Before I die I want to... | Candy Chang

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

翻译人员: Lily YAN 校对人员: Andrea Feng

我们周围的人能以很多种方式

There are a lot of ways the people around us

can help improve our lives.

来帮我们把生活变得更美好

We don't bump into every neighbor,

我们不一定能常常碰到我们的邻居

so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on,

所以即使我们生活在同一片公共空间里

though we do share the same public spaces.

邻居的智慧也难以被传递开来

So over the past few years, I've tried ways to share more

所以在过去的几年里，我尝试着以不同的方式

with my neighbors in public space,

如用贴纸、展板和粉笔这些简单工具

using simple tools like stickers, stencils and chalk.

来在公共空间里与邻居分享更多的东西

这些项目都源自于我自己的一些疑问，如

And these projects came from questions I had, like:

我的邻居得付多少房租？

How much are my neighbors paying for their apartments?

(Laughter)

（笑声）我们怎么样能够从邻里间互借到更多的东西

How can we lend and borrow more things,

without knocking on each other's doors at a bad time?

同时避免在不合时宜的时候敲开对方的门？

How can we share more memories of our abandoned buildings,

我们怎样能够更好地分享各自的

关于被毁弃的建筑的回忆

and gain a better understanding of our landscape?

并更好地理解我们居住的这片土地？

How can we share more of our hopes for our vacant storefronts,

怎样更能表达我们对空置的店面的期待

使我们的社区能反映出

so our communities can reflect our needs and dreams today?

我们现在的需求和梦想？

我现时住在新奥尔良

Now, I live in New Orleans,

and I am in love with New Orleans.

并深深地爱上了这座城市

My soul is always soothed by the giant live oak trees,

那些生生不息的巨型橡树总是可以抚慰我的灵魂

几百年来，情侣、醉汉和追梦人们

shading lovers, drunks and dreamers for hundreds of years,

总会稍息在树影下

and I trust a city that always makes way for music.

我深信这一座充满着音乐律动的城市

I feel like every time someone sneezes,

每当有人打喷嚏时，

New Orleans has a parade.

我都感觉新奥尔良来了一只游行队伍（笑声）

(Laughter)

The city has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world,

新奥尔良拥有世界上很多最漂亮的建筑

但同时，她也是全美拥有最多

but it also has one of the highest amounts of abandoned properties in America.

废弃建筑的城市

我住在这栋房子附近，我就想如何让它

I live near this house,

and I thought about how I could make it a nicer space for my neighborhood,

在这片社区里成为一个更好的地方

也思考了另一件事

and I also thought about something that changed my life forever.

这件事彻底改变了我的人生

In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much.

2009年，我失去了一个我挚爱的人

Her name was Joan, and she was a mother to me.

她的名字叫琼，对我来讲，她就像我的母亲一样

And her death was sudden and unexpected.

她死得很突然，没有人预料到

And I thought about death a lot.

然后我思考了很多关于死亡的事

And ... this made me feel deep gratitude for the time I've had.

然后⋯⋯

这件事让我对我拥有的时光怀着深切致意

And ... brought clarity to the things that are meaningful to my life now.

并且

显现出了那些

对我的生命有真正意义的东西

But I struggle to maintain this perspective in my daily life.

但我却很难在日常生活中保持这种心态

I feel like it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day,

我觉得人们太容易被日复一日的琐碎困住

and forget what really matters to you.

而忘记什么才是真正重要的事

So with help from old and new friends,

我于是在一些新老朋友的帮助下

I turned the side of this abandoned house into a giant chalkboard,

把这栋废弃的房子的一面墙

做成了一个巨型黑板

and stenciled it with a fill-in-the-blank sentence:

我在上面写满了同一道填空题

"Before I die, I want to ..."

“在死之前，我想⋯⋯”

So anyone walking by can pick up a piece of chalk,

所以每一个路过的人都可以捡起一根粉笔

reflect on their life,

在公共场合里留下一些他们人生的痕迹

and share their personal aspirations in public space.

