Jacob的部落格

神寫給你的一封信  ──  你是世界上最偉大的奇蹟(中譯)

源自Simon Potter【上帝備忘錄】(The God Memorandum) 的訊息

By 奧格‧曼狄諾(Og Mandino)

受件人：你
發件人：神

仔細聆聽！我聽見了你的低泣。

它穿越過黝暗的太空，透過層層雲彩，融於點點星光，最後攀上
陽光之翼，直刺我心。

眼見野兔在羅網中奄奄一息，麻雀由溫暖的窩巢被打落，幼童無
助地在水塘裡沈浮掙扎，我痛苦萬分。

記住，我聽得見你的呼號。保持平安，保持冷靜。

我了解痛苦之由.…..和治療之方，我為你帶來了解脫之道。

你為那隨著歲月褪色的童年夢幻而哭泣；
你為那因失敗而瓦解的自尊哭泣；
你為那因害怕風險而被出賣的天賦哭泣；
你為那被踐踏在群體腳下的個性哭泣；
你為那被妄用糟蹋的才能哭泣。

你輕蔑地望著自己。每在水邊見到自己的倒影，會不禁地驚惶逃
避，那個以羞愧無神的眼光回望過來的傢伙又是誰？

你優雅的舉止，姣好的面容，敏捷的反應，清明的神智，巧辯的口舌，
都到那兒去了？究竟是誰竊走了你的財富？這元兇究竟是誰？

也許你和我一樣早就心裡有數了。

你曾經徜徉於你父家如茵的草坪上，仰望著雲彩中的城堡，
相信古巴比倫帝國的金銀珠寶遲早都會落在你手中。

你開始閱讀寫字時，已經相信有一天你能媲美所羅門王的智慧，
且凌駕於眾賢哲之上。

春去秋來，年歲漸長，終有一天，你將高高在上統治你的伊甸王國。

你可記得是誰在你的夢中播下這些希望的種子？

你不記得了。

你不記得由母腹中掙出的那一剎那，我曾用手輕撫你的額頭。
我為你祝福之時，曾在你的小耳朵邊低訴那個祕密。

記得我們的祕密嗎？

你不記得了。

歲月沖去了你的記憶。多少年來，歲月在你心中塞進了恐懼、疑慮、
痛苦悲傷和憎恨。凡是這些怪獸所霸佔之處，絲毫不容美好的記憶存在。

不要傷心了。我和你在一起……今天將是你一生的轉捩點。
過去的歲月就像你藏身母腹的時光一樣過去了。逝去的，已不復存在，讓它過去吧！

今天，你將由行屍走肉之境回頭；

今天，我將一如古時，向你伸出我的手，使你復生；

今天，我將一如古時，以我的嘴唇覆蓋你的嘴唇，以我的眼睛覆蓋你的眼睛，
以我的手覆蓋你的手。使你的血肉之軀再度充滿溫煦的生機；

今天，是你的生日，可喜可賀的重生之日。前面的一段生活，
只不過是即將推出的好戲的前一段預演而已。這回，舞台的帷幕正
式升起；這回，世界正拭目以待，等著報以掌聲；這回，你不會失敗了。

燃上蠟燭，切開蛋糕，斟滿酒杯，為你的重生乾杯。
有如由繭中掙脫的蝴蝶，正舉翼待飛……盡情地飛翔，
不會再有黃蜂追擾你尋覓真實而燦爛的人生。

感謝你頭上那雙祝福的手吧！聆聽我的智慧之言。

讓我再次告訴你，那已被你忘懷的初生之刻的祕密：

你是我最大的奇蹟；
你是我在世間最偉大的奇蹟。

這是你出生時最先聽到的話，然後你才哭了，大家都跟著喜極而
泣。

那時，你並不相信我所說的……往後的經歷也未能糾正你的不信
想想，你怎麼可能是最偉大的奇蹟？你連最低賤的粗活都做不好；
你對複雜的人生責任一點把握也沒有；當你被一大堆債務所困，
每天一醒來就得為明天的口糧煩惱時，你算是什麼奇蹟？

算了，潑出去的水已收不回來了。想想，我曾為你差遣了多少先
知詩人、藝術家、作曲家、學者和特使前來，提醒你們本具的神聖人格，
化凡為聖的潛能和成功的祕訣？你怎樣對待了他們？

然而，此時，我對你的愛始終不渝，永遠與你同在。
正如先知所預言的；神將二度伸出大能的手，使祂的遺民復生。

我伸出了我的手。
這已經是第二次了。
你是我的遺民。

你難道不知道這回事？你難道沒聽過？在開天闢地之初，
你不是就明白這回事了嗎？算了，再問也是徒然。

你不知道，有沒聽過，從來也沒真正開竅過。
早就有人告訴過你，你是微服出巡的神靈、是遊戲人間的天使。
早就有人告訴過你，你是一尊匠心獨運的藝術品。高貴的理性，
無可限量的官能，舉手投足之間美妙地傳達自我，有如行動中的天使，沈思中的神靈。
你早就擁有隻手擎天，行神奇事蹟的祕訣。

你卻什麼也不相信。你燒毀了通往樂園的地圖，你放棄了心靈平
安的權利，你吹熄了榮耀之道的指路明燈。就這樣，你在無助及
自憐的黑暗中摔倒了，迷路了，憂悶交加，最後跌進自己所造的地獄中。

