The view of the high Sierra Lake, nestled in the snow and rock slightly below the timber line, was beautiful from my vantage point some five hundred feet above its shimmering surface. I was anxious to rejoin my companions and try the fishing before are afternoon shadow - edging out from the surrounding array of peaks - entirely covered the lake. Just a short distance beyond the intervening shale, the trail zigzagged down to the valley. I disliked the thought of returning by the long, tedious trail I had ascended, and decided to chance the shale - even though part of it lay above a sheer drop-off of several hundred feet.

坐落在高山上的謝拉湖，依偎在積雪與巖石的懷抱中，巖層往上是一片森林。從高出湖面約500英尺的觀景點(diǎn)看下去，湖面微波蕩漾，美不勝收。我著急與同伴再次會合，準(zhǔn)備在午后周圍群山的陰影尚未籠罩全湖之前，一起釣魚。離錯層的頁巖不遠(yuǎn)，便是一條通往山谷的蜿蜒小路。我不想再走上山時所走的那條漫長而乏味的小道，便決定試著走上頁巖——雖然這其中一段路的下面是幾百英尺的垂直峭壁。

I started working my way over the loose rock with considerable caution and had covered about half the distance when I became aware of a slight but persistent yielding of the shale under my feet. Desperately, I looked for something that would offer support and lurched forward to grasp a light outcropping of solid rock just as the surface shale underfoot - loosened from its foundation by the warm noonday sun - cascaded downward and disappeared over the cliff. Several seconds passed before I heard it rattle into the lake.

我小心翼翼地走在松動的頁巖上。大約走到一半時，我發(fā)現(xiàn)腳下的頁巖正一點(diǎn)點(diǎn)地不斷下滑。我急忙尋找可以抓住的東西。我向前一撲，抓住了一塊露出地表的堅硬巖石。就在這時，腳下被午后陽光照射的發(fā)熱的頁巖表層開始松動，從山上滑了下去，消失在峭壁上。幾秒鐘后，我聽到它落進(jìn)湖中的聲音。

Finally - after due consideration of the folly of short cuts - I managed to move from handhold to handhold and, at last, pulled myself to the trail by the aid of a dwarf juniper root. I have forgotten how many trout I caught that afternoon, but I have not forgotten the value of handhold.

稍微考慮了一下抄近路這愚蠢行為的后果后，我想辦法從一個支撐點(diǎn)挪到另一個支撐點(diǎn)，最終借助一棵矮松的根將自己拉到小路上。那天下午釣了多少鮭魚，我已經(jīng)不記得了，但我絕對忘不了支撐點(diǎn)的重要性。

Handholds are needed also during the course of everyday life. They provide security when the things we depend upon seem to be slipping out from under us. What are the spiritual handholds I have found to be most value?

在日常生活中，支撐點(diǎn)也是非常重要的。當(dāng)我們的依靠即將從腳下溜走時，支撐點(diǎn)會帶給我們安全的保障。我發(fā)現(xiàn)的最有價值的精神支撐是什么呢?