The Trouble Tree

陈忠富

The carpenter① I hired to help me restore an old farmhouse had just finished a rough first day on the job. A flat tire made him cost an hour of work， his electric saw quit， and now his ancient pickup truck refused to start. While I drove him home， he sat in stony silence. On arriving， he  invited me in to meet his family. As we walked toward the front door， he paused briefly at a small tree， touching the tips of the branches with both hands.

After opening the door， he underwent② an  amazing transformation. His tanned face was wreathed③ in smiles， and he hugged his two small children and gave his wife a kiss. Afterward， he walked me back to my car. We passed the tree， and my curiosity got the better of me. I asked him about what I had seen him do earlier.

“Oh， thats my trouble tree，” he replied， “I know I cant help having troubles on the job， but one thing for sure， troubles dont belong in the house with my wife and the children. So I just hang them up on the tree every night when I come home. Then in the morning， I pick them up again.”

“Funny thing is，” he smiled， “when I come out in the morning to pick them up， there arent nearly as many as I remember hanging up the night before.”

Then Ive learned that there are a lot of troubles in our lives， but the problem is whether they control you or you control them.

我请了一个木匠帮我整修一幢农舍。他来工作的第一天简直糟糕透顶。一个瘪了的轮胎他居然花了一个小时才补好。接着他的电锯也坏了。而现在他的老爷小卡车也发动不起来了。当我开车送他回家时，他坐在车里像块石头一样一言不发。到了他家，他便邀请我进去坐坐。当我们走到门口时，他在一棵小树前停下，伸出双手触摸了一下树枝的末梢。

进门后，他就像换了个人似的，晒黑的脸上到处绽放着笑容。他抱了抱两个孩子，又吻了吻他的太太。然后，他送我出门，我们走过那棵小树。好奇心驱使我忍不住問他为什么要摸那棵树。

“噢，那是我的烦恼树，”他回答：“我知道，自己在工作时会不可避免地遇到麻烦，但有一点是肯定的，烦恼不能带进这座妻子和孩子们所在的房子，所以每天晚上我回家前都把它们挂在这棵树上，到了早晨，再把它们摘下来。”

“有趣的是，”他笑了起来：“当我早晨出门去摘它们的时候，烦恼已经没有我前一天晚上挂上去的那么多了。”

于是，我明白了，在我们的生活中总是有许许多多的烦恼，但问题在于究竟是你控制情绪，还是让它们来控制你。