Editor’s note: This is a guest post from Nick Cernis of Put Things Off.
On 11 December 2007 author Terry Pratchett announced online and with glorious good humour that he’d been diagnosed with a rare form of Alzheimer’s disease.The news still shocks me, partly because it’s the first time I’ve heard the phrase “eat the arse out of a dead mole” in a press release, but mainly because it’s always a crying shame when terrible things happen to brilliant people.I wanted to help. In an interview with The Times two days later, Pratchett cheerfully told me that I simply wasn’t qualified: “I know it’s a very human thing to say, “Is there anything I can do?” but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry.”
I flunked chemistry and biology with crying colours, so I turned to a more traditional way of exploring the problem; I picked up a good book. The hardback I chose was “Going Postal” by the great man himself. On page 17 Pratchett gives a wonderful life lesson that I’d like to share with you today.
Getting past the pineapple
Going Postal tells the story of a skilled con artist forced to turn his life around to change the world for the better. In the opening scene, our troubled trickster ponders the meaning of life while seconds away from death at the gallows:
“What you had to do in this life was get past the pineapple, Moist told himself. It was big and sharp and knobbly, but there might be peaches underneath.”
What a wonderful little nugget of philosophy—a lesson in living from a fruit bowl! Only Pratchett could take a pineapple, add the word “knobbly”, and create a neatly-formed metaphor for overcoming hardship. Here’s what it teaches us:
10 lessons in life from your fruit bowl
1. The juicy fruit is often underneath
There will be times when life gets sharp and knobbly. Your challenge is to keep on smiling and look for the tasty treats underneath. It’s a question of balance: without hardship, the good times wouldn’t exist. Never give up—getting past the pineapple is what it’s all about.
2. Wear lightweight armour
Ever bitten into a whole pineapple? Didn’t think so. They’re tough old beasts at the worst of times, and so should you be. You want a solid outer shell to repel anyone trying to attack you, but you don’t need to harden up as far as the pineapple and dissuade people from talking to you altogether. Those in a full suit of wet copper armour don’t tend to be very approachable. (As Pratchett jokes—especially not in a thunder storm.)
3. Be patient
The moment a pineapple is picked, the fruit stops ripening. It’s a simple idea and a powerful one. Many people seem in a rush to ‘become’ something. Whether it’s a famous musician, a great designer or a problogger, don’t hurry to ripen. Your heroes became famous through hard work and good fortune and you’ll have to do the same. There’s no magic ticket — just take your time and enjoy the ride. Fame should be an added bonus; never a goal.
4. Aim for the sun
Few fruits grow in heavy shade. Fewer still revel in the darkness. This creates a lovely two-step metaphor for living: first, you have to leave the darkness of anonymity and actually put yourself out there, both online and off. Second, you have to do something unique if you want to really be noticed — the tallest fruit trees rarely grow in the shade of others.
5. Respect your parents
Most fruit ripens to the point where it’s mature — then it drops and is no longer dependent on the tree. If you’re a parent, you’ll be laughing heartily at this metaphor! People aren’t like fruit, of course — we can call on our parents for life. (I chose simply never to mature!) Treasure the connection with your folks and try to really get to know them through your adult life. They probably have more to offer than you think.
6. Don’t be a banana
The banana exudes ethylene, a gas that accelerates the ripening process in other fruit. It’s punishment? Many people separate it from their apples and pears altogether. The life lesson is simple: don’t be a banana. The underlying messages are these: firstly, let others develop at their own pace. Secondly, if you don’t want to live in isolation, play nicely.
7. Find beauty in simplicity
The Carambola or “Star Fruit”; is a beautiful little treasure. Its cross section is a simple 5-pointed star. Nature creates beauty in simplicity, and there’s a lot we can take from this and apply in our lives. Before you add complex systems and pick up new devices, first strip your life back to the basics. There is a world of magnificence hidden in simplicity.
