摘录自“The Last Lecture”  / by Randy Pausch

I have an engineering problem.

While for the the mos part I’m in terrific physical shape, I have ten tumors in my liver and I have only a few months left to live.

I am a father of three young children, and married to the woman of my dreams.  While I could easily feed story for myself, that wouldn’t do them, or me any good.

So, how to spend my very limited time?

The obvious part is being with, and taking care of, my family.  While I still can, I embrace every moment with them, and do the logistical things necessary to ease their path into a life without me.

The less obvious part is how to teach my children what Ｉ would have taught them over the next twenty years.  They are too young now to have those conversation.  All parents want to teach their children right from wrong, what we think is important, and how to deal with the challenges life will bring.  We also want them to know some stories from our own lives, often as a way to teach how to lead theirs. my desire to do that led me to give a “last lecture” at Carnegie Mellon University.

These lectures are routinely videotaped.  I knew what I was doing that day.  Under the ruse of giving an academic lecture, I was trying to put myself in a bottle that would one day wash up on the beach for my children.  If I were a painter, I would have painted for them.  If I were a musician, I would have composed music.  But I am a lecturer.  So I lectured.

I lectured about the joy of life, about how much I appreciated life, even with so little of my own left.  I talked about honesty, integrity, gratitude, and other things I hold dear.  And I tried very hard not to be boring.

This book is a way for me to continue what I began on stage.  Because time is precious, and I want to spend all that I can with my kids, I asked Jeffrey Zaslow for help.  Each day, I ride my bike around my neighborhood, getting exercise crucial for my health.  On fifty-three long bike rides, I spoke to Jeff on my cell-phone headset.  He then spent countless hours helping to turn my stories — I suppose we could call them fifty-three “lectures”  —into the book that follows.

We knew right from the start: None of this is a replacement for a living parent.  But engineering isn’t about perfect solutions; it’s about doing the best you can with limited resources.  Both the lecture and this book are my attempts to do exactly that.

在我还未学会“园艺”这两个字以前，我就开始有了自己的“菜园”。  在大城市中长大的我竟然在后巷一小片长满杂草和遍布垃圾的空地上，整理出一小片地方，幼小的我从厨房和妈妈的菜篮中，找到过发芽的洋葱、马铃薯，红豆、绿豆、花生、番茄。。。。，让我第一次近距离观察何谓生命，以及感受到生命的变化所带来的喜悦。

“园艺治疗”这个名词是在台湾出版的MY LOHAS 生活杂志中读到的。 在此与大家分享：

“这套非药物的身心治疗，在国外行之有年， 自有其医学的根据，让老人在晚年的生活里，获得更好的身心均衡状态。  在安养中心，照护的最重要意旨，应该是希望老人住进去后，继续有学习的动能。 最怕他们因为离开原有家庭，失去对生命的热情，整日虚度以待。 园艺治疗的出现，无疑地，提供了这个美好的改善机会。

其实园艺治疗也不只在安养中心。 对许多上班族，这更是一片越来越须趁早学习的生活课程，为自己的老年做一些生活美学的投资。 从年轻时，就学习认识蔬果，多逛菜市场，购买有机蔬果，就是保护自己身体的开始。

在家里的阳台，觅得小地方种菜，也是一个好的摸索起步。 从学习栽植，更能清楚土地跟我们的关系。 不要老年时，五谷不分，只会消费地球，什么都仰赖看护的人，那就相当悲哀了。”

园艺，无论是种菜，或是种花，都是贴近大自然的机会。  从观察一株植物的萌芽、长叶、开花，乃至结果、枯萎，都让我们体认生命的过程。 从植物与周遭环境、天气、各种小动物和昆虫的互动，无不提醒我们，小至蜜蜂、蚂蚁，都是食物链中的一颗螺丝钉。  自称万物之灵的我们到底有什么权利去剥夺其他生物生存的空间？

人类几十年的生命，对于地球来说只是溅不起水花的一颗沙尘，然而因为我们的自私自大，却滥杀其他生物，甚至破坏整个地球的环境！

园艺治疗，所能为我们带来的助益，不仅仅是身体的锻炼，更是心灵的启迪和情绪的舒缓。 当我们亲手栽种一株植物，看着生命从一颗种子开始，在我们的手中萌芽成长，它带给我们的喜悦与满足是金钱买不回来的。（那些认为何必这样辛苦自己种，直接把花/菜买回来不是更省事的人永远也不会了解。）

园艺，对于充满压力和焦虑的我们来说，更是能量的变压器，可以将负能量在栽种的过程中释放，并重新注入正能量因子。 每一次的播种、掘土、施肥、拔草都是一种完成。 每一次的付出和用心，植物都会给予我们更多的回应，只要你静心观察就会知道。