How Acts of Kindness Sparked a Global Movement | Asha Curran | TED

翻译人员: Maple Dilidili 校对人员: Laixi Kang

Our lives are made up of small moments and small decisions.

我们的生活是由微小的瞬间 和微小的决定组成的。

Left or right,

向左或向右，

walk or drive,

步行或开车，

eat in or take out,

堂食或外卖，

lend a helping hand,

向邻居、同事、或陌生人

or some words of encouragement

伸出援手，

or an offer of support to a neighbor,

说几句鼓励的话

a colleague, a stranger.

或表示愿意提供支持。

Some of these decisions are not like the others.

很多这些决定 与其他决定是不一样的。

And with the world in this much pain,

当今世界充满痛苦，

it might seem futile to be focusing on those kinds of micro decisions.

关注这些微小的决定 似乎徒劳无功。

But the truth is

但事实上，

that we underestimate the power of our own generous actions.

我们低估了自己慷慨之举的力量。

Every time we intentionally choose generosity,

每当我们刻意选择施与慷慨时，

the effects of that choice are more powerful

这种选择所产生的影响

and more far-reaching than we might think.

比我们想象的要强大和深远得多。

The truth is that what one person can accomplish is enormous.

事实上，一个人可做到的 成就是巨大的。

I've been one of the many leaders,

自从 2012 年创立以来，

many of them here in this room,

我一直是 “捐赠星期二” 活动的 众多领导者之一，

of Giving Tuesday since it was created in 2012.

还有不少领导者也在现场。

And it began as an experiment.

它最初是一个实验。

Could we use social media to create a day of giving,

我们能否利用社交媒体 创造一天的 “给予日”，

following two days of consumption,

紧跟着 “黑色星期五” 和 “网络星期一”

Black Friday and Cyber Monday, here in the US?

这两个美国以消费为主题的节日？

And if we could, would anybody be interested in it?

如果可以，会有人感兴趣吗？

Well, needless to say, the answer was yes.

不用说，答案是肯定的。

But I think that even all of us who were there at the very beginning

但我认为，即使是我们这些 一开始就参与进来的人，

were genuinely stunned by just how deeply and widely

也着实被这个想法所引起的

the idea resonated.

广泛共鸣所震惊。

Nonprofits and families and schools and houses of worship

非营利组织、家庭、学校和宗教机构

all joined in with such enthusiasm and creativity.

都以极大的热情和创造力加入其中。

People felt like they were asked to be givers

人们感觉第一次 被要求或者被邀请

or invited to be givers for the first time,

成为给予者，

or in a totally new way.

或者说是 以一种全新的方式给予。

I will always remember the woman who posted,

我永远记得一位女士， 她发帖说：

"I'm not rich,

“我并不富有，

I don't have a million dollars,

也没有一百万美元，

but I can help change lives on Giving Tuesday."

但我可以在 ‘捐赠星期二’ 活动中 帮助改变人们的生活。"

And with the spark that that ignited,

她的帖子点燃了 “捐赠星期二” 的火花，

it spread throughout the whole United States

并在全美国

and then throughout the entire world.

乃至全世界蔓延开来。

And now, 11 years later,

11 年后的今天，

Giving Tuesday is a year-round global generosity movement

“捐赠星期二” 已成为一项 由成千上万的领导者

made up of thousands of leaders

和数以百万计的人们组成的

and millions and millions of people

全年全球慷慨之举运动，

who are working to transform their communities and their world,

人们正努力通过 一次次微小的行动

one small act at a time.

来改变他们的社区和世界。

And as a global family,

作为一个全球大家庭，

because that's how we think about ourselves,

因为我们正是这样看待自己的，

we look and sound and work and worship

所以我们的外观、声音、 工作和表达崇敬的方式都截然不同。

in very different ways.

But what we share and what keeps us together

但是，我们的共同点， 让我们团结在一起，

and keeps us working, is a dream

以及让我们继续努力的，

of a future based in the value of radical generosity.

是一个基于积极奉献的价值观的 美好未来的梦想。

That phrase might sound like it means something big

这句话听起来 似乎意味着什么大事，

or extreme or dramatic or newsworthy.

或者极端、戏剧性或有新闻价值。

Or kind of scary.

