13. Manna issue 66 - Seasoned with Salt 以鹽調和
ANON—West Malaysia 西馬來西亞 ANON
More than twenty years ago
there was a TV advertisement in Malaysia (in Cantonese Chinese)
for a national car model that was about to be launched.
The setting was an old Chinese coffee shop
where three men sipped their coffee and ate breakfast
—an ordinary day-to-day scene in Malaysia.
The two younger men were discussing the launch of this new car
and the question arose as to whether purchasing the car would be a good decision,
especially since this was a new made-in-Malaysia brand,
which had yet to establish itself.
The younger men were indecisive and unenthusiastic
as they were not sure about the quality of the car.
二十多年前，
馬來西亞有一個電視廣告（廣東話）
推銷即將推出的國產車型。
場景是一家古老的中國咖啡店，
那裡有三個男人喝著咖啡吃著早餐，
—是一種馬來西亞平凡的每日情境。
兩位年輕人正在討論這款新車的上市，
這時問題出現了，到底購買這輛車是不是一個好決定，
特別因為這是一個馬來西亞製造的新品牌，
特別是這品牌還沒有建立起來。
這些年輕人猶豫不決，冷冷淡淡，
因為他們不確定汽車品質的好壞。
The older man, having finished his coffee
and having listened intently to the conversation of the younger men said in Cantonese,
“…in my lifetime, the salt I have tasted is more than the rice you have eaten”.
He then continued to advise the younger men.
Since this is a car advertisement,
no prizes for guessing that the older man recommended purchasing the car,
saying it was good value for money.
老人喝完咖啡之後，
並且專心聽著年輕人的廣東話
“...有生之年，我嚐過的鹽比你吃過的米還多”。
然後他繼續建議年輕人。
由於這是汽車廣告，
不用猜都知道，老人推薦去買車，
說這台車很超值。
HONOR THE PRESENCE OF AN OLD MAN? 尊重長輩出現的場合？
The statement comparing salt with rice, a famous Chinese idiom,
points to the experiences and wisdom of the “grey-haired” amongst us
—those who have walked the path of life and journey of faith before us.
This idiom reminds us to take counsel from our elders and seniors,
who are much more experienced and thus much wiser.
Moreover, the Bible also exhorts us to
“rise before the gray headed and honor the presence of an old man”
(Lev 19:32).
Unfortunately, even in the context of the church,
this standard of respect has changed
and morphed into something unrecognizable
as successive generations pass.
中國有名的諺語，此話用鹽與米來比較，
點出我們的“白髮長者”的經驗和智慧，
—是那些我們之前，走過生命之路和信仰旅程的人。
這個諺語提醒我們，要聽取長老和長輩的建議，
他們有更多的經驗，因此也更有智慧。
此外，聖經也勸我們要
“32在白髮的人面前，你要站起來；也要尊敬老人，”
（利 19：32）。
不幸的是，即使在教會的環境中，
這種尊重的標準已經改變了，
並且變化成某種面目全非的東西，
隨著一代又一代的過去。
In the time of my parents, honor and respect meant complete subservience and deference.
The voice of the elders mattered the most and children were meant to be seen but seldom heard.
在我父母的時代，榮譽和尊重意味著完全聽話和順從。
長輩的聲音最重要，大家都認為，小孩子只是好看，不用理他們。
When it came to my time
(those between thirty and fifty, who are themselves parents now),
this standard of respect towards parents and seniors began to change;
with the changing times came the “new age” of “children’s rights”,
i.e., children were meant to be seen and they were finding their voices.
They were allowed a degree of flexibility to state and make their case before parents,
going as far as making certain decisions for themselves (within a limited spectrum).
With the dawn of this new age came the concept of “personal space”,
where children had a small private realm to call their own.
到了我的時代，
（那些在三十到五十歲之間的人，他們自己現在也是父母了），
這種尊重父母和長輩的標準，開始發生變化；
隨著時代的變遷，出現了“兒童權利”的“新時代”，
換句話說，孩子們註定要被重視，他們正在發出自己的聲音。
在父母面前，他們得到允許，一定程度上可以靈活發聲和陳述自己的情況，
甚至可以更延伸，為自己做出某些決定（在有限的範圍內）。
隨著這個新時代的到來，“個人空間”的概念出現了，
那個地方孩子們有一個小小的私人領域，宣稱自己有主權作決定。
Even though we may have had some room to “wriggle” and personal space,
we still would not run far from
having our parents or elders infuse a liberal dosing of “salt” and wisdom into our lives,
where they were able to share their thoughts, experiences and “advice”,
urging us to head towards a particular direction.
This “salt factor” was very much a part of our lives,
coupled with ample communication
(many times one-way traffic from the perspective of parents and elders).
Such “seasoning” added color, perspective,
and much needed wisdom and direction into our lives.
The salt that was on offer broadened our spectrum of thought as well as depth,
even if most communication ended up as a parental monologue.
即使我們可能有一些地方，可以“蠕動”和個人空間，
我們仍然不會遠離，
因為我們父母長輩注入大量的“鹽”和智慧到我們的生活中，
一起生活的時候，他們能夠分享想法、經驗和“建議”，
鼓勵我們朝著一個特定的方向前進。
這種“鹽成份”在很大程度，就是我們生活的一部分，
伴隨充分的溝通
（很多時候，從父母長輩的角度單向灌輸）。
這種“調味”加添了色彩、視角、
以及很多必需的智慧和方向進入我們生活。
這種鹽給予我們拓寬思想的範圍和深度，
即使大多數的交流，最終都變成了父母的獨角戲。
What about the “children” of today?
