The Scars of Love 爱的伤疤
Some years ago on a hot summer day in south Florida a little boy decided togo for a swim in the old swimming hole behind his house.
几年前的一个炎炎夏日,在美国佛罗里达州南部,有个小男孩为贪图凉快,决定去自家房子后面一个形成已久的深水潭中游泳。
In a hurry to dive into the cool water,he ran out the back door,leavingbehind shoes,socks,and shirt as he went. He flew into the water,notrealizing that as he swam toward the middle of the lake,an alligator wasswimming toward the shore. His mother - in the house was looking out thewindow - saw the two as they got closer and closer together. In utterfear,she ran toward the water,yelling to her son as loudly as she could.
因为迫不及待地想投入到清凉的水中,他飞快地从后门跑了出去,边跑边脱掉鞋子、袜子和衬衣,把它们随手抛在了身后。他一头扎进了水里,丝毫没有意识到自己游往潭中心的同时,一只美洲鳄也正在朝岸边游来。小男孩的母亲当时在屋子里透过窗子向外看着,发现那只美洲鳄正向她的孩子步步逼近。她极度惊恐起来,一边迅速奔向水潭,一边声嘶力竭地朝自己的孩子呼喊着。
Hearing her voice, the little boy became alarmed and made a return to swimto his mother. It was too late. Just as he reached her,the alligatorreached him.
听到她的呼喊,小男孩才猛然意识到了危险,立即掉头向岸边的母亲游去。可这时已经无济于事。他的手勉强刚够到他的母亲,鳄鱼也已经接触到了他。
From the dock, the mother grabbed her little boy by the arms just as thealligator snatched his legs. That began an incredible tug-of-war betweenthe two. The alligator was much stronger than the mother, but the motherwas much too passionate to let go. A farmer happened to drive by, heard herscreams, raced from his truck, took aim and shot the alligator.
母亲在岸上拼命地拽紧儿子的手臂,而此时美洲鳄也死死地咬住孩子的腿不放。为了争夺小男孩,母亲和鳄鱼之间俨然展开了一场让人难以置信的拔河较量。美洲鳄的力气显然要比母亲强大得多,但是母亲挽救儿子的坚定信念让她无论如何也绝不放手。就在这万分危急的关头,一位农夫恰巧驾车经过,一听到孩子母亲的尖叫便飞速从卡车上跳下,瞄准鳄鱼并开枪将其射杀。
Remarkably, after weeks and weeks in the hospital, the little boy survived. His legs were extremely scarred by the vicious attack of the animal and, on his arms, were deep scratches where his mother's fingernails dug into his flesh in her effort to hang on to the son she loved.
值得庆幸的是,经过在医院数周的抢救治疗,小男孩居然存活了下来。鳄鱼凶残的袭击在他的腿上刻下了触目惊心的伤痕。不仅如此,他的双臂上也留下了深深的抓痕,那是在生死关头母亲为了牢牢抓住挚爱的儿子,以至于手指甲都掐入了儿子的肉中所留下的。
The newspaper reporter who interviewed the boy after the trauma, asked if he would show him his scars. The boy lifted his pant legs. And then, with obvious pride, he said to the reporter. But look at my arms. I have great scars on my arms, too. I have them because my mom wouldn't let go.
事后,这位死里逃生的小男孩接受了一位报社记者的采访。当记者问他是否愿意让大家看看他身上的'伤疤时,小男孩挽起了自己的裤腿,腿上深深的疤痕暴露无遗。紧接着,他满脸自豪地告诉记者,“大家还是看看我的手臂吧,我的手臂上也有好多伤疤呢。这是妈妈不放开我,在救我的时候留下的。”
You and I can identify with that little boy. We have scars, too. No, not from an alligator, or anything quite so dramatic. But, the scars of a painful past. Some of those scars are unsightly and have caused us deep regret.
