音味有你 | 人间值得，为何不放手一搏

Sometimes I have thought it would be an excellent rule to live each day as if we should die tomorrow. Such an attitude would emphasize sharply the values of life. We should live each day with gentleness, vigor and a keenness of appreciation which are often lost when time stretches before us in the constant panorama of more days and months and years to come. There are those, of course, who would adopt the Epicurean motto of “Eat, drink, and be merry”. But most people would be chastened by the certainty of impending death.

It has often been noted that those who live, or have lived, in the shadow of death bring a mellow sweetness to everything they do.

Most of us, however, take life for granted. We know that one day we must die, but usually we picture that day as far in the future. When we are in buoyant health, death is all but unimaginable. We seldom think of it. The days stretch out in an endless vista. So we go about our petty tasks, hardly aware of our listless attitude toward life.

The same lethargy, I am afraid, characterizes the use of all our faculties and senses. Only the deaf appreciate hearing, only the blind realize the manifold blessings that lie in sight. Particularly does this observation apply to those who have lost sight and hearing in adult life. But those who have never suffered impairment of sight or hearing seldom make the fullest use of these blessed faculties. Their eyes and ears take in all sights and sounds hazily, without concentration and with little appreciation. It is the same old story of not being grateful for what we have until we lose it, of not being conscious of health until we are ill.

I have often thought it would be a blessing if each human being were stricken blind and deaf for a few days at some time during his early adult life. Darkness would make him more appreciative of sight; silence would teach him the joys of sound.

有时我想，把每天都当作生命中的最后一天来过，也不失为一个极好的生活态度。这种态度会使人格外重视生命的价值。我们每天都应该以优雅的姿态、充沛的精力、抱着感恩之心来生活。但当时间以无休止的日、月、年在我们面前流逝时，我们却常常没有了这种感觉。当然，也有人奉行“吃、喝、享受”的享乐主义信条，但绝大多数人还是会受到即将到来的死亡的惩罚。

我们常常注意到，那些生活在或曾经生活在死亡阴影下的人无论做什么都会感到幸福。

然而，我们中的大多数人都把生命看作是理所当然的。我们知道有一天我们必将面对死亡，但总认为那一天还在遥远的将来。当我们身强体健之时，死亡简直不可想象，我们很少考虑到它。日子多的好像没有尽头。因此我们一味忙于琐事，几乎意识不到我们对待生活的冷漠态度。

我担心同样的冷漠也存在于我们对自己感官和意识的运用上。只有聋子才理解听力的重要，只有盲人才明白视觉的可贵。这尤其适用于那些成年后才失去视力和听力的人。但是那些从未受过丧失视力或听力之苦的人很少充分利用这些在受害者看来高贵的能力。他们的眼睛和耳朵模糊地感受着周围的景物与声音，心不在焉，也无所感激。这正如我们只有在失去才懂得珍惜一样，我们只有生病后才意识到健康的可贵。

我经常想，如果每个人在年轻的时候都有几天失明失聪，也不失为一件幸事。黑暗将使他更加感激光明，寂静将告诉他声音的美妙。

海伦·凯勒（1880年6月27日-1968年6月1日），出生于美国亚拉巴马州塔斯喀姆比亚。美国女作家、教育家、慈善家、社会活动家。在19个月时因患急性充血症而被夺去视力和听力。后来通过导师安·沙利文（Anne Sullivan）的努力，使她学会说话，并开始和其他人沟通。1899年6月考入哈佛大学拉德克利夫女子学院。1924年成为美国盲人基金会的主要领导人。其中最著名的有：《假如给我三天光明》、《我的生活》、《我的人生故事》、《石墙故事》。1964年获“总统自由勋章”。1965年入选美国《时代周刊》评选“二十世纪美国十大英雄偶像”之一。

《假如给我三天光明》前半部分主要写了海伦变成盲聋哑人后的生活。刚开始的海伦对于生活是失望的，用消极的思想去面对生活，情绪非常的暴躁，常常发脾气，扔东西。她感觉现实生活中没有爱等等，她是多么希望能重新得到光明。在她父母的寻求下，帮海伦找到了一位老师——莎莉文老师，这位老师成为了海伦新生活的引导者，使海伦对生活重新充满了希望，充满了激情。