Those on the cusp of adulthood,
yet still adolescent in terms of their thinking (thirteen going on thirty)?
Things have continued to change and have become a lot more complicated.
The world is colder and relationships harder as well as more strained.
Time, which was well spent in my generation on being seasoned with salt,
just evaporates in the world of the Internet, the Blackberry,
the iPods, the Play Stations, Facebook and social networking and the all too familiar,
“leave me alone”.
對於今日的“許多孩子”是怎樣的情況呢？
那些處於成年期的人，
就他們的思維而言，仍然是青少年（十三歲到三十歲）？
情況不斷變化，已變得更複雜。
世界變得更冷淡，人際關係也變得更加困難和緊張。
在我這一代，好好利用時間以鹽調和，
就如網路世界裡消失的黑莓機，
iPods 媒體播放器，Play Stations 遊戲機，Facebook 臉書和社交網絡以及一切都很熟悉，
“請不要打擾我”。
How many of us younger ones have experienced the benefit of open sharing with our parents
or our more experienced elders?
Do we only focus on ourselves,
think highly of our own abilities and experiences (limited though they may be)?
Do we discard our older generations’ wisdom and encouragement,
dismissing them as the rumblings of the old and foolish?
When our parents advise or correct us, do we “switch off”
because we think they don’t understand the needs and challenges of the 21st century?
Do we even claim that they do not love us and throw our tantrums?
Do we purposely or perhaps unwittingly relegate our parents and elders
to the status of maid, nanny, cook or even nothing but a personal bank?
我們中有多少年輕人，體驗過與父母公開分享的好處
或是與我們更有經驗的長輩分享呢？
難道我們只關心自己，
高估自己的能力和經驗（他們儘管可能是有限的）？
難道我們拋棄老一輩的智慧和鼓勵，
無視他們，好像是老舊愚蠢的碎碎唸？
當我們的父母勸勉糾正我們的時候，我們是否會“關掉”，
因為我們認為，他們不了解 21 世紀的需求和挑戰？
我們甚至聲稱，他們不愛我們，並且發脾氣？
我們是否故意，或是無意中，貶低我們的父母和長輩，
地位低下好像女僕，保姆，廚師，甚至沒有用，只不過是一個私人的銀行？
Be honest, how many of us find time to engage in open sharing and discussion with our parents or elders?
If we do, is it on a regular basis?
Put this into perspective
and then reflect on how much time we spend on other less constructive or useless deeds…
老實說，我們當中有多少人會抽出時間，與父母或長輩進行公開分享和討論？
如果我們有這樣做，有沒有定期在進行呢？
把這件事好好思考，
然後反省自已花多少時間，用在少有建設性或無用的行為上……
LOVE AND HUMILITY IS KEY 慈愛謙卑是關鍵
As young people, we seek to be loved and respected.
So do our parents, grandparents, aunties and uncles
as well as senior members at church.
Why then, don’t we try to love and respect them in the same way
we hope our offspring will do to us?
The first step we can take is to submit to them in love
and clothe ourselves in humility as the apostle Peter exhorts us to do
(1 Pet 5:5).
If we listen to them while they are still with us and share our lives openly with them,
there’s every chance that we will naturally grow closer to them at heart.
作為年輕人，我們會尋求被愛及尊重。
同樣的，我們的父母、祖父母、阿姨叔叔也是如此，
同時教會的年長信徒也是。
那麼，為什麼我們不試著以同樣的方式去疼愛尊敬他們，
就是以我們希望自已後代會對我們所採用的方式呢？
我們可用的第一步，就是在愛中順服他們，
就像使徒彼得勸告我們要做的那樣謙卑，
（彼前 5：5）。
在他們還在我們身邊的時候，如果我們傾聽他們的聲音，並與他們公開分享自已的生活，
我們很可能自然會在內心深處與他們更加親近。
Think about our parents’ and elders’ love and sacrifice for us.
Because of them, we have the opportunity to lead the life that we now have.
Let us not be wise in our own eyes;
but instead seek wisdom and guidance from our Lord and from our parents, elders and seniors
who have walked the path before us and tasted much more of the salt of life than we have.
Seek counsel from our elders
—their thoughts and wisdom will certainly enrich us and save us many painful lessons.
想想我們父母長輩，對我們的愛和犧牲。
因為有他們，我們才有機會過著現在的生活。
我們不要自以為聰明；
而是向我們的主耶穌，我們的父母、長老和長輩尋求智慧和指導，
他們早就走在我們前面的道路，比我們嚐過了更多的生命之鹽。
向我們的長老尋求建議，
—他們的想法和智慧一定會豐富我們，拯救我們免去許多慘痛的教訓。
I often recall a very wise saying of an old lady
who has since been called to the Lord,
whose wit and mind was sharp till her departure from this earth…
“Remember to walk upright, do good in life and to others,
and don’t be disheartened by what others would say to you or about you.”
我經常想起一位老太太非常明智的一句話，
她如今已經蒙主恩召了，
在離世之前，她的智慧和心思都非常的敏銳……
“記住要行得正直，生活中做好事幫助別人，
不要因為別人對你所的說，或是談到你的事，而感到灰心喪氣。”
Let our lives in the Lord be seasoned with salt for it will enrich our lives ever more.
讓我們生活在主裡，並以鹽來調和，因為它會使我們的生活更加豐富。
小頁 markvmax@hotmail.com
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