雙語勵志美文:兩誡足矣
Two Commandments Are Enough
By Peggy Wood
Occasionally my mother used to announce that she was going to take time out from the day's activities "to rest," she would say, "and to invite my soul." She always put the phrase in quotes, in order, I expect, to divert the facetious remarks which might arise from the worldly or practical-minded folk within earshot or disarm those who might feel "soul" was a Sunday word not to be used in everyday conversation.
But she meant to do exactly what she said, "invite my soul."
The pressure of the modern world is so great upon us today that we find little time for rest, physical rest, let alone leisure for spiritual reception. Thus, when we take the word "soul" out of its Sunday clothes it is unfamiliar to us, we don't know it very well. We may have different interpretations of the meaning of the word; to some it may mean "conscience," to others that part of our being given us with life. I believe with Dr. Schweitzer in the sanctity of life, that the miracle called life, which cannot be manufactured by man, does come from a source which we call God, and that life and soul are the same. And yet when I am asked point-blank, "What do you believe?" I hedge and play for time in my confusion by saying, "Well, now, that's a pretty big question."
It is not altogether the pressure of the modern world which has clouded our comprehension; "the simple faith of our fathers" got a nasty jolt when Copernicus propounded his theory that the sun and stars did not revolve around the earth and that therefore man was not the sole object of celestial concern. Darwin dealt another blow and Freud's search into the operations of our hidden selves shook our conviction that man could be made in the image of God.
It might be said that such matters affect only dogma and not belief, and yet the mounting complexities of man's discoveries about himself and the world he lives in increase so with the years it is little wonder man cries out for something simple and enduring in which to believe.
As in moments of great grief the reeling emotions steady themselves by concentrating upon small physical occupations - the careful tying of a shoelace, the straightening of a crooked picture on the wall, the tidy folding of a napkin - so I believe, in this heartbreaking world, in tending to the simple familiar chores which lie at hand. I believe I must keep my doorstep clean, I must tidy up my own backyard. I need keep only the two great commandments to live by: to respect the Giver of Life, and my duty towards my neighbor.
I believe that people deeply revere these two commandments (upon which hang all the laws and the prophets) and suffer personal distress when they are broken. When the property owners in South San Francisco refuse to let a Chinese family move into their district, when flaming crosses are burned and when the homes of decent people are bombed, we are all aware that our own doorsteps have been sullied and the human neighborhood besmirched.
If I am too puny to grasp the cosmic contours I believe I can at leave live my faith within my own small orbit, gaining in strength from others until that time when all men can rest - and invite their souls.
兩誡足矣
佩吉·伍德
過去，我母親不時會宣布她要在每天的事務(wù)中抽出點時間來“休息”一下——“我要招待自己的靈魂”，她說這些話時總是用手勢做個引號。我猜這是因為她不想被那些世故或講求實際的家伙聽到后開她的玩笑，或是讓那些覺得“靈魂”這個詞僅僅在禮拜日才會用的人放心。
但母親所想的和她所說的確實是一回事，也就是“要招待自己的靈魂”。
現(xiàn)代社會帶給我們太多的壓力，讓我們幾乎找不到時間讓身體得到休息，更不用說抽時間來款待自己的心靈。所以，當(dāng)我們脫下“靈魂”這個詞的宗教外衣，它就變得如此陌生，我們并未真正了解它。
我們對“靈魂”這個詞也許有不同的理解：有人認(rèn)為它指的是“良心”，有人認(rèn)為它是指我們生命中生而有之的那一部分。我認(rèn)同史懷哲醫(yī)生的觀點，認(rèn)為生命是神圣的，生命這一奇跡不可能來自人類
的創(chuàng)造，它的源頭就是我們所說的上帝，而生命和靈魂本就是一體的�？墒�，當(dāng)有人直截了當(dāng)?shù)貑栁�，“你的信仰是什么？”我不免有些困惑，只好支支吾吾、閃爍其詞地說，“哦，這個嘛，這是個很
復(fù)雜的問題”。
我們認(rèn)識上的困惑并不完全來自現(xiàn)代社會帶來的壓力。哥白尼提出太陽和星辰并非圍繞著地球轉(zhuǎn)，這一理論嚴(yán)重動搖了“我們祖輩單純的`信仰”，如此一來，人類不再是上天唯一的眷顧。達(dá)爾文又給了人們當(dāng)頭一棒，弗洛伊德對人們隱藏的自我所進(jìn)行的探索再次動搖了我們關(guān)于人可能是按照上帝的形象所創(chuàng)造出來的信念。
這些也許只影響到教義而非信仰，但隨著這些年來人們對自身以及世界的認(rèn)識日趨深入、日漸復(fù)雜，人們?yōu)楹涡枰撤N簡單而持久的信仰便毫不奇怪了。
在極度悲傷的時候，聚精會神做些瑣事可以平復(fù)自己紛亂的情緒——仔仔細(xì)細(xì)地系好鞋帶，把墻上傾斜的圖畫掛正，或是將餐巾疊得整整齊齊。同樣，在這個令人傷心的世界上，我們也應(yīng)把手邊那些司空見慣的日�，嵤绿幚砗谩Ｎ艺J(rèn)為我應(yīng)該把自家門前清掃干凈，我應(yīng)該保持自家后院的整潔。我只需要遵循兩條最重要的訓(xùn)誡，一是對造物主心存尊敬，一是對鄰里盡到職責(zé)。
我相信這兩條訓(xùn)誡深得人們的敬畏（所有的法律與預(yù)言都建立在這兩條訓(xùn)誡之上），而當(dāng)它們被破壞時人們就會陷入苦痛之中。當(dāng)三藩市南部的居民不讓一家中國人搬入他們社區(qū)時，當(dāng)十字架在熊熊火焰中燃燒、善良人的家園被炸毀時，我們都意識到自家的家門口遭到了玷污，人類的社區(qū)已變得骯臟。
如果弱小的我無法掌握宇宙的特征，至少我能在自己窄小的軌道里按我的信念生活，從其他人那里獲得力量，直到有一天所有的人都能休息一下——去招待自己的靈魂。
附注：
佩吉·伍德：出生在布魯克林，是一名演員及作家。
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