One evening a young woman went alone to walk barefoot by the ocean. She stopped in her path and turned so she could see the footsteps she had left in the sand. But they had already been washed away by the waves. When she turned to continue her walk, she was startled by the presence of an old woman wrapped in a blanket who out of nowhere appeared sitting by a fire, slowly paging through the leaves of a leather covered book.
She walked up to the woman and asked. “Where did you come from？” Her question went unanswered but were instead met with a reply in a serene voice, “Sit with me, child. I have something to show you.”
As the young woman sat down beside the fire, the mysterious stranger handed her the book. She curiously turned the pages one by one and was amazed to discover they contained the story of her whole life from the early days of childhood to the present. She then came to the page telling of her encounter with the old woman by the fire during her walk on the beach, but upon turning to the next page, she found it empty. She frantically began to turn the rest of the pages in the book only to find that they, too, were all empty. In bewilderment, she asked,“Does this mean my life ends this night？”
“No, my child. It means tonight your life begins.” At that moment the old woman took the book into her own hands and began to tear out each of the pages with words, throwing them one by one into the fire until all that was left were blank pages. She handed the book of empty pages to the young woman.
“You see,” she said, “just as the waves washed away your footsteps in the sand, your past is forever gone, never to return. The only moment you ever truly possess is here and now. Each new moment is the beginning of the rest of your life and is to be lived to the fullest , for you will not have a chance to live that moment a second time. Most important of all, each new day brings an opportunity to love——one that may never come to you again. As for your future, you are free to shape it as you wish, for it has not yet been written.”
一天晚上，一年轻女子独自在海边赤脚散步。她停下脚步，回头望去，想看看沙滩上留下的印迹。然而，那些脚印都早已被海浪冲走。她转过身打算继续前行，却惊愕地发现面前突然出现了一位老妇人，身裹毛毯，坐在篝火旁，慢慢地翻着一本皮革封面的书。
她朝老妇人走去，问道：“你是从哪儿来的？”老妇人并没有回答她的问题，只是平静地对她说：“孩子，坐到我的身边来。我给你看点东西。”
年轻女子在篝火旁坐下，神秘陌生人把那本书递给她。她好奇地一页一页翻下去，惊讶地发现书中竟是她从幼年一直到现在的记录。她翻到其中的一页，上面记述着她在海边散步时邂逅一位篝火旁的老妇人。可当她翻到下一页，却发现上面空无一字。她疯狂地朝后面翻去，结果发现，里面全都是空无一字的白页。年轻女子感到大惑不解：“这是否意味着我的生命将在今夜结束？”
“不是的，孩子。这说明今夜将是你生命的开始。”说着，老妪从她的手中拿过那本书，把写满记录的那些书页撕碎，一张一张扔到火堆里。最后，只剩下了那些空白的书页。老妪把这本无字之书递给那位年轻女子。
“你知道吗，”老妇人说。“就像海浪冲走了沙滩上你的脚印，你的过去也一去而不复返；你唯一真正拥有的就是现在的时光。每一个新的时刻都是你剩余生命的开始，都值得你去尽情地生活，因为你没有机会重新来过。最重要的是，每个新的一天都会带给你机遇，让你去爱——而这样的机会也不会重来。你的未来，尽可以按照你自己的意愿去塑造，因为你的未来要靠你自己去书写。”
She walked up to the woman and asked. “Where did you come from？” Her question went unanswered but were instead met with a reply in a serene voice, “Sit with me, child. I have something to show you.”
As the young woman sat down beside the fire, the mysterious stranger handed her the book. She curiously turned the pages one by one and was amazed to discover they contained the story of her whole life from the early days of childhood to the present. She then came to the page telling of her encounter with the old woman by the fire during her walk on the beach, but upon turning to the next page, she found it empty. She frantically began to turn the rest of the pages in the book only to find that they, too, were all empty. In bewilderment, she asked,“Does this mean my life ends this night？”
“No, my child. It means tonight your life begins.” At that moment the old woman took the book into her own hands and began to tear out each of the pages with words, throwing them one by one into the fire until all that was left were blank pages. She handed the book of empty pages to the young woman.
“You see,” she said, “just as the waves washed away your footsteps in the sand, your past is forever gone, never to return. The only moment you ever truly possess is here and now. Each new moment is the beginning of the rest of your life and is to be lived to the fullest , for you will not have a chance to live that moment a second time. Most important of all, each new day brings an opportunity to love——one that may never come to you again. As for your future, you are free to shape it as you wish, for it has not yet been written.”
一天晚上，一年轻女子独自在海边赤脚散步。她停下脚步，回头望去，想看看沙滩上留下的印迹。然而，那些脚印都早已被海浪冲走。她转过身打算继续前行，却惊愕地发现面前突然出现了一位老妇人，身裹毛毯，坐在篝火旁，慢慢地翻着一本皮革封面的书。
她朝老妇人走去，问道：“你是从哪儿来的？”老妇人并没有回答她的问题，只是平静地对她说：“孩子，坐到我的身边来。我给你看点东西。”
年轻女子在篝火旁坐下，神秘陌生人把那本书递给她。她好奇地一页一页翻下去，惊讶地发现书中竟是她从幼年一直到现在的记录。她翻到其中的一页，上面记述着她在海边散步时邂逅一位篝火旁的老妇人。可当她翻到下一页，却发现上面空无一字。她疯狂地朝后面翻去，结果发现，里面全都是空无一字的白页。年轻女子感到大惑不解：“这是否意味着我的生命将在今夜结束？”
“不是的，孩子。这说明今夜将是你生命的开始。”说着，老妪从她的手中拿过那本书，把写满记录的那些书页撕碎，一张一张扔到火堆里。最后，只剩下了那些空白的书页。老妪把这本无字之书递给那位年轻女子。
“你知道吗，”老妇人说。“就像海浪冲走了沙滩上你的脚印，你的过去也一去而不复返；你唯一真正拥有的就是现在的时光。每一个新的时刻都是你剩余生命的开始，都值得你去尽情地生活，因为你没有机会重新来过。最重要的是，每个新的一天都会带给你机遇，让你去爱——而这样的机会也不会重来。你的未来，尽可以按照你自己的意愿去塑造，因为你的未来要靠你自己去书写。”
