Janine Shepherd: A broken body isn't a broken person

Translator: Joseph Geni Reviewer: Morton Bast

譯者: Yu Hsin Lu 審譯者: Audrey Her

Life is about opportunities -- creating them and embracing them.

生命即是機會，

在於創造與擁抱機會，而對我來說

And for me, that was the Olympic dream.

我的機會便是奧運夢

它定義了我，也是我的福份。

That's what defined me. That was my bliss.

As a cross-country skier and member of the Australian ski team

身為一個朝冬季奧運目標前進的

headed towards the Winter Olympics,

越野滑雪選手及澳洲滑雪隊成員，

我當時正與隊友進行自行車訓練。

I was on a training bike ride with my fellow teammates.

我們騎向雪梨西邊

As we made our way up towards the spectacular Blue Mountains

景緻壯麗的藍山，

west of Sydney,

it was the perfect autumn day:

那是一個絕美的秋天：

sunshine, the smell of eucalypt and a dream.

陽光、桉樹的氣味、和心中懷著的夢想。

Life was good.

生命無限美好。

We'd been on our bikes for around five-and-a-half hours

我們已經騎了五個半小時，

我們來到我喜愛的部份：

when we got to the part of the ride that I loved,

and that was the hills, because I loved the hills.

爬坡，我愛爬坡。

I got up off the seat of my bike and I started pumping my legs,

我離開自行車座墊，雙腿使勁踩，

大口吸著山裡清涼的空氣，感覺它在我胸膛沸騰。

and as I sucked in the cold mountain air, I could feel it burning my lungs,

我抬頭，

and I looked up to see the sun shining in my face.

看著灑在我臉上的陽光。

And then everything went black.

接著，一切變得黑暗。

Where was I? What was happening?

我在哪裡？發生什麼事？

My body was consumed by pain.

我的身體疼痛不已。

I'd been hit by a speeding utility truck

我在路程僅剩十分鐘時，

with only 10 minutes to go on the bike ride.

被一台超速的貨卡車撞上。

I was airlifted from the scene of the accident by a rescue helicopter

救援直升機將我空運離開事故地點，

送到雪梨的一個大型脊髓中心。

to a large spinal unit in Sydney.

I had extensive and life-threatening injuries.

當時我渾身是傷，生命岌岌可危。

我的脖子及背部斷成六截，

I'd broken my neck and my back in six places.

左邊的肋骨斷了五根。

I broke five ribs on my left side.

I broke my right arm. I broke my collarbone.

我的右手臂斷了、鎖骨斷了，

I broke some bones in my feet.

腳部有些骨頭也斷了。

My whole right side was ripped open, filled with gravel.

我右邊身體皮開肉綻，傷口上都是碎石子。

My head was cut open across the front, lifted back,

我的頭部從前面被割破，頭皮向後掀，

頭骨露了出來。

exposing the skull underneath.

I had head injures. I had internal injuries.

我頭部創傷，也有內傷，

I had massive blood loss.

還大量出血。事實上，我大約失血五公升，

In fact, I lost about five liters of blood,

是像我這種身型的人，體內所有的血液。

which is all someone my size would actually hold.

By the time the helicopter arrived at Prince Henry Hospital in Sydney,

當直升機把我送到雪梨的 新南威爾斯大學附設醫院時，

我的血壓是40/0。

my blood pressure was 40 over nothing.

那天真是倒楣。（笑聲）

I was having a really bad day.

(Laughter)

事發後那十天，我不斷在兩個向度中來回飄盪。

For over 10 days, I drifted between two dimensions.

我意識到自己在身體裡，但同時

I had an awareness of being in my body,

but also being out of my body, somewhere else,

也意識到自己在身體外的某處，

watching from above, as if it was happening to someone else.

從高處看著，好像事情發生在別人身上一樣。

我為什麼要回到那個支離破碎的身體裡？

Why would I want to go back to a body that was so broken?

But this voice kept calling me:

但有個聲音不斷喚著我：「拜託，堅持下去。」

"Come on, stay with me."

"No, it's too hard."