8. Look after your assets
The wise farmer plants the tree and reaps the fruit for years to come. She doesn’t chop it down to sell the firewood. Look after your assets: your money, friends, family and health. You’ll gain more benefit in the long term by hanging onto them than you will by giving them up early on.
9. Pass it on
All apple varieties share a similar trait: they can’t pollinate themselves or any flowers of the same apple variety. The best fruit comes from pollinating with completely different varieties. Before your one track mind reads too much into this, the actual message is innocent: share your knowledge. Pass on your thoughts and ideas to everyone whether they’re part of your circle or not.
10. Never judge a tomato
You wouldn’t find one in a fruit bowl but, speaking scientifically, that’s exactly what a tomato is: a fruit. It’s important not to judge a tomato purely on its ability to work well with pasta. Lessons from the tomato: don’t label things unnecessarily, and don’t judge too early on.
What all this means for you
Apart from looking at your fruit bowl more suspiciously from now on (who ever knew fruit was so cunning?) I sincerely hope that, if you only take one thing away from this article, it is this:
When life bowls you a pineapple, dodge it and keep running.
As Terry Pratchett puts it: “Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful, because I think there’s time for at least a few more books yet.” I look forward to seeing what fruits the new ones bring!
Nick Cernis writes at Put Things Off, the laid-back productivity blog.
—
Leo’s Book-Writing Update: I wrote for a little over an hour and finished another chapter (I had started it yesterday). I am taking a break to do a couple errands, but I’m gonna go back and write for another hour or so pretty soon. Making great progress! Thanks for the encouragement, everybody. - Leo
译文:
把上面的菠萝移开：从你的果盘中学到的10个人生道理
2007年12月11日，作者特里·普拉切特（Terry Pratchett）以一种极其幽默的方式在线宣布了他患上了一种罕见的老年痴呆症。这则新闻仍让我很吃惊，一部分原因是因为我第一次在
新闻稿中听到“吃死耗子屁股”这个短语，但主要原因是因为如此才华横溢的人遇上这样糟糕的事时，我总觉得对他而言是一个很大的耻辱。我想要帮助他，两天后在《时代》杂志的