且来分享他们内心深处的愿望

I didn't know what to expect from this experiment,

我并不知道该从这个实验里期待些什么

but by the next day, the wall was entirely filled out,

但是第二天，整个墙壁都被填满了

而且不断有人添加新的答案

and it kept growing.

我想跟大家分享一些人们在那面墙上

And I'd like to share a few things that people wrote on this wall.

写的东西

"Before I die, I want to be tried for piracy."

“在死之前，我想为我的海盗行为接受审判”（笑声）

(Laughter)

“在死之前，我想跨过国际日期变更线”

"Before I die, I want to straddle the International Dateline."

"Before I die, I want to sing for millions."

“在死之前，我想在上百万的观众面前唱歌”

“在死之前，我想种一棵树”

"Before I die, I want to plant a tree."

"Before I die, I want to live off the grid."

“在死之前，我想过隐居的生活”

"Before I die, I want to hold her one more time."

“在死之前，我想再抱她一次”

“在死之前，我想成为某个人的骑士”

"Before I die, I want to be someone's cavalry."

"Before I die, I want to be completely myself."

“在死之前，我想要做完全真实的自己”

这个本来被遗忘的建筑变成了一个极具建设性的地方

So this neglected space became a constructive one,

and people's hopes and dreams made me laugh out loud, tear up,

这些人的希望和梦想

让我放声大笑，也黯然落泪

也曾在我经历困境的时候给我安慰

and they consoled me during my own tough times.

It's about knowing you're not alone;

这让我们相信自己并不孤单

it's about understanding our neighbors in new and enlightening ways;

让我们对邻居有了全新的

启发心智的了解

it's about making space for reflection and contemplation,

这为我们营造了一个反省和思考的空间

and remembering what really matters most to us as we grow and change.

也提醒我们在不断成长改变的过程中

什么才是最为重要的

这个黑板是我去年做的，然后我就不断收到

I made this last year,

and started receiving hundreds of messages from passionate people

一些热情的人们给我发的信息

who wanted to make a wall with their community.

说想在他们的社区里也设立一面这样的墙壁

So, my civic center colleagues and I made a tool kit,

所以我和我的同事们就做了一个小型工具箱

and now walls have been made in countries around the world,

现在，这面墙壁已经遍布全球

including Kazakhstan,

包括哈萨克斯坦，南非

South Africa,

Australia,

澳大利亚

Argentina, and beyond.

阿根廷等地

Together, we've shown how powerful our public spaces can be

这些迹象表明，如果我们能有一个

if we're given the opportunity to have a voice,

表达自己的意愿并与他人分享的机会

and share more with one another.

那么公共空间将发挥巨大的作用

Two of the most valuable things we have

我们所拥有的最珍贵的两样东西，一个是时间

are time, and our relationships with other people.

还有一个，是与他人的联系

In our age of increasing distractions,

在这个物欲横流的时代里

努力坚持自我，铭记人生的短暂与生命的脆弱

it's more important than ever to find ways to maintain perspective,

变得比以往任何时代都更重要

and remember that life is brief and tender.

Death is something that we're often discouraged to talk about,

我们总是没有勇气谈论死亡

甚至没有勇气去想着死亡

or even think about,

but I've realized that preparing for death

但是我意识到，为死亡做心理准备

is one of the most empowering things you can do.

是我们能够做到的最有力的事情之一

Thinking about death clarifies your life.

思考死亡能够让你对自己的人生有更清醒的认识

Our shared spaces can better reflect what matters to us,

公共空间可以更好的体现到底什么对我们是真正重要的

as individuals and as a community,

无论是对个人来说或者对于整个社区来说

有了更多的方式来分享我们的希望，恐惧和经历

and with more ways to share our hopes, fears and stories,

我们身边的人不仅能够帮助我们创造更美好的地方

the people around us can not only help us make better places,

更帮助我们过上更美好的生活

they can help us lead better lives.

Thank you.

谢谢（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）