或者有点可怕。

But it's actually the opposite.

但实际上恰恰相反。

The word radical simply means “from the root.”

“积极（radical）” 的意思很简单， 就是 “从根本上”。

And so we imagine a world

因此，我们来想象 这样一个世界：

where generosity is simply at the root of our decisions

慷慨给予是我们的 决定和行为的根本，

and our behaviors,

even, and maybe especially, down to our smallest

甚至是最微小、最平凡的 决定和行为。

and most mundane ones.

I have essentially been on a decade-long global generosity tour,

实际上，我已经进行了长达十年的 全球慷慨给予之旅，

witnessing this principle of radical generosity in action.

见证了这一积极施行慷慨原则 在行动中的体现。

I have been welcomed and hugged and fed in more countries than I can count.

我在数不清的国家 受到过欢迎、拥抱和款待。

And from Kenya to Colombia to Canada,

从肯尼亚到哥伦比亚，再到加拿大，

so many more places,

如此之多的地方，

I have witnessed the hundreds of ways that generosity manifests.

我见证了慷慨给予 的数百种表现形式。

And what I have learned,

我所学到的东西，

my understanding of what generosity is

我对慷慨给予的理解，

and my appreciation for what it can accomplish,

以及我对慷慨给予 所能达到的效果的珍赏，

has expanded 1,000 times over.

已经扩大了 1000 倍。

I've unlearned a lot of lessons,

我从中改变了很多旧观念， 也学到了很多关于慷慨的道理。

and I've learned a lot of lessons about generosity.

Often when we think about giving, we think about money.

通常，当我们想到给予时， 我们会想到钱。

And yes, money is an incredibly important form of giving.

没错，金钱是一种非常 重要的给予形式。

It is crucial for the health and sustainability of our civil societies.

它对我们公民社会的健康 和可持续性发展至关重要。

But thinking about giving only in terms of money

但是，仅仅从金钱的角度 来考虑给予，

is like thinking about love

就好比仅仅从钻石的角度来考虑爱情。

only in terms of diamonds.

We love what we can measure, we love what we can quantify.

我们喜欢可以测度的东西， 我们喜欢可以量化的东西。

But I think what we would love even more

但我认为，

我们更希望生活在一个 拥有不可度量的富足、

is to live in a world of immeasurable abundance,

empathy and solidarity.

有同情心和团结互助的世界里。

Generosity builds a bridge between this world that we live in now

慷慨给予在我们当下生活的世界 和那个世界之间

and that one.

架起了一座桥梁。

And it builds bridges between us at the same time.

同时，它也在我们之间 架起了桥梁。

One small act at a time.

从细枝末节做起。

So what do some of those small acts look like?

那么，这些微小的举动 是什么样的呢？

They might look like in Toronto,

就像在多伦多，

where people chalked messages of gratitude and love

人们在城市的人行道上

on city sidewalks,

用粉笔写下感恩和爱的信息，

just to uplift the spirits of anyone who might walk by.

只为让任何可能路过的人 精神振奋。

And then a lot of the people who did walk by picked up the chalk,

然后，很多路过的人 拿起粉笔，

and they added their own messages.

加上自己的留言。

This picture happens to be Toronto,

这张照片拍摄于多伦多，

but this project actually happened in dozens of cities across the country

但这个项目实际上在加拿大各地 乃至全世界的几十个城市都有发生。

and across the world.

Or in Nairobi,

或者在内罗毕，

where people painted rocks

人们在石头上涂上鲜艳的颜色

with bright colors and inspirational messages,

和鼓舞人心的信息，

and they put them all over the city,

并把它们放在城市的各个角落，

park benches, bus stops,

公园的长椅上，公交车站上，

just to bring smiles to the faces of strangers,

只为给陌生人的脸上带来微笑，

smiles that they would never even see.

甚至是他们无法亲眼目睹的笑容。

And turning the Earth’s literal most mundane object into a love letter.

把地球上最平凡的东西 变成一封情书。

In Jackson, Tennessee, one of our longtime Giving Tuesday leaders, Allison,

在田纳西州杰克逊市，一位长期的 “捐献星期二” 领导者艾莉森，

was inspired to combat food insecurity in her community in one small way,

受到启发，以一种微小的方式 解决她所在社区的粮食安全问题，

which was building a set of little free pantries.

