“ASSUME THE BEST” 善解人意

“ASSUME THE BEST” 「善解人意」 given by Lloyd D. Newell


出自 2011/10/23 大會堂聖樂嘉言的曲目單

Things are not always as they appear.

事情並非總是如表面所顯現的那樣。

It’s easy to make assumptions, only to find out that our quick judgment is not at all accurate.

人們很容易快速做出論斷，後來卻發現，我們快速論斷的一點兒也不準確。


A grandmother experienced this recently when she took her two teenage
granddaughters to a choir concert.

一位祖母最近經歷了上述的情境。當她帶著兩個十幾歲的外孫女
欣賞合唱團的演出。

She wanted so much for her randdaughters to feel the peace and joy of this

kind of inspiring music and had planned well for this special event.

她多麼希望她的孫女們感覺到這種詳和與喜悅且具啟發性的音樂。她早已為這特別的活動做好了安排。

As they sat listening to the choir voices fill the magnificent hall, the grandmother was moved to tears.

當她們坐著聽合唱團的歌聲充滿著宏偉的禮堂時， 這位祖母感動得熱淚盈眶。

When she looked at her granddaughters to see if they were having a similarly

moving experience，She was disappointed to find them writing notes.

她望著她的孫女，看看她們是否和她一樣，也有類似的感動的體驗。她失望地發現她們正在寫便條。

How could they not be touched by this glorious music?

哦！她們怎能不被這美妙的音樂所感動呢？

Why would they be writing notes to each other instead of reveling in the beauty of this sublime performance?

她們為何會忙著寫便條紙給對方，而不是陶醉在這個美好又高雅的演唱呢 ？

After the concert, to her surprise, she discovered that her granddaughters had been writing a letter to their brother back home, telling him of the amazing experience they were having at that very moment.

演唱會結束後，她驚訝地發現，原來她的孫女們(在演唱會中)一直在寫信給他們在家的哥哥。告訴他有關她們當時所受到的感動而得到令人讚嘆的經驗，

They were enjoying the concert so much, they could not wait to express  their feelings in writing.

她們為這音樂會所陶醉，她們迫不及待地寫下她們的感覺。

They were wishing their brother could have been there to feel what they were feeling.

她們真希望當時她們的哥哥也能在現場與她們分享那種感覺。

How many times have we harshly judged someone’s actions without knowing

the whole story?

我們有過多少次在還不知道整件事情的始末之前，就已經苛刻地論斷別人？

Since we can never know all the facts, we might as well assume the best.

我們永遠無法知道所有故事背後的真相，倒不如做最好的假設，善解人意。


If we resist the tendency to make quick judgments and instead cut a little slack for all who may be behaving in ways we do not approve of or understand, then our lives and the lives of those around us can be more peaceful and our relationships more rewarding.

對於一些人，他們的行為或許我們尚未認同也尚未理解，然而，如果我們能抗拒「快速論斷」的誘惑，而取代以些許的善解，則我們和我們週遭人的生命就能够更詳和，而我們與他們之間的關係將有更豐盛的收獲。

 Assuming the best is an act of kindness we can all give to one another.


善解人意是我們大家都可以彼此對待的仁慈行為。





 As Rabbi Harold Kushner reminds us "When you are kind to others,  it not only changes you---it changes the world.”

猶太教教士哈羅德庫什納提醒我們「當你善待別人時，它不僅改變了你──而是改變了這世界。」


註：

善解人意：顧名思義就是很能體諒人,很能體貼人、學會轉位思考。