於是你捶胸而泣，詛咒那臨頭的噩運。你不願承認它們是來自你
的卑賤想法及惰行。你只想歸咎於他人，而你總是隨手一指，
就找到了這個倒楣的代罪羔羊。

你怪罪於我。

你大聲控訴你身心的種種障礙、你的平凡、你的失敗，
毫無轉機的日子……這一切都出自神的旨意。

你錯了。讓我們一起來清點一下你的資本。

首先，檢查一下你的身心障礙，因為如果你連起碼的工具都沒有，
我怎能要求你重建新生活？

你眼睛瞎了？從未見過日出日落？
不，你看得見……我在你眼中設置了無數精巧的裝置，讓你享受
綠葉、雪花、湖水、飛鷹、兒童、雲彩、星星、玫瑰、彩虹……
還有人間的溫情。記下第一個大福氣！

你耳朵聾了嗎？你聽不見嬰兒的啼哭歡笑聲？

不，你聽得見……我在你耳中設置了神祕又神奇的器官，應著樹
間的風聲、礁上的潮聲、壯麗的交響樂、知更鳥啼、
小孩的嘻笑……還會隨著輕軟的愛語而震動。再記下一個福氣！

你是啞巴嗎？你的雙唇只能蠕動出泡沫，卻發不出聲來？

不，你能說話。沒有任何動物具有你的語言能力，能夠平息他人
的怒氣，令沮喪的人奮發向上，使憂悶的人開懷一笑，溫暖孤獨
的心靈，讚美偉大的人格，鼓勵失意者，開導無知者……還有能
對意中人說句「我愛你」。再記下這個福氣！

你麻痺癱瘓嗎？你一無所能的身體令大地蒙羞？

不。你行動自如得很。當風雨來襲，世人交傷，你不是一株硬插
在一小塊土壤中動彈不得的樹木；你可以伸展自己的肢體，
能跑，能舞，能動。你有精心設計的上百束筋肌，兩百根骨頭，
數不清的信息纖維，供你完成使命。再記下這個福氣！

沒有人愛過你？你也不曾喜歡過任何人？日復一日，夜復一夜地
忍受孤獨的侵襲？

不，不再是這樣了，因為你已經知道愛的祕密 ---- 唯有不圖還報
，才堪受愛的贈禮。若是為了某種成就，為滿足私慾，或為自我
形象，這並不是愛，愛是不圖還報的贈禮。如今你必已了解，
無私的愛本身就是最大的報酬。未經還報的愛，並非徒然無益，
它還會流回你處，舒暢淨化你的心靈。再記下這個福氣！且計兩次。

你的心臟有毛病？它支撐你的生命大半輩子，如今已經破漏損傷了？

不，你的心臟強壯得很。摸摸你的胸脯，感覺一下它跳動的韻律
，一時復一時，一日復一日，每年跳動三千六百萬次，年年如
此，不論睡時或醒時，它將血液導入漫長的動、靜脈和血管
中……一年總計如一條小河的血液。人靠自己永遠也製造不出這
麼精確的機器。再記下這個福氣！

你的皮膚可曾染上傳染病了？當你走出來時，人們都恐慌地避之
唯恐不及？不，你的皮膚光滑無比，它真是個奇妙的造化，只需
要清水刷洗，一點兒油膏保養就夠了。連金屬都會變色生鏽，皮
膚卻不會；最堅硬的金屬都會日久損蝕，那層薄薄的保護膜卻不
會。它能不斷自我更新，新陳代謝，好比你這新人取代舊人一樣。再記下一個福氣。

你的胸腔內部污染了嗎？生命的氣息再也進不去體內了？

不。你的生命之窗，在你們所造成的惡劣生存環境之下，仍然忠實地支撐著你。
上萬個肺泡不停地工作，濾出生命所仰賴的氣體，清除有害的廢氣。再記下一個福氣。

你的心智衰弱嗎？你無法再為自己設想了？

不，你的大腦具有宇宙最複雜的組織。古今多少奇蹟，無一足以與你媲美。

你是最精緻的創造。

你身內有足夠毀滅世上各大城市…再重新建造起來的能量。

你窮嗎？只因口袋裡沒有金銀珠寶？

不，你富有得很。我們剛才清點了你的資本，仔細讀讀這張清單，再核對一下你的財產。

你為什麼老是否定自己？總是怨嘆自己缺少別人都有的福氣？
你還有什麼理由自欺說：你無力改善自己的生活？你真的缺乏天
賦、知覺、能力、快樂、本能、感受和自尊？你真的已失去了希
望？你為什麼像個被擊倒的巨人，哆嗦地縮在陰暗的角落，
等待別人的同情，護送你到虛無及消沈的地獄裡？

