英語沙龍十年合集珍藏版第三輯Crying is good for you
Crying is good for you
Do not hold back1) your crying, Sam. Crying is good for you. Think of the tears as little drops of liquid reality. “I could still hear Frank’s words in my ears as well as if he had said them only a few seconds earlier. I could still recall most of the conversation we had the night Frank said that to me.
It was the night my girlfriend and I had broken up, and I, having fallen deeply in love with her, had taken the whole situation a lot harder than Tess had imagined that I would. Frank found me huddled up in my room whimpering quietly to myself.
“What’s the matter Sam？”Frank asked in his usual way.
“Tess and I. . . ”I said trying to hold back the tears, “. . . We, I mean, I don’t know how to say this, but. . . ”
“Well, I guess I‘m back to square one now. . . ”
“I’ m not quite sure I follow you there, Sam. Elaborate for me. . . ”
“Well, you know what. . . what I’ve been missing off my finger for about the past month or so. . . ”I said with a sniffle, holding out my right hand for Frank to see.
“Oh.. . . I get it now. . . ”Frank said, and at that I nodded with a sniffle. “Don’t hold back your crying, Sam. Crying is good for you. . . Think of the tears as little drops of liquid reality. ”
“What？!？!”I asked to Frank, “What in the name of Zeus are you talking about Frank？”
“Crying, of course. All that it is doing is letting out droplets2) of liquid reality in the form of tears. ”
“Never thought of it that way. ”
“You should try it sometimes. It always helps to think of the world and your life and everything else in a way different from everybody else. ”
“Thanks, Frank. You’re a real friend and a pick-me-up, but I’d really like to be left alone right now to do some deep thinking. ”
“Sure Sam, not a problem. Remember that I’m right down in the hall if you need me tonight . ”
“Sure thing Frank. ”
Anyway, back to what I started out to say. Frank was always like that：friendly and just a little bit over your head. Frank had always been the kind of person who never had trouble finding friends, and it seemed to me that he was like a magnet3) to people.
I had heard of magnetic personalities before, but I had never met anyone who would have been described as being one until I met Frank. But, sadly Frank was killed in an automobile accident while on his way home from school yesterday.
The day of his funeral was overcast and raining. Fitting weather for a funeral I think. Although I wasn’t asked to speak by Frank’s family at first, I was asked by his pastor4) to speak on behalf of his friends and peers. Only one thought kept crossing my mind the whole time. I was at the church：Liquid Reality, Tears are only drops of liquid reality. And as I continued to look at that cedar box, surrounded by all the flowers and all the people in the church, I continued to think about Frank’s most memorable words to me. I stepped up to the microphone and looked out over the mass of teary-eyed people who were either friends of Frank or relatives of the family. The first thing that crossed my mind when I opened my mouth came out. Not even meaning to say it, I said：“My most vibrant5) memory of Frank is one that I think anyone would remember for many years. "
“It all started when I was feeling down after a rough day of school. Frank came over to my room to console me because he could sense that I was feeling upset. His words that night have left a deep impression on me：‘Don’t ever think of crying as being a sign of weakness, Sam. Think of the tears as being droplets of Liquid Reality. ’
“Frank was always like that, though. He always talked in words and phrases that maybe you didn’t understand. But, like a well told sermon, the meaning hit you much later afterwards. The meaning of Liquid Reality finally hit me today. And I think that if Frank had planned for the meaning of Liquid Reality to hit me on any day, I think he would have picked the day I was to speak at his funeral. I know that Frank’s in a better place now, and I can just about bet that if he’s listening to this, he’s probably as touched by this as I was by his speech that night. Goodbye Frank, we all love you. ”
When I finished my speech to Frank, those in attendance who weren’t crying before I started my speech were crying after I finished. And by the time I had reached my seat, more than half of the people there had started clapping. I thought it rather odd that someone giving a speech at a funeral would get such an ovation, and I was a little bit embarrassed that my impromptu speech about my best friend had gotten that much ovation at his funeral.
Although Frank and I had been best friends, I just couldn’t stand to watch his casket be lowered into the ground. I drove myself back home and tried to start putting Frank’s death behind me.