「不要，這太難了。」

"Come on. This is our opportunity."

「拜託，這是我們的機會。」

"No. That body is broken. It can no longer serve me."

「不要，那個身體已經支離破碎，不堪使用了。」

"Come on. Stay with me. We can do it. We can do it together."

「拜託，堅持下去。我們可以攜手度過難關的。」

I was at a crossroads.

我在人生的交叉口。

I knew if I didn't return to my body, I'd have to leave this world forever.

我知道，如果我不回到自己的身體，我將會永遠離開人世。

It was the fight of my life.

那是一場生命的博鬥。

After 10 days, I made the decision to return to my body.

十天之後，我決定回到自己的身體裡，

然後內出血就停止了。

And the internal bleeding stopped.

The next concern was whether I would walk again,

接下來的煩惱是，我能不能再走路，

because I was paralyzed from the waist down.

因為我的腰部以下完全癱瘓。

他們告訴我父母，我的脖子是穩定性骨折，

They said to my parents that the neck break was a stable fracture,

但背部完全被碾碎。

but the back was completely crushed:

我的第一節腰椎，就像你把一顆花生丟在地上，

the vertebra at L1 was like you'd dropped a peanut,

stepped on it, smashed it into thousands of pieces.

踩上一腳，把它壓得粉碎。

They'd have to operate.

他們必須要動手術。

進了手術室。他們把我放在固定墊上。把我切開，

They went in. They put me on a beanbag.

They cut me -- literally cut me in half.

真的是把我切成一半，

I have a scar that wraps around my entire body.

我身上有道繞了身體一圈的疤痕。

They picked as much broken bone as they could

他們盡可能將卡在我脊髓裡

的碎骨頭挑出來。

that had lodged in my spinal cord.

They took out two of my broken ribs and they rebuilt my back --

他們取出我兩根斷掉的肋骨，重建我的背部。

L1, they rebuilt it, they took out another broken rib,

重建第一節腰椎，然後再取出另一根斷掉的肋骨，

they fused T12, L1 and L2 together.

把第十二節胸椎、第一節與第二節腰椎接在一起。

Then they stitched me up; they took an entire hour to stitch me up.

然後他們幫我縫合。縫合工作花了一個小時才完成。

I woke up in intensive care,

我在加護病房醒過來，

and the doctors were really excited that the operation had been a success,

一醫生們對於手術成功感到非常興奮，

because at that stage, I had a little bit of movement

因為我當時有一隻腳的大拇指可以微微移動，

in one of my big toes,

我想：「太好了，我可以去參加奧運了！」

and I thought, "Great, because I'm going to the Olympics!"

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

我當時以為，像這樣的事情

I had no idea.

That's the sort of thing that happens to someone else, not me, surely.

壓根不會發生在我身上。

But then the doctor came over to me and she said,

但醫生朝我走來，她說：

"Janine, the operation was a success,

「珍妮，手術雖然成功了，

and we've picked as much bone out of your spinal cord as we could.

我們盡可能將脊髓裡的骨頭取出來，

But the damage is permanent.

但這是一輩子的損傷，

The central nervous system nerves -- there is no cure.

中樞神經系統的神經損傷，沒有任何方法可以治療。

妳的情況，我們稱作部份下半身麻痺，

You're what we call a partial paraplegic,

and you'll have all of the injuries that go along with that.

所有下半身麻痺患者有的損傷，妳都會有。

You'll have no feeling from the waist down,

妳腰部以下沒有知覺，而最好的情況下，

and at most, you might get 10 or 20 percent return.

妳可能可以回復百分之十到二十的知覺。

妳終其一生都會有內傷。

You'll have internal injuries for the rest of your life.

You'll have to use a catheter for the rest of your life.

妳一輩子都需要用導尿管。

即使恢復行走，還是得用導尿管與助行器。」

And if you walk again, it will be with calipers and a walking frame."

And then she said,

接著她說：「珍妮，

"Janine, you'll have to rethink everything you do in your life,

妳必須重新思考人生中的每一件事，

因為妳將永遠無法做妳以前能做的事情。」

because you're never going to be able to do the things you did before."

