活在当下，珍惜亲情——亲历空难后的感悟

by Ric Elias 译/范辉

“天有不测风云，人有旦夕祸福”，事故、灾难随时可能发生，我们的生命也因此随时可能出现不测。“生命无常”也许是每一个从事故和灾难中死里逃生的人都能深刻体会到的，本文作者也不例外。2009年1月15日，本文作者搭乘的全美航空1549班机刚起飞几分钟便撞上鸟群，致使飞机发生故障，最后只好铤而走险，迫降在纽约哈德逊河上。飞机上的人全部获救，这次迫降也被称为一次奇迹。在与死神擦肩而过之后，作者亲自见证到所有的一切都可能在一瞬间发生改变，更明白了“活在当下，珍惜亲情”的可贵之处。

Imagine a big explosion as you climb through 3，000 ft. Imagine a plane full of smoke. Imagine an engine going clack， clack， clack， clack， clack， clack， clack. It sounds scary. Well I had a unique seat that day. I was sitting in 1D. I was the only one who could talk to the flight attendants. So I looked at them right away， and they said， “No problem. We probably hit some birds.” The pilot had already turned the plane around， and we werent that far. You could see Manhattan. Two minutes later， three things happened at the same time. The pilot lines up the plane with the Hudson River. Thats usually not the route. He turns off the engines. Now imagine being in a plane with no sound. And then he says three words—the most unemotional three words Ive ever heard. He says， “Brace for impact1）.” I didnt have to talk to the flight attendant anymore. I could see in her eyes； it was terror. Life was over.

Now I want to share with you three things I learned about myself that day. I learned that it all changes in an instant. We have this bucket list2）. We have these things we want to do in life， and I thought about all the people I wanted to reach out to3） that I didnt， all the fences I wanted to mend， all the experiences I wanted to have and I never did. As I thought about that later on， I came up with a saying， which is， “I collect bad wines4）.” Because if the wine is ready and the person is there， Im opening it. I no longer want to postpone anything in life. And that urgency， that purpose， has really changed my life.

The second thing I learned that day—and this is as we clear5） the George Washington Bridge6）—was I really feel one real regret. Ive lived a good life. In my own humanity and mistakes， Ive tried to get better at everything I tried. But in my humanity， I also allow my ego to get in. And I regretted the time I wasted on things that did not matter with people that matter. And I thought about my relationship with my wife， with my friends， with people. And after， as I reflected on that， I decided to eliminate negative energy from my life. Its not perfect， but its a lot better. Ive not had a fight with my wife in two years. It feels great. I no longer try to be right； I choose to be happy.

The third thing I learned—and this is as your mental clock starts going， “15， 14， 13.” You can see the water coming. Im saying， “Please blow up.” I dont want this thing to break into 20 pieces like youve seen in those documentaries. And as were coming down， I had a sense that dying is not scary. Its almost like weve been preparing for it our whole lives. But it was very sad. I didnt want to go. I love my life. And that sadness really framed in one thought， which is I only wish for one thing. I only wish I could see my kids grow up. About a month later， I was at a performance by my daughter. And Im bawling， Im crying， like a little kid. And it made all the sense in the world to me. I realized at that point， by connecting those two dots， that the only thing that matters in my life is being a great dad. Above all， the only goal I have in life is to be a good dad.

I was given the gift of a miracle， of not dying that day. I was given another gift， which was to be able to see into the future and come back and live differently. I challenge you guys that are flying today， imagine the same thing happens on your plane—and please dont— but imagine， and how would you change？ What would you get done that youre waiting to get done because you think youll be here forever？ How would you change your relationships and the negative energy in them？ And more than anything， are you being the best parent you can？