你擁有這麼多，你的福氣已溢出了你的杯外。我毫無保留，
忠實不二地賜給你這些福份，你卻一副不屑一顧的模樣，
十足像個被奢逸生活寵壞的孩子。

回答我。

回答你自己。

哪一個富有的老人、病人和身體孱弱的人，不願用他所有的身家
財富和你交換你棄如敝屣的福氣？

你現在可明白了，通往快樂與成功的第一個祕訣，就是你現在已
經擁有活得光彩所需要的福氣。它們是你的財富、工具，藉著它
們，你今天就可以開始為美好的新生活奠下基石。

因此，我說，數一數你的福氣，認清自己這個偉大的造化。就是
使你走出行屍走肉的生活、活出人性光輝、活出奇蹟來，所應遵
守的第一條法則。

珍惜在貧窮中所學到的經驗。擁有的少，並不代表貧窮；慾望深
不見底的人才是真窮……生活的保障，不在於一個人所擁有之物，
而在於一個人沒有它也能活得很好的事實。

造成你失敗的障礙在哪裡？它們只存在你的想法裡。

好好清點一下自己的福氣。


第二條法則與第一條性質相似——展現你獨一無二的特質。

我知道你早已將自己棄置於慌冷的墓地，對自己的失敗耿耿於懷
，以自憎、自咎來懲罰自己，毀滅自己。

你覺得奇怪嗎？

你是不是奇怪，在你無法寬恕自己以前，我早就寬恕了你的失敗，
你的過錯以及可怕的作為！

我可以告訴你三個理由：你需要我；你並不屬於那將在平凡庸俗
的世界裡終老一生的人；而且……你是獨一無二的稀世珍寶。

想一想大師們的藝術品，為什麼價值連城？可歸於兩個因素：它
們的作者都是才華洋溢；而且作品數量稀少。不過，再少也不只一個。

你知道是誰創造了你；而你又是僅此一份、別無複製的作品，
由此觀之，你才是世上無價之寶。

從人類降生大地，直到現在，總數億萬人口中，沒有一個和你一
模一樣的人。

直到世界末日，也不會有第二個人與你一樣。

你從未意識到、或讚嘆自己這獨一無二的特質。

你實在是個古今罕見的存在個體。

從你父親愛情的高峰，射出億萬個的愛情種子，競游於母體內，
逐一死亡、消失；唯有一個例外，那就是你。

只有你不屈不撓地在母腹的愛及溫暖中存活下來。你母親的卵子
如此細小，百萬個卵子加起來，不過一個栗子那麼大。或然率不
論多麼渺茫，你還是堅毅不屈地在黑暗的浩瀚大海中，尋找到了
這個小得不能再小的卵子，與它結合，開始新的生命，也就是你的生命。

你的來臨，如同每一個嬰兒的降生，顯示了我始終未拋棄人類。

我可以創造出上兆個不同的人。

然而我卻創造了誰？

你，獨此一人，曠世以來絕無僅有的你。不論由心靈言語、行為
外貌哪一方面來看，你擁有由古至今，乃至未來，無人活過的特
質。

你的身價，高如帝王的贖金，你卻只用幾個銅幣來衡量自己。
你為什麼聽從那些貶低你身價的人？為什麼輕信他們的話？
仔細聽好，別再將你的稀有價值隱藏於暗室內，向世界展示它。
不必向你的兄弟學步，不必模仿你上司的談吐，更無須追隨世界
的潮流。別模仿他人，你怎麼敢確定你不是所學非人。
人們想學壞，通常青出於藍；想學好，卻感到力不從心。
不要仿效他人，忠於自己，向世界展現你的特質。
人們自然將以黃金灑向你。這是第二條法則。

展現你獨一無二的特質。

至此，你已接受了兩條法則。

清點一下自己的福氣；展現你獨一無二的特質。

你沒有身心障礙，你也絕不平凡庸俗。

你點頭了，勉強露出了笑容。你承認被自己騙了。

你下一個抱怨是什麼？好運從來沒有掉落在你頭上？

仔細聽好，它即將來臨了。我現在就教你冒險投注的成功祕訣。

許久以前，你的祖先曾在山頂上聽過這個祕訣。凡隨從此律者，
他們的生活充滿了喜樂、成就、財富和平安；不聽從此律者而想
走捷徑、出奇招、或一味期待幸運之神的青睞者，他們只是徒然
等待……如同你一樣，在暗中飲泣；如同你一樣，責怪我沒有賜
給你好運。

這法則十分簡單，不論男女老少，乞丐或帝王，白人或黑人，都
可用這祕訣放手一搏。自古以來傳下不少關於成功之道的經典、
演說及原則，只有這一條可謂百無一失……若有人強迫你與他共
行一哩路……陪他走上兩哩路。


致富與成功的第三條法則……再陪他多走一哩路。

不論何種行業，最穩當的成功之道即是付出更多的代價與服務，
超過別人對你的期望，自古所有成功者幾乎都有這種習性，如果
別人付多少你才做多少，我保證你只能廝混一輩子，永無出頭之日。

如果你的工作份量超過了所得的報償，不要認為自己吃虧受騙
了。世事的浮沈有如鐘擺，你所付出的血汗，今天若未得到報償，
明天就會加倍的彈回。平庸的人永遠不願多走一哩路，
他常想，為什麼要吃虧？你是不甘平庸的人，必須主動地視此為你的專利，
多走一哩路，絕不退縮。若你不聽勸告，仍如一般人一樣，
盡可能少做，那麼你最好自行負責失敗的後果。

你付出代價，可能得不到合理的報償；你若不肯付出任何代價，
同樣可能損失不貲。因與果，手段與目的，播種與收成，是不可分的一體，
成果常隱於所種之因，目的預顯於方法之內，收穫有賴於播下的種子。

再多走一哩路！

少顧慮自己。即使你有個刻薄寡恩的上司，為他付出更多的代價。
不只讓他，讓我也成為你的債務人，那麼你可以放心，
你所付出的每一刻鐘或每一樁善行都會得到十倍的報償。
別老惦念著遲來的報酬，報酬來得愈遲，對你愈有利……複利加上複利，
是這條法則的生財保障。