(Gasps)

我試著理解她所說的話。

I tried to grasp what she was saying.

I was an athlete. That's all I knew. That's all I'd done.

我是個運動員。 那是我唯一懂得的事， 也是唯一做過的事。

如果我不能當運動員，那我還能做什麼？

If I couldn't do that, then what could I do?

我問自己一個問題：如果我不能當運動員，

And the question I asked myself is:

If I couldn't do that,

那我到底是誰？

then who was I?

They moved me from intensive care to acute spinal.

他們將我從加護病房，轉到急性脊髓損傷病房。

I was lying on a thin, hard spinal bed.

我躺在又薄又硬的脊髓病床上，

I had no movement in my legs.

我的雙腳動也不動。

I had tight stockings on to protect from blood clots.

我穿著避免血栓的壓力襪。

I had one arm in plaster, one arm tied down by drips.

我一隻手臂裹著石膏，另一手打滿點滴，無法動彈。

I had a neck brace and sandbags on either side of my head

我戴著護頸，頭兩邊擺著固定墊。

and I saw my world through a mirror

頭頂掛著的一面鏡子，

that was suspended above my head.

看出去，就是我的世界。

I shared the ward with five other people,

我與五個人共處一間病房，

and the amazing thing is,

令人驚訝的是，因為我們都是躺在脊髓病房裡

because we were all lying paralyzed in a spinal ward,

癱瘓的病人，我們不知道彼此長得是什麼樣子。

we didn't know what each other looked like.

How amazing is that?

很令人驚訝吧？人生中有多少機會

How often in life do you get to make friendships, judgment-free,

能不帶著批判的眼光，

purely based on spirit?

單純只靠心領神會來與人交友？

病房中沒有膚淺的對話，

And there were no superficial conversations

as we shared our innermost thoughts, our fears,

因為我們彼此分享內心最深處的想法、恐懼

and our hopes for life after the spinal ward.

以及離開脊髓病房後，對生命的期盼。

I remember one night, one of the nurses came in, Jonathan,

我記得有一晚，一位叫強納生的護士走進來，

手上拿著一堆塑膠吸管。

with a whole lot of plastic straws.

He put a pile on top of each of us, and he said,

他在我們每個人身上各放一把，他說：

"Start threading them together."

「開始把它們串起來。」

Well, there wasn't much else to do in the spinal ward, so we did.

嗯...反正在脊髓病房沒什麼事可做，所以我們就照做了。

(Laughter)

當我們完成了以後，他靜靜地在病房內走動。

And when we'd finished, he went around silently

and he joined all of the straws up till it looped around the whole ward.

他把所有的吸管都接了起來

直到它們在病房裡接成一圈，然後他說：

And then he said,

「好了，大家，握住你的吸管。」

"OK everybody, hold on to your straws."

And we did. And he said, "Right ...

我們照著做。然後他說： 「這就對了。現在我們彼此相連了。」

Now we're all connected."

And as we held on and we breathed as one,

當我們握住吸管時，我們就像個生命共同體，

我們知道這趟旅程中，我們並不孤單。

we knew we weren't on this journey alone.

And even lying paralyzed in the spinal ward ...

即使癱躺在脊髓病房中，

我們也感受過令人難以置信的深度與豐富性

there were moments of incredible depth and richness,

of authenticity and connection

以及我過去從未體驗過的

that I had never experienced before.

真實感與連結。

And each of us knew that when we left the spinal ward,

我們每個人都知道，離開脊髓病房後，

we would never be the same.

我們將不同於以往。

六個月之後，我準備回家了。

After six months, it was time to go home.

I remember Dad pushing me outside in my wheelchair,

我記得爸爸將輪椅上的我，推到室外，

wrapped in a plaster body cast,

我身體裹著石膏，

and feeling the sun on my face for the first time.

重新感受陽光照在我臉上的感覺。

I soaked it up and I thought,

我沉浸在陽光裡，心想：

"How could I ever have taken this for granted?"

我怎麼可能再把它視為理所當然的事?

I felt so incredibly grateful for my life.

