I once had a friend who grew to be very close to me. Once when we were sitting at the edge of a swimming pool, she filled the palm of her hand with a little water and held it before me, and said this:

　　我曾有个朋友，我们的关系很亲密。有一次我们坐在游泳池边上，她在手掌里盛了点儿水，捧在我面前，说：

　　You see this water carefully contained on my hand? It symbolizes Love. As long as you keep your hand curly open and allow it to remain there, it will always be there. However, if you attempt to close your fingers around it and try to possess it, it will spill through the first cracks it finds. This is the greatest mistake that people do when they meet love. They try to posses it, they demand, they expect and just like the water spilling out of your hand, love will retrieve from you.

　　你仔细看我手上这水了吗？那代表爱。只要你弯曲着你的手指，并允许它保持在那儿，它会永远在那儿。但是，如果你试图把你的手指在它周围合起并试图占有它，它会通过它找到的缝溢出去。这是人们遇到爱时犯的最大错误。他们试图占有它，他们有所求有所期待，那样就像溢出你的手掌的水一样，爱会从你身边流走。

　　For love is meant to be free, you cannot change its nature.

　　因为爱意味着自由随意，你不能改变它的本性。

　　If you have people you love, allow them to be free beings. Give and don't expect. Advise, but don't order. Ask, but never demand. It might sound simple, but it is a lesson that may take a lifetime to truly practice. It is the secret to true Love. To truly practice it, you must sincerely feel no expectations from those who you love, and yet an unconditional caring.

　　如果你有爱的人，让他们做一个自由随意的人。给予而不指望，建议而不命令，请求而不要求。这可能听起来简单，但却需要一辈子去实践。这就是真爱的秘诀。真正去实践时，你必须对那些你爱的人没有期望，并给予无条件的关爱。