The Fish and the Bear's Paw Cannot Be Combined in the Original Language and its translation are as follows:

Originally:

Meng Zi said, "The fish I desire; the bear's paw, too, I desire. I can't have both, so I'll give up the fish and take the bear's paw. Life is also what I desire; righteousness is also what I desire; the two cannot be combined, the one who gives up life and takes righteousness." (Meng Zi - Su Zi Shang X)

Translation:

Meng Zi said, "The fish is what I want, and the bear's paw is what I want; if I cannot have both, then I will give up the fish and take the bear's paw. Life is what I cherish, and moral righteousness is what I cherish, and if I can only take one of the two, then I will give up life and take moral righteousness."

Insight:

This sentence does not only refer to the fish and the bear's paw, it is a metaphor for the fish and the bear's paw, when we are in a choice, we will not be able to help but think about this, especially when we need to choose between the two, we tend to think about how good it would be to choose both.

But our ideas are impossible to realize, because there is no such thing as the best of both worlds, and most of the time we are faced with choices.

Kindergarten to elementary school, our parents help us to make a better choice for us, elementary school to middle school, we almost have to make our own choices, middle school to senior high school, we make our own choices, high school to college, also we make our own choices. So, in every aspect of our lives, we have to make choices.

Nearly few people choose the right one at a time, and almost all of us have tried and failed to make a better choice for ourselves, but we have to believe in one thing: there is no such thing as a wasted path in life, and every step counts.

When we want both the "fish" and the "bear's paw", we might as well think about which choice is good for us and for others, and then make a choice, which may be easier to choose. Even if you fail, you may not feel so bad.

To give up the fish and take the bear's paw, to give up the life and take the righteousness, everyone faces different choices, the background is also different, so we can not generalize, I hope that everyone can make the most suitable for their own choice.