《美食祈祷和恋爱》Chapter 9 (18):都来做我的见证

I thought for a while, then pulled out a notebook and wrote this petition:

我想了一会儿，而后抽出一本笔记本，写下这封请愿书：

Dear God.

亲爱的神：

Please intervene and help end this divorce. My husband and I have failed at our marriage and now we are failing at our divorce. This poisonous process is bringing suffering to us and to everyone who cares about us.

请帮忙我了结这场离婚事件。我先生和我的婚姻没能成功，而如今我们的离婚也没能成功。不愉快的过程给我们与关心我们的每个人带来痛苦。

I recognize that you are busy with wars and tragedies and much larger conflicts than the ongoing dispute of one dysfunctional couple. But it is my understanding that the health of the planet is affected by the health of every individual on it. As long as even two souls are locked in conflict, the whole of the world is contaminated by it. Similarly, if even one or two souls can be free from discord, this will increase the general health of the whole world, the way a few healthy cells in a body can increase the general health of that body.

我知道你还有比调解一对不正常夫妻更重要的事要忙：战争、悲剧、更大规模的冲突。但据我了解，地球上每个人的健康都影响着地球的健康。即使只是两个人陷于冲突，整个世界都会受到污染。同样的，只要一两个人得以摆脱混乱，也会增进整个世界的整体健康，一如身体内的几个健康细胞得以增进那个身体的总体健康一般。

It is my most humble request, then, that you help us end this conflict, so that two more people can have the chance to become free and healthy, and so there will be just a little bit less animosity and bitterness in a world that is already far too troubled by suffering.

这是我谦卑的期盼，求你协助我们结束冲突，多让两个人有自由健康的机会，让这个已经受苦太多的世界再多减少一点敌意和怨恨。

I thank you for your kind attention.

感谢你的关照。

Respectfully,

Elizabeth M. Gilbert

伊莉莎白．吉尔伯特  敬上

I read it to Iva, and she nodded her approval.

我念给伊娃听，她点头表示同意。

"I would sign that," she said.

“让我签个名吧。”她说

I handed the petition over to her with a pen, but she was too busy driving, so she said, "No, let's say that I did just sign it. I signed it in my heart."

我递给她请愿信和笔，但她忙着开车，于是她说：“不，就说我刚签了名。在心里签。”

"Thank you, Iva. I appreciate your support."

“谢谢你，伊娃。谢谢你的支持。”

"Now, who else would sign it?" she asked.

“还有谁会签名？”她问。

"My family. My mother and father. My sister."

“我的家人。我父母。我姐姐。”

"OK," she said. "They just did. Consider their names added. I actually felt them sign it. They're on the list now. OK—who else would sign it? Start naming names."

“好，”她说。“他们刚刚签了。把他们的名字加上去。我真的感觉到他们签了名。现在他们已在名单上。好——还有谁会签？开始指名道姓吧。”

So I started naming names of all the people who I thought would sign this petition. I named all my close friends, then some family members and some people I worked with. After each name, Iva would say with assurance, "Yep. He just signed it," or "She just signed it." Sometimes she would pop in with her own signatories, like: "My parents just signed it. They raised their children during a war. They hate useless conflict. They’d be happy to see your divorce end."

于是我开始说出可能会签这封请愿信的人名。 我点名我的每个好友，而后是几个亲人和同事。我 报出每个名字后，伊娃即胸有成竹地说：“对。他刚签了”或是“她刚签了名”。有时她会突然加入自己的签名人士，像是：“我父母刚刚签了名。他们在战时养儿育女。他们厌恶没有意义的冲突。他们会很高兴看见你的离婚协议有个了结。”

I closed my eyes and waited for more names to come to me.

我闭上眼睛，等待更多名字来临。

"I think Bill and Hillary Clinton just signed it," I said.

“我想克林顿夫妇刚刚签了名。”我说。

"I don't doubt it," she said. "Listen, Liz—anybody can sign this petition. Do you understand that? Call on anyone, living or dead, and start collecting signatures."   

