佚名nonymous
Irememberthinkingaboutamiddle-agedmanstandingatanadjacentcheckoutcounter。Somethingsethimaart。Eventheboybagginggroceriesseemedtosenseit。Hedidaseedier-than-usualjobasheglancedwithresectattheman。
Tryingtoinointwhatwasdifferentabouthim,Ifoundthathelookedquiteordinary。Althoughhegavetheimressionofbeingtall,Icouldseehewasactuallyalittleshorterthanaverage。Hisfeatureswerentarticularlyoutstanding,andhewaswearinglainweekendsortsattire。
Notuntilthemanwasleavingdiditstrikeme。Hecarriedhimselfasifheweresomebodyworthcaringabout,headuandchestout,hewalkedroudlyfromthemarket。
Suddenly,wordsIdheardmymotherreeathundredsoftimesasIwasgrowinguheldnewmeaning。“Standustraight!Liftyourselfbyretendingstringsareullingyoufromthetosofyourears。”
Ithoughtofmyselfbeingulledu,andmyheadanduertorsoliftedautomatically。IfelttallerasIaroachedthemarketsdoors。ThistimeIsawrefectedawomanwholookedasifsheknewwhereshewasgoing!ButIrushedhomeinfveoclocktraffcandtriedtofxdinnerbeforeasevenoclockmeeting,mygoodosturevanished。
ItwasntuntilthenextdayasIwastryingonclothesinadeartmentstorethatIrememberedagain。EachthingIutonbulged,riledandtuckedinthewronglaces。Iturnedsideways,thinkingthaterhasfromadifferentangleIdlookbetter。ThatswhenIrealizedhowreallyoormyosturewas。SuddenlyIrecalledthemaninthesuermarket。Standingstraightheledhimlookwonderfullyattractiveandsecial。Couldithelmelookbetterintheseclothes?
Iliftedmyselfuandanxiouslylookedatthedressagain。Unattractivebulgesandtuckshadsmoothedthemselvesout,andthelineswerenicer。Ilikedthedress!
“Dynamite!”saidtheclerkwhowashelingme。
“Youlikethis?”
“Yes。Itmakesyoulookthinnertoo。”
Sureenough,Ilookedfvetosevenoundslighter。DietingtitlesIdreadcometomind。suchas“HowtoLosePoundsinWeeks。”NowIhadanewtitle:“HowtoLookThinnerinSeconds。”
DidIlookyounger,too,whenIstoodstraight?IhadtoadmitIrobablydid。NowIhadanothernewtitle:“HowtoLookYearsYoungerinSeconds。”AndIbegantonoticethatIdidnthavethebackacheIusuallygetonshoingtris。Inthecaronthewayhome,IwassureIfeltbetterinotherways。Foronething,Iwasbreathingallthewaydowntothebottomofmylungsforachange。Andmyinsideswereallroerlyalignednowinsteadofscrunchingtogether。Thenanothertitleoccurredtome:“HowtoFeelBetterinSeconds。”
Butitstilldidntfeelnaturaltostandustraight。Gravityandyearsofbadhabitketullingmedownward。MaybethatswhyonthedayofaartyIhadworriedabout,Iloweredmyheadandslouched。Ididntwanttogo。Iwasntcomfortablewiththatgrou,andIknewIdsayallthewrongthings。
Afterdinner,asIreluctantlyutoffonmynewdress,Icaughtaglimseofmyselfinthemirror。“Standustraight!”Iordered。Iretendedstringswereullingmeuward;Iliftedmyselftofullheight。AndthatshowIwalkedintothatarty。
Iwassurrisedatwhatgoodosturedidtochangemyaearance,butIwasastonishedatwhatitdidtotherestofme—mysirits,myattitude,myfeelingsaboutmyself。Iimagineithaenedlikethis:AsIliftedmybodytoitsfullheightandheldumyhead,littlesignalswenttomybrainsaying,“Youreconfdent。Youthinkhighlyofyourself。Youaresomebodyofworth。”Othereole,reactingtothewayIlooked,alsosentsignals—signalsofresect。Theymusthavethought:Well,ifshethinksshessomebodyofworth,shemustbe。IbeganfeelingrelaxedandIwasabletobeoutgoing—muchmoresothanusual。ThatnightasIwenttobed,IrealizedthatIhadstillanothernewtide:“HowtoFeelConfdentinSeconds。”
Duringtheweekssincethen,Ihavefoundthatlong-termgoodosturecontinuestohelme。IfeelmoreinclinedtostanduforwhatIbelieveasIstanduhysically。Andstandingtaller,Ifeelbetteraboutmyself。Thishelsmetobebetter,which,inturn,givesmegreatereaceandhainessinside。
Theotherday,whileIwasshoing,thecheckerlookedatmeasifshethoughtsheknewme。“Say,arentyousomebody?”sheaskedme。
“Well,cometothinkofit,yes,”Isaid,“Iamsomebody。Arentweall?”