你永遠無法駕馭成功，你只能累積付出價值贏得它……現在你已
經知道，在這樁生意上大賺一筆的祕訣了。

再多走一哩路。

你不該再抱怨自己沒有機會了。看看周遭，
昨天你還沈溺於自憐當中；今天就好似已站在金氈之上。
除了你自己，什麼也沒有改變，你，才是一切的關鍵。

你是我最大的奇蹟。

你是世上最偉大的奇蹟。

至此，快樂與成功的祕訣有三：

「清點一下你的福氣、展現你獨一無二的特質、再多走一哩
路。」對自己的改善要有耐心。以感恩之情清點你的福氣；
以自尊來展現你獨一無二的特質；多走一哩路，再多走一哩；
這都不是在眨眼之間可以完成的。愈難獲得的東西，價值愈能持久。
一個人會較珍惜親手賺來的每分錢，對突如其來的遺產，常在轉眼間揮霍殆盡。

不要害怕開始你的新生活，每一個崇高的成就，都需要冒險犯難的精神；
不願冒險的人，永遠無法成就任何事情的。

如今你已知道自己是個奇蹟，在奇蹟之內，何懼之有？

挺起胸膛來，你並不是造物主在生命煉金室裡開的一個玩笑，
你也不是某種超自然能力的傀儡，你是天地主宰的自由流露，
你是我愛的表達，你負有天命在身。

握緊我的手，聆聽我的話。

你需要我……我也需要你。

我們將攜手再造世界……縱使它好似天方夜譚，對我們何難之有？

我們兩個本身就是奇蹟，若能同心合力，萬夫難當。

遠在五億年以前，我將你拋在星雲旋流之中，又見你無助地棲身
於沙石之上，我對你的信心絲毫未減。三萬年以來，我眼見你經
歷各種存在模式，形狀體重，直到圓滿無缺。
如今你再也不需要我的扶助與干預。

有誰還能在奇蹟上畫蛇添足呢？你真是我賞心悅目的傑作，
我將世界交給你管理，我的手一再庇蔭於你，賜你宇宙之內任何受造
者無法想像的能力，讓你充分發揮出你的潛能。

我賜給你思想的能力。
我賜給你愛人的能力。
我賜給你立志的能力。
我賜給你歡笑的能力。
我賜給你想像的能力。
我賜給你創造的能力。
我賜給你計畫的能力。
我賜給你說話的能力。
我賜給你祈禱的能力。

你居天地造化之巔，世間奇蹟之最，我深深以你為榮。你實在是
圓滿無缺的存在體，能適應任何氣候、困境及挑戰，足以決定自
己的命運，無需我來越俎代庖。你已將能知覺感受譯為抽象思想，
進而轉化為利人利己的行動。

言歸正傳。成功與快樂的第四個法則……我所賜下這偉大能力，
連我的天使們都望塵興嘆。

我給你……自由意志，選擇的權力。

這特殊恩賜超越了天使的能力……因為天使沒有選擇罪惡的自由
。我給你完全自主命運的能力，我讓你按自己的意志重新界定你
的本性。你的本性既不屬於天上，也不限於地上，你可以自由地
塑造自己所喜愛的形式，你有權力選擇墮入最低的生命模式，
你也有權力憑著良知昇華成聖的生命模式。

我從未撤回這偉大的能力——選擇的能力。

而你究竟如何善用它了？看看自己，想想你過去所做的決定，
回憶一下那辛酸的一刻，如果那時你尚有重新選擇的機會，你必不惜伏地稱恩。

過去的事就讓它過去了……你現在已經知道快樂與成功的第四個法則了……
明智地發揮你的選擇權力吧！

選擇愛心……而非恐懼，
選擇歡笑……而非哭泣，
選擇創造……而非破壞，
選擇堅忍……而非逃避，
選擇讚美……而非譏諷，
選擇安撫……而非傷害，
選擇給予……而非掠奪，
選擇行動……而非拖延，
選擇成長……而非墮落，
選擇祈福……而非詛咒，
選擇生活……而非死亡。

如今你已看清，你的不幸並非出於我的本意，因我已賦予你所需
的一切能力；是你日積月累的妄言惡行，使你落入傾頹的悲慘下
場，這絕非我心所願。也許對你們這麼卑微的存在而言，
我的厚禮——自由意志——實在太重了一點。好在你現在已經長大，
也更加有智慧了，很快你就會在大地上享受豐收的喜悅了。
記住，在給予中，我們獲得；不寬恕別人，就是不放過自己。
你不是一個定型的人；你是個無可限量的人。你能勝任任何使命
，你的潛能永無止境。在所有受造物之中，除了你們，還有誰發明了火？
還有誰翱翔天際？還有誰不斷戰勝天災人禍？

不要小看自己。

無需苟延殘喘。

從今日起，別再隱藏你的天分。

兒童常愛說：「等我長大以後…」什麼時候才算長大？因為長大後，
他又說：「等我成年以後…」，成年以後又說：「等我成家立業以後…」。
等到那時，想法又變了：「等我退休以後…」 等到退休之日來臨，
他回顧所跋涉過的山水，蕭蕭落木，好景不再，已經時不我與了。

善用今天吧……然後明天，再一個明天……

你已經活出世上最大的奇蹟了。

你已經由行屍走肉中回頭。

你不再顧影自憐，每一個新日子將充滿了挑戰與喜悅。

你已經重生了……可是你仍如往昔一般，有選擇失敗及沮喪、
或成功及快樂的自由。一切操縱在你自己手裡，無人可代勞。
我只能像以前一樣，眼見你的所作所為……引以為傲……或心焦不已。

