Youth & Beauty (年青與美貌)

Youth & Beauty (年青與美貌)

With one advancing in age, one’s beauty may fade, becomes less distinctive, and even dies out. Sometimes beauty goes with youth just as goes a Chinese saying, 『年青貌美』。However, beauty may not match one’s youth. A person’s beauty persists despite one’s old age as long as he/she keeps with him/her wisdom, charm, sense of humor, kindness, and charisma. Well, we are speaking of two kinds of beauty: physical beauty and spiritual beauty。The former perishes with age; while the latter might survive, flourish and shine permanently. But one thing is to be kept in mind: “age is an issue of mind over matter if you don’t mind; it does not matter at all”.

隨著年歲的增加，美貌會消褪、較不明顯，甚至消失。有時美麗與年青相伴，正如格言所謂『年青貌美』。儘管如此美貌也許不與年青搭配。可是，有人年紀雖大，美貌猶存，只要仍帶智慧、魅力、幽默、慈善與迷人風采。此處我們討論的是兩種美，外在美與內在美。前者隨年齡消逝，後者永存不退。但我們須牢記一件事：『年齡不過是心態的問題，如果你不介意，就毫問題』。

As is with most people, they pay too much attention to their looks, caring about more wrinkles on foreheads, eyes, or faces, etc. They pay less attention to their character and virtue building-up though a proverb goes- “beauty is but skin deep”. The outward beauty is only superficial because a person sometimes is judged not so much by his/her own outer appearance, (especially when one is getting older) as by the way they behave..

 

如同多數人，他們更重視外貌，關心前額、眼角或臉部其他部分的縐紋。他們較不注意品德的修養，雖然有諺語說，『不可以貌取人』。外在美不過是膚淺，因為有時候我們較少以外貌看人，對人品頭論足 (尤其年紀較大時) ，而較多以品德論人。

 

They may be as old as they look, but may be as young as they feel, or how others feel.  Though at 70, you might feel like as though you were in 40s. This is a fantastic feeling. Unfortunately, someone stupidly insists on being still “beautiful and young”, and demand that others should think likewise even if they are really getting older. However, in fact, we grow grey in our heart long before we grow grey in our hair. Growing grey in our hair is visible while growing old in our heart is invisible but can be felt.

人也許如其外貌那麼年老，但可能心理感覺卻是年青的，或他人感覺也是年輕。雖然已七老八十，但感覺上猶如40歲的壯年。有這樣的感覺是美好的。不幸，有人卻愚蠢地堅持自己，美貌年青依舊，也要求別人這麼想，縱使的確更老了。因為心老比年老更快。儘管如此，事實上頭髮變灰白看得見，心老看不見但感覺得到。

Sometimes, though addressed as “old men, old chaps, old ladies, old fellows, old ones, old folks”, they are not actually old.  Perhaps, this is only a usual kind of polite way of addressing senior citizens. If infuriated at such addressing, one might as well, humorously look at oneself in the mirror to see if one does deserve such addressing. Perhaps the addressing consists with what one really looks. If not, one does not necessarily have to be mad. To rebuke another’s such addressing and lose one’s temper is even idiotic and/or redundant.

有時，雖被稱為『老頭兒或老太婆』，他們並非真正年老。也許它只不過是一種通常對老年人客氣的稱呼而已。若因此發怒，我們倒不如幽默地去照鏡子看看，是否這樣稱呼適當，或許稱呼與其外貌相吻合。即使不適當，也不必發怒。因為憤怒地駁斥他人用此稱呼是愚笨，也是多餘的。

羅斯福總統夫人說，『雖然漂亮的年青男女是自然意外的產物，可是可愛的老年人才是藝術的傑作』。

You and your spouse might have been attracted to each other by outer appearance while young. As time went by, this relationship should have grown into a “confirmed” love, inevitably. Now notwithstanding an old age, this mutual attraction and attachment of the couple might be further strengthened by unperceivable virtue or character they are both possessed of.

年青時你/妳與配偶也許以美麗的外貌互相吸引。隨著時間的流逝，夫妻關係會自然地變成了堅定不移的愛情。如今雖然年老，但夫妻彼此的吸引力與愛慕，也許會因雙方所具備的，肉眼所看不到的美德而更加強。

讓我們來聆聽下列一首有關往日的年青- 『五月情懷』 “One Day When We Were Young…”來懷念春日歌曲與陶醉於『挽不回』的年青吧!

https://youtu.be/DDqzGEp9DR8?t=43

Justin Lai, (賴正雄) 寫於美國南加州

04/29/2015