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Elizabeth Edwards --- 一个伟大的女性离去了！

(2010-12-09 11:05:41) 下一个

Elizabeth Edwards --- 一个伟大的女性离去了！

Elizabeth Edwards 于本星期二去世了，是在仅仅停止癌症治疗之后的两个时停止呼吸的，享年 61 岁。除了已经成年的大女儿，还留下两个只有 10 和 12 岁的儿女。

无数哀伤的叹息抒发在 2010 年 12 月 7 日这一刻。克林顿说：“她的逝世使美国失去了一个象征着力量、希望和人性，一个为所有美国人的健康保健事业持续不倦的倡导者，以及一个与癌症进行英勇不屈的战斗的勇士。” (“America's lost a symbol of strength, hope, and humanity, a tireless advocate for health care for all Americans, and a determined crusader for cancer cures.”)

因为断断续续地在新闻上见过她，还有曾阅读过她的著作： Resilience, 我为她的离去深感哀痛。一般人提起她，首先想到的是她的前夫 --- 美国 2004 届总统候选人 John Edwards. 但是那个在她癌症缠身时移情别恋并生下私生子的男人永远在我心中被归入卑鄙下流一类了。

在我心中，能与她相提并论的，就只有 Randy Pausch ，一个以起最后的演说 (Achieving Your Childhood Dreams) 感动了全世界的乐观坚强的癌症斗士。伊丽莎白，她不怀恋孩童的梦想，而是以无比的优雅、勇气和尊严，去跟残酷的命运抗争。

年轻时的伊丽莎白是美丽智慧的女性，同样是律师，她比希拉里还漂亮。小时候家里穷，她的房间小得放下床就关不上门，所以她发誓一定要住进可以随便舒展自由跳舞的大房子里。她无疑是做到了，她不仅做过律师，也是教师、作家和商人。在她弥留之时，她住在占地几英亩的大房子里。

这些不算什么，是普通人也能做得到的。但是后来命运之神对她进行了残酷的试炼，使她在荣耀与痛苦中万劫不复，坚强的女人却绝不屈服。且看：

她的大儿子十六岁死于车祸。因为这件悲剧，她放弃了律师工作，没有再回到过她的律师办公室，连私人物品也没回去拿。她成立了以儿子名字命名的基金会，而且不知是否出于弥补的心理，她于 48 和 50 岁的高龄，又生了一儿一女，因为她发现，人生最大的喜悦莫过于身为父母的快乐。而且，在重作母亲时，她为幼年的孩子付出了全部的爱及无比的耐心。她在谈到 “ Reflections on the Burdens and Gifts of facing Life's Adventures ” 时说：

The gifts are that, you know, you are reminded time and again. And the easiest example is with Wade's death because it's not so -- there's not so many other parts of it. When Wade died, it was terrible burden. But it also reminded you both of the fact that you need to grab hold of each day. You couldn't just take each day for granted. You had to make each day matter, make each interchange with people you cared about matter.
In my family, my dysfunctional family it was lots of, "I love yous," lots of hugs, lots of constant reminders that we cared about one another. And I think that was a gift Wade gave us. I think he, you know, he made us understand that it was really important.
Emma Claire when she was a baby had colic and cried for hours and hours. I could just rock her and sing to her for hours and hours even though she screamed back at me the whole time because I thought if this were Wade and I got to hold him but he was crying, would it be OK with me? You bet.
And you've got to understand that even if she's crying, it's a gift, this moment that I have. And so you can learn things from each thing that's bad, there's always something to be learned from it.

当她发现自己患了癌症时，她的丈夫竞选总统的工作正如火如荼，她独子忍受了好几个星期不把这坏消息告诉他，以免影响他的情绪。在知道自己日子不多时，她想到的是孩子们。她想要再有八年的时间，好让她能把孩子养育成人。只有再能有 8 年的时间，她的小儿子就可以是 18 岁，那么她就可以清楚看到他会长成怎么样的一个人。

在她与癌症艰难作战的日子里，她的丈夫移情别恋。她最终以优雅的姿势把那个漂亮耀眼的他轻轻关在了门外。“ But finally, at the end of 2009, I realized I could not simply wish us to some halcyon final days. I decided that I do not want to be that person hoping for a day that may never come, that sad, bitter, unhappy person. Finally, I've take then steps I need to take to never be that person. It's one of the things I left behind when I closed that door behind John. ”

要知道一个人的品德如何，是要看她 / 他面对最艰难的困境时，是否仍然能保持有智、仁、勇之德。伊丽莎白是这么说的：

" The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And, yes, there are certainly times when we aren't able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It's called being human.
But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful ."

让我们向这个优雅、仁爱，英勇不屈的伟大女性致敬！