記住，快樂與成功的四個祕訣：

清點一下你的福氣。
展現你獨一無二的特質。

不惜多走一哩路。

善用選擇能力。

若想圓滿地使用以上四個祕訣，
最重要的，還是懷著愛心做一切事情……愛你自己，也愛他人。
擦乾你的眼淚，握緊我的手，挺起胸膛來，踏出你的腳步。
讓我幫你卸下束縛你的枷鎖。

今天，你已經聽見了…

你是世上最偉大的奇蹟！
你是世上最偉大的奇蹟！
你是世上最偉大的奇蹟！



 

※【註】：
這封「神寫給你的信」其實是源自於一位神秘的拾荒老人─上帝的神秘使者 ─

 西蒙‧波特 ( Simon Potter,1898-1993) 所寫的
《上帝備忘錄》(The God Memorandum)。

他將上帝傳來的訊息寫下，然後放入奧格‧曼狄諾的著作中，
藉以傳揚來自「神」傳遞給人的訊息。

Memorandum from God

To: You
From: God
Take counsel.

I hear your cry.

It passes through the darkness, filters through the clouds, mingles with starlight, and finds its way to my heart on the path of a sunbeam.

I have anguished over the cry of a hare choked in the noose of a snare, a sparrow tumbled from the nest of its mother, a child thrashing helplessly in a pond, and a son shedding his blood on a cross.

Know that I hear you, also. Be at peace. Be calm.

I bring thee relief for your sorrow for I know its cause ... and its cure.

You weep for all your childhood dreams that have vanished with the years.

You weep for all your self-esteem that has been corrupted by failure.

You weep for all your potential that has been bartered for security.

You weep for all your talent that has been wasted through misuse.

You look upon yourself with disgrace and you turn in terror from the image you see in the pool. Who is this mockery of humanity staring back at you with bloodless eyes of shame?

Where is the grace of your manner, the beauty of your figure, the quickness of your movement, the clarity of your mind, the brilliance of your tongue? Who stole your goods? Is the thief's identity known to you, as it is to me?

Once you placed your head in a pillow of grass in your father's field and looked up at a cathedral of clouds and knew that all the gold of Babylon would be yours in time.

Once you read from many books and wrote on many tablets, convinced beyond any doubt that all the wisdom of Solomon would be equaled and surpassed by you.

And the seasons would flow into years until lo, you would reign supreme in your own garden of Eden.

Dost thou remember who implanted those plans and dreams and seeds of hope within you?

You cannot.

You have no memory of that moment when first you emerged from your mother's womb and I placed my hand on your soft brow. And the secret I whispered in your small ear when I bestowed my blessings upon you?

Remember our secret?

You cannot.

The passing years have destroyed your recollection, for they have filled your mind with fear and doubt and anxiety and remorse and hate and there is no room for joyful memories where these beasts habitate.

Weep no more. I am with you ... and this moment is the dividing line of your life. All that has gone before is like unto no more than that time you slept within your mother's womb. What is past is dead. Let the dead bury the dead.

This day you return from the living dead.

This day, like unto Elijah with the widow's son, I stretch myself upon thee three times and you live again.

This day, like unto Elisha with the Shunammite's son, I put my mouth upon your mouth and my eyes upon your eyes and my hands upon your hands and your flesh is warm again.

This day, like unto Jesus at the tomb of Lazarus, I command you to come forth and you will walk from your cave of doom to begin a new life.

This is your birthday. This is your new date of birth. Your first life, like unto a play of the theatre, was only a rehearsal. This time the curtain is up. This time the world watches and waits to applaud. This time you will not fail.

Light your candles. Share your cake. Pour the wine. You have been reborn.

Like a butterfly from its chrysalis you will fly ... fly as high as you wish, and neither the wasps nor dragonflies nor mantids of mankind shall obstruct your mission or your search for the true riches of life.

Feel my hand upon thy head.

Attend to my wisdom.

Let me share with you, again, the secret you heard at your birth and forgot.

You are my greatest miracle.

You are the greatest miracle in the world.

Those were the first words you ever heard. Then you cried. They all cry ...

You did not believe me then ... and nothing has happened in the intervening years to correct your disbelief. For how could you be a miracle when you consider yourself a failure at the most menial of tasks? How can you be a miracle when you have little confidence in dealing with the most trivial of responsibilities? How can you be a miracle when you are shackled by debt and lie awake in torment over whence will come tomorrow's bread?

Enough. The milk that is spilled is sour. Yet, how many prophets, how many wise men, how many poets, how many artists, how many composers, how many scientists, how many philosophers and messengers have I sent with word of your divinity, your potential for godliness, and the secrets of achievement? How did you treat them?

Still I love you and I am with you now, through these words, to fulfill the prophet who announced that the Lord shall set his hand again, the second time, to recover the remnant of his people.

I have set my hand again.

This is the second time.

You are my remnant.

It is of no avail to ask, haven't you known, haven't you heard, hasn't it been told to you from the beginning; haven't you understood from the foundations of the earth?

You have not known; you have not heard; you have not understood.

You have been told that you are a divinity in disguise, a god playing a fool.

You have been told that you a special piece of work, noble in reason, infinite in faculties, express and admirable in form and moving, like an angel in action, like a god in apprehension.