看了这个小男孩的故事后,人们都能感同身受。其实我们每个人身上都有伤疤。只不过并不是被鳄鱼咬的,或任何如此戏剧性事件所造成,而是过往的痛苦经历所留下的。那些伤疤是如此难看,让人深感懊悔。
But, some wounds, my friend, are because God has refused to let go. In the midst of your struggle, He's been there holding on to you.
但是,我的朋友,你可曾想过有些伤口是一些不想放弃你的人造成的。在你挣扎的过程中,那些爱你的人为了拉住你,才在你身上留下了这些伤疤。
美文欣赏:你可以选择自己想过的生活
Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:
生活有时候困难得难以置信,但又不容置疑。我们面临的挑战与困境似乎无法抵御,试图毁灭我们生活,甚至使你犹疑是否继续走下去。但是你总有选择的余地。从人生低谷走向新生活的杰西卡·赫斯乐普,在这里与我们分享她启迪心灵、充满震撼力的生活之旅。
In 2012 I had the worst year of my life.
2012年是我生活中最艰难的一年。
I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.
我做着讨厌的财务工作,住在难寻绿色的高楼林立的城市。我忙于无意义的交往,在一些肤浅表面的东西上大笔开销。我寻找快乐,却又不知道它在哪里。
Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.
然后我患上了慢性疲劳综合症,几乎到了卧床不起的地步。我不得不辞掉工作,同时也就断了财源。我和那时仅相处了3个月的男友住在一起,经济上完全依赖于他,我们的关系承受着巨大压力。终于我恢复健康,但不久,我接到家里的电话,父亲的癌症急剧恶化,已经住进了临终关怀中心。
I left the city and I went home to be with him.
我离开了城市,回家陪父亲。
He died 6 months later.
6个月之后,他去世了。
My father was a complete inspiration to me. He was always so strong that, for a minute after he drew his last breath, I honestly thought he would come back to life. I couldn’t believe I would never again cuddle into his big warm chest and feel safe no matter what.
父亲的事让我彻底清醒。他一直很强壮,在他咽气之后一分钟里,我真的认为,他会活过来。我不能相信,我再也不能依偎在他温暖的怀抱里,享受他宽大的胸怀带给我的安全感。
The grief that followed was intense for all of us 5 children and our mother, but we had each other.
母亲和我们5个兄弟姐妹极为难过,但至少我们还拥有彼此。
But my oldest sister at that time complained of a bad back. It got so bad after 2 months that she too was admitted to hospital.
但是,那时我大姐开始抱怨着背痛,2个月后,因疼痛加剧也住进了医院。
They discovered that she had highly advanced cancer in her bones and that there was nothing that they could do.
医生们检查发现,她已是骨癌晚期,对此他们已无能为力。
She died 1 month later.
1个月之后,她也走了。
I could never put into words the loss of my sister in my life.
大姐的逝去让我陷入难以形容的痛苦之中。
She was a walking, talking angel and my favourite person in the whole world. If someone could have asked me the worst thing that could ever happen, it would have been losing her.
在这个世界上,她是一个能走路、会说话的天使,我最喜欢的人。如果有人问我,世界上发生的最坏的事情是什么,那就是失去她。
She was my soul-mate and I never thought I would journey this lifetime without her.
她是我的灵魂伴侣,我从来没有想过,我会走过没有她陪伴的生命旅程。
The Moment Of Deliberate Choice
抉择时刻
The shock and extreme heart break brought me to my knees. The pain was so great and my world just looked desolate. I had no real home, no money, no job, and no friends that cared. Not one person had even sent me a sympathy card for my loss.
我被打击和极度的心痛击挎了。强烈的痛苦使世界在我眼中变得如此凄凉。我没有真正意义上的家,没有钱,没有工作,也没有关心我的朋友。没有一个人因我失去亲人而寄给我慰问卡。
I made an attempt of my own life and I ended up in hospital.
我尝试着活下去,结果住进了医院。
I remember lying in the hospital bed, looking up at the ceiling and seeing my sister’s beautiful face. She stayed with me all night long.
