Over the last year I have read lots of material on self-improvement and success. One common theme I found in almost everything I read was an emphasis on gratitude. In an effort to increase gratitude in my life, I have listed the top 5 things that have been given to me for nothing:
去年我看过很多关于自我成长和成功的材料，我发现几乎所有材料都有一个共同点，那就是强调感恩。为了增强我的感恩之心，我找出了五个对我来讲最重要的不劳所获。

1. My Car
When my Gramma bought a new car, she sold her 1997 Ford Tauras to me for $1. A white Tauras isn’t exactly the coolest car on the block, but I have driven it for 7 years with minimal maintenance costs. After 14 years and 100,000+ miles, it still gets me where I need to go.
我的车
我奶奶买新车的时候，把她的1997年产福特金牛座轿车以一美元卖给了我。白色的金牛座虽然并不是我们那个街区最酷的一辆车，但它为我效力了七年，也没花多少维护费用。现如今在它服役14年、跑了10万英里路之后，仍然可以带我去任何我想去的地方。

2. My Education
I was fortunate enough to have great parents who decided at a young age to save money for my education. I graduated from Purdue University in 2009 with no student loans and $0 paid by me towards my tuition. They also paid my rent all four years. The only thing I had to do was graduate on time. I know that most people don’t get an amazing deal like this and for that I am grateful.
我的教育
我非常幸运有一对伟大的父母，他们在我很小的时候就开始为我的教育存钱。到2009年我从普渡大学毕业的时候，从未自己付过一分学费，却也没有任何学生贷款。我的父母甚至还为我支付了四年的房租，而我所要做的就是按时毕业而已。我知道很多人没有像我这样的好运，为此我心怀感激。

3. My Computer
When I graduated from High School in 2005, my parents threw a graduation party for me. I netted about $2,000 in cash gifts and used it to buy a brand new laptop.In 2008, the laptop was stolen when our house was robbed. Good thing my parents had home owners insurance. The laptop was covered for $1200 which I used to buy a new computer that I still use to this very day.
我的电脑
2005年我高中毕业的时候，父母为我办了一场毕业欢庆会。庆祝会上我收到了大概2000元的礼金，我用这笔钱买了一台新的笔记本电脑。2008年我们家失窃的时候我的笔记本也被盗了。不过好消息是我的父母购买了家财险，我的笔记本得到了1200元的赔偿。我又用这笔钱买了一台新电脑，并且使用至今。

4. My Job
After three years of studying Food Process Engineering at Purdue, I realized that a 9-5 job at one of the big food companies wasn’t the life for me. I spent the last year of college building websites for my own personal profit and in the process learned a lot about web development.
我的工作
在普渡大学学了三年的食品加工工程后，我意识到在一家大公司朝九晚五的工作并不是我想要的生活。于是大四那年我一直依靠建设网站赚钱，并且从中学到了很多有关网络开发的东西。

After I graduated, I made one call to a cousin who owned a web development company. He gave me an opportunity to work on a project which eventually led to a full time gig.I put this on my list because my cousin had no reason to hire me. I had no degree and no professional experience, but he took a chance and gave me an opportunity.
毕业后，我给一位自己经营网络开发公司的表哥打电话。他让我参与了一个项目，而后我凭借这个机会成为全职雇员。我之所以认为这个也是不劳而获，因为我觉得我表哥没什么理由选择雇佣我。我既没学位，也没专业经验，但他却冒险给了我这样一个机会

5. My Websites
I own and operate several blogs in my spare time. I build my sites on either WordPress or Drupal. Both of these website platforms are open source projects that are completely free to use.
我的网站
业余时间，我经营了几个自己的博客，有的是我在WordPress博客引擎上建的，有的是在 Drupal内容管理平台上建的。这两个网站平台都是开源项目，完全免费使用。

In the web development world, it is so easy to take for granted all of the free information, scripts, programs, and platforms that are available. The cost to develop a blog platform similar to WordPress or Drupal would be in the thousands, not to mention all of the free modules and add-ons.The WordPress and Drupal communities have created a product that allows me to set up a new blog in minutes for free.
WordPress 和 Drupa社区提供了一种可以让我在几分钟内免费创建博客的产品。在网络开发的世界里，人们很容易想当然地以为所有可用的信息、脚本、程序、平台就是免费的。事实上，开发出一个像WordPress和Drupal这样的博客平台就要花费数以千计，这还不算那些免费的模块和附加程序。

Summary
It was so easy for me to think of these 5 things because I truly feel like I did nothing to get them.
结论
我很容易的想出了这么五点，因为我真的觉得我啥都没付出，就得到了他们。

After I became aware of the obvious things, I couldn’t help but think of all the not so obvious things I am given on a daily basis. Things like clean water, refrigeration, internet access, and air conditioning. I pay for all of these things, but I had nothing to do with the invention or discovery of these daily amenities. They simply happened and now I am here to benefit.
在我意识到这些显而易见的所得之后，我不禁思考日常生活中那些不那么显而易见的不劳之获，比如干净的水、冷藏技术、网络服务、空调。虽然我也付钱了，但是对于这些日常方便设施的发明或发现我却什么都没做过。一切就那么发生了，到我这就是享用了。

It doesn’t stop there though. After I became aware of the more subtle things I am given, I took the next inevitable step. I became thankful for my existence. I don’t know how I ended up in this world, but I wake up everyday grateful for the opportunity to experience life.
事情还不止于此。在我发现了更加细微的不劳所得之后，不可避免地，我想到更多。我开始感谢我的存在。虽然我不知道将怎样结束自己的人生，但是每天醒来我都心怀感激，为拥有这个经历生活的机会。

Waking up every day with gratitude for being alive is like starting the day with a built-in advantage. It doesn’t matter what happens the rest of the day because it is all extra. This might sound like a recipe for complacency, but it’s actually the opposite. Being grateful for what I have not only drives me to want more, it creates a flow of abundance into my life that will provide for my deepest desires.
每天带着感谢生命的心情醒来，好像这一天的一开始就与众不同。接下来的这一天会发生什么并不重要，因为这一切都是额外得到的。这听起来也许有点像是自我满足，但事实恰恰相反。感恩的心不仅让我有了更多的追求，而且它还孕育了一股充盈之流，滋养我最深的渴望。