那就是建立一套小型免费储藏室。

And she put a message on Facebook asking for help.

她在 Facebook 上发布了 一条求助信息。

People responded and they built an initial six boxes,

人们纷纷响应， 他们建造了最初的六个箱子，

which local residents then stocked with food and other supplies.

然后当地居民在里面 装满食物和其他生活用品。

All of this done on donated supplies and volunteer time.

所有这些都是依靠捐赠物资 和志愿者贡献的时间完成的。

And that has now turned into over 40 boxes over three different counties,

如今已经变成了 40 多个箱子， 分布在三个不同的县，

with a network of hundreds of volunteers keeping it stocked.

并由数百名志愿者组成的网络 来维持这些箱子的储备。

What these stories have in common,

这些故事的共同点是，

some of them are much more elaborate

有的故事更为计划周全，

and some of them are literally just a fleeting moment,

有的只是一个转瞬即逝的时刻，

but what they have in common

但它们的共同点是， 每一个故事都至少启发了一个旁观者。

is that each one inspired at least one person who was watching.

Researchers think that

研究人员认为，

for every act of kindness or good deed a person does

一个人每做一件善事或好事，

they can affect someone, or many people, three or more degrees removed from them.

可以影响到与他 相隔三度或是更多的人。

Imagine that next time you do a small good thing for someone,

试想一下， 当你下次为他人做一件小事时，

that you might be inspiring people you will never meet

你可能会激励那些 你永远不会遇到的人

to do good as well.

也去做好事。

Your one fleeting moment could be amplified 100 times over.

你的一个短暂瞬间 可能会被放大 100 倍。

But researchers also have found that we tend to drastically underestimate

但研究人员也发现， 我们往往会大大低估

the effect of our own actions

自己行为的影响，

and how much they will be appreciated by the recipient,

以及受助者对这些行为的感激程度，

and that that miscalculation might hold us back

而这种错误的估计 可能会阻碍我们

from doing nice things for others more often.

更多地为他人做善意的事情。

We also think, often, that it's great,

我们还经常认为， 这样做很好，

like, let's do more nice things for more people, yes.

比如，让我们为更多的人 做更多的好事，是的。

But also, "my life is stressful and hectic and hard,

但同时，“我的生活压力很大， 很忙碌，很辛苦，

and that takes up time that I might not necessarily have."

这会占用我的时间， 我没有那个空闲。”

I find myself in that thought process all the time,

我自己就常常这样想，

and what I remind myself of is that generosity alleviates stress.

而我提醒自己的是， 慷慨给予可以缓解压力。

It doesn't add to it.

它不会增加压力。

People who give are healthier and happier and more hopeful.

乐善好施的人 更健康、更快乐、更满怀希望。

Just the act of paying for coffee

仅仅是早上

for the person behind us in line in the morning

为排在我们后面的人 买咖啡的行为，

measurably enhances our feeling of well-being for the entire day.

就能显著提升我们 一整天的幸福感。

This is Sujan.

这是苏扬。

He is a Nepalese restaurateur in London.

他是伦敦的一家尼泊尔餐馆老板。

And Sujan has done a world of good in his life.

苏扬一生做了很多好事。

But during the pandemic,

但是在疫情期间，

he started doing what he does best,

他开始做自己最擅长的事情，

and he began to cook hot, free meals for overwhelmed hospital workers.

他开始为不堪重负的 医院工作人员免费烹制热餐。

And when he was starting to do that, other people saw, they were inspired,

当他开始这样做时， 其他人看见并受到了启发，

they asked if they could join and help out.

他们询问是否可以加入 并提供帮助。

And soon they were feeding ambulance crews,

不久后，他们开始为 紧急救护人员、

fire crews, charity workers.

消防人员、慈善工作者提供食物。

And one year after Sujan started cooking these delicious hot, free meals,

在苏扬开始烹饪这些 美味的免费热餐一年后，

he delivered his 100,000th free meal.

