么，你都能夠擁有無盡的愛，關鍵是首先你要無條件地愛自己。