British writer Maugham devoted 14 years of hard work to finally completing the autobiographical novel "The Shackles of Human Nature".
Once this work came out, it was hailed as a "work of genius" and became a literary treasure that transcended national borders.
In this **, Philip, a young man with deformed feet, became the focus of our attention.
His life seems to be bound by shackles: born disabilities, frustration in job hunting, emotional ups and downs, ......
However, it was in this predicament that Philip showed tenacious vitality, and he struggled to finally break free from the cage of fate.
Reading "The Shackles of Human Nature", let us deeply understand:
To break the shackles of fate, you must first learn to let go.
The male protagonist Philip died when he was 9 years old and lived with his uncle and aunt.
However, his uncle's conservative old-fashioned attitude made little Philip experience the depression and tedium of life prematurely.
What made him even more distressed was that he was born with a deformity of one foot, and every time he walked, he was accompanied by a limping posture.
At school, Philip's disability became an object of amusement for his classmates.
They mercilessly laughed at his gait, and some even deliberately hurt his vulnerability.
He longs to fit in with the collective, to be in tune with those around him, but the harder he tries, the stronger those shrill ridicules become.
In such an environment, Philip's academic deterioration was compounded by the vitriolic teacher, who scolded him as a "lame fool". These words pierced his heart like a sharp blade, deepening his inferiority complex and pain.
Philip had pinned all his hopes on God, thinking that kneeling in front of the statue of Jesus all night would be a miracle.
But the reality is cruel, and the physical disability is like a thorn in his heart, always reminding him of his difference.
As an adult, Philip would still be so nervous that his hands trembled and his heart raced when he heard the word "lame".
He was filled with disgust and hatred for his mutilated body, as if it were a shadow in his life that he could never get rid of.
Years later, Philip, who had become a doctor, welcomed a special little patient - a lame little boy.
Looking at this child, Philip seems to have traveled back in time and space to his childhood where he was ridiculed and suffered.
A complex emotion welled up in his heart, and his words unconsciously revealed deep sympathy for the boy.
The boy, however, responded to his concerns with an extraordinary optimism and calmness.
He smiled and said to Philip
Uncle, it just doesn't look good, I don't think it has a big impact on life. ”
The smile was pure and bright, as if the sun was piercing the clouds, warm and dazzling.
Philip was deeply touched by the boy's words.
Yes, if you can't change your natural disability, why let yourself be immersed in pain and low self-esteem all the time?
He realizes that while fate has given him an imperfect body, it has also given him a unique perspective and a keen sense of appreciation.
At this moment, the bond in Philip's heart seemed to be opened by an invisible key, and he felt unprecedented relief and freedom.
He learned to reconcile with himself, to accept and cherish what fate had given him.
At this point, Philip finally broke free from the fetters in his heart and achieved self-reconciliation and redemption.
There is a saying on the Internet that is particularly thought-provoking:
At all times, we are the only pain-makers, and the only pain-terminators.Festinger's laws of psychology say:
10% of life is made up of what happens to us, and the other 90% is determined by how we react to what happens.
When you stand at a crossroads in your life and face a choice:
Do you choose to be relieved and let your soul be liberated, or do you choose internal friction and let the pain follow you?
In fact, the answer lies in your thoughts, in the voice in the depths of your heart.
Internal friction is like a never-ending war, in which we constantly embarrass ourselves, consuming our energy and enthusiasm.
We chew on the pain over and over again, leaving ourselves in a quagmire from which we cannot extricate ourselves.
However, there is always another mirror in life, which reflects who we really are.
Those external defects may not be able to be changed, but we can choose to change our mentality.
What we can change, we do with all our might; What we can't change, we try to accept, to embrace.
Only when we truly let go of our outer shackles and open our inner shackles can we reach a true reconciliation with ourselves.
Only then can we get out of the quagmire of internal friction and welcome the sunshine and beauty of life.
Philip has been fond of painting since he was a child, and his paintings have always attracted the admiration and amazement of his friends, as if the world is shining with a different kind of brilliance under his brush.
A dream was quietly born in his heart, that is, to become a painter and present his inner world to the world through the brush.
With the support of his aunt, he embarked on the train to Paris with great enthusiasm and embarked on a journey to pursue his dreams.
Paris, a city full of art, seems to have become the cradle of his dreams.
Here, he met a group of like-minded partners who shared the mysteries of art and painted the world in his heart with a brush.
However, when Philip meets the girl Price, the trajectory of his life begins to take a subtle turn.
Price was a hardworking and stubborn girl who loved painting no less than Philip.
However, her paintings were not approved by her teacher, who even bluntly told her that she had no talent for drawing.
Price ignored her teacher's words, but she remained determined to continue her path of painting.
However, fate did not favor her, and not a single painting of her was sold, and her life fell into poverty and despair.
In the end, this persistent girl chose to end her life in a humble rental house and use death to say goodbye to this world that made her feel hopeless.
Price's experience was a great shock to Philip's heart.
It also made him doubt his choice for the first time.
Philip stood in front of the teacher, and the confusion in his heart swelled like a tide.
He couldn't help but ask the teacher the question that had been bothering him: "Do I have the talent to draw?" ”
The teacher didn't answer immediately, but slowly began to tell a story about Strickland.
Strickland, once a glamorous ** exchange broker, has an enviable job and family.
However, one day, he suddenly gave up all this and came to Paris alone, just to pursue the inseparable dream of being a painter in his heart.
I felt like a drowning man, and only painting could save me. ”
Strickland once said so.
With that obsession of "not going crazy, you can't live", he finally became a painter and found his own happiness.
After listening to this story, Philip's heart was deeply touched.
He suddenly understood that a true artist not only relies on talent, but also on the fanatical pursuit of art.
