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. So it left them all by the side of the road and kept on searching.
Then 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 the flowers of talking 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， I suggested， was 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 if feels like to yearn， to hope， to nourish③ his soul with the dream of something better. There is wholeness about the person who has come to terms with his limitations， who has been brave enough to let go of his unrealistic dreams and not feel like a failure for doing so.
① wedgen. 楔子
② incorporatev. 组合
③ nourishv. 滋养
人生在于完整
从前有一只圆圈缺了一块楔子。圆圈想保持完整，便四处寻找失去的那块楔子。由于它不完整，所以只能滚动很慢。一路上，它对花儿露出羡慕之色。它与蠕虫谈天说地。它还欣赏到了阳光之美。圆圈找到了许许多多不同的配件，但是没有一件能完美地与它相配。所以，它将它们统统弃置路旁，继续寻觅。
终于有一天，它找到了一个完美的配件。圆圈是那样地高兴，现在它可以说是完美无缺了。它装好配件，然后滚动起来。既然它已成了一个完整的圆圈，所以滚动得非常快，快得以至于无暇观赏花儿，也无暇与蠕虫倾诉心声。圆圈快奔急骋，发现眼中的世界变得如此不同，于是，它不禁停了下来，将找到的那个配件留在路旁，又开始了慢慢地滚动。
我觉得这个故事告诉我们，从某种奇妙意义上讲，当我们失去了一些东西时反而感到更加完整。一个拥有一切的人其实在某些方面是个穷人。他永远也体会不到什么是渴望、期待以及对美好梦想的感悟。人生的完整性在于一个人知道如何面对他的缺陷，如何勇敢地摒弃那些不现实的幻想而又不以此为缺憾。