想象一下当你升至三千英尺（编注：约914米）的高空时发生大爆炸的情景。想象一下飞机上浓烟弥漫的样子。想象一下引擎不停地发出噼啪声的情形。这听起来很吓人。那天，我坐在一个特别的座位上——1D号座位。我是唯一一位能和空乘人员说话的乘客。当时我立刻将目光投向空乘人员，而他们说：“没事，可能飞机撞到鸟了。”飞行员已经调转了航向，我们才飞了不远，还可以看见曼哈顿。两分钟过后，同时发生了三件事：飞行员将飞机对准哈德逊河，那可不是飞机的正常航道；他关掉发动机——现在请想象一下坐在一架没有任何声音的飞机里的情形；然后，他说了四个字，这是我听过的最不带感情的四个字：“准备着陆。”这下，我再也不用跟那位空乘人员交流了。从她的眼睛里，我就看出来了——那是恐惧。生命就要结束了。

现在，我想跟大家分享那天我学到的关于自己的三件事。我认识到所有的一切会在一瞬间发生改变。我们都有遗愿清单，我们都有一些有生之年想要去做的事情。我想到了那些我想帮却没帮的人，想到了那些我想改善的人际关系，想到了那些我想体验却从未尝试过的事。后来，当我想起这件事时，我想出一句话：“我愿收藏差酒。”因为如果酒已备好，朋友在旁，我就会把酒打开。我再也不想推迟生命中的任何事了。这种紧迫感或者说决心真的改变了我的生活。

那天我学到的第二件事发生在我们飞过乔治·华盛顿大桥的时候，那一刻我实实在在地感到我有一件让我真正后悔的事。我的日子过得不错。我有自己的性情，也犯过错，但我尽力把我做的每一件事办得更好。但是就我的性情而言，我也有以自我为中心的时候。我后悔以前把时间浪费在和重要的人争执不重要的事情上。我想到了自己跟妻子、朋友以及他人的关系。经历这一事故后，当我回想起这些事时，我决定消除生命中的负能量。我还没有完全做到，但已经好多了。我有两年的时间没有和妻子吵架了，这让人感觉很棒。我不再强调正确与否，而是选择快乐地生活。

那天我认识到第三件事是在我心里开始倒数“15、14、13……”的时候。我可以看见河水离我们越来越近。我说：“拜托，还是爆炸吧。”但我可不想让这玩意儿像纪录片里看到的那样碎成20块。当我们慢慢下落时，我感觉到死亡并不可怕。当时的感觉几乎就像是我们一辈子都在为死亡作准备。不过死亡是件令人非常悲伤的事。我不想死。我热爱自己的生活。那种悲伤源自于一个念想，那也是我唯一的愿望，就是我只希望能看着我的孩子们长大。大概一个月之后，我出席了女儿的演出。在那里，我像孩子似的尽情地玩，大声地喊。而这对我来说就是世界的全部意义。在那一刻，当我把坠机与这件事联系起来看时，我发现自己人生中至关重要的事情只有一件，那就是当个好父亲。最重要的是，我人生中的唯一目标就是当个好父亲。

哈德逊河上的奇迹是上天给我的一份礼物，让我那天幸免于难。我得到的另一份礼物是能够看到未来，然后重新回来，开始一种完全不同的活法。我想考验一下今天要乘坐飞机的各位，想一想如果你们的飞机也发生了同样的事——当然千万不要是真的——但是请试想一下，如果那样，你们会作何改变呢？你们会想去完成由于觉得死亡永远不会降临到自己头上就一直拖着未做的哪些事？你们会如何改变自己的人际关系，并消除其中的负能量呢？而比任何事都重要的是，你们是不是在尽可能成为最好的父母？

1. impact [??mp?kt] n. 着陆

2. bucket list：遗愿清单，即离开人世之前想做的事情清单

3. reach out to （sb.）：向（某人）伸出援手

4. 这句话是作者自己创造的。在他看来，收藏好酒的人通常会将酒保存起来，等到未来特定的重要场合才愿意打开分享；而收藏差酒的人则愿意将自己买到的好酒立即打开，而不会等到某个特定时候才打开。

5. clear [kl??（r）] vt. 越过，飞过

6. George Washington Bridge：乔治·华盛顿大桥，跨越哈德逊河的悬索桥，是纽约市的一条重要交通要道。