他送出了第 10 万份免费餐。

Now, Sujan closes his restaurant every Tuesday,

现在，苏扬的餐厅每周二关闭，

every Giving Tuesday,

每个 “捐赠星期二”，

so that he and his army of volunteers can support their community

这样他和他的志愿者队伍

就可以一整天尽己所能 支持他们的社区。

in whatever way is needed all day long.

And finally, this is Chloe.

最后，这位是克洛伊。

And Chloe is 16 now,

克洛伊现在已经 16 岁了，

but when she was just eight years old,

在她八岁的时候，

she would walk to school with her mom

每天都会和妈妈一起步行去学校，

and they would pass the same woman without a home every day.

她们每天路上都会经过 同一位无家可归的女士。

And Chloe

克洛伊问了她妈妈很多问题。

asked her mom a lot of questions.

Starting with "Why doesn't that woman have a home?"

首先是： “为什么 那个女人没有家？”

But also things like

还有 “她要上厕所的时候怎么办？”

"What about when she needs to use the bathroom?"

"What happens when she has her period?"

“她来月经的时候怎么办？”

Chloe was learning to sew at the time,

当时克洛伊正在学习缝纫，

so she asked her grandma to help her sew a beautiful tote bag,

于是她请奶奶帮她缝制了 一个漂亮的手提袋，

and they filled it with toiletries and hygienic products and other goodies.

他们在里面装满了洗漱用品、 卫生用品和其他小礼品。

And they gifted it to that woman.

她们把它送给了那位女士。

Not just handed it to her,

不仅仅是递给她， 而是与她联系，与她交谈。

but with connection and with conversation.

And the woman said she couldn't even remember the last time

那位妇女说，她甚至记不起

somebody had asked her her name.

上次有人问她叫什么名字 是什么时候了。

Chloe has since made and delivered 5,000 of those bags.

从那以后克洛伊制作并送出了 5000 个这样的袋子。

Chloe also DM’d us on Instagram

她还在 Instagram 私信我们，

to ask if we had a Giving Tuesday Kids

询问我们是否有 “捐献星期二” 儿童活动，

and if we didn't, could she start it?

如果没有，她能否发起这项活动？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And of course -- because she's a very entrepreneurial kid --

当然，因为她是一个 非常有创业精神的孩子，

And of course the answer was yes.

我们告诉她当然可以，

And what can we do to help?

我们能做些什么来提供帮助？

And a few years later,

几年后，

there is a global community of young people

一个由年轻人组成的全球社区，

who have performed hundreds of thousands of acts of service,

已经开展成了成千上万次服务活动，

fighting bullying and hunger,

与欺凌和饥饿作斗争，

and drawing attention to mental health among young people

并引起年轻人对心理健康

and the importance of community.

和社区重要性的关注。

And they're connected to and support each other.

他们相互联系，相互支持。

So for every Chloe and Allison and Sujan

因此，对于每一个 克洛伊、艾莉森和苏扬，

and the people with the chalk and the people with the rocks,

以及那些拿着粉笔和石头的人来说，

there are countless millions more,

还有数以百万计的人，

and the algorithms just don't put them at the top of our feeds.

只是算法没有把他们 放在我们自动推送的顶端。

But they're there.

但他们就在那里。

And if we pay attention,

如果我们留心观察，

then they remind us that ordinary acts of giving

他们就会提醒我们， 平凡的给予行为

are actually extraordinary.

其实是不平凡的。

They remind us that generosity is not a burden.

他们提醒我们， 慷慨给予不是负担。

It's a gift.

它是一份礼物。

And it's an antidote.

它是一种解药。

It's an antidote to our fear and our anxiety,

它是我们对恐惧和焦虑、

to loneliness and isolation,

孤独和寂寞、

to outrage and indignation.

愤怒和憎恨的解药。

And they remind us that we have this tool

他们提醒我们，

accessible to every single one of us every day,

我们每个人每天 都可以使用这个工具，

which is the power to change someone else's day,

它可以让他人的一天 甚至生活都更美好。

or maybe even life for the better.

And when we use that tool collectively,

当我们联合起来 使用这一工具时，

we can build a more joyful,

我们就能建设一个 更快乐、更公平、

more equitable and more peaceful future.

更和平的未来。

And that does not seem like too radical a thing to imagine.

我相信这个愿景并不算激进。

Thank you.

谢谢大家。

(Applause)

（掌声）