You have been told that you are the salt of the earth.

You were given the secret even of moving mountains, of performing the impossible.

You believed no one. You burned your map to happiness, you abandoned your claim to peace of mind, you snuffed out the candles that had been placed along your destined path of glory, and then you stumbled, lost and frightened, in the darkness of futility and self-pity, until you fell into a hell of your own creation.

Then you cried and beat your breast and cursed the luck that had befallen you. You refused to accept the consequences of your own petty thoughts and lazy deeds and you searched for a scapegoat on which to blame your failure. How quickly you found one.

You blamed me!

You cried that your handicaps, your mediocrity, your lack of opportunity, your failures ... were the will of God!

You were wrong!

Let us take inventory. Let us, first, call a roll of your handicaps. For how can I ask you to build a new life lest you have the tools?

Are you blind? Does the sun rise and fall without your witness?

No. You can see ... and the hundred million receptors I have placed in your eyes enable you to enjoy the magic of a leaf, a snowflake, a pond, an eagle, a child, a cloud, a star, a rose, a rainbow ... and the look of love. Count one blessing.

Are you deaf? Can a baby laugh or cry without your attention?

No. You can hear ... and the twenty-four thousand fibers I have built in each of your ears vibrate to the wind in the trees, the tides on the rocks, the majesty of an opera, a robin's plea, children at play ... and the words I love you. Count another blessing.

Are you mute? Do your lips move and bring forth only spittle?

No. You can speak ... as can no other of my creatures, and your words can calm the angry, uplift the despondent, goad the quitter, cheer the unhappy, warm the lonely, praise the worthy, encourage the defeated, teach the ignorant ... and say I love you. Count another blessing.

Are you paralyzed? Does your helpless form despoil the land?

No. You can move. You are not a tree condemned to a small plot while the wind and world abuses you. You can stretch and run and dance and work, for within you I have designed five hundred muscles, two hundred bones, and seven miles of nerve fiber all synchronized by me to do your bidding. Count another blessing.

Are you unloved and unloving? Does loneliness engulf you, night and day?

No. No more. For now you know love's secret, that to receive love it must be given with no thought of its return. To love for fulfillment, satisfaction, or pride is no love. Love is a gift on which no return is demanded. Now you know that to love unselfishly is its own reward. And even should love not be returned it is not lost, for love not reciprocated will flow back to you and soften and purify your heart. Count another blessing. Count twice.

Is your heart stricken? Does it leak and strain to maintain your life?

No. Your heart is strong. Touch your chest and feel its rhythm, pulsating, hour after hour, day and night, thirty-six million beats each year, year after year, asleep or awake, pumping your blood through more than sixty thousand miles of veins, arteries, and tubing ... pumping more than six hundred thousand gallons each year. Man has never created such a machine. Count another blessing.

Are you diseased of skin? Do people turn in horror when you approach?

No. Your skin is clear and a marvel of creation, needing only that you tend it with soap and oil and brush and care. In time all steels will tarnish and rust, but not your skin. Eventually the strongest of metals will wear, with use, but not that layer that I have constructed around you. Constantly it renews itself, old cells replaced by new, just as the old you is now replaced by the new. Count another blessing.

Are your lungs befouled? Does your breath of life struggle to enter your body?

No. Your portholes to life support you even in the vilest of environments of your own making, and they labor always to filter life-giving oxygen through six hundred million pockets of folded flesh while they rid your body of gaseous wastes. Count another blessing.

Is your blood poisoned? Is it diluted with water and pus?

No. Within your five quarts of blood are twenty-two trillion blood cells and within each cell are millions of molecules and within each molecule is an atom oscillating at more than ten million times each second. Each second, two million of your blood cells die to be replaced by two million more in a resurrection that has continued since your first birth. As it has always been inside, so now it is on your outside. Count another blessing.

Are you feeble of mind? Can you no longer think for yourself?

No. Your brain is the most complex structure in the universe. I know. Within its three pounds are thirteen billion nerve cells, more than three times as many cells as there are people on your earth. To help you file away every perception, every sound, every taste, every smell, every action you have experienced since the day of your birth, I have implanted, within your cells, more than one thousand billion billion protein molecules. Every incident in your life is there waiting only your recall. And, to assist your brain in the control of your body I have dispersed, throughout your form, four million pain-sensitive structures, five hundred thousand touch detectors, and more than two hundred thousand temperature detectors. No nation's gold is better protected than you. None of your ancient wonders are greater than you.

You are my finest creation.

Within you is enough atomic energy to destroy any of the world's great cities ... and rebuild it.

Are you poor? Is there no gold or silver in your purse?

No. You are rich! Together we have just counted your wealth. Study the list. Count them again. Tally your assets!

Why have you betrayed yourself? Why have you cried that all the blessings of humanity were removed from you? Why did you deceive yourself that you were powerless to change your life? Are you without talent, senses, abilities, pleasures, instincts, sensations, and pride? Are you without hope? Why do you cringe in the shadows, a giant defeated, awaiting only sympathetic transport into the welcome void and dampness of hell?

You have so much. Your blessings overflow your cup ... and you have been unmindful of them, like a child spoiled in luxury, since I have bestowed them upon you with generosity and regularity.

Answer me.

Answer yourself.

What rich man, old and sick, feeble and helpless, would not exchange all the gold in his vault for the blessings you have treated so lightly.