我對生命感到無比地感恩。

But before I left hospital,

但我離開醫院之前，護士長曾告訴我：

the head nurse had said to me, "Janine, I want you to be ready,

「珍妮，我要妳做好心理準備，

because when you get home, something's going to happen."

因為當妳回家後，某件事情將會發生。」

And I said, "What?"

我說：「什麼事？」她說：

And she said, "You're going to get depressed."

「妳會感到沮喪。」

And I said, "Not me, not Janine the Machine,"

我說：「我才不會，機器人珍妮才不會沮喪。」

which was my nickname.

機器人珍妮是我的綽號。

She said, "You are, because, see, it happens to everyone.

她說：「妳會的，因為，每個人都是這樣。

In the spinal ward, that's normal. You're in a wheelchair. That's normal.

在脊髓病房，這種事很正常。

妳現在坐輪椅，很正常。

But you're going to get home and realize how different life is."

但妳回家後將會明白，

生活有多麼不一樣。」

And I got home.

我回到家，某件事情發生了。

And something happened.

I realized Sister Sam was right.

我發現，莎曼珊修女說得沒錯。

我真的變得沮喪。

I did get depressed.

我在輪椅上，腰部以下沒有感覺，

I was in my wheelchair.

I had no feeling from the waist down,

attached to a catheter bottle.

掛著導尿瓶。不能走路。

I couldn't walk.

我在醫院瘦了很多，

I'd lost so much weight in hospital,

我當時大概只有三十六公斤。

I now weighed about 80 pounds.

我想放棄。

And I wanted to give up.

All I wanted to do was put my running shoes on and run out the door.

我一心只想穿上跑鞋，跑出門外。

我想要回到過去的生活，我想要我原來的身體。

I wanted my old life back. I wanted my body back.

我記得，媽媽坐在我的床尾，說：

And I can remember Mom sitting on the end of my bed

and saying, "I wonder if life will ever be good again."

「不知道生命會不會再度變得美好。」

And I thought, "How could it?

我心想：「怎麼可能？我重視的所有東西都沒了，

Because I've lost everything that I valued,

我所努力的一切都失去了。

everything that I'd worked towards.

消失了。」

Gone."

我問自己：「為什麼？為什麼是我？」

And the question I asked was, "Why me? Why me?"

然後，我想起那些

And then I remembered

my friends that were still in the spinal ward,

還在脊髓病房的朋友們，

particularly Maria.

特別是瑪麗亞。

瑪麗亞出了車禍，十六歲生日那天醒來時，

Maria was in a car accident,

and she woke up on her 16th birthday

迎接她的是，四肢完全麻痺的消息，

to the news that she was a complete quadriplegic,

had no movement from the neck down,

頸部以下完全無法動彈，

had damage to her vocal chords, and she couldn't talk.

聲帶受傷，無法說話。

他們告訴我：「我們要把妳移到她旁邊，

They told me, "We're going to move you next to her

我們覺得，這樣對她有好處。」

because we think it will be good for her."

我當時很擔心。我不知道在她旁邊

I was worried. I didn't know how I'd react to being next to her.

我該作何反應。

I knew it would be challenging, but it was actually a blessing,

我知道這很有挑戰性，但其實，那是一種恩賜，

because Maria always smiled.

因為瑪麗亞總是帶著笑容。

She was always happy, and even when she began to talk again,

她總是很開心，即使當她再度開口說話，

albeit difficult to understand, she never complained, not once.

儘管很難懂，她也從不抱怨，一次也沒。

And I wondered how had she ever found that level of acceptance.

我很納悶，她為何有那麼高的接受度。

And I realized that this wasn't just my life;

然後我明白，不是只有我一人的生命如此。

it was life itself.

而是生命本身。我明白，這不是只有我個人的痛苦。

I realized that this wasn't just my pain; it was everybody's pain.

而是每個人的痛苦。然後我明白，就跟以前一樣，

And then I knew, just like before,

that I had a choice: I could keep fighting this,

我是有選擇的。我可以繼續抗拒癱瘓這件事，

或是我也可以放下，不只接受我的身體，

or I could let go and accept not only my body,

but the circumstances of my life.

