国家地理:不要让流行病夺走我们的欢庆(6)（在线收听）

It goes without saying that we put up photos of the people we love and miss: The connection is so deep, deeper than the physical, and contact, so much deeper than on the plane of talk. It is in the fullness of spirit, the capillary system, the ether of breath and memories. It also goes without saying that we play our holy music -- hymns, kirtans, klezmer, Aretha -- or listen to a wind chime, breezes made visible.

不用说，我们会摆放所爱和所想念的人的照片：这种连结是如此深刻，比实体接触还要深，甚至远比语言能表达的程度更深。这种连结存在于被圣灵充满时、毛细管系统以及呼吸和记忆的苍穹中。也不用说，我们会放圣歌--赞美诗、梵唱、犹太克列兹莫音乐、艾瑞莎．弗兰克林的歌--或者听风铃的声音，那是看得见的微风。

Then -- drumroll -- we pick up the phone, or log on to Zoom, and by prearrangement, on Kwanzaa, New Year’s Eve, as Shabbat starts, or the solstice, we reach out. We say, "Hey, you!” As we used to bring our best selves to weddings and funerals, we bring them now to what we can still attend, by phone, or by walks in the neighborhood, masked, waving.

然后我们拿起电话或登入Zoom，在事先安排下于宽扎节、跨年夜、安息日或至日展开联系。我们说出：“哈啰！”就像之前总把最好的自己呈现在婚礼和葬礼上，我们现在则透过打电话，或是戴着口罩在街坊散步时挥挥手，将自己最好的样子呈现在仍能从事的活动中。

Whatever the realm, there can be a sense of direct transmission. Life has taken away some of the barbed wire of our emotional difficulties -- yay -- and we appreciate what is left. We make eye contact with each other, and this allows us to cry together; our eyes aligned: That is a lot of intimacy.

无论用什么方法，都能有直接交流的感觉。生活已经带走我们情感中的一些尖刺，而我们会珍惜留下来的东西。我们与彼此眼神交流，这让我们能够一起哭泣；我们的眼神交融：这非常亲密。

I have my body, where I live, the place of function, pleasure, pain, rest. I offer myself what I would offer a stranger: a hot bath, a plum, kind words.

我拥有我的身体，我住在里面，这里是生命运作、感到愉快、痛苦、能够休息的地方。我为自己提供了会为陌生人准备的东西：热水澡、水果、亲切的话语。

The meaning of this pandemic is that we are all vulnerable and connected. We are in this together, spanning the globe, Buddhists, Jews, Muslims, Hindus, pagans, Christians, atheists. This is so much bigger than the virus, because love and caring are bigger than anything -- even, or especially, suffering.

这场疫情显示出我们都很脆弱而且彼此相连。我们都身处其中，跨越全球，无论是佛教徒、犹太教徒、穆斯林、印度教徒、多神教徒、基督徒、无神论者。这远比病毒重要，因为爱和关怀比任何东西都强大--甚至大过苦难。

Even when we are lonely, hollow, heartbroken, or angry, we can slip through these gaps into what we have always longed for: presence, not presents. And that will sustain us, let us rejoice and be fed, until we can be together again.

即使当我们感到孤单、空虚、心碎或生气，我们仍可穿越这些空间，进入长久渴望的状态：陪伴在彼此身边。这将支持着我们，让我们感到喜悦和满足，直到我们能再次重聚。