The following is a dramatic story that you may never forget. The owner of this story is Basil Moore.
1945 In March, I learned the most important lesson in my life. I learned it at a depth of 276 feet near zhina Peninsula. I was on the submarine S S 3 18 in Beiya with 87 other people. We found a small Japanese fleet coming towards us through radar. We surfaced at dawn and launched an attack. I found a Japanese escort, an oil tanker and a mine-laying ship in the periscope. We fired three torpedoes at the escort ship, but none of them hit. The destroyer didn't know he was being attacked, but moved on. We will attack the last ship, the mine-laying ship. Suddenly, it turned around and rushed at us (a Japanese plane saw us 60 feet underwater and radioed our position to the Japanese mine-laying ship). We dived to a depth of 150 feet to avoid being found by it, and at the same time, we were prepared to deal with the depth charge. We put several layers of plugs on all hatch covers, and in order to keep our settlement absolutely quiet, we turned off all the electric fans, the whole cooling system and all the power generation machines.
Three minutes later, the sky suddenly collapsed. Six depth charges exploded around us, pushing us directly to the bottom of the sea at a depth of 276 feet. We're all scared. It is very dangerous to be attacked at a depth of less than 1000 feet-if it is less than 500 feet, almost everyone will be doomed. We were attacked in water less than 500 feet and a half deep. How can we ensure safety? Speaking of it, the water depth is only equal to the knee. Japanese mine-laying ships kept dropping deep-water bombs and attacked for fifteen hours. If the depth charge is less than 17 feet away from the submarine, the explosive force can blow a hole in the submarine. A dozen or twenty depth charges exploded about fifty feet away from us, and we were ordered to "hold on"-just lie still in bed and keep calm. I was so scared that I could hardly breathe: "I'm dead this time." After the electric fan and cooling system were turned off, the temperature of the submarine was almost 100 degrees, but I was cold because of fear. I put on a sweater and a jacket with a leather collar, but I'm still shivering with cold. My teeth kept chattering and I was sweating all over. The attack lasted fifteen hours and finally stopped. Apparently, the mine-laying ship used up all the depth charges and then sailed away. This fifteen-hour attack feels like fifteen million years. My past life is reflected in front of my eyes, and I think of all the bad things I have done before, all the little things I have worried about. Before I joined the navy, I was a bank clerk. I used to worry about long working hours, low wages and few promotion opportunities. I used to worry that I couldn't buy my own house, a new car or good clothes for my wife. I hate my former boss very much because he always finds fault with me. I still remember that when I came home every night, I was always tired and sad, and I often quarreled with my wife because of trivial matters. I'm also worried about a small scar on my forehead-a scar left by a car accident.
Many years ago, those worrying things seemed to be big things, but when I was threatened by depth charges, they were so insignificant. At that time, I told myself that if I had the chance to see the sun and stars again, I would never be sad again. Never! Never! Never! During those terrible fifteen hours in the submarine, I learned much more in my life than I did in my four years in college.
We can usually face the big crisis in life bravely, but we are always suppressed by small things. Samuel Babbage talked in his diary about seeing Sir Harry Pooh beheaded in London. When Sir Pooh went to the guillotine, he didn't ask others to forgive his life, but asked the executioner not to cut the painful place on his neck.
This is another point that Admiral Budd discovered in the cold and dark polar night-his people often grieve for small things, but don't care about big things. They can ignore the danger and hardship in the cold of MINUS 80 degrees; "But," General Budd said, "several roommates ignored each other because they suspected that the other party had misplaced something and occupied their own place. There is a guy in the team who pays attention to the so-called healthy method of eating on an empty stomach and chewing slowly. Every bite of food must be chewed 28 times before it can be swallowed. Another person must find a seat in the hall where he can't see this person, so that he can eat.
"In the Antarctic camp," Admiral Byrd said, "a little thing like this may drive the most trained people crazy."
If "small things" happen in husband and wife's life, they will also drive people crazy and cause "half the sadness in the world"
This is also what an authoritative person said. Judge Joseph Shabab of Chicago said after arbitrating more than 40,000 marriage cases: "The most basic reasons for the unsatisfactory marriage life are often small things." Frank Hogan, the district attorney of new york County, also said: "More than half of our criminal cases are caused by some very small things: being a hero in a bar, arguing over some small things, insulting people with words, using inappropriate words and behaving rudely-it is these small things that lead to injuries and murders. There are very few people who are really cruel by nature, and some people who have made big mistakes have suffered a little damage to their self-esteem. Some insignificant humiliation, vanity can not be satisfied, so it caused half the sadness in the world. "
Mrs. Roosevelt, who just got married, "worries every day" because her new chef is very poor. "But if this happened now," said Mrs. Roosevelt, "I would just shrug my shoulders and forget it." This is what an adult should do. Even the most autocratic queen, Queen Catherine, usually just smiles when the cook burns rice.
Once, we went to a friend's house in Chicago for dinner. He made some minor mistakes in distributing goods. I didn't notice it then, and even if I did, I wouldn't care. But his wife saw it and immediately jumped up in front of us and accused him. "John," she cried, "look what you are doing! Haven't you ever learned how to divide dishes? "
Then she said to us, "He always makes mistakes and refuses to pay attention." Maybe he didn't do well, but I really admire him for being able to get along with his wife for twenty years. Frankly speaking, I'd rather just eat two hot dogs with mustard-as long as they are comfortable-than eat Beijing roast duck and shark's fin while listening to her nagging.
