Do you get the feeling that whenever something good happens, something bad is almost certain to follow? I’m sure that almost everybody has experienced this in one way or another, at one point. There is some truth in the saying “a double-sided blade”, in so far there’s always a good and bad side to everything, apparent or otherwise.
你是否觉得每当好事发生时，坏事几乎肯定会随之而来？ 我相信几乎每个人都以这样或那样的方式经历过，在一次。 「雙刃」這句話有一些道理，到目前為止，一切事物都有好的一面和壞的一面，无论是否明顯。
Even birthdays.
甚至生日。
As a child I’ve always looked forward to birthdays. The friends, the parties, the cake… I remember waking up, jumping out of bed and gleefully shouting, “It’s my birthday!” It’s always so exciting to wake up and know that a day of festivities is about to follow.
小时候，我一直期待着生日。 朋友、派对、蛋糕……我记得醒来时，跳下床，高兴地喊道：“今天是我的生日！” 醒来后知道节日即将到来，这总是那么令人兴奋。
My mom would smile, bend down and pat my head. “Happy birthday sweetie!”
我妈妈会微笑，弯下腰拍拍我的头。 「生日快乐，甜心！”
“Mummy, why don’t you have birthday parties anymore?”
“妈妈，你为什么不再举办生日派对了？”
“Well, birthdays for you means you’re growing up. Birthdays for mummy means mummy’s getting old.”
“嗯，对你来说，生日意味着你正在成长。 妈妈的生日意味着妈妈变老了。”
“Mummy will never get old!”
“妈妈永远不会变老！”
“Thanks sweetie.”
“谢谢你，亲爱的。”
But the truth is, mummy will eventually get old, and with each passing birthday the next one gets more daunting.
但事实是，木乃伊最终会变老，随着每个生日的过去，下一个生日都会变得更加令人生畏。
We would grow up, each year passing with another birthday wrapped up in a bow, like those artistic cakes you’d see in bakeries. Those fondant covered cakes that tower over us, sugar flowers painted with food colouring wrapped around the base and up to the top. In the end it’s just a façade. Beautiful, but bland and tasteless, even though we all gobble it up anyways because it’s our birthday cake.
我们长大后，每年都会带着另一个用蝴蝶结包裹的生日，就像你在面包店看到的那些艺术蛋糕一样。 那些软糖覆盖的蛋糕耸立在我们身上，用食用色素画的糖花包裹着底部和顶部。 归根结底，这只是一个幌子。 很漂亮，但平淡无味，即使我们都把它吞了下去，因为这是我们的生日蛋糕。
I think those cakes represent birthdays perfectly. A ceremonial celebration that was fun and exciting to us as kids, but something we’d acknowledge and put aside as adults. A thing that we would eventually stop counting down towards and instead celebrate in private, as an understanding that time must pass.
我认为那些蛋糕完美地代表了生日。 一场仪式性的庆祝活动，对我们小时候来说既有趣又令人兴奋，但作为成年人，我们会承认并搁置。 我们最终会停止倒计时，而是私下庆祝，因为理解时间必须流逝。
Older women feel this especially. As time passes, so does our youth and beauty. Admittedly, most of us are vain and would like to stay young forever, but why are women punished by the passing of time the most? Typically this is because women are generally more judged by their appearances while men are judged more on their salaries.
老年女性尤其有这种感觉。 随着时间的流逝，我们的青春和美丽也在流逝。 诚然，我们大多数人都是虚荣的，想永远保持年轻，但为什么女性受到时间流逝的惩罚最大？ 通常，这是因为女性通常更受外表的评判，而男性更受受工资评判。
You probably know of the phrase; “Never ask a woman her age and a man his salary”. Sure, we’ve evolved, but women are still insecure about their looks and their age. It’s probably due to human nature of wanting a healthy mate.
你可能知道这句话；“永远不要问女人的年龄和男人的工资”。 当然，我们已经进化了，但女性仍然对自己的外表和年龄没有安全感。 这可能是由于人类想要一个健康的伴侣的天性。
You might ask, “Well why should I let what others think get in my way of life?”
你可能会问，“好吧，我为什么要让别人的想法妨碍我的生活？”
Good point. You shouldn’t, but what about your opinions? If you want to live every moment of your life happily and not dread your own birthday, you must accept the fact what’s going to come will come. You will eventually age, and die, but that’s all a part of nature.
观点很好。 你不应该，但是你的意见呢？ 如果你想快乐地过你生命中的每一刻，而不是害怕自己的生日，你必须接受一个事实，即将要发生的事情就会到来。 你最终会衰老和死亡，但这都是大自然的一部分。
In Chinese tradition, death should be somber, and we should treat the dead with respect and fear death.
在中国传统中，死亡应该是沉着的，我们应该尊重死者，害怕死亡。
I respect that.
我尊重这一点。
Yes, death is not something to be taken lightly. Yet, we should not let death prevent us from celebrating our birthdays.
是的，死亡不是可以掉以轻心的事情。 然而，我们不应该让死亡阻止我们庆祝生日。
Take the Mexicans’ Day of the Dead as an example. They celebrate their deceased ones because they believe the Day of the Dead is a holiday for the dead, and they should still celebrate. The Chinese equivalent of the Day of the Dead would be Qing Ming, or Tomb Sweeping Day.
以墨西哥亡灵节为例。 他们庆祝他们的死者，因为他们相信亡灵节是死者的节日，他们仍然应该庆祝。 死者节的中文等同于清明节，即清明节。
But on this day, unlike in Mexico, no Chinese family would have a celebration and dance. Instead we would go to our loved ones’ graves and pay our respects. It’s a somber occasion, and hence we respect the passing of time, and to a certain degree, fear it.
但在这一天，与墨西哥不同，没有中国家庭会庆祝和跳舞。 相反，我们会去我们所爱的人的坟墓，并表示敬意。 这是一个令人担忧的场合，因此我们尊重时间的流逝，在某种程度上，我们害怕它。
In other words, death and old age should be accepted, and the passing of time celebrated, not feared.
换句话说，死亡和老年应该被接受，时间的流逝应该被庆祝，而不是害怕。
So, no matter your age, you should still have a blasting party on your next birthday.
所以，无论你多大年纪，你仍然应该在下一个生日那天举办一个爆炸派对。