Know then the first secret to happiness and success - that you possess, even now, every blessing necessary to achieve great glory. They are your treasure, your tools with which to build, starting today, the foundation for a new and better life.

Therefore, I say unto you, count your blessings and know that you already are my greatest creation. This is the first law you must obey in order to perform the greatest miracle in the world, the return of your humanity from living death.

And be grateful for your lessons learned in poverty. For he is not poor who has little; only he that desires much ... and true security lies not in the things one has but in the things one can do without.

Where are the handicaps that produced your failure? They existed only in your mind.

Count your blessings.

And the second law is like unto the first. Proclaim your rarity.

You had condemned yourself to a potter's field, and there you lay, unable to forgive your own failure, destroying yourself with self-hate, self-incrimination, and revulsion at your crimes against yourself and others.

Are you not perplexed?

Do you not wonder why I am able to forgive your failures, your transgressions, your pitiful demeanor ... when you cannot forgive yourself?

I address you now, for three reasons. You need me. You are not one of a herd heading for destruction in a gray mass of mediocrity. And ... you are a great rarity.

Consider a painting by Rembrandt or a bronze by Degas or a violin by Stradivarius or a play by Shakespeare. They have great value for two reasons: their creators were masters and they are few in number. Yet there are more than one of each of these.

On that reasoning you are the most valuable treasure on the face of the earth, for you know who created you and there is only one of you.

Never, in all the seventy billion humans who have walked this planet since the beginning of time has there been anyone exactly like you.

Never, until the end of time, will there be another such as you.

You have shown no knowledge or appreciation of your uniqueness.

Yet, you are the rarest thing in the world.

From your father, in his moment of supreme love, flowed countless seeds of love, more than four hundred million in number. All of them, as they swam within your mother, gave up the ghost and died. All except one! You.

You alone persevered within the loving warmth of your mother's body, searching for your other half, a single cell from your mother so small that more than two million would be necessary to fill an acorn shell. Yet, despite impossible odds, in that vast ocean of darkness and disaster, you persevered, found that infinitesimal cell, joined with it, and began a new life. Your life.

You arrived, bringing with you, as does every child, the message that I was not yet discouraged of man. Two cells now united in a miracle. Two cells, each containing twenty-three chromosomes and within each chromosome hundreds of genes, which would govern every characteristic about you, from the color of your eyes to the charm of your manner, to the size of your brain.

With all the combinations at my command, beginning with that single sperm from your father's four hundred million, through the hundreds of genes in each of the chromosomes from your mother and father, I could have created three hundred thousand billion humans, each different from the other.

But who did I bring forth?

You! One of a kind. Rarest of the rare. A priceless treasure, possessed of qualities in mind and speech and movement and appearance and actions as no other who has ever lived, lives, or shall live.

Why have you valued yourself in pennies when you are worth a king's ransom?

Why did you listen to those who demeaned you ... and far worse, why did you believe them?

Take counsel. No longer hide your rarity in the dark. Bring it forth. Show the world. Strive not to walk as your brother walks, nor talk as your leader talks, nor labor as do the mediocre. Never do as another. Never imitate. For how do you know that you may not imitate evil; and he who imitates evil always goes beyond the example set, while he who imitates what is good always falls short. Imitate no one. Be yourself. Show your rarity to the world and they will shower you with gold. This then is the second law.

Proclaim your rarity.

And now you have received two laws.

Count your blessings! Proclaim your rarity!

You have no handicaps. You are not mediocre.

You nod. You force a smile. You admit your self-deception.

What of your next complaint? Opportunity never seeks thee?

Take counsel and it shall come to pass, for now I give you the law of success in every venture. Many centuries ago this law was given to your forefathers from a mountain top. Some heeded the law and lo, their life was filled with the fruit of happiness, accomplishment, gold, and peace of mind. Most listened not, for they sought magic means, devious routes, or waited for the devil called luck to deliver to them the riches of life. They waited in vain ... just as you waited, and then they wept, blaming their lack of fortune.

The law is simple. Young or old, pauper or king, white or black, male or female ... all can use the secret to their advantage; for all the rules and speeches and scriptures of success and how to attain it, only one method has never failed ... whomsoever shall compel ye to go with him one mile ... go with him two.

This then is the third law ... the secret that will produce riches and acclaim beyond your dreams. Go another mile!

The only certain means of success is to render more and better service than is expected of you, no matter what your task may be. This is a habit followed by all successful people since the beginning of time. Therefore I saith the surest way to doom yourself to mediocrity is to perform only the work for which you are paid.

Think not ye are being cheated if you deliver more than the silver you receive. For there is a pendulum to all life and the sweat you deliver, if not rewarded today, will swing back tomorrow, tenfold. The mediocre never goes another mile, for why should he cheat himself, he thinks. But you are not mediocre. To go another mile is a privilege you must appropriate by your own initiative. You cannot, you must not avoid it. Neglect it, do only as little as the others, and the responsibility for your failure is yours alone.

You can no more render service without receiving just compensation than you can withhold the rendering of it without suffering the loss of reward. Cause and effect, means and ends, seed and fruit, these cannot be separated. The effect already blooms in the cause, the end pre-exists in the means, and the fruit is always in the seed.

Go another mile.

Concern yourself not, should you serve an ungrateful master. Serve him more.

And instead of him, let it be me who is in your debt, for then you will know that every minute, every stroke of extra service will be repaid. And worry not, should your reward not come soon. For the longer payment is withheld, the better for you ... and compound interest on compound interest is this law's greatest benefit.

