"Snakes don' t peel off their skin when they feel like it." I explained. "It happens as a natural consequence of their growth."

"I see, Dad," said Sarah and jumped off my lap, grabbed the snakeskin, and ran off.

I hoped she would remember this. That often, in order to find our real selves underneath the layers of community and culture with which we cloak ourselves year after year, we need to start examining these layers. We need to gently peel some away, as we recognize them to be worthless, unnecessary, or flawed; or at best, store the discarded ones as mementoes of our promotion to a better vitality or spirit.

我解释说：“蛇喜欢它的皮的时侯，就不会蜕皮。随着它们的生长，蜕皮是自然的过程。”

萨拉说：“爸爸，我懂了。”说完从我腿上跳下去，拿着蛇皮跑了。

我希望她能记住这一次。为了找寻年复一年为社会和环境所掩盖的真正的自我，我们需要检查这些“壁纸”，一旦认识到它们毫无价值，不再需要或者有缺陷，需要轻轻剥去一些，最好是将那些摒弃的东西尘封在记忆中，激励我们更有活力和更有精神地前进。