本文作者Regina Brett，是美國俄亥俄州克里夫蘭報紙THE PLAIN DEALER 的專欄作家。她說：“為了慶祝自己漸漸老去,我曾寫了“人生给我上的45節课”。這是我平生最受歡迎的一篇專欄。這個星期我的里程表將翻轉至50，故在此更新”。
She said,“To celebrate growing older, I once wrote the 45 lessons life taught me. It is the most-requested column I've ever written. My odometer rolls over to 50 this week, so here's an update”。
按: VCW將原文50節課裁為33節。
01。人生不是公平的，但還算是好的。
-Life isn't fair, but it's still good.
02。如果所懷疑，你只管邁出了一小步。
-When in doubt, just take the next small step.
03。人生苦短，短到來不及浪費時間去恨任何人。-Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.
04。你没必要每次吵架都要贏。不妨同意你們之間存有不同的意見。
-You don't have to win every argument. Agree to disagree.
05。和你的過去和解，它就不會搗亂你的現在了。
-Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present.
06。不要拿自己的人生和別人比較。你根本不知道別人的生活是怎樣過。
-Don't compare your life to others'. You have no idea what their journey is all about.
07。一眨眼的功夫什麼都會變化，不過別擔心，上帝從來不眨眼。
-Everything can change in the blink of an eye. But don't worry; God never blinks.
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08。深吸一口氣，會平靜你的心。
-Take a deep breath. It calms the mind.
09。把無用的、醜陋的、令人不高興的東西通通扔掉。-Get rid of anything that isn't useful, beautiful or joyful.
09。凡殺不了你的肯定會使你變得更堅強。
-Whatever doesn't kill you really does make you stronger.
11。再次得到童年的快樂永遠不嫌晚，但是第二次得到只能靠自己，不能靠別人。
-It's never too late to have a happy childhood. But the second one is up to you and no one else.
12。點上蠟燭，用最好的被單，穿上最好的睡衣，不要等到特殊的場合才用。今天就是好日子。
-Burn the candles, use the nice sheets, wear the fancy lingerie. Don't save it for a special occasion. Today is special.
13。做好充分的准備，然後就順其自然。-Overprepare, then go with the flow.
14。現在就擺脫傳统, 不要等到老了才穿紫色的衣服。
-Be eccentric now. Don't wait for old age to wear purple.
15。遇到倒霉的事可以問自己這樣一句話：五年以後, 這還重要嗎？”Frame every so-called disaster with these words: "In five years, will this matter?"
16。原諒每一個人每一件事。-Forgive everyone everything.
熱、/無\
17。別人怎麼想，與你無關。
-What other people think of you is none of your business.
18。時間能癒合幾乎任何傷口，但要給時間以時間。-Time heals almost everything. Give time time.
19。相信奇跡會出現。-Believe in miracles