Shortly after that happened, my wife and I invited some friends over for dinner. Just as they were coming, my wife found that three napkins didn't match the color of the tablecloth.
"I rushed into the kitchen," she told me later, "only to find that three other napkins were sent to wash. The guest has arrived at the door, so there is no time to change. I was so anxious that I almost cried. I thought,' How could I be so stupid that the whole night was ruined, completely ruined?' Then I thought, why should I let it destroy me? I went in for dinner, determined to enjoy it. I did it. She told me, "I would rather let my friends think that I am a lazy housewife than a neurotic and bad-tempered woman." Besides, as far as I know, few people have noticed that there is something wrong with those napkins. "
A well-known legal saying: "The law does not care about small things." If a person wants to get psychological peace, he should not worry about trifles.
Many times, if you want to overcome the troubles caused by some small things, you just need to shift your attention and focus-give you a new perspective and make you happier. My friend Homer Chloe is a writer and has written several books. He gave us a good example of how to do it. In the past, when he was writing at his desk, he was often bothered by the noise of the hot water lamp in new york's apartment. Steam will explode. Then there is Pico-Pico's voice. He will sit at the table and scream angrily.
"Later," Homechloe said, "I once went camping with some friends. When I heard the crackling sound of firewood, it suddenly occurred to me: it sounds like a hot water lamp. Why do I like this sound but hate that one? When I got home, I said to myself,' The crackling of wood in the fire is a very nice sound, and the sound made by a hot water lamp is similar to it. I should bury myself in sleep and ignore the noise. As a result, I did it. I will pay attention to the sound of the hot water lamp for the first few days, but I soon forget it all.
"Many other small troubles are the same. We don't like those, and as a result, the whole person is depressed, because we exaggerate the importance of those little things ... "
Disraeli said, "Life is too short to care about trifles."
"These words," Andre Morris said in this week's magazine, "helped me through many painful experiences. We often upset ourselves because of some small things that should be ignored and forgotten ... We have only lived in this world for a few short decades, and we have wasted irreparable time worrying about some small things that will be forgotten by everyone within a year. Don't do this, let's spend our time only on actions and feelings worth doing, to think great thoughts, to experience real feelings, and to do what must be done. Because life is too short to care about those little things. "
Celebrities like giblin sometimes forget that "life is too short to care about small things." What is the result? He and his brother-in-law fought one of the most famous lawsuits in the history of Villemont-this lawsuit was very vivid, and an album recorded it. The name of this book is giblin's Territory in Villamont.
The story goes like this: giblin married a girl from Villamon, Carolyn Barister, and built a beautiful house in Bratibulo, Villamon, where she settled down and prepared to spend the rest of her life. His brother-in-law Beatty Barister became Kipling's best friend, and they worked and played together.
Later, giblin bought a piece of land from Barister, and agreed in advance that Barister could mow the grass on that piece of land. One day, Barister found Kipling had opened a garden in that meadow. He was angry and flew into a rage. Giblin also retorted that two good friends had turned against each other and had a bitter quarrel.
A few days later, when giblin went out to play by bike, Beatty suddenly pulled out a carriage across the street, forcing giblin to fall off it. Giblin, who wrote "Everyone is drunk, you should wake up alone", fainted with anger, took his brother-in-law to court, and Barister was arrested. Then there was a lively lawsuit. Journalists from big cities poured into this town, and the news spread all over the world. Things haven't been solved yet. The quarrel made giblin and his wife leave their home in America forever. All these worries and quarrels are about one little thing: a load of hay.
Ping Rick Chris once said 2400 years ago: "Come on, everyone! We have been delayed for too long in trivial matters. " That's right. We did delay for too long.
The following is the most interesting story told by Dr. Harry Emerson Fosdick-about how a "giant" in the forest won and lost in the war.
On the hillside of Long Mountain, Colorado, lies the remains of a big tree. Naturalists tell us that it has a history of more than 400 years. When it germinated, Columbus had just landed in America; When the first immigrants came to America, it was only half as big as America. In its long life, it was struck by lightning fourteen times; Over the past 400 years, countless storms have hit it, and it can overcome it and stand tall. But in the end, a small group of beetles attacked the tree and made it fall to the ground. Those beetles bite from the roots, and only by their small and sustained attacks, they gradually hurt the vitality of the tree. The giant in this forest, not withered by years, not knocked down by lightning, not broken by the storm, finally fell down because of a small group of beetles that could be trampled to death by thumb and forefinger.
Aren't we all like that battle-hardened tree in the forest? We have experienced countless storms and lightning strikes in our lives, but we have all survived. But it will make our hearts bitten by worried little beetles-those insignificant little beetles.
A few years ago, I went to Teton Chejia Park in Wyoming. I went with Charles Seifield, director of Wyoming Highway Bureau, and some of his friends. We were going to visit a house in Rockefeller Park together, but my bus took a wrong turn and got lost. When we arrived at the house, it was already an hour behind the other cars. Mr Seinfeld didn't have the key to open the gate, so he waited for an hour in the hot and mosquito-infested forest until we arrived. There are so many mosquitoes there that a saint can go crazy, but they can't beat Charles Seifield. Was he busy chasing mosquitoes when we arrived? No, he plays the flute in memory of a man who knows how to ignore those little things. In order to get rid of the habit of worrying before it destroys you, here is the fourth rule:
"Don't let yourself worry about some small things that should be left behind and forgotten. Remember:' Life is too short, don't worry about trifles.' "
-Quoted from The Complete Works of Human Weaknesses by Yanbian People's Publishing House.