我的脑海里浮现出一位中年男士在付款台旁边站着的场景。有一些东西使他显得很特别。甚至连装杂货的小男孩好像也意识到了,还满怀敬意地看了看那个男人,干起活来比平时快多了。
我努力观察这位中年男士的特别之处,发现他的外表看起来很普通。虽然他给人一种高高大大的印象,可实际上我看他比一般人还要矮一点儿。他没有十分突出的特征,衣着朴素——穿的就是那种在周末才穿的运动衣。
当这位中年男士离开时才真正触动了我:他走路的姿态就好像自己是一个非常重要的人,昂首挺胸,自豪地从市场中走了出去。
在我成长的过程中,妈妈唠叨了几百次的话,此刻突然有了新的含义。“站直了!就像耳朵上拉着两根绳子一样。”
我认为自己被拉直了,我的头和上身不由自主地挺了起来。当我走向超市门口时,感觉自己高大了许多。这次我看到了一个不同的自我,一个似乎知道自己要走向何方的女人!然而,当我匆忙地坐上五点钟回家的班车,又争分夺秒地赶在七点的会议前做好晚饭时,优美的姿态已经消失得一干二净。
到了第二天,当我在商店试衣服时才又想起这件事来,但凡我试的衣服都在不应该的地方鼓起来并起了褶。我侧身照了照,认为也许换一个角度我的形象会更好一些,那一刻我才真正意识到我的姿态是多么丑陋。我突然想起了超市中的那位男士,站得笔直,使他看起来很具吸引力,而且十分特别。我这么做的话,能不能使我的穿着更好看些呢?
我挺直了,迫不及待地又照了一下。衣服凸起的地方和褶子都不见了,我的线条也更好看了。我喜欢这件衣服!
“太好了!”一直帮助我的售货员说。
“你觉得好看吗?”
“是的,它使你看起来更苗条。”
千真万确,我看起来轻了5~7磅。我随即想起来一些关于控制饮食的文章标题,比如《如何在几周内减轻几磅》。现在我有了一个新标题:《如何在几秒钟内看起来更苗条》。
要是我站直了,是不是会看起来更年轻呢?我不情愿地承认也许这是真的。现在,我又有了一个新标题:《如何在几秒钟内看起来年轻几岁》。我慢慢地觉察到日常的购物不再让我背痛了。坐在回家的车上,我确信自己在其他方面也感觉更好了。因为,我把新鲜空气直接吸入肺的底部并呼出废气,我的内脏都在合适的位置上而不是挤在一起。随后,我又想到了一个新标题:《如何在几秒钟内感觉更好》。
然而,站直了反而让我感觉到不自然,地球引力和多年养成的坏习惯总使我低头弯腰。也许这才是我在那天晚会上闷闷不乐的原因,我低垂着脑袋,无精打采地坐在那里。我不想与那些人为伍,这会让我感到不舒服,而且我知道自己会错话连篇。
晚饭后,当我不情愿地穿上新衣服时,我看了一眼镜子中的自己。“站直了!”我命令道,我想象着有绳子向上拉我。最后,我达到了最佳状态,就这样去参加晚会了。
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