When I was young, I was always frustrated, almost everything ending in failure. I became utterly disheartened, sighing miserably all day. Having seen me like that, my father decided to enlighten and cheer me up.
One day, he gave me a cup of water and asked me to taste it. I found it salty. My father said he just put one small spoonful of salt in the cup. And then, he led me to a lake, where he scattered a big handful of salt into the lake, scooped up a spoonful of water and let me taste it again. He asked, “Does it still taste salty?” “Not at all,” I said. My father said, “Now, you may know the root of your pains: you are just a cup of water, but not a lake. To be a lake and you won't feel miserable any more.”
I came to understand my father's motive : That I feel miserable is because my heart is as small as a cup of water without grand ideals and ambitions as a lake.
我年轻的时候，备受挫折，几乎一事无成。我彻底灰心丧气，整日长吁短叹，痛苦不堪。父亲见状，决定开导我，让我重新振作起来。
有一天，他拿给我一杯水，让我尝尝味道。我觉得很咸。父亲说他往杯子里放了一小勺盐。然后，他领我来到湖边，往湖里撒了一大把盐。他用手舀给我一捧水，又让我尝味道。他问：“还觉得咸吗？”“一点儿也不咸。”我说。父亲说：“现在你知道自己痛苦的根源了吧：你就像是一杯水，还没有成湖。等你成了一片湖，就再也不觉得痛苦了。”
我渐渐理解了父亲这么做的目的：我之所以感到痛苦就是因为心胸狭小，好似杯中之水，缺乏湖水那样的远大理想和宏伟抱负。
-utterly [ˈʌtəlɪ] adv. 全然，完全地
-motive [ˈməʊtɪv] n. 动机
修炼积极正面的心态，终归是为了把自己从原本无力消解的情绪中解放出来。