我记得,躺在病床上,看着天花板,看到姐姐美丽的面庞。她整夜守候着我。
I realised during that night that I had a choice. I could choose to end my life or I could choose to live it.
那天晚上,我意识到我可以选择。要么结束生命,要么活下去。
I looked in my sister’s eyes and I made a decision not to go with her just yet. That I would stay and complete my journey here.
望着姐姐的眼睛,我决定不跟她走。我要留下来,走完我的生命旅程。
I also made the decision that, I wouldn’t just live any life. I would live the life that I absolutely LOVE and nothing less.
同时,我还决定,不只为生活而生活,我要完全以自己想要的方式生活。
In that moment, the clarity that descended around me was like a light shining in a dark room for the first time. As if the earth’s plates had shifted under my feet and everything suddenly looked real for the first time.
在那一刻,这一想法第一次清晰得如同一盏在黑暗闪烁的明灯。好像脚下的地球版块变换了,每一样东西在我眼前都真实得前所未有。
美文赏析:打开心门拥抱生活
We often close ourselves off when traumatic events happen in our lives; instead of letting the world soften us, we let it drive us deeper into ourselves. We try to deflect the hurt and pain by pretending it doesn’t exist, but although we can try this all we want, in the end, we can’t hide from ourselves. We need to learn to open our hearts to the potentials of life and let the world soften us.
生活发生不幸时,我们常常会关上心门;世界不仅没能慰藉我们,反倒使我们更加消沉。我们假装一切仿佛都不曾发生,以此试图忘却伤痛,可就算隐藏得再好,最终也还是骗不了自己。既然如此,何不尝试打开心门,拥抱生活中的各种可能,让世界感化我们呢?
Whenever we start to let our fears and seriousness get the best of us, we should take a step back and re-evaluate our behavior. The items listed below are six ways you can open your heart more fully and completely.
当恐惧与焦虑来袭时,我们应该退后一步,重新反思自己的言行。下面六个方法有助于你更完满透彻地敞开心扉。
1. Breathe into pain
直面痛苦
Whenever a painful situation arises in your life, try to embrace it instead of running away or trying to mask the hurt. When the sadness strikes, take a deep breath and lean into it. When we run away from sadness that’s unfolding in our lives, it gets stronger and more real. We take an emotion that’s fleeting and make it a solid event, instead of something that passes through us.
当生活中出现痛苦的事情时,别再逃跑或隐藏痛苦,试着拥抱它吧;当悲伤来袭时,试着深呼吸,然后直面它。如果我们一味逃避生活中的悲伤,悲伤只会变得更强烈更真实——悲伤原本只是稍纵即逝的情绪,我们却固执地耿耿于怀。
By utilizing our breath we soften our experiences. If we dam them up, our lives will stagnate, but when we keep them flowing, we allow more newness and greater experiences to blossom.
深呼吸能减缓我们的感受。屏住呼吸,生活停滞;呼出呼吸,更多新奇与经历又将拉开序幕。
2. Embrace the uncomfortable
拥抱不安
We all know what that twinge of anxiety feels like. We know how fear feels in our bodies: the tension in our necks, the tightness in our stomachs, etc. We can practice leaning into these feelings of discomfort and let them show us where we need to go.
我们都经历过焦灼的煎熬感,也都感受过恐惧造成的生理反应:脖子僵硬、胃酸翻腾。其实,我们有能力面对这些痛苦的感受,从中领悟到出路。
The initial impulse is to run away — to try and suppress these feelings by not acknowledging them. When we do this, we close ourselves off to the parts of our lives that we need to experience most. The next time you have this feeling of being truly uncomfortable, do yourself a favor and lean into the feeling. Act in spite of the fear.
我们的第一反应总是逃避——以为否认不安情绪的存在就能万事大吉,可这也恰好妨碍了我们经历最需要的生活体验。下次感到不安时,不管有多害怕,也请试着勇敢面对吧。
3. Ask your heart what it wants
倾听内心
We’re often confused at the next step to take, making pros and cons lists until our eyes bleed and our brains are sore. Instead of always taking this approach, what if we engaged a new part of ourselves that isn’t usually involved in the decision making process?