也接受我人生的境遇。

然後，我停止問自己：「為什麼是我？」

And then I stopped asking, "Why me?"

And I started to ask, "Why not me?"

我開始問：「為什麼不能是我？」

接著我心想，或許谷底

And then I thought to myself,

maybe being at rock bottom is actually the perfect place to start.

是一個重新開始的好地方。

過去，我從不認為自己是個有創意的人。

I had never before thought of myself as a creative person.

I was an athlete; my body was a machine.

我是個運動員，我的身體是一部機器。

But now I was about to embark on the most creative project

但現在，我要著手進行一件最具創意的事，

that any of us could ever do:

一件任何人都能做的事：

重建人生。

that of rebuilding a life.

雖然我對下一步，一點頭緒也沒有，

And even though I had absolutely no idea what I was going to do,

但未知中

in that uncertainty came a sense of freedom.

一服自由的感受由然生出。

I was no longer tied to a set path.

我不再依循既定的道路

I was free to explore life's infinite possibilities.

我可以自由地探索人生的無限可能

And that realization was about to change my life.

而那個領悟將改變我的人生。

Sitting at home in my wheelchair and my plaster body cast,

我在家裡，坐在輪椅上，身體裹著石膏，

an airplane flew overhead.

一架飛機從上空飛過，我抬頭看，

I looked up, and I thought to myself, "That's it!

我心想：「就是這個！

如果我不能走，那就用飛的。」

If I can't walk, then I might as well fly."

(Laughter)

I said, "Mom, I'm going to learn how to fly."

我說：「媽，我要學飛行。」

She said, "That's nice, dear."

她說：「很好啊，親愛的。」（笑聲）

(Laughter)

I said, "Pass me the yellow pages."

我說：「把電話簿拿給我。」

She passed me the phone book, I rang up the flying school,

她把電話簿拿給我，我打電話給飛行學校。

我訂了位，說我想要預訂飛行課程。

I said I'd like to make a booking to come out for a flight.

他們說：「妳知道妳什麼時候要來嗎？」

They said, "When do you want to come out?"

I said, "Well, I have to get a friend to drive me because I can't drive.

我說：「嗯...我得找個朋友載我去。

因為我不能開車。也不太能走路。

Sort of can't walk, either. Is that a problem?"

這樣行嗎？」

I made a booking, and weeks later,

我訂了課程，幾個星期後我的朋友克里斯

my friend Chris and my mom drove me out to the airport,

跟我媽載我去機場，

身體裹著石膏，三十六公斤的我，

all 80 pounds of me covered in a plaster body cast

穿著一件鬆垮的工作褲。（笑聲）

in a baggy pair of overalls.

(Laughter)

I can tell you, I did not look like the ideal candidate

我可以告訴你，我看起來一點也不像

可以拿到飛行員執照的料。（笑聲）

to get a pilot's license.

(Laughter)

我抓住在櫃台，因為我沒辦法站。

I'm holding on to the counter because I can't stand.

我說：「嗨，我來參加飛行課程。」

I said, "Hi, I'm here for a flying lesson."

結果他們看了一眼，然後跑去抽籤，看誰倒楣。

They took one look and ran out the back to draw short straws.

「你中了！」「不要，不要，你教她。」

"You get her." "No, no, you take her."

最後一個男人走出來，他說：

Finally a guy goes, "Hi, I'm Andrew. I'm going to take you flying."

「嗨，我是安德魯，我帶你去飛。」

I go, "Great!"

我說：「太好了。」

They get me out on the tarmac,

然後他們載著我到停機坪，

and there was this red, white and blue airplane -- it was beautiful.

那兒停著一台紅白藍色相間的飛機。

很美的飛機。他們把我抬到駕駛座艙。

They had to slide me up on the wing to put me in the cockpit.

他們得把我推上機翼，然後把我放進駕駛座艙。

They sat me down. There are buttons and dials everywhere.

他們讓我就座。四周都是按鈕跟刻度表。

I'm going, "Wow, how do you ever know what all these buttons and dials do?"

