Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the men of old; seek what they sought. ~Basho
If you’ve read my bio in the about me page, than you know that I’m currently a graduate student and plan on becoming a Dentist. What you might not know about is how I got started on this path. I would have to say that the fact that me becoming a dentist would make me 5th generation among my family to be in this field had a hefty impact on my decision.
On this chosen path, my mother happens to be my primary role-model. I started working in her office in my mid-teens, and have had a close up perspective of her work life, and the lifestyle that becomes accessible from this line of work. I liked it, but also thought that I would do things differently, make ‘improvements’ and take things to another level.
What this tells me is that if I do exactly as she has done in her business that I will likely receive the same results. If i want to live her life, then I merely have to walk in her footsteps. This is fine to a certain point, but a time will come when I will have to make my own fork in the road.
Essentially, my mother is seeking happiness, I’m sure of it, because we all are. However, I’m pretty sure that me and her have a slightly different idea of what happiness means to us. This is what I think Basho was trying to say in the quote I’ve listed above. If I follow her footsteps, I may not obtain the level of happiness that she has. If I follow my own path, my own dreams, my own desires, then I will be well on my to achieving my own happiness.
译文:
过自己的生活，走自己的路
不要一味探寻，追随前人的足迹；去探索他们的追求。--Basho
如果你已经在我的专栏上看了我的个人简历，你就知道我目前是个研究生，打算做一名牙医。你可能不知道为什么我会走上这条路。我不得不承认我将是家中第五代牙医，这一因素对我起着极大的影响。
选择这一职业，我母亲是我的首要榜样。在我少年时期，我有去她的办公室打工，对她的职业生涯有着紧密地观察，并且对于这一行业的生活方式有了些了解。我喜欢这份工作，但是我也想做些不同的事情，做出进步，层面能更高。
一切都告诉我如果我像她一样在这个领域里工作，我会得到相同的结果。如果我想过和她一样的生活，我仅仅需要踏着她的足迹就可以了。从某个角度来讲，这没什么不好，但是我肯定会想在这条路上走出自己的样子。
根本来说，我母亲正追寻着幸福，我能肯定，因为我们都一样。然而，我能肯定我和她对幸福的定义有着细微差别。这就是我认为的列在文首的Basho的引言想表达的意思。如果我追随她的脚步，我并不一定能获得她拥有的那一层面的幸福。如果我走自己的路，我自己的梦想，我自己的愿望，我想我一定能够达成自己的幸福的。