By Malcolm Ringwalt
達娃翻譯
「你不必是個『有影響力的人』就能有影響力。事實上，在我生命中最具影響力的人，可能不知道他們教了我什麼。」──史考特‧亞當斯
"You don't have to be a "person of influence" to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they've taught me."
-Scott Adams-
人們與生俱來就渴求自己的生命有意義、想要與他人連結、想對世界有所影響。對太多人來說，這些渴望並未能實踐，導致他們感到孤絕、挫折，認為自己個人的及精神的努力沒有任何影響力。我有時候覺得，這種在世界中無關緊要的感受，比面對金錢或安全感時的掙扎還要痛苦。
People have an innate yearning for meaning in their lives, a desire for connection to others, and a need to make a difference in the world. For too many people these desires are unmet, leaving them feeling isolated and frustrated, and that their personal and spiritual efforts don’t have any impact. I sometimes think that this feeling of irrelevance in the world is more painful than the struggle with money or security.
與此同時，你應該要知道，人生中有許多比你實際感受到的更多事情發生著，而我們的影響力比自己察覺到的更廣闊。人生幕後那股有創造力的生命力，生命事件的走向產生的影響力，遠比我們的行動更強大。為了說明個人生命中這些無形影響的力量，我想要和你分享我在一九七○年早期的一段經歷。
At the same time, you should know that there is more going on in this life than is apparent to our physical senses—and that we make a bigger difference than we realize. The creative life forces behind the scenes have a stronger influence on the course of life events than our actions. To illustrate the power of these unseen forces in our personal lives, I want to share with you something that I experienced in the early 1970’s (some of you have heard this story, but it bears retelling).
當時，我正在坎乃迪克州的新天堂拜訪朋友，他的妻子需要到市場買點東西，於是他和我出門去買。我決定朋友購物時我在車上等他。那是個清朗的秋天早晨，我想要享受那好天氣。
I was visiting a friend in New Haven, CT. His wife needed something from the market and he and I went to get it. I decided to wait in the car while he went in. It was one of those cool, clear fall mornings and I wanted to enjoy it.
不久，一位三十多歲的男人走了出來，在小超市的露台上站了幾分鐘。他穿著藍牛仔褲、藍汗衫和藍牛仔外套。他站在那裏凝視著對街那片林木蓊鬱的公園，然後走下露台，走到車旁，開車離去。
Shortly, a man in his mid-thirties came out and stood on the porch of the little market for a few moments. He wore blue jeans, a blue work-shirt, and a blue jean jacket. He stood gazing across the street where there was a thickly wooded park. Then, he stepped off the porch, walked to his car and drove away.
事情就只有這樣，一個簡單的片刻在時間中凝結。從表面看來，這和從我一生中走過的無數片刻與人們毫無差別。那麼是什麼使這個遭遇如此難以忘懷？他站著時，散發出一股毫無自我意識，且全然祥和的存在感。一股凝止的氣息從他身上四散而出，他的眼神清澈而冷靜。他並沒有與周圍一切分離，你能感覺得到他覺得自己有所連結，是萬物的一部分，是他的世界的中心，祥和寧靜。我不僅從他的姿態中看到這些，也感受到他所散發的充滿了一種我只能模糊察覺的事物，那是一股我罕能在生命中觸及的一體感。
That is what happened; a simple moment frozen in time--on the surface, indistinguishable from countless other moments and people who have passed through my life. So what made this encounter so memorable? He stood with a presence that was both unselfconscious and totally at peace. A stillness radiated from him and his eyes were clear and calm. He did not stand there isolated from what was around him, but you could sense he felt connected, part of everything, the center of his world, at peace. I could see it in his posture but also feel in what radiated from him that he was full of something I only dimly recognized, a oneness that I had only sporadically touched in my life.
他所散發的力量令人讚嘆。他站在那裏時，我只能目不轉睛地看著他。他並不知道我的存在，始終不曾朝我看來，片刻之後，他已經離開了。我從未再見到他，然而自那一刻起，他所散發的寧靜、力量和連結感，喚醒了我內心的渴望，使我如飛蛾撲火一般，緊跟著這股渴望的燈塔，一刻不停。
The power that radiated from him was compelling and my eyes were glued to him while he stood there. He never knew of my presence, never looked my way, and after several moments, he was gone. I never saw him again but the peace, power, and connectedness that radiated off of him awakened a yearning that became the beacon that has drawn me, like a moth to a flame, ever since.