You cannot command success, you can only deserve it ... and now you know the great secret necessary in order to merit its rare reward.

Go another mile!

Where is this field whence you cried there was no opportunity? Look! Look around thee. See, where only yesterday you wallowed on the refuse of self-pity, you now walk tall on a carpet of gold. Nothing has changed ... except you, but you are everything.

You are my greatest miracle.

You are the greatest miracle in the world.

And now the laws of happiness and success are three.

Count your blessings! Proclaim your rarity! Go another mile!

Be patient with your progress. To count your blessings with gratitude, to proclaim your rarity with pride, to go an extra mile and then another, these acts are not accomplished in the blinking of an eye. Yet, that which you acquire with most difficulty you retain the longest; as those who have earned a fortune are more careful of it than those by whom it was inherited.

And fear not as you enter your new life. Every noble acquisition is attended with its risks. He who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other. Now you know you are a miracle. And there is no fear in a miracle.

Be proud. You are not the momentary whim of a careless creator experimenting in the laboratory of life. You are not a slave of forces that you cannot comprehend. You are a free manifestation of no force but mine, of no love but mine. You were made with a purpose.

Feel my hand. Hear my words.

You need me ... and I need you.

We have a world to rebuild ... and if it requireth a miracle what is that to us? We are both miracles and now we have each other.

Never have I lost faith in you since that day when I first spun you from a giant wave and tossed you helplessly on the sands. As you measure time that was more than five hundred million years ago. There were many models, many shapes, many sizes, before I reached perfection in you more than thirty thousand years ago. I have made no further effort to improve on you in all these years.

For how could one improve on a miracle? You were a marvel to behold and I was pleased. I gave you this world and dominion over it. Then, to enable you to reach your full potential I placed my hand upon you, once more, and endowed you with powers unknown to any other creature in the universe, even unto this day.

I gave you the power to think.
I gave you the power to love.
I gave you the power to will.
I gave you the power to laugh.
I gave you the power to imagine.
I gave you the power to create.
I gave you the power to plan.
I gave you the power to speak.
I gave you the power to pray.
I gave you the power to heal.

My pride in you knew no bounds. You were my ultimate creation, my greatest miracle. A complete living being. One who can adjust to any climate, any hardship, any challenge. One who can manage his own destiny without any interference from me. One who can translate a sensation or perception, not by instinct, but by thought and deliberation into whatever action is best for himself and all humanity.

Thus we come to the fourth law of success and happiness ... for I gave you one more power, a power so great that not even my angels possess it.

I gave you ... the power to choose.

With this gift I placed you even above my angels ... for angels are not free to choose sin. I gave you complete control over your destiny. I told you to determine, for yourself, your own nature in accordance with your own free will. Neither heavenly nor earthly in nature, you were free to fashion yourself in whatever form you preferred. You had the power to choose to degenerate into the lowest forms of life, but you also had the power, out of your soul's judgment, to be reborn into the higher forms, which are divine.

I have never withdrawn your great power, the power to choose.

What have you done with this tremendous force? Look at yourself. Think of the choices you have made in your life and recall, now, those bitter moments when you would fall to your knees if only you had the opportunity to choose again.

What is past is past ... and now you know the fourth great law of happiness and success ... Use wisely, your power of choice.

Choose to love ... rather than hate.
Choose to laugh ... rather than cry.
Choose to create ... rather than destroy.
Choose to persevere ... rather than quit.
Choose to praise ... rather than gossip.
Choose to heal ... rather than wound.
Choose to give ... rather than steal.
Choose to act ... rather than procrastinate.
Choose to grow ... rather than rot.
Choose to pray ... rather than curse.
Choose to live ... rather than die.

Now you know that your misfortunes were not my will, for all power was vested in you, and the accumulation of deeds and thoughts which placed you on the refuse of humanity were your doing, not mine. My gifts of power were too large for your small nature. Now you have grown tall and wise and the fruits of the land will be yours.

You are more than a human being, you are a human becoming.

You are capable of great wonders. Your potential is unlimited. Who else, among my creatures, has mastered fire? Who else, among my creatures, has conquered gravity, has pierced the heavens, has conquered disease and pestilence and drought?

Never demean yourself again!

Never settle for the crumbs of life!

Never hide your talents, from this day hence!

Remember the child who says, "when I am big boy." But what is that? For the big boy says. "when I grow up." And then the grown up, he says, "when I am wed." But to be wed, what is that, after all? The thought then changes to "when I retire." And then, retirement comes, and he looks back over it and somehow he has missed it all and it is gone.

Enjoy this day, today ... and tomorrow, tomorrow.

You have performed the greatest miracle in the world.

You have returned from a living death.

You will feel self-pity no more and each new day will be a challenge and a joy.

You have been born again ... but just as before, you can choose failure and despair or success and happiness. The choice is yours. The choice is exclusively yours. I can only watch, as before ... in pride ... or sorrow.

Remember, then, the four laws of happiness and success.

Count your blessings.
Proclaim your rarity.
Go another mile.
Use wisely your power of choice.
And one more, to fulfill the other four. Do all things with love ... love for yourself, love for all others, and love for me.

Wipe away your tears. Reach out, grasp my hand, and stand straight.

Let me cut the grave cloths that have bound you.

This day you have been notified.

YOU ARE THE GREATEST MIRACLE IN THE WORLD

From the book "The Greatest Miracle in the World" by Og Mandino