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I had already paid my money， 1）tucked my package under my arm， and was walking out the door when I heard her calling my name. There she was， 2）perched on a small bookcase， among the sofas and lamps and bed frames in the outer room of a local 3）thrift store—a small 4）hippopotamus planter that， I swear， was calling my name.
5）Molded out of light brown 6）clay， her wide feet were drawn up under her thick body， and her head was 7）tilted 8）coquettishly. She wore an 9）impish grin and looked as if she was about to bat her 10）eyelashes to get her way. The urge to take her home was so 11）irresistible that I turned around and bought her immediately.
This was a time of 12）reinvention in my life. After emerging from the fog of post-divorce pain and 13）grief， I found myself intent on revealing the 14）authentic woman inside and honoring her by making decisions on that authenticity. Those decisions were not only the big ones， like what do I want for my life and who do I want in it， but also the more 15）mundane ones， like how do I decorate my house.
The 16）impulse to clean and 17）purge and redecorate after a divorce is so 18）cliché and normal that there are probably several expensive university studies out there which have proven such a fact. However， when I began to make actual decisions about colors and couches and 19）knick-knacks， I found， in order to remain true to my authentic self， I had to be quiet and dig down and listen to what was speaking to me.
I believe in being still and listening for our authentic voice.
I believe deep down， way back， behind the noise and 20）chaos of everyday life， we do know who we are and what we need to be happy and whole. We know the voice that tells us we no longer want to live in 21）dysfunction. We know the voice telling us we deserve to be genuinely happy， and we know the voice that says， “yes， that hippopotamus would look good on my porch.”
That voice often gets lost in a 22）cacophony of other peoples’ suggestions， recommendations and ideas and “you shoulds” and “so-and-so woulds.” And then after years of being 23）muted and 24）muffled， that voice within gets quiet and only whispers， and we find ourselves turning away from our most real selves and the values that make us who we are.
It takes practice to let the inner voice shout once more. It takes being willing to feel for that small flame of joy， deep in your 25）belly， when you recognize your authentic voice and know it’s speaking your truth. It takes courage to stand up to the other voices that want to bend and mold you to their imagined image for you. It takes being willing to listen for the hippo.
我已经付了钱，胳膊里夹着一大包东西，正要出门那一刻，我听见它在喊我。它就在那里，待在这家本地二手店外屋的一个小书橱上，四周都是各色沙发、灯饰和床架——我发誓，那个河马小花盆真喊我了。
浅褐色陶土塑成的河马用粗壮的腿儿支撑着胖胖的身体，还微微侧着头，特别俏皮。它那一脸淘气的笑容，仿佛眨巴眨巴眼睛就能让人遂了它的愿。我实在无法遏制这种想要带它回家的冲动，于是我立马转身，把它买了下来。
那一段时间，我的生活正要从头再来。在逐渐摆脱离婚带来的伤痛迷雾以后，我发现自己开始致力于发掘内心深处那个真实的女人，尊重她，凭本心做决定。这不仅指重大的决定，比如我想要怎样的生活，又比如我想和什么人一同生活；还包括更琐碎平常的决定，比如如何布置我的房子之类的。
离婚之后我总有那么一种冲动，想搞次大扫除，将东西清理干净，重新布置房子。这个想法实在太俗套——也太正常了，可能有好些耗资巨大的大学研究已经证实了这一点。不过，当我真正开始着手为刷墙用什么颜色、买怎样的沙发和小摆设做决定时，我意识到，要忠于真实的自我，我必须静下心来，扪心自问，聆听内心的声音。
我相信人要偶尔驻足，聆听我们内心真实的声音。
我相信，在日常生活的嘈杂混乱背后，我们在内心深处其实一早就知道自己是个怎样的人，以及我们需要什么要素才能过得幸福美满。我们听过那个声音，它说我们不想再浑浑噩噩地过日子；我们听过那个声音，它说我们值得享受实实在在的幸福；我们听过那个声音，它说：“没错，那只河马放在我家门廊上一定很好看。”
别人的各种建议、推荐、看法、“你应当如何如何”以及“谁谁谁会怎样”汇聚而成的杂音常常会令那个声音迷失方向。然后，经过长年的缄默和压抑，内心的声音会日渐沉寂，只余呢喃。我们发现自己与真实的自我背道而驰，与让我们活出本色的价值观背道而驰。
你需要不断练习，才能再次听到内心的呐喊。你要去欣然感受那小小的喜悦——在你听到自己的心声、知道它说的是实话时，你的丹田就会涌起这一把小火焰。你要拿出勇气，当其他声音要你屈服、要将你塑成别人所希望的样子时，你要勇于反抗。
你还要愿意去聆听那只河马的声音。
5）Molded out of light brown 6）clay， her wide feet were drawn up under her thick body， and her head was 7）tilted 8）coquettishly. She wore an 9）impish grin and looked as if she was about to bat her 10）eyelashes to get her way. The urge to take her home was so 11）irresistible that I turned around and bought her immediately.
