拉尔夫·里士满/RalphRichmond
JusttenyearsagoIsatacrossthedeskfromadoctorwithastethoscope.“Yes，”hesaid，“……”Ilistened, stunned, ashecontinued：“You', we'llsee……”Hegavemenoassurance.
Feelinglikeamanwho, inmid-career, hassuddenlybeenplacedundersentenceofdeathwithanindefnitereprieve, Ileftthedoctor'soffce, walkedovertotheparkandsatdownonabench—perhaps, asIthentoldmyself, .
, gotintobedandsetmywatchtotickoffnottheminutesbutthemonths.
Twoandahalfyears, andmanydashedhopeslater, .
：Taketimebeforetimetakesyou.
IrealizenowthatthisworldI'mlivinginisnotmyoystertobeopened, -fourbrandnew, wonderfulhours—nottopassbuttofill.I'velearnedtoappreciatethoselittleall-importantthingsIneverthoughtIhadthetimetonoticebefore—theplayoflightonrunningwater, themusicofthewindinmyfavoritepinetree.
, forinstance, 'scitizenshipinaworldonehadnearlylost.
FrequentlyIsitbackandsaytomyself：LetmemakenoteofthismomentI''mwell, happy, 'talwaysbelikethis；sowhileitis, I', I'llrememberandbegrateful.
AllthisIowetothatlongtimespent“onthesidelines”'twiseenough.I'mwisernow—alittle—andhappier.
“Lookthylastonallthingslovely—everyhour！”—inspiteofwhatmannowandthentriestodotounmakeit—adwellingplaceofbeautyandwonder, ：ShouldInotprettyoftentaketimetoabsorbthebeautyandthewonder, tocontributeatleastalittletothegoodness?AndshouldInotthen, inmyheart, givethanks?.
就在十年前，我与拿着听诊器的医生相对而坐。他说：“你的左肺叶上部有一处坏损，病情正在恶化……”听到这些，我顿时愣住了。他接着说道：“你必须放下工作，卧床休息。稍后，我们会对你进行进一步的观察……”对于我的病情，医生也不是很有把握。
事业正值中天的我突然感觉像被判了刑，而刑期却尚未确定。我走出医生的办公室，坐在公园的长椅上，我告诉自己，这也许是最后一次了，我需要好好想一想。
