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Destiny, I feel, is also a relationship—a play between divine grace and willful self-effort. Half of it you have no control over; half of it is absolutely in your hands, and your actions will show measurable consequence. Man is neither entirely a puppet of the gods, nor is he entirely the captain of his own destiny; he's a little of both. We gallop through our lives like circus performers balancing on two speeding side-by-side horses—one foot is on the horse called "fate," the other on the horse called "free will." And the question you have to ask every day is—which horse is which? Which horse do I need to stop worrying about because it's not under my control, and which do I need to steer with concentrated effort?
命運，我認為也是一種關系——神恩與自我努力之間所進行的競賽。有一半不在你的掌控，有一半絕對取決于你，你的行動讓你看見可評量的結果。人不完全是諸神的傀儡，也不完全是自身命運的掌舵者；兩者皆有。我們在人生道路上奔馳而過，猶如馬戲班演員在并排奔跑的兩匹馬之間保持平衡——一腳踩著名叫“天命”的馬，一腳踩著名叫“自由意志”的馬。你每天必須問自己——哪匹馬是哪匹？我得停止為哪匹馬煩惱，因為其不是由我來控制的，而哪匹馬則需要我集中心力駕馭？
There is so much about my fate that I cannot control, but other things do fall under my jurisdiction. There are certain lottery tickets I can buy, thereby increasing my odds of finding contentment. I can decide how I spend my time, whom I interact with, whom I share my body and life and money and energy with. I can select what I eat and read and study. I can choose how I'm going to regard unfortunate circumstances in my life—whether I will see them as curses or opportunities (and on the occasions when I can't rise to the most optimistic viewpoint, because I'm feeling too damn sorry for myself, I can choose to keep trying to change my outlook). I can choose my words and the tone of voice in which I speak to others. And most of all, I can choose my thoughts.
我的命運大部分不是我能控制的，但有些事情的確受我管轄。有些彩票我能買，因此增加了找到滿足的幾率。我能決定怎么花時間，跟誰互動，和誰分享我的身體、生活、金錢和精力。我能挑選吃什么、讀什么、學什么。我能選擇怎么看待人生的不幸時刻——無論視之為詛咒或機會（還有些時候，因為自憐得要命而樂觀不起來的時候，我能選擇不斷改變自己的看法）。我能選擇跟他人說話的用字和語氣。最重要的是，我能選擇自己的想法。
This last concept is a radically new idea for me. Richard from Texas brought it to my attention recently, when I was complaining about my inability to stop brooding. He said, "Groceries, you need to learn how to select your thoughts just the same way you select what clothes you're gonna wear every day. This is a power you can cultivate. If you want to control things in your life so bad, work on the mind. That's the only thing you should be trying to control. Drop everything else but that. Because if you can't learn to master your thinking, you're in deep trouble forever."
最后這項概念，對我而言是個全新的觀點。德州理查最近讓我留意到這點，當時我正在抱怨自己無法停止沉思。他說：“食品雜貨，你得學學如何挑選你的思考，就像每天挑選穿什么衣服一樣。這種能力是可以培養的。假如你那么想控制自己的生活，就從腦子著手。你只該試著去控制這樣東西。除此之外，拋開一切。因為你若學不會操控自己的思考，恐怕前途不妙?！?/p>