我說：「哇，你怎麼知道這些按鈕跟刻度表作什麼用的？」

飛行教官安德魯坐到前座，啟動飛機引擎。

Andrew got in the front, started the plane, and said,

"Would you like to have a go at taxiing?"

他說：「你想試著滑行嗎？」

That's when you use your feet to control the rudder pedals

滑行就是用腳控制方向舵踏板

控制地面上的飛機。

to control the airplane on the ground.

我說：「不行，我不能用我的腳。」

I said, "No, I can't use my legs."

他說：「喔。」

He went, "Oh."

我說：「但我可以用我的手。」他說：「好。」

I said, "But I can use my hands," and he said, "OK."

於是他開到跑道上，然後開始加速，

So he got over to the runway, and he applied the power.

當我們從跑道上起飛，

And as we took off down the runway,

and the wheels lifted up off the tarmac, and we became airborne,

輪子離開地面，開始飛行，

我有一股不可置信的自由感。

I had the most incredible sense of freedom.

And Andrew said to me,

當我們到了訓練區，

as we got over the training area,

安德魯對我說：

「你看到那邊的山嗎？」

"You see that mountain over there?"

And I said, "Yeah."

我說：「有啊。」

他說：「嗯...你來控制，朝那座山飛去。」

And he said, "Well, you take the controls, and you fly towards that mountain."

And as I looked up, I realized

我抬頭一看，發現

他指的那座山，就是藍山，

that he was pointing towards the Blue Mountains,

where the journey had begun.

也就是這個旅程的起點。

And I took the controls,

我操控著飛機，我真的在天空飛翔。

and I was flying.

我已經遠離那脊髓病房，

And I was a long, long way from that spinal ward.

我當下就知道，我將成為一名飛行員。

I knew right then that I was going to be a pilot.

Didn't know how on Earth I'd ever pass a medical.

我不知道，究竟要怎麼通過體檢，

(Laughter)

But I'd worry about that later, because right now, I had a dream.

但先別擔心那個，因為此刻我有個夢想。

於是我回家，拿出一本訓練日記，我有一個計畫。

So I went home, I got a training diary out, and I had a plan.

And I practiced my walking as much as I could,

我竭盡所能練習走路，

我從需要兩個人扶我站立，

and I went from the point of two people holding me up ...

to one person holding me up ...

進步到一個人扶我，

然後到可以扶著家具走動，

to the point where I could walk around the furniture

只要家具不要距離太遠就行。

as long as it wasn't too far apart.

And then I made great progression,

然後，我進步到

to the point where I could walk around the house,

可以在屋內扶著牆壁，四處走動。

holding onto the walls, like this.

就像這樣，媽媽說她老是跟在我後面，

And Mom said she was forever following me,

wiping off my fingerprints.

清除我的指紋。（笑聲）

(Laughter)

But at least she always knew where I was.

但至少她總是知道我在哪裡。

(Laughter)

於是，當醫生繼續幫我動刀，

So while the doctors continued to operate

and put my body back together again,

重建我身體的同時，

I went on with my theory study.

我繼續我的理論研究，最後，

And then eventually, amazingly, I passed my pilot's medical,

令人驚訝地，我通過飛行員的體檢，

and that was my green light to fly.

那是我飛行的通行證。

And I spent every moment I could out at that flying school,

我所有的時間都花在飛行學校，

way out of my comfort zone,

那個遠離舒適區的地方，

all these young guys that wanted to be Qantas pilots, you know,

那裡都是想成為澳航飛行員的年輕小伙子，還有

你知道的，我這有點年紀的人。 一開始裹著石膏一蹬一跳，

and little old hop-along me in first my plaster cast,

and then my steel brace, my baggy overalls,

後來是金屬支架。穿著鬆垮的工作褲、

my bag of medication and catheters and my limp.

一袋子藥與導管，走路一跛一跛地，

They use to look at me and think,

他們一開始看著我，心想：

「喔，她開什麼玩笑？她不可能做得到的。」

"Oh, who is she kidding? She's never going to be able to do this."

我有時也會這麼想。

And sometimes I thought that, too.

