国家地理:不要让流行病夺走我们的欢庆(1)

Sometimes we let go of things, sometimes things are taken away, and sometimes things break, such as lives, hearts, entire ways of life. Doesn't our world feel broken in the time of COVID-19, maybe especially when holy days arrive?

有时候我们会对某些东西放手，有时候东西会被夺走，而有时候东西会破碎，例如生命、心、整个的生活方式。COVID-19时期，我们不就觉得世界毁灭了吗？或许这种感受在神圣的节日来临时更加深刻。

If we are wise, we avoid large gatherings¹, dinner indoors with family and old friends, services at our mosques², temples, churches -- so we lose the joyful³ and profound rituals and gatherings at this time of devastation⁴ when we need them most. But does this mean we lose the nurture⁵, bonding, and sacred silliness that ceremonies provide?

如果我们够明智，就会避免大型聚会、与家人或老友在室内吃饭，或参与在清真寺、寺庙、教堂的宗教仪式--因此，当我们在这个灾难性的时期最需要充满喜乐与意义深刻的仪式和聚会时，反而苦无机会。但这表示我们也会失去这些仪式所带来的滋养、连结和神圣的单纯吗？

Maybe we can be fully⁶ immersed in the holy even as we keep ourselves and our beloveds safe. Maybe broken isn't the end of the world. Maybe broken is a new beginning, a portal.

或许我们在让自己和所爱之人保持平安时，仍能完全沉浸在神圣之中。或许毁灭不是世界末日。或许毁灭是一个全新的开始，是一道入口。

Let's start with what we mean by "holy."

我们先从“神圣”的意思来看。

The word derives⁷ from whole, uninjured, healthy, complete. I am not always feeling whole these days. Rather, I am often rattled⁸, sad, mad, existentially tired, and crunchy. I would love a nice burning bush about now—but the holy doesn't come only from the divine, as I understand it. It's woven through life.

这个词起源于完整、未受伤、健康、完全。这些日子以来我不总是感觉完整。相反地，我经常担忧、悲伤、生气、感到疲倦且易怒。据我所了解，神圣不只来自神，它交织在我们的生活中。

The holy is not a spectacle, the Rockettes on stage at the Taj Mahal backed by the Mormon Tabernacle Choir⁹. It is more often felt in small graces and blessings¹⁰, although you do have to be paying attention to catch the momentousness¹¹ of the moment. That's the rub. It is around us, above us, below us, and inside us all the time. It's here, but often we're not.

神圣不是奇观。神圣更常在微小的恩典和祝福中感受到，不过你必须留意才能领会那个时刻的重要性。这就是问题所在。神圣一直在我们四周、在我们头顶、我们脚下和身体内。神圣就在这里，但是我们经常不在。

1 gatherings   

聚集( gathering的名词复数 )； 收集； 采集； 搜集

参考例句：

• His conduct at social gatherings created a lot of comment. 他在社交聚会上的表现引起许多闲话。
• During one of these gatherings a pupil caught stealing. 有一次，其中一名弟子偷窃被抓住。

2 mosques   

清真寺； 伊斯兰教寺院，清真寺； 清真寺，伊斯兰教寺院( mosque的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Why make us believe that this tunnel runs underneath the mosques? 为什么要让我们相信这条隧洞是在清真寺下？
• The city's three biggest mosques, long fallen into disrepair, have been renovated. 城里最大的三座清真寺，过去年久失修，现在已经修复。

3 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

4 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 nurture   

n.养育，照顾，教育；滋养，营养品；vt.养育，给与营养物，教养，扶持

参考例句：

• The tree grows well in his nurture.在他的培育下这棵树长得很好。
• The two sisters had received very different nurture.这俩个姊妹接受过极不同的教育。

6 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

7 derives   

v.得到( derive的第三人称单数 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• English derives in the main from the common Germanic stock. 英语主要源于日耳曼语系。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derives his income from freelance work. 他以自由职业获取收入。 来自《简明英汉词典》

8 rattled   

慌乱的，恼火的

参考例句：

• The truck jolted and rattled over the rough ground. 卡车嘎吱嘎吱地在凹凸不平的地面上颠簸而行。
• Every time a bus went past, the windows rattled. 每逢公共汽车经过这里，窗户都格格作响。

9 choir   

n.唱诗班，唱诗班的席位，合唱团，舞蹈团；v.合唱

参考例句：

• The choir sang the words out with great vigor.合唱团以极大的热情唱出了歌词。
• The church choir is singing tonight.今晚教堂歌唱队要唱诗。

10 blessings   

n.（上帝的）祝福( blessing的名词复数 )；好事；福分；因祸得福

参考例句：

• Afflictions are sometimes blessings in disguise. 塞翁失马，焉知非福。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We don't rely on blessings from Heaven. 我们不靠老天保佑。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

11 momentousness   

n.重大，重要性

参考例句：