After the illness, then death, of a close family friend within a much too short six week period of time, I began to ponder the fragility

　　of life and the limited time we have here on earth... When faced withour own mortality, many of us wonder if we have made the right choicesabout our lives and what other paths we could have chosen。

　　在短短的六個星期內(nèi)，經(jīng)歷了一個親朋好友的病痛，死亡之后，我就開始思考生命的脆弱，以及我們到底有多少有限的時間。當(dāng)我們面臨死亡的那一刻，我們中的大部分人都想知道在一生中做出的選擇是否都是正確的，如若不然，我們還有些什么樣的其他選擇。

　　考慮其他的選擇

　　It is important to takethe time to consider our options and to evaluate the choices so that wehave time to work, time to play and time to make sure our life is asfulfilling as it can be. After all, the time we do have to "get itright" is limited. Sister Jean C. Peters, CSJ says in the CSJ Newsline"I do not suggest that hard work has no place in our lives, but itcannot have the only place. A sense of leisure and a spirit of playneed space in us as well"。

　　花一些時間去考慮、評估我們做出的選擇是很重要的，因為這樣我們才有時間去工作，娛樂，才能確保我們的生活過得最充實。畢竟，我們能夠“做對”的時間是有限的。Jean C.Peters在CSJ新聞縱橫上說：“雖然我不并不建議生覆蓋不要努力工作，但是努力工作也不應(yīng)該占據(jù)生活中的唯一位置。我們也需要一點悠閑的時間，一種游戲的精神。”Achieve Balance

　　達(dá)到平衡

　　How do we achievebalance in our lives? It takes planning and it takes action. A friendof mine recently downgraded her job, cut her hours (and her paycheck)so she could pick up her daughter from school several times a week. Itwasn't easy, but, she set up a budget and, with planning, calculatedhow she could live on her reduced income。

　　在生活中我們怎么才能達(dá)到平衡呢？要有計劃和行動。最近我有一位朋友，減少了自己的工作量，工作時間和薪水，為的是每周有時間去學(xué)校接女兒放學(xué)。這是很不容易的，但是她制定了一份預(yù)算計劃，合理地分配了符合縮水后薪水的生活消費。

　　靈活的工作選擇

　　Flexibleschedule is another option. Working some hours in the office and somehours at home allows for more time with the family. Spending some of mywork hours at home has benefited my employer - we now have emailcoverage on evenings and weekends rather than strictly during officehours. For those of us who do work from home setting limits isimportant. For some telecommuters, designated office hours have helpedmanage their time. Job Sharing is an another alternative - two peoplecan often share one position。

　　靈活的工作制度是另外一個選擇。在辦公室里上幾個小時的班，在家里多待點時間。我在家里工作也讓我的上司獲益，現(xiàn)在我們在晚上甚至周末都可以互通郵件，而不是按照嚴(yán)格的上班規(guī)定時間。對于在家工作的大部分人來說設(shè)置時限是很重要的。對于一些遠(yuǎn)程工作者來說，指定的工作時間可以幫助他們很好的管理自己的時間。工作分擔(dān)是另外一種選擇，兩個人可以經(jīng)常換工作做。

　　Keepin mind that the worst that can happen if you ask your boss aboutflexible work options is that he can say no. If you don't ask, youwon't have a chance. If you do, you may just be pleasantly surprised。

　　要記住，你開口向你的老板提出彈性工作制度的最壞結(jié)果只是他的拒絕。但是如果你不問的話，你連機會都沒有。如果你開口問了，或許有意想不到的驚喜。

　　行動起來

　　Moredramatic measures are sometimes in order. Several years ago, MichaelLandes, author of the Back Door Guide to Short-Term Adventures starteda new life engaging in short-time work experiences. Michael recentlytold me that "It was all these short-term job adventures that allowedme to grow into this phase and open my eyes to what I really wanted -BALANCE in my career, life, relationships, and home. It's as if I camefull circle I left my secure job, home, relationship, and community sixyears ago to explore the world (along with nurturing my dream andpassion - my book, and everything that comes with that). The workcomponent had really consumed my life. Now is the time to go back towhat I left - but with fresh eyes and a new perspective... We will have phases through our entire life where one area will rise above the other - the key, however, is BALANCE."

　　還有很多有效地達(dá)到平衡的方法。幾年以前，Back Door Guide to Short-Term Adventures一書的作者M(jìn)ichaelLandes開始嘗試了一種短時間工作的經(jīng)歷。最近他告訴我說：“就是因為有這些短期工作的經(jīng)驗，我才能夠達(dá)到今天的地步，我才能找到我真正想要的。在我的事業(yè)，生活，人際關(guān)系，和家庭生活之間找到平衡。就好像一個循環(huán)一樣，六年前，為了探知一個未知的新世界，我離開了有保障的工作，家庭，拋棄了所有的關(guān)系。工作真的毀了我的生活。而現(xiàn)在，又回到了我離開前的樣子了，唯一不同的是新鮮的看法和不同的觀點。我們的整個生命進(jìn)程中，都會有不同的階段此起彼伏，而關(guān)鍵就是找到平衡。

　　Balance is possible and well worth the effort sometimes required to achieve it. After all, we really don't have forever。

　　找到平衡是有可能的，有時候是值得努力去達(dá)到這個平衡的。畢竟，我們沒有永遠(yuǎn)。