內心的國王

Everyone has a king inside. If you want to talk to him， the king will appear.

Outside our hotel in Ho Chi Minh City， Vietnam， a seemingly ancient woman on crutches waited beside the door with her hand outstretched. Every day I put my hand in hers as our eyes met. She never failed to return my smile， my grasp， and my greeting.

On the last day of our visit， I found myself alone on a busy corner across the street from our hotel. Bicycles and motorbikes careened in front of me. Tonight I was by myself and felt inadequate to face the torrent of vehicles. As I hesitated on the curb， I felt a hand on my elbow and looked down to see the smile of my small beggar friend who was looking up at me. She nodded her head toward the street， indicating that she would take me across. Together， we moved slowly into the chaos as she gently prodded me forward.

When we reached the center of the crossing， I looked down at her again， and couldnt resist exclaiming， “You have the most beautiful smile.”

She obviously knew little English， but must have recognized the tone， for she threw both arms and crutches around me in a big hug， while the traffic streamed by us on both sides.

Then we precariously moved on toward the sidewalk， where she pulled my face down to hers， kissed me on both cheeks， and then limped away， still smiling and waving back to me.

I had not given her a single coin. We had shared something vastly more important—a warming of hearts in friendship.

This experience reminded me of something Mother Teresa once said，“If you cannot do great things， you can do small things with great love.” To look beggars in the eye and smile， thus acknowledging their existence， is a small thing. Putting your hand into anothers outstretched hand and grasping it firmly for a moment is also a small thing. Learning to use a greeting in the local language is not too difficult. But these are important.

Traveling in poorer nations， I have witnessed a variety of ways to deal with beggars. The most common response of tourists faced with the poverty-stricken is to ignore them and focus their eyes elsewhere. I have seen people push away an outstretched hand in angry annoyance. A few may hastily drop a few coins into a beseeching palm， and then execute a quick getaway in hopes that another 20 ragged pursuers wont immediately appear on the scene.

But I feel its worthwhile to try to live by the words of English author John Cowper Powys，“No one can consider himself wholly civilized who does not look upon every individual， without a single exception， as of deep and startling interest.”endprint

I once spotted a legless man sitting by a road at the Pushkar Camel Fair in India. I was returning to my tent after recording the exotic music of the dancing men of Pushkar and was replaying the music on my tape recorder. When the mans smile lured me to join him， we began to communicate in the kind of sign language and laughter.

After mimicking the whirling skirts and sticks， I showed him how my tape recorder worked. He motioned for me to give it to him. I hesitated， but only for a moment. After examining it carefully， he began to sing a hauntingly beautiful song， indicating that he wanted me to record it and take it home as a memory of our time together.

Moments before， we had been total strangers. Suddenly， we were cemented in a momentary friendship born of our common existence in this world. His eyes shone as we exchanged names. My experience confirmed the truth of the Scandinavian proverb，“In every man there is a king. Speak to the king， and the king will come forth.”

I have learned that those considered the worlds most hopeless are so often rich in humanity， with hearts yearning to be affirmed—and ready to respond.

My life continues to be enriched by connecting with everyday humanity. Each time I do this， I rediscover that what I have been given is far beyond monetary value. And I reaffirm that everyone is worthy—and worth knowing.

在每個人內心都有一個國王。如果你想與他交談，國王就會出現。

在越南胡志明市，我們旅館的外面，有一個老婦人倚著拐杖，伸著手在門口乞討。每天，當我和她目光交匯時，我都會把手放在她的手里。對我的微笑、握手及問候，她總以同樣的方式回饋我。

在我們旅行的最后一天，我突然發覺在旅館對面街上一個交通繁忙的拐角處，只剩我一個人了。自行車和摩托車在我面前橫沖直撞。晚上讓我獨自一人面對急流般的車流，我很不適應。當我在街頭猶豫的時候，我覺察到胳膊肘處有一只手。我向下望去，看到了那個身材矮小的乞丐朋友面帶笑容地望著我。她朝大街上昂了一下頭，意思是會帶我穿過大街。她輕輕地推著我向前走，我們一起慢慢匯入混亂的人群中。

到達十字路口的中心時，我又低頭看了看她，情不自禁地對她說：“你有最美麗的微笑。”

顯然，她不懂英語，但她一定可以辨認出我說話的語調，于是她張開拿著拐杖的雙手擁抱我，此時，大街上的車流在我們兩旁穿過。

接著，我們蹣跚地向人行道走去，到達后，她捧著我的臉靠近她，并在我的兩頰各吻了一下，然后一瘸一拐地離開了，還不時地回頭向我微笑和揮手。

我沒有給她一分錢，但我們體驗了更珍貴的東西——友誼中心靈的溫暖。

這一經歷讓我想起特蕾莎修女曾經說過的一句話：“如果你做不了偉大的事情，那就用偉大的愛心做點小事吧。”正眼看待乞丐并微笑，認同他們的存在，這都是很小的事情；把你的手放在別人伸出的手里，緊緊地握上一會，這也是小事情；學會用當地的語言說句問候的話也不困難。但是，這些都很有意義。

在相對貧窮的國家旅行時，我目睹了對待乞丐的多種方式。最常見的回應是不理睬，或者左右旁顧。我曾看見有人生氣地把他們伸出來的手推開。還有一些人急匆匆地把幾個硬幣丟在他們乞討的手掌里，然后迅速地逃開，生怕另外20多個衣服襤褸的乞丐會馬上出現在他跟前。

而我覺得，踐行英國作家伊波斯所說的那句話是值得的。他說：“如果一個人不能無一例外地、用同樣強烈的好奇心對待每一個人，那么他就不能被認為是一個十足的文明人。”

我曾經在印度普什卡爾駱駝集會上，碰到過一個沒有腿的男人，當時他坐在馬路邊。錄完普什卡爾舞者的異國音樂后，我準備回自己的帳篷，一路上我播放著錄音機里面的音樂。我被他的微笑吸引住了，于是向他走近，我們開始用手語和笑聲談論起來。

模仿過旋轉的裙子和鼓槌后，我告訴他錄音機是怎么運轉的。他向我打手勢，示意要我把錄音機給他看看，我猶豫了一下，還是給了他。他小心檢視過錄音機后就開始唱歌，歌曲很優美，讓人難以忘懷。他讓我把歌錄下來，這樣就可以帶回家，作為我們在一起的歡樂時光的美好回憶。

不久前，我們完全是陌生人。然而突然間，那一刻的友誼把我們緊密聯系在一起，而這友誼的誕生僅僅是因為我們在這個世界上共同存在著。在我們交換名字的那一刻，他的眼睛里閃爍著光芒。我的經歷證實了斯堪的那維亞的一句格言：“在每個人內心都有一個國王。如果你想與他交談，國王就會出現。”

我終于了解，那些被認為是世界上最沒有希望的人都富有仁愛之心，他們的心靈渴望被認同，也樂于作出回應。

我一直通過與平凡的人保持聯系，來豐富我的生活。每次這樣做的時候，我都發現我所收獲的遠遠超過金錢的價值。并且我再次堅信，每個人都是有價值的——值得你去了解。endprint