雙語美文欣賞:珍惜自由

　　Of all the wonderful gifts that we've been given, one of the greatest is freedom.

　　在眾多的我們天生被賦予的美妙禮物中，自由是最偉大的禮物之一。

　　As much as we may deny it we are free in this life. We are free in what we think, free in what we feel, free in what we say, and free in what we do. Yes, life may give us some very difficult circumstances at times, but we are still free in how we choose to react to them.

　　就如我們常常會否認這一點，我們有自由掌握自己的生活確實是不爭的事實。我們可以自由地思考，自由地感受，發表自由言論，做自己想做的事。是的，有時生活會讓我們處境艱難，但我們仍然可以自由選擇如何應對困境。

　　Many people in this life deny their freedom. They sit back in their misery and blame it on their parents, or their childhood, their health, or their financial problems. They never once stand up and take responsibility for their own lives and their own happiness.

　　有許多人否認他們的自由。他們只是頹廢地坐在那里，抱怨他們的父母，或他們的孩子，或他們的身體狀況，或他們的經濟危機。他們從未勇敢地站起來去為自己的生活及自己的快樂真正地負起責任來。

　　The truth is that we've been given the power to choose love and joy in our lives no matter what happens to us. No one has ever been or will ever be strong enough to take our freedom away from us.

　　而事實是我們天生就被賦予了選擇愛與歡樂的力量，不管我們的生活中發生任何事。沒有任何人（以前沒有，將來也不會）有足夠強大的力量可以將我們的自由掠走。

　　You're listening to Faith Radio Online-Simply to Relax, I'm Faith. Don't deny your freedom, rejoice in it, cherish it, and use it every day of your life! Remember, you are free to create the type of life you have always wanted, the choice is up to you…

　　您正在收聽的是Faith輕松電臺，我是Faith。請不要拒絕你的自由，和自由一起歡悅吧，珍惜自由，每天都去充分地利用你的自由! 記住：你有自由創造你一直憧憬著的生活，選擇權就在你手里……

　　美文欣賞:你可以選擇自己想過的生活

　　Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:

　　生活有時候困難得難以置信，但又不容置疑。我們面臨的挑戰與困境似乎無法抵御，試圖毀滅我們生活，甚至使你猶疑是否繼續走下去。但是你總有選擇的余地。從人生低谷走向新生活的杰西卡·赫斯樂普，在這里與我們分享她啟迪心靈、充滿震撼力的生活之旅。

　　In 2012 I had the worst year of my life.

　　2012年是我生活中最艱難的一年。

　　I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.

　　我做著討厭的財務工作，住在難尋綠色的高樓林立的城市。我忙于無意義的交往，在一些膚淺表面的東西上大筆開銷。我尋找快樂，卻又不知道它在哪里。

　　Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.

　　然后我患上了慢性疲勞綜合癥，幾乎到了臥床不起的地步。我不得不辭掉工作，同時也就斷了財源。我和那時僅相處了3個月的男友住在一起，經濟上完全依賴于他，我們的關系承受著巨大壓力。終于我恢復健康，但不久，我接到家里的電話，父親的癌癥急劇惡化，已經住進了臨終關懷中心。

　　I left the city and I went home to be with him.

　　我離開了城市，回家陪父親。

　　He died 6 months later.

　　6個月之后，他去世了。

　　My father was a complete inspiration to me. He was always so strong that, for a minute after he drew his last breath, I honestly thought he would come back to life. I couldn’t believe I would never again cuddle into his big warm chest and feel safe no matter what.

　　父親的事讓我徹底清醒。他一直很強壯，在他咽氣之后一分鐘里，我真的認為，他會活過來。我不能相信，我再也不能依偎在他溫暖的懷抱里，享受他寬大的胸懷帶給我的安全感。

　　The grief that followed was intense for all of us 5 children and our mother, but we had each other.

　　母親和我們5個兄弟姐妹極為難過，但至少我們還擁有彼此。

　　But my oldest sister at that time complained of a bad back. It got so bad after 2 months that she too was admitted to hospital.

　　但是，那時我大姐開始抱怨著背痛，2個月后，因疼痛加劇也住進了醫院。

　　They discovered that she had highly advanced cancer in her bones and that there was nothing that they could do.

　　醫生們檢查發現，她已是骨癌晚期，對此他們已無能為力。

　　She died 1 month later.

　　1個月之后，她也走了。

　　I could never put into words the loss of my sister in my life.

　　大姐的逝去讓我陷入難以形容的痛苦之中。

　　She was a walking, talking angel and my favourite person in the whole world. If someone could have asked me the worst thing that could ever happen, it would have been losing her.

　　在這個世界上，她是一個能走路、會說話的天使，我最喜歡的人。如果有人問我，世界上發生的最壞的事情是什么，那就是失去她。

　　She was my soul-mate and I never thought I would journey this lifetime without her.

　　她是我的靈魂伴侶，我從來沒有想過，我會走過沒有她陪伴的生命旅程。

　　The Moment Of Deliberate Choice

　　抉擇時刻

　　The shock and extreme heart break brought me to my knees. The pain was so great and my world just looked desolate. I had no real home, no money, no job, and no friends that cared. Not one person had even sent me a sympathy card for my loss.