Once a circle missed a wedge1. The circle wanted to be whole, so it went around looking for its missing piece. But because it was incomplete and therefore could roll only very slowly, it admired the flowers along the way. It chatted with worms. It enjoyed the sunshine. It found lots of different pieces, but none of them fit. Finally one day the circle found a piece that fit perfectly. It was so happy. Now it could be whole, with nothing missing. It incorporated2 the missing piece into itself and began to roll. Now that it was a perfect circle, it could roll very fast, too fast to notice flowers or talk to the worms. When it realized how different the world seemed when it rolled so quickly, it stopped, left its found piece by the side of the road and rolled slowly away.
The lesson of the story, is that in some strange sense we are more whole when we are missing something. The man who has everything is in some ways a poor man. He will never know what it feels like to yearn, to hope, to nourish3 his soul with the dream of something better. He will never know the experience of having someone who loves him and gives him something he has always wanted or never had.
There is a wholeness about the person who has come to terms4 with his limitations, who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic5 dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so. There is a wholeness about the man or woman who has learned that he or she is strong enough to go through a tragedy and survive, she can lose someone and still feel like a complete person.
Life is not a spelling bee6, where no matter how many words you've gotten right, you're failed if you make one mistake. Life is a baseball season, where even the best team loses one third of its games and even the worst team has its days of brilliance. Our goal is to win more games than we lose.
When we accept that imperfection is part of being human, and when we can continue rolling through life and appreciate it, we will have achieved a wholeness that others can only aspire to7. Not “be perfect”, not “don't even make a mistake”, but “be whole”.
If we are brave enough to love, strong enough to forgive, generous8 enough to rejoice9 in another's happiness, and wise enough to know there is enough love to go around for us all, then we can achieve a fulfillment10 that no other living creature will ever know.
从前，一只圆缺了一块楔子。它想保持完整，便四处寻找失去的那块楔子。但因为不完整，它只能慢慢地滚动。一路上，它赞美漂亮的花儿，与蠕虫谈天说地，享受温暖的阳光。它找到了许多不同的楔子，但无一般配。终于有一天，圆找到了一个完美的配件。它高兴极了。现在自己可以完美无缺了！它装好配件，开始滚动。现在它已是一个完好的圆了，可以滚动得非常快，快得无暇顾及花儿，也没时间跟虫儿聊天。当它意识到快速滚动让世界与从前的大不相同时，它停了下来，把找到的配件放在一边，又开始慢慢地滚动。
这个故事告诉我们，从某种奇妙的意义上讲，当我们失去了某些东西的时候，反而会感到更加完整。一个拥有一切的人在某些方面其实是个一无所有的人。他永远体会不到向往、期待、怀抱美好梦想的滋味。他也永远体味不到：一个爱他的人将他梦寐以求的或者从未拥有过的东西送给他时意味着什么。 人生的完整在于一个人如何面对缺陷，如何勇于丢弃不切实际的梦想而又不以此为耻。人生的完整还在于无论是男是女都懂得这样一个道理：他/她学会了坚强去面对悲剧，生存下去，即便失去了挚爱之人依旧能活得精彩。
人生不是一场拼字比赛，不论你拼对多少单词，一旦犯了一个错误，便前功尽弃。人生更像是一个赛季里的棒球比赛。在这儿，最好的球队也会输掉1/3的比赛，最差的球队也有春风得意的时刻。我们的目标就是多赢球，少输球。
当我们认同了不完美是人生一部分的时候，当我们继续感受生活、珍视生活的时候，我们必将达到他人所艳羡的完整。不断地进行人生滚动并能欣赏其价值时，我们就会获得其它人仅能渴望的完整人生。不求“十全十美”，也不求“绝不犯错”，但要“完整”。
如果我们能够有勇气去爱，有气魄去宽容，有雅量去欢庆他人的喜悦，有智慧去体会我们周围无穷的爱，那么我们就可以取得其他任何生物无法取得的成就。
1. wedge n. 楔子
2. incorporate v. 合并
3. nourish v. 怀有（希望）
4. come to terms 达成一致
5. unrealistic adj. 不切实际的
6. spelling bee 拼字比赛
7. aspire to sth. 渴望，渴求
8. generous adj. 大方的，有肚量的
9. rejoice v. （使）高兴、喜悦
10. fulfillment n. 满足