生而为渔
最近正在阅读海明威的《老人与海》英文原版书,近距离感受作者精炼有力的笔锋,描绘出的老人与海的苍劲与壮阔。虽然阅读才开始一周,已经对海明威笔下的老人十分敬佩。在此,分享几点我的感悟。
1、面对窘迫生活,依然从容不迫
"They were strange shoulders, still powerful although very old, and the neck was still strong too and the creases did not show so much when the old man was asleep and his head fallen forward. His shirt had been patched so many times that it was like the sail and the patches were faded to many different shades by the sun. The old man's head was very old though and with his eyes closed there was no life in his face. The newspaper lay across his knees and the weight of his arm held it there in the evening breeze. He was barefooted."
"He rolled his trousers up to make a pillow, putting the newspaper inside them. He rolled himself in the blanket and slept on the other old newspapers that covered the springs of the bed."
当我读到这两段文字的时候,为老人的窘迫感到震惊,而另一方面也为老人的从容感到震撼。
老人虽然苍老到闭上眼就仿佛没有生命,但却仍然拥有强劲有力的脖颈和脊背,这是渔夫长年累月捕鱼才会有的体格特征;打满补丁的衣服,在阳光下映衬出斑驳的图案;光着脚丫,破报纸当被褥的境况,也丝毫不影响老人的乐观心态,依然能坦然入睡。家中已经没有米粮的情况下,还玩笑地和小男孩进行假想的对话,一天只需一口水,就能出海捕鱼。
他如此苍老,但唯独深蓝如海的双眸充满着欢愉,好像从未被击败过似的。
大海之于老人有无限的吸引力,是一生挚爱。他将大海比作拥有无尽魅力的女性,拥护着她的一切。
“He always thought of the sea as la mar which is what people call her Spanish when they love her.”
他疼惜在海面上飞翔的弱小生灵,同时也敬佩他们即使明知大海凶险无处不在,也依然不放弃享受生命给予的自由与美好。这仿佛也是老人自己的写照,大海面前,老人也是如此脆弱与渺小,但他心怀大海。
老人对大海的无限挚爱,心中的无限希望,使老人在一切看似难堪的情况下,仍然保持心中最纯净的守望,从容不迫,勇往直前。
2、十足准备才有机会被幸运垂怜
“Every day is a new day. It is better to be lucky. But I would rather be exact. Then when luck comes you are ready.”
做好十足准备,准备迎接幸运的降临。
经年累月的捕鱼生活,在茫茫大海中与海鸟、飞鱼相伴, 在未知或无尽的等候时,依然能够从容地做好捕大鱼的充足准备。经验使老人有足够的自信,“I keep them with precision. ”
我敬佩老人过硬的捕鱼本领,更敬佩他经过84天的一无所获,依然能够毫不懈怠。在看似毫无希望甚至绝望的等待中,老人没有选择放弃,或者消极对待,而是一如既往地积极面对,永不言弃。
维克多在man's search for meaning中说到:人所拥有的任何东西,都可以被剥夺,唯独人性最后的自由----也就是在任何境遇中选择一己态度和生活方式的自由--不能被剥夺。
3、找到人生的唯一方向
在与上钩的大鱼长时间对峙时,老人曾有过内心焦灼的时候,发出“Perhaps I should not have been a fisherman.”的感慨,“But that was the thing that I was born for”才是老人真正的心声,喊出了生而为渔的理想和信念。
老人的世界仿佛很简单,只有他与大海,与海鸟、飞鱼和猎物。每一次出海,目标只有补到大鱼,而在未达到目标前,做好充足准备,在面对机会时,拥有足够的耐心,在机会来临的时候,竭尽全力。
老人一生只有一个信念,是使他对大海热情不减的源泉,那就是“He was born for fishing”。让老人能在一切困难面前能够掷地有声地说出 “I'll stay with you until I am dead.”
最后,希望我们也能像老人一样,无论什么时候出发,都有唯一的方向,心中怀有坚定的信念和足以用生命拥抱一切的勇气. 最重要的是,To find the thing that I was born for.