He reflected on himself that, although he loved to draw, he had never been as crazy about it as Strickland. He found that he did not have the enthusiasm and dedication to painting.
So, after much deliberation, Philip made a decision:
He gave up painting and devoted himself to studying medicine at St. Luke's Medical School in London.
This choice filled him with renewed energy and enthusiasm.
During his studies, he worked unusually hard and immersed himself in the ocean of medicine every day. Through long-term unremitting efforts, he successfully obtained the medical certificate.
In the process of treating and saving people again and again, he felt that he was more confident and more powerful every time.
He finally discovered that his true talent turned out to be in medicine.
There is a sentence on the Internet that is particularly heart-wrenching:
Persisting in mistakes is not a kind of courage, but a kind of stupid persistence.
On the road to chasing his dreams, Philip seems so determined and powerful every step of the way.
He can find what he is really good at and love, which contains his deep understanding of himself and his courageous choice of dreams.
Attachment is important, but blind attachment will only make people get into trouble.
On the stage of life, we have all been Philip, and we have all stopped, wandered, and even lost in front of a dream.
But true wisdom lies in being able to bravely let go of the attachment in your heart and pursue the path that is truly suitable for you when facing the cruelty of reality.
In life, we will always encounter various challenges and **, and sometimes even make us lose our way.
But if you know that you don't have the ability to do a certain job, but still stubbornly insist on doing it, you will end up with nothing and even pay a heavy price.
Therefore, we need to learn to let go of our inner attachments, to clear the clouds ahead, and to see the path that is truly suitable for us.
It takes courage as well as wisdom. Only in this way can we continue to move forward, grow and ultimately realize our own value in the journey of life.
In his studio in Paris, Philippe meets Mildred, a waitress at the restaurant.
She is not a country overwhelmed, but she has an irresistible charm that drives Philip crazy.
Mildred's face was pale and her features were ordinary, but her presence was like a bright star to Philip, drawing him closer and closer.
He is obsessed with her world and desperately pursues that passionate love.
However, Philip did not perceive the greed and hypocrisy in Mildred's heart.
She was a liar, a greedy vain, and a corrupt character, but none of that mattered to Philip.
He was willing to give everything for her, even if it was all he had.
Every time she goes on a date with Mildred, she goes on a shopping spree while a financially strapped Philip willingly pulls out his wallet.
He didn't ask for anything in return, he just wanted to see her smile.
However, Mildred has no appreciation for this affection, and she goes back and forth between multiple men, betraying and humiliating Philip, causing him to suffer heartbreak again and again.
When Mildred became pregnant with someone else's child and was ruthlessly abandoned, Philip took on the responsibility of providing for her and the child.
He was as humble as dust in this relationship, losing himself and his bottom line.
He thought that his sincerity and dedication would eventually be exchanged for Mildred's sincere treatment, but he didn't expect that this was just his wishful thinking.
Eventually, Mildred became blinded by materialism, became a prostitute, and even contracted a venereal disease.
Her depravity brought Philip to his senses, but by this time he was penniless and living on the streets.
This relationship cost him dearly, and it also made him understand a truth:
Love is not a blind giving, but requires reason and choice.
That wrong relationship, like a heavy shackle, bound Philip tightly and made him pay an unspeakable price.
His heart was torn apart, and he felt as if he had fallen into an endless abyss.
However, fate did not give up on him.
In his most desperate moments, he meets Sally - the girl who is as warm as the sun.
Sully has a healthy and beautiful appearance, a gentle and considerate personality, and her appearance is like a ray of light, illuminating Philip's gray world.
Sa used her sunny enthusiasm to ** Philip's broken heart bit by bit.
She listened to his pain, understood his struggles, and gave him endless love and support.
With Sally by his side, Philip gradually came out of the haze and regained the courage and hope of life.
The two are in love and rely on each other, as if each other's souls have found a home.
When they are together, they always have endless words to talk about, sharing each other's joys, sorrows, and sorrows.
As time passed, their feelings became more and more intense and sweet, as if the whole world was filled with the breath of love.
When Sally shyly told Philip the news of her pregnancy, Philip was ecstatic. He cautiously proposed to Sully, hoping to spend the rest of his life with her.
At that moment, the sunshine of happiness sprinkled on their shoulders and also illuminated their future.
After letting go of the mispayment love that made him miserable, Philip finally reaped a happy marriage of his own.
He has learned to cherish the happiness in front of him and create a bright future with Sally.
True love requires courage, understanding and dedication, and he is willing to work hard for this love.
**Leonard Cohen famously said, "There is a crack in everything, and that's where the light comes in."
Life is like a rugged mountain road, and each of us is a traveler on that road, with our own regrets and shortcomings, lonely and tenacious.
Some people are physically disabled, but they write the miracle of life with tenacious will;
Some people have a bad career, but they find the password to success in failure;
Some people are emotionally tormented, but they learn the true meaning of love in pain.
On the stage of life, there are ten unsatisfactory things, they stand in front of us like boulders, making us stumble and even sometimes want to give up.
But just when we are stuck and confused, we might as well calm down and read this book "The Shackles of Human Nature", and maybe we can find the courage and strength to restart our lives.
Philip, the protagonist of the book, uses his twists and turns in his life experience to reveal a profound truth for us:
Only when we truly let go of our external flaws can we reconcile with our hearts and find our true selves;
Only when we bravely abandon the wrong persistence, can we discover our own strengths and loves, and find the path of life that truly belongs to us;
Only when we let go of the wrong feelings can we embrace new love and reap a successful marriage.
Letting go does not mean running away or compromising, but rather a kind of wisdom, a kind of courage, a deep understanding of life.
Let go of the thought, and be at ease.
When we truly learn to let go, we will break through the shackles of life one after another.
My New Year's reading plan