“我相信，”她说。“听着，小莉——任何人都能签署这份请愿书。你懂吗？号召任何人，活着或死去的人，开始征集签名。”

"Saint Francis of Assisi just signed it!"

“圣方济各（Saint Francis of Assisi ）刚签了名！”

"Of course he did!" Iva smacked her hand against the steering wheel with certainty.

“当然啰！”伊娃信心满满地伸手拍驾驶盘。

Now I was cooking:

我开始编造：

"Abraham Lincoln just signed it! And Gandhi, and Mandela and all the peacemakers. Eleanor Roosevelt, Mother Teresa, Bono, Jimmy Carter, Muhammad Ali, Jackie Robinson and the ** Lama . . . and my grandmother who died in 1984 and my grandmother who's still alive . . . and my Italian teacher, and my therapist, and my agent . . . and Martin Luther King Jr. and Katharine Hepburn . . . and Martin Scorsese (which you wouldn't necessarily expect, but it's still nice of him) . . . and my Guru, of course . . . and Joanne Woodward, and Joan of Arc, and Ms. Carpenter, my fourth-grade teacher, and Jim Henson—"

“林肯刚刚签了名！还有甘地、曼德拉以及所有爱好和平人士。罗斯福夫人、德蕾莎修女、博诺（Bono）、前总统卡特、阿里 （Muhammad Ali）、杰基．罗宾森 （Jackie Robinson ）……还有我1984年过世的祖母，以及还在世的外祖母……还有教我意大利语的老师、我的治疗师、我的经纪人……还有马丁．路德和凯瑟琳．赫本……还有马丁．斯柯西斯 （你或许想不到，但他仍是个很不错的人）……当 然还有我的印度精神导师……还有琼安．华德、圣女贞德、卡本特小姐、我小学四年级的导师，还有吉姆．汉森（Jim Henson）——”

The names spilled from me. They didn't stop spilling for almost an hour, as we drove across Kansas and my petition for peace stretched into page after invisible page of supporters. Iva kept confirming—yes, he signed it, yes, she signed it—and I became filled with a grand sense of protection, surrounded by the collective goodwill of so many mighty souls.

一个又一个名字从我嘴里奔泄出来。几乎一个小时中，我不停地脱口而出。我们开车横越堪萨斯，我的和平请愿书延展成看不见的一页页支持名单。伊娃持续确认——“没错，他签了名；没错，她签了名”——我逐渐充满一股保护感，四周环绕着许多伟人的集体善意。

The list finally wound down, and my anxiety wound down with it. I was sleepy. Iva said, "Take a nap. I'll drive." I closed my eyes. One last name appeared. "Michael J. Fox just signed it," I murmured, then drifted into sleep. I don’t know how long I slept, maybe only for ten minutes, but it was deep. When I woke up, Iva was still driving. She was humming a little song to herself. I yawned.

名单终于慢慢结束，我的焦虑也随之减缓。我昏昏欲睡。伊娃说：“睡一下。我会开车的。”我闭上眼睛，最后一个名字冒出来。“米高．福克斯刚刚签了。”我喃喃自语，而后进入梦乡。我不知道睡了多久，或许只睡了十分钟，却睡得很熟。我醒来的时候，伊娃仍在开车。她正自个儿哼着小曲。我打了个哈欠。

My cell phone rang.

我的手机响了起来。

I looked at that crazy little telefonino vibrating with excitement in the ashtray of the rental car. I felt disoriented, kind of stoned from my nap, suddenly unable to remember how a telephone works.

我看着我那疯狂的“迷你电话机 ”在车上的烟灰缸里兴奋地振动。小睡让我还有点精神恍惚、迷迷糊糊，突然记不得电话如何运作。

"Go ahead," Iva said, already knowing. "Answer the thing."

“去啊 ，”伊娃说，已经晓得怎么回事。“接电话吧。”

I picked up the phone, whispered hello.

我拿起电话，低声说“喂 ”。

"Great news!" my lawyer announced from distant New York City. "He just signed it!"

Eat, Pray, Love

“好消息！”我的律师从遥远的纽约通知我“他刚刚签了！”