我们常对未来犹疑不定,反复考虑利弊直到身心俱疲。与其一味顾虑重重,不如从局外人的角度看待决策之事。
I know we’ve all felt decisions or actions that we had to take simply due to our “gut” impulses: when asked, we can’t explain the reasons behind doing so — just a deep knowing that it had to get done. This instinct is the part of ourselves we’re approaching for answers.
其实很多决定或行动都是我们一念之间的结果:要是追问原因的话,恐怕我们自己也道不清说不明,只是感到直觉如此罢了。而这种直觉恰好是我们探索结果的潜在自我。
To start this process, take few deep breaths then ask, “Heart, what decision should I make here? What action feels the most right?”
开始前先做几次深呼吸,问自己:“内心认为该做什么样的决定呢?觉得采取哪个方案最恰当?”
See what comes up, then engage and evaluate the outcome.
看看自己的内心反应如何,然后全力以赴、静待结果吧。
美文赏析:生活中你错过了什么?
In this life, what did you miss?
在生活中,你错过了什么?
The wife asked the husband when she was 25. Despondently, the husband replied: 'I missed a new job opportunity.'
妻子25岁的时候这样问丈夫。丈夫沮丧地回答:“我错过了一个新的工作机会。”
When she was 35, the husband angrily told her that he had just missed the bus.
35岁时,丈夫生气地说他错过了公交车。
At 45, the husband sadly said: 'I missed the oppotunity seeing my closed relative before his last breath.'
45岁时,丈夫悲伤地说:“我错过了见至亲最后一面的机会。”
At 55, the husband said disappointingly: 'I missed a good chance to retire.'
55岁时,丈夫失望地说:“我错过了一个退休的好机会。”
At 65, the husband hurriedly replied: 'I missed a dental appointment.'
65岁时,丈夫匆匆地回答:“我错过了和牙医的预约。”
At 75, the wife did not ask the husband anymore, the husband was kneeling in front of the very sick wife. Remembering the question the wife used to ask him, this time he asked the wife the same question. The wife, with a smile and peaceful look, replied: 'In this life, I did not miss having you!'
75岁,妻子不再问丈夫同样的问题,丈夫跪在病重的妻子面前,想起以前妻子常常问起的那个问题,这次他也问了妻子同样的问题,妻子笑了笑,一脸平静地说:“我这一生,没有错过你!”
The husband was full of tears. He always thought that they could be together forever. He was always busy with work and trifles. So much so he had never been thoughtful to his wife. The husband hugged the wife tightly and said: 'Over 50 years, how I had allowed myself to miss your deep love for me.'
丈夫满眼泪水,他总是认为可以和妻子白头到老,于是总是忙于工作和琐事,从没在意过妻子。他紧紧地抱住妻子说:“这50多年来,我怎么能允许自己错过了你对我的爱呢。”
In the busy city life, there are many people who are always busy with work. These people revolve their lives around their jobs, these people sacrifice all their times and health to meet the social expectations. They are unwilling to spend times on health care. They miss the opportunity to be with their children in their growing up. They neglect the loved ones who care for them, and also their health.
在繁忙的城市生活中,有人总是忙于工作。他们整天围着工作转,甚至为了达到社会的标准,牺牲了自己的健康。他们不愿花时间来关注自己的健康,在孩子成长的过程中错失了与之共享天伦之乐的机会。他们忽视了那些关心他们的人,以及他们的健康。
Nobody knows what is going to happen one year from now.
没有人知道一年后会发生什么事情。
Life is not permanent, so always live in the now. Express your gratitude to your loved ones in words. Show your care with actions. Treat everyday as the last episode of life. In this way, when you are gone, you loved ones would have nothing to feel sorry about.
生命不是永恒的,所以活在当下吧。把你对爱人的感谢说出来,用行动证明你关心他们。把每一天当作人生的最后一个篇章,只有这样,当你离开时,你爱的人们才会没有遗憾。
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