Lakshmi Pratury: The lost art of letter-writing

翻译人员: Feiman Luk 校对人员: Lezhao Ren

So I thought, "I will talk about death."

我原先在想：「我会谈论死亡。」

Seemed to be the passion today.

那似乎是我今天要跟你分享的主题。

Actually, it's not about death.

但事实上，我将分享的与死亡无关。

It's inevitable, terrible, but really what I want to talk about is,

死亡是不可避免而又令人愄惧的，但我真正想谈论的是

I'm just fascinated by the legacy people leave when they die.

我被人们死去时所留下的遗产吸引着

That's what I want to talk about.

这就是我想分享的主题。

So Art Buchwald left his legacy of humor with a video

如包可华(Art Buchwald) 透过影像留下他那一丝幽默

that appeared soon after he died, saying,

影带在他死后随即出现，说着：

"Hi! I'm Art Buchwald, and I just died."

「嗨! 我是包可华(Art Buchwald)，我刚刚死了。」

And Mike, who I met at Galapagos, a trip which I won at TED,

我透过TED的旅程，在加拉巴哥(Galapagos)遇到米可

is leaving notes on cyberspace where he is chronicling

当时他透过互联网在个人空间上记述

his journey through cancer.

他患上癌症的经历。

And my father left me a legacy of his handwriting

而我的父亲则透过一些信件和一本记事本

through letters and a notebook.

留下他那手写的遗产。

In the last two years of his life, when he was sick,

爸爸在他生命中的最后两年，在生病的状态中，

he filled a notebook with his thoughts about me.

把他对我的看法都写满在记事本上。

He wrote about my strengths, weaknesses,

他写下我的长处和短处

and gentle suggestions for improvement,

并提出一些能助我改正的方法

quoting specific incidents, and held a mirror to my life.

同时亦引用特殊的例子，为我的生活提供反思。

After he died, I realized that no one writes to me anymore.

在他离世后，我发现没有人再写信给我了。

Handwriting is a disappearing art.

书写这门艺术正渐渐地消失。

I'm all for email and thinking while typing,

我平日会用电子邮件，也会一面思考一面打字

but why give up old habits for new?

但为何要为了新的事物而舍弃旧有的习惯?

Why can't we have letter writing and email exchange in our lives?

为何书信和电子邮件不能与我们的生活融合在一起?

There are times when I want to trade all those years

有一段时间我因为太忙碌而没有坐下来跟我父亲聊聊天

that I was too busy to sit with my dad and chat with him,

有时，我真的很想换回那几年

and trade all those years for one hug.

然后再以那些时光来换爸爸的一个拥抱。

But too late.

可是已经太迟了。

But that's when I take out his letters and I read them,

但每当我拿出并细阅他的信

and the paper that touched his hand is in mine,

我感到与他紧密相连,

and I feel connected to him.

因为他触摸过的那张信纸就在我手中。

So maybe we all need to leave our children

也许，我们需要留给我们的孩子的不是金钱上的遗产

with a value legacy, and not a financial one.

而是那种拥有真正的价值和意义的遗产。

A value for things with a personal touch --

透过触碰去留下有价值的物品--

an autographed book, a soul-searching letter.

一本手写书，一封真摰的信。

If a fraction of this powerful TED audience

假如这些甚有影响力的TED观众的其中小部分

could be inspired to buy a beautiful paper --

能被感动而去买一张漂亮的纸--

John, it'll be a recycled one -- and write a beautiful letter

约翰，那会是一张环保再生纸-- 然后写一封美丽的信

to someone they love, we actually may start a revolution

给他们深爱的人，我们或许要开始实行一个大变革

where our children may go to penmanship classes.

让我们的孩子去上手写课。

So what do I plan to leave for my son?

那么，我应该留些什么给我的儿子呢？

I collect autographed books, and those of you authors

我在搜集手写书, 同时也在搜集一些唱片, 翠丝。

in the audience know I hound you for them --

而坐在观众席上的一些作家都知道

and CDs too, Tracy.

我正为这出版的事宜而紧跟著他们--

I plan to publish my own notebook.

我亦计画出版自己的笔记。

As I witnessed my father's body being swallowed by fire,

在我目睹我父亲的遗体被火吞噬时，

I sat by his funeral pyre and wrote.

我坐在他葬礼的柴火旁，写下

I have no idea how I'm going to do it,

我不知道我将如何过日子

but I am committed to compiling his thoughts and mine

但后来我决定要将他和我的一些想法

into a book, and leave that published book for my son.

辑录成一本书、出版, 然后留给我的儿子。

I'd like to end with a few verses of what I wrote

我想以一首我在父亲葬礼中写的短诗

at my father's cremation.

来结束今天的分享。

And those linguists, please pardon the grammar,

语言学学者们, 请饶恕我的文法

because I've not looked at it in the last 10 years.

因为我至少有十年没读到这首诗了。

I took it out for the first time to come here.

这是我第一次将它公开在这里。

"Picture in a frame, ashes in a bottle,

「在相框中的照片,在瓮里的骨灰,

boundless energy confined in the bottle,

无穷的力量被紧封于瓮内

forcing me to deal with reality,

它迫使我面对现实

forcing me to deal with being grown up.

迫使我逐渐成长。

I hear you and I know that you would want me to be strong,

我确实听到你的话, 而我知道你想我坚强

but right now, I am being sucked down, surrounded

但此刻, 我被这些肆虐的情绪浪潮

and suffocated by these raging emotional waters,

吞没、包围，这一切令我窒息

craving to cleanse my soul, trying to emerge

就如你所敎导一样

on a firm footing one more time, to keep on fighting and flourishing

我渴望我的灵魂能被洗涤, 让我能尝试浮出水面

just as you taught me.

再一次踏稳每一步, 继续奋斗和茁壮地成长。

Your encouraging whispers in my whirlpool of despair,

当我陷入绝望的漩涡时, 我听到你在我耳边低声鼓励我、

holding me and heaving me to shores of sanity,

扶持我、并把我拉到岸边, 使我清醒,

to live again and to love again."

让我能重生和再次去爱。」

Thank you.

谢谢。