不過沒關係。因為此刻我心中有一股熊熊燃燒的火，

But that didn't matter,

because now there was something inside that burned

that far outweighed my injuries.

遠遠勝過我身上的傷。

And little goals kept me going along the way,

小小的目標，讓我一路堅持，

最後我拿到私人飛行員執照，

and eventually I got my private pilot's license.

Then I learned to navigate, and I flew my friends around Australia.

接著我學會導航，我帶著朋友飛遍澳洲。

And then I learned to fly an airplane with two engines

接著，我學會飛雙引擎飛機，

and I got my twin-engine rating.

拿到雙引擎執照，

And then I learned to fly in bad weather as well as fine weather,

然後，我學會在壞天氣與好天氣下飛行，

並取得儀器飛行資格。

and got my instrument rating.

And then I got my commercial pilot's license.

之後，我拿到商業飛行員執照。

And then I got my instructor rating.

接著是飛行教官執照。

And then I found myself back at that same school

後來，我又回到同一個學校，

where I'd gone for that very first flight,

我第一次飛行的學校，

teaching other people how to fly ...

教導其他人飛行，

just under 18 months after I'd left the spinal ward.

當時我離開脊髓病房，還不到十八個月，

（掌聲）

(Applause)

(Applause ends)

And then I thought, "Why stop there?

然後我想：「為何不繼續學？

Why not learn to fly upside down?"

為什麼不學倒立飛行？」

(Laughter)

所以我去學了，我學了倒立飛行，

And I did, and I learned to fly upside down

and became an aerobatics flying instructor.

然後成了特技飛行教官。

(Laughter)

我的爸媽呢？從來沒跟我飛過。

And Mom and Dad? Never been up.

(Laughter)

但是，我很確定地知道，雖然我的身體有所限制，

But then I knew for certain that although my body might be limited,

it was my spirit that was unstoppable.

但我的精神卻無人能擋，

哲學家老子曾說：

The philosopher Lao Tzu once said,

「當你放下原來的你，

"When you let go of what you are,

you become what you might be."

便能成為可能的你。」

I now know that it wasn't until I let go of who I thought I was

我現在知道，要不是我放下那個我自以為的「我」，

that I was able to create a completely new life.

我不會創造出這個全新的人生。

It wasn't until I let go of the life I thought I should have ...

要不是我放下那個我認為應該擁有的人生，

我不會擁抱這個等著我的人生。

that I was able to embrace the life that was waiting for me.

現在，我知道我真正的力量，

I now know that my real strength

never came from my body.

從來就不是來自我的身體，

And although my physical capabilities have changed dramatically,

雖然我身體的能力，產生了戲劇性的變化，

who I am is unchanged.

「我」還是原來的我。

The pilot light inside of me was still alight,

我內心的指示燈依然亮著，

just as it is in each and every one of us.

就像每個人一樣。

I know that I'm not my body.

我知道，我的身體不代表「我」，

And I also know that you're not yours.

我也知道，你的身體也不代表「你」。

如此一來，無論你外表如何、

And then it no longer matters what you look like,

where you come from, or what you do for a living.

來自何方，或靠什麼維生，便不再重要。

All that matters is that we continue to fan the flame of humanity

重要的是，我們藉由活著，

以極致創意呈現我們的真面目，

by living our lives as the ultimate creative expression

of who we really are,

我們繼續給人性光輝的火焰煽風，

because we are all connected

因為我們都是藉著數百萬的吸管

by millions and millions of straws.

相互連結著的。

此刻，我們該把吸管一一接起，

And it's time to join those up

緊緊抓住。

and to hang on.

若我們想要朝著集體的幸福前進，

And if we are to move towards our collective bliss ...

我們此刻便擺脫對外表的重視，

it's time we shed our focus on the physical

and instead embrace the virtues of the heart.

而去擁抱內心的善與美。

So raise your straws if you'll join me.

因此，如果你願意的話，請舉起你的吸管。

(Applause)

謝謝。（掌聲）

Thank you.

(Applause)

謝謝。

Thank you.

(Applause)