他為我展現出一條我早已受到吸引卻又偏離的道路，從此改變了我的生人。他為我展現了人類精神可以到達的強烈存在感，使我明白寧靜祥和的可能性，明白我們在人生中的影響，不在於你「做」什麼，而在於你是誰。體驗到他的存在的單純片刻，揚升了我的覺知，使我察覺到我們之間的連結。藉此，他教導了我，我們可以是萬物中重要的一部分，而不隔離和孤單的個人。自那時起，我便一直走在這條道路上。
He changed my life by showing me a path that I had long felt drawn to but that I had wandered away from. He showed me that the human spirit is capable of a powerful presence, that peace is possible, and that our impact in life is not about what you “do” but rather who you are. That simple moment of experiencing his presence lifted my awareness, and I became aware of a connection between us. In that way, he taught me that we can be an essential part of everything, not isolated and alone. I have been on that path ever since.
想想，有多少人和我那天早晨一樣，在日常生活的匆忙中，被他的生命觸動。這是多麼驚人的影響力！我認為這對每個人來說都是一樣的，我們都有影響力。老實說，我對他一無所知，然而在那片刻，他對我造成了影響，卻不是因為他在人生中有何作為，而是因為他的存在。他在內心所做的功課，使周遭的一切都能感受到他的影響，就像一顆強力燈泡散發的光芒一樣，使每個人都受益。他投注於世界的舉動，並不是他真正的影響，不是他給予世界的真正禮物。他在心中的為人才是影響所在。
Think of how many people, in the rush of their daily lives, have been touched by his life as I was that morning. The influence is astonishing! I think the same must be true for all of us, and the impact we make. Truth be told, I know nothing about him; but in that moment he made a difference, not because of what he did with his life but because of what he was. What he had wrought inside his heart made a difference that all around him could feel. It shone like the light from a powerful bulb for all to be benefited by. The actions that came out into the world from him were not his real impact, his true gift. Who he was in his heart made the difference.
假使他讀了這篇文章，也不會認出故事中的人是他。你在讀這篇文章時，能確定那人不是你嗎？暫時忘記故事發生的年份，你的存在肯定觸及了無數人們，那些你不曾注意到，但他們注意到你的人，因為看見你所具備的某種品質，而喚醒了他們心中的某種東西。那品質或許是你對他人的微笑、某個喜悅的記憶突然浮現，那某個你的心被見到事物擄獲的不設防的片刻。
If he were to read this article, he would not recognize himself as the man the story is about. As you read this are you sure it isn’t about you? Forget the year the story happened for a moment, surely your presence has touched countless people, people you didn’t even notice but who noticed you; who saw in you a quality that stirred something awake in them. It may have been a smile shared with another, the secret pleasure of a memory momentarily arising, an unguarded moment when something you saw captured your heart.
別把這視為我的故事，而是在有意無意中走過你生命的無數人們的聲音！他們所描述的是你在生命旅程中反覆產生的影響。你在此產生了影響力。是的，你實際所做的作為也有影響力，但你的人，你使自己成為的人才是生命本身移動的催化劑。
Consider this story not as mine but as the recounting of the voices of countless people who have passed, both noticed and unnoticed, through your life! They describe the impact of your journey through your life, repeated endlessly. You have made a difference here. Yes, what you actually did had an influence, but who you are, who you have made yourself, is the catalyst that has moved life itself.
我每述說這個故事一次，他的影響範圍就更擴大。我無法想像他的一生、他的舉止所產生的影響有多大，但是假使這只是個他不經思考，也沒想到有人在看的單純私人片刻所產生的影響，那麼他的人生所造成的影響必然超乎想像，而且在這個故事被重述的同時，持續增長。這也將是你帶給他人的禮物。
And every time I tell his story the sphere of his influence grows. I cannot imagine the impact the rest of his life, his actions, have had, but if this was the impact of a simple private moment, which he imagined was unwitnessed and unregistered, the impact of his life must be beyond imagining, and still growing with every retelling of this story. That is your legacy as well.
Malcolm Ringwalt
Founder of the Earthheart Institute of Vision and Healing
「由於我們所說和做的一切只能模擬自身靈魂的高度與模樣，因此我們的影響力將視自身存在的品質而定。」
"Because everything we say and do is the length and shadow of our own souls, our influence is determined by the quality of our being."
-Dale E. Turner-