采访中，普拉切特带着鼓励的口吻告诉我，我的想法是不对的：“我知道人们都很有善意的会问道，“我有什么能帮到你的地方吗？”但这种情况下，我只愿意接受那些高端脑部医学专家的帮助。”
我在生物和化学方面显然是不及格的，因为我连颜色也分不清，所以我以更传统的方式来探究这个问题；我带去一本好书，我选的是这位伟大作家自己的书《疯狂邮政》（Going Postal），在第17页上，普拉切特给我们上了一节精彩的人生课程，今天我要和你们分享。
《疯狂邮政》讲述的是一个技艺高超的骗子奉命把世界改变得更加美好。在一开场，我们这个一身麻烦的骗子主人公在被绞死前几秒思考了人生的意义：
“莫斯特告诉自己，对于人生，你必须要移开上面的菠萝，菠萝很大，皮上的刺锋利又棘手，但要知道下面也许就有桃子呢。”
这是一个多么精彩的哲理精髓--果盘中的人生道理！也只有普拉切特可以在描写菠萝时，用上“棘手”这个词，这是一个简洁的隐喻，指的是要克服人生中的各种困难。下面是它教给我们的：
从你的果盘中学到的10个人生道理
1. 甜美多汁的水果总被压在下面
人生总有遇到困难而棘手的时候。你所要面对的挑战就是要保持微笑，要找出困难之下那美味的解决方法。这是一个平衡的问题；不经历风雨，怎么见彩虹。永远不要轻言放弃--你要做的就是把上面的菠萝移开。
2.轻装上阵
你有摸过一整只菠萝的刺吗？你有没有觉得他们是又硬又老的怪物，所以你也理所当然地觉得在最困难的时候你也应该这样。你想要有一个坚固的外壳保护你防止任何人的攻击，但其实你不需要和菠萝一样变得那么坚硬，阻止任何人和你说话。那些全身穿着湿湿的铜盔甲的人不那么好接近。（普拉切特开玩笑说--尤其在打雷的时候，他们更难接近了。）
3.要耐心
一只菠萝被摘下的时候，就停止成长了。这看似简单的话其实很有道理。很多人希望一下子就“变成”他们想成为的人。无论你的目标是一位著名的音乐家，还是出色的设计师或是一个博客人，不要急于求成。你的那些偶像也是经过长期艰苦的努力再加上好的运气和机遇才最终成功的，所以你也要这么经历过。没有什么魔术般的捷径--你要做的就是花时间，好好享受这个过程。名利只是努力的附属品；永远不是你的目标。
4.向着阳光
很少有水果是在浓重的阴影中生长的，而酷爱黑暗的就更少了。这就又构成一个很有趣的生活的两步隐喻：首先，你要摆脱匿名的黑暗，展现你自己，可以在网上也可以是现实中。第二，如果你真的像被注意到，那你必须做些独一无二的事--最高的果树很少生长在其他果树的树荫下。
5.尊重你的父母
大多数水果不断生长直到成熟--然后它跌落下枝头，不再依赖树而生存了。如果你是一位父母，你会打心底里嘲笑这个隐喻！的确，人类不像水果--我们可以一辈子和父母在一起。（我曾简单地选择永远不长大！)你要珍惜和父母的关系，在你成年之后要尽量去了解他们。很有可能他们会给你的比你想象得更多。
6.不要做一只香蕉
香蕉会释放出乙烯，这是一种可以催熟其他水果的气体。许多人把香蕉和苹果、梨分开来放，这是一种惩罚吗？这个人生道理很简单：不要做一只香蕉。言下之意就是：首先，让别人按照自己的步调发展。第二，如果你不想被隔离，就要好好表现。
7.简单就是美
杨桃或是“星星果”是一个美丽的小东西，它的中心是简单的五角星。大自然创造了简单美，我们从中可以学到很多，用于我们的生活。再给自己加上复杂的系统和新的设备前，先让生活回归到最本质的样子。简单背后往往隐藏着一个巨大的世界。
8.管好你的财产
聪明的农民种植果树，来年收获果实。她可不会把树砍倒拿去当柴火卖。要照管好你的财产：钱，朋友，家庭和健康。好好照料它们，而不是过早放弃它们，长期以后你会得到更多。
9.传递下去
所有品种的苹果都有一个共性：它们不能自我授粉或给和自己品种一样的花授粉。最优等的水果源于不同品种间花的相互授粉。一个人可能会造成定向思维，但实际上信息本身是无辜的：要分享你的知识。把你的想法和点子传递给每个人，无论对方是不是你生活圈子中的一员。
10.不要判定一只番茄
在果盘中你不会找到有番茄，但是按科学的说法番茄的确是：一种水果。所以不要觉得番茄只能用于制作意大利面就判定它不是水果，这点很重要。从番茄中我们可以学到：不要随便给人和事物贴上不必要的标签，也不要过早下判断。
这些对你来说有什么意义
除了从此以后你看待你家的果盘时更迷信之外（谁会知道水果如此狡猾？），我衷心希望，你能从这篇文章中获得一个重要的想法，这就是：
当生活朝你扔了一个菠萝时，躲开它，继续前进。
正如特里·普拉切特所说：“坦白地说，我觉得我还有很多时间，至少还能写几本书，因为我真的希望人们能更快乐。”我期待着他能给我们带来什么新的水果！
Nick Cernis写于摆脱讨厌的事，一个不太高产的博客。
—
里奥的书--更新：我写了一个小时多一点，完成了另一章（我昨天就开始了）。现在我要休息会做些别的事，但很快我会回来再写一小时。取得进步！谢谢大家的鼓励。--里奥
如果你喜欢这篇文章，请在del.icio.us, StumbleUpon或在Digg上分享它吧。我会很高兴的。：）