哭泣是件好事
“薩姆, 別強(qiáng)忍著淚水?？蕹鰜韺?duì)你是件好事。只管把眼淚當(dāng)成是凝成液體的滴滴現(xiàn)實(shí)”。弗蘭克的話還在我的耳邊回蕩, 就好像剛剛跟我說過一樣。我對(duì)弗蘭克講這席話的那個(gè)晚上我倆交談的情景仍然記憶猶新。
那天晚上, 我和女友苔絲分手了。其實(shí)我對(duì)她的愛是很深的, 苔絲無論如何也想像不出我為此受到的打擊有多大。當(dāng)我獨(dú)自一人蜷縮在屋中嗚咽時(shí), 弗蘭克看到了。
“薩姆, 怎么了？”弗蘭克用他平常的語調(diào)問我。
“苔絲和我……”我強(qiáng)忍住淚水回答道。“嗯, 我是說, 我也不知該怎樣講。
“可是, 嗯, 我想我現(xiàn)在又是孑然一身了。”“
薩姆, 我不大明白你在說什么。能具體點(diǎn)兒?jiǎn)幔?ldquo;
“嗯, 你該明白這個(gè)月我的手指上少什么了吧。”我邊抽泣邊把右手伸給弗蘭克看。
“哦, 我知道了。”見我點(diǎn)頭時(shí)仍哽咽著, 弗蘭克繼續(xù)說道, “薩姆, 別強(qiáng)忍著淚水?？蕹鰜韺?duì)你是件好事。只管把眼淚當(dāng)成是凝成液體的滴滴現(xiàn)實(shí)。”
“什么？。”我向他問道, “天哪, 你在胡說些什么呀, 弗蘭克？”
“當(dāng)然是哭了?？奁贿^是以淚珠形式讓滴滴現(xiàn)實(shí)落下來而已。”“我倒是從來不曾這樣想過。”
“你有時(shí)間應(yīng)當(dāng)試一試。用一種不同于其他任何人的方式來看待世界、你的生活和一切事情總是有好處的。”
“弗蘭克, 謝謝你。你真是我的知已和開導(dǎo)者。但是我現(xiàn)在確實(shí)想獨(dú)自一人好好想想。”
“當(dāng)然了, 薩姆。不過記住, 如果今晚需要我, 我就在樓下大廳里。”
“我會(huì)的, 弗蘭克。”
好了, 讓我們回到一開始。弗蘭克總是如此：友善并略為比你高深一點(diǎn)。他是那種不愁找不到朋友的人, 而且在我看來, 他對(duì)周圍的人來講, 就好像是一塊磁鐵。
我曾聽說過有磁鐵般性格的人, 但是從未幸遇過, 直到弗蘭克走進(jìn)我的生活。然而, 令人傷心的是, 弗蘭克昨天在放學(xué)回家的路上不幸在一場(chǎng)車禍中遇難身亡。
為他舉行葬禮的這天, 天陰得很, 而且下著雨。這對(duì)葬禮確是合適, 我這樣想。雖然一開始弗蘭克的家里人并沒有安排我發(fā)言, 但是牧師還是希望我能代表弗蘭克的朋友和同事說上幾句。在教堂的整個(gè)時(shí)間里, 那句話便一直縈繞在我的腦海中：凝成液體的現(xiàn)實(shí), 淚水不過是凝成液體的滴滴現(xiàn)實(shí)。我注視著那個(gè)雪松打制的靈柩以及它周圍的鮮花和人群, 同時(shí)我繼續(xù)想著弗蘭克對(duì)我講過的最值得紀(jì)念的話語。我走到麥克風(fēng)前, 望了一眼含著淚水的人們。他們或是弗蘭克的朋友, 或是他家的親戚。我一開口, 便不由自主地說道, “我想, 弗蘭克留給我最鮮活的記憶也會(huì)令任何人久久難忘。”
“那天一天的課上下來, 我的情緒很低落。弗蘭克來到我的房間安慰我, 因?yàn)樗械搅宋仪榫w不好。那個(gè)晚上他的一席話深深地印入了我的腦海：不要把哭泣看作軟弱的標(biāo)志。只把淚水當(dāng)成是液化的現(xiàn)實(shí)。
“弗蘭克總是如此。弗蘭克總是講些你可能聽不懂的話。但是他像是一位善言的布道者。早晚你會(huì)被他的話深深地打動(dòng)的。今天我便深深地體味到了什么叫作液化的現(xiàn)實(shí)。我想如果弗蘭克當(dāng)初便計(jì)劃好有那么一天我會(huì)理解這句話的內(nèi)涵的話, 那么他一定會(huì)選擇他的葬禮這一天。我知道弗蘭克此時(shí)在另一個(gè)美好的世界里。我敢打賭假如他正在聽我的這番話, 他必定會(huì)被我的話打動(dòng), 就像我那個(gè)晚上被他的話深深地打動(dòng)一樣。安息吧, 弗蘭克。我們所有人都愛你。”
當(dāng)我講完悼辭, 那些在我開始前未曾落淚的人們都落下了淚水。當(dāng)我回到自己的座位時(shí), 一半以上的與會(huì)者開始鼓起掌來。我想, 在葬禮這樣場(chǎng)合下的講話能贏得喝彩多少令人感到很怪。因此, 當(dāng)人們對(duì)我這番即興的緬懷知己的話鼓掌時(shí), 我有點(diǎn)兒不好意思了。
雖然弗蘭克和我一直是最要好的朋友, 我仍然受不了目睹他的靈柩入土。我于是便開車返家了, 并努力地將弗蘭克的死從腦海中遺忘。
NOTE 注釋：
hold back 阻止, 抑制
droplet [5drCplit] n. 小滴
magnet [5mA^nit] n. 磁體, 磁鐵
pastor [5pB:stE] n. 牧師
vibrant [5vaibrEnt] adj. 鮮活的，鮮明的