This was a time of 12）reinvention in my life. After emerging from the fog of post-divorce pain and 13）grief， I found myself intent on revealing the 14）authentic woman inside and honoring her by making decisions on that authenticity. Those decisions were not only the big ones， like what do I want for my life and who do I want in it， but also the more 15）mundane ones， like how do I decorate my house.
The 16）impulse to clean and 17）purge and redecorate after a divorce is so 18）cliché and normal that there are probably several expensive university studies out there which have proven such a fact. However， when I began to make actual decisions about colors and couches and 19）knick-knacks， I found， in order to remain true to my authentic self， I had to be quiet and dig down and listen to what was speaking to me.
I believe in being still and listening for our authentic voice.
I believe deep down， way back， behind the noise and 20）chaos of everyday life， we do know who we are and what we need to be happy and whole. We know the voice that tells us we no longer want to live in 21）dysfunction. We know the voice telling us we deserve to be genuinely happy， and we know the voice that says， “yes， that hippopotamus would look good on my porch.”
That voice often gets lost in a 22）cacophony of other peoples’ suggestions， recommendations and ideas and “you shoulds” and “so-and-so woulds.” And then after years of being 23）muted and 24）muffled， that voice within gets quiet and only whispers， and we find ourselves turning away from our most real selves and the values that make us who we are.
It takes practice to let the inner voice shout once more. It takes being willing to feel for that small flame of joy， deep in your 25）belly， when you recognize your authentic voice and know it’s speaking your truth. It takes courage to stand up to the other voices that want to bend and mold you to their imagined image for you. It takes being willing to listen for the hippo.
我已经付了钱，胳膊里夹着一大包东西，正要出门那一刻，我听见它在喊我。它就在那里，待在这家本地二手店外屋的一个小书橱上，四周都是各色沙发、灯饰和床架——我发誓，那个河马小花盆真喊我了。
浅褐色陶土塑成的河马用粗壮的腿儿支撑着胖胖的身体，还微微侧着头，特别俏皮。它那一脸淘气的笑容，仿佛眨巴眨巴眼睛就能让人遂了它的愿。我实在无法遏制这种想要带它回家的冲动，于是我立马转身，把它买了下来。
那一段时间，我的生活正要从头再来。在逐渐摆脱离婚带来的伤痛迷雾以后，我发现自己开始致力于发掘内心深处那个真实的女人，尊重她，凭本心做决定。这不仅指重大的决定，比如我想要怎样的生活，又比如我想和什么人一同生活；还包括更琐碎平常的决定，比如如何布置我的房子之类的。
离婚之后我总有那么一种冲动，想搞次大扫除，将东西清理干净，重新布置房子。这个想法实在太俗套——也太正常了，可能有好些耗资巨大的大学研究已经证实了这一点。不过，当我真正开始着手为刷墙用什么颜色、买怎样的沙发和小摆设做决定时，我意识到，要忠于真实的自我，我必须静下心来，扪心自问，聆听内心的声音。
我相信人要偶尔驻足，聆听我们内心真实的声音。
我相信，在日常生活的嘈杂混乱背后，我们在内心深处其实一早就知道自己是个怎样的人，以及我们需要什么要素才能过得幸福美满。我们听过那个声音，它说我们不想再浑浑噩噩地过日子；我们听过那个声音，它说我们值得享受实实在在的幸福；我们听过那个声音，它说：“没错，那只河马放在我家门廊上一定很好看。”
别人的各种建议、推荐、看法、“你应当如何如何”以及“谁谁谁会怎样”汇聚而成的杂音常常会令那个声音迷失方向。然后，经过长年的缄默和压抑，内心的声音会日渐沉寂，只余呢喃。我们发现自己与真实的自我背道而驰，与让我们活出本色的价值观背道而驰。
你需要不断练习，才能再次听到内心的呐喊。你要去欣然感受那小小的喜悦——在你听到自己的心声、知道它说的是实话时，你的丹田就会涌起这一把小火焰。你要拿出勇气，当其他声音要你屈服、要将你塑成别人所希望的样子时，你要勇于反抗。
你还要愿意去聆听那只河马的声音。