心靈雞湯:鞦韆和擁抱A Swing and A Hug

It was a warm, sunny, Saturday afternoon some fifteen or sixteen years ago. I had volunteered to take my two older kids to the local playground while my wife put the youngest down for a nap. As soon as we got there my daughter headed for the swings and asked for a push. As I was helping my daughter to go higher and higher, I noticed another little girl trying in vain to get her own swing going. Her elderly grandmother was sitting quietly on a nearby bench and smiled at me.

那是十五六年前一個温暖明媚的週六下午。我的妻子在哄着小兒子午睡，我則主動帶着兩個大點兒的孩子到附近的操場上玩。一到那裏，女兒就奔向鞦韆，要我推着她盪鞦韆。正當我幫着女兒把鞦韆蕩得越來越高時，我注意到另外一個小女孩，她正試圖把自己的鞦韆蕩起來，卻失敗了。而她的老祖母則安靜地坐在附近的一條長凳上，向我微笑。

I gave my daughter one big push and then walked over to the little girl and asked if she could use a push too. She smiled and said “Yes!” I soon had her feet soaring towards the clouds while she laughed happily. For the next two hours I found myself pushing swings and playing tag with my son, daughter, and the other little girl. By the time we headed home, I was physically exhausted, but my spirits was still flying higher than those swings.

我大力地推了一把女兒的鞦韆後，便走到了小女孩那裏，問她需不需要我推一把。她微笑着説：“好啊!”我很快就讓她的雙腳衝向天上的雲朵，她快樂地大笑起來。在接下來的兩個小時裏，我和兒子、女兒，還有那個小女孩，一起盪鞦韆、捉迷藏。等到要回家的時候，我已經筋疲力盡了，但我的心情卻比鞦韆飛得還要高。

Two years later I was exhausted again after a long day's work. Still, I needed to pick up my kids from the local grade school before heading home. I stood wearily in the parents' waiting area watching for my children. Suddenly, I felt two tiny arms wrap around my stomach. I looked down and there was the little girl from the playground smiling up at me. She gave me one more big hug before heading off to catch her school bus. As I watched her back, I didn’t feel quite so tired anymore and my spirits were once again soaring in the Heavens.

兩年後的某日，我工作了整整一天，再次感覺筋疲力盡。但在回家前，我還得去附近的小學接孩子。我倦怠地站在家長等候區，等我的孩子們。突然，我感到兩條細小的胳膊抱住了我的肚子。我低頭一看，原來是那個操場上的小女孩，她正仰頭衝我微笑。她又給了我一個大大的擁抱，然後就跑去趕校車了。我看着她的背影，感覺沒那麼累了，心情也再一次翱翔在九重天了。

In this life every single bit of love we share finds its way back to us again. It may travel from heart to heart or it may blossom in the soul where it was planted. It may take seconds or it may take years. The law of love, though, is never broken. What we give, we get back. What we sow, we reap. The love we share, the kindness we give, and the joy we create will always come back to bless us.

在生活中，我們分享的每一絲愛都會迴歸到我們身上。它也許會從心靈傳遞到心靈，也許會在你播種的靈魂深處開花。這個過程可能需要幾秒，亦可能要經過幾年。但是，愛的法則卻從不會被打破。給予的東西，總會回來。種瓜得瓜，種豆得豆。我們分享的愛，我們給予的温情，以及我們創造的快樂，總會回來庇佑祝福我們。