月亮隨筆 Some Thoughts About The Moon

"Moon Cross" Illustrated by Andrew Lin

        自古至今，人類從未間斷對月亮的想像與探索。首位登陸月球的美國太空人阿姆斯壯，他踏上月球表面所說的名言：「這是我的一小步，卻是人類的一大步」，到現今仍被人津津樂道。他從月球上觀看地球，看見地球就像一顆美麗的藍色星球、一顆璀璨的藍色水鑽，高掛在黑絲絨般的宇宙星空中。這種美的震撼，也出現在地球上的人們抬頭凝視皎潔月亮的當下。地球和月亮遙遙相望，相互欣賞彼此的美麗。

Since ancient times, humans have never stopped their imaginations and exploration of the moon. The first person on the moon, the American astronaut Neil Armstrong, spoke these words when he set foot on the moon's surface "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind", which to this day are still relished by people. When he viewed Earth from the surface of the moon, he saw that the Earth looked like a beautiful blue orb, a bright blue jewel, hanging on the black velvet sky of the universe. The shock of this beauty also occurs on planet Earth whenever people lift their heads and gaze at the luminous moon. The Earth and moon face each other at a distance and mutually appreciate each other's beauty.

賞月的樂趣，不限於中秋佳節。在一個平常的夜晚，我和母親飯後隨性自在地走走繞繞，我們走到住家對面的學校觀景台，遠眺台北市夜景。然而，出乎我們意料之外，當晚的月亮竟然比夜景更令人著迷，基本上，那顆月亮實在太大、太亮、太圓了！它似乎爬得不太高，離我們特別近，讓我和媽咪甚至不禁懷疑起這月亮是真是假，這是真的月亮嗎？當晚的月色，就像舞台劇的布幕背景一般，美得像假的一樣。

The joys of looking at the moon are not limited to the Mid-Autumn Festival. After a meal on an ordinary evening, my mother and I were casually wandering about. We strolled down toward the school's observation deck across from home, which overlooks Taipei’s nighttime cityscape. However, to our surprise, the moon that evening was unexpectedly more fascinating than the skyline. Basically, the moon was simply too big, too bright, too round! It seemed like it hadn't climbed that high, and it being especially close to us, my mother and I could not help but begin to suspect: is this moon real or fake, could this be the true moon? The moonlight that night looked like the backdrop of a stage play, just as beautiful as it was unreal.

月亮是充滿詩意的。它的光芒是溫柔、慈愛的。難怪以月亮入詩、入歌的例子，不勝枚舉。我耳邊響起那首兒時童謠：「母親像月亮一樣，照亮我家門窗，聖潔多麼慈祥，發出愛的光芒……。」 是啊！多麼感謝神賜給我們母親。

The moon is richly poetic. Its light is gentle and loving. No wonder why instances of the moon in poetry and song are endless. My ears could hear that childhood nursery rhyme: "Mother is like the moon, illuminating the doors and windows of my home, holy and so kind, shining the light of love" Yes! We're so grateful to God for giving us mothers.

我的媽媽是一位溫柔、慈愛、活潑又樂觀的母親。她看起來總是比實際年齡年輕十歲以上。那是因為她的座右銘就是「活到老，學到老」，讓她保有一顆年輕的心。她熱愛欣賞美麗的事物，愛豐富多彩的大自然，愛朗誦「詩中有畫」的唐詩宋詞。母親生命中的美好特質，幫助我培養美的眼光，學習保持對事物高度的好奇心，和享受學習的樂趣。從小到大，我的媽媽從不吝嗇給我稱讚和鼓勵，無形中讓我建立良好的自我形像，也讓我更懂得真誠地欣賞、讚美和鼓舞他人。除此之外，在日常生活中，只要有任何好吃的東西，媽媽總會想要和我分享，共同享用。她喜歡靜靜地坐在我對面，微笑地看著我吃東西，問我好不好吃，她看見我吃東西滿足的神情，看見我開心，她就好開心！母親的慈愛與恩情，怎麼說也說不完……

My mom is a gentle, loving, lively and optimistic mother. She always looks like she's ten years younger than her real age. That's because her motto is "Live till you're old, learn till you're old", so she's still young at heart. She loves to enjoy beautiful things, she loves the rich colors of nature, she loves reciting the "painting in poetry" style poems from the Tang and Song dynasties. The great qualities in my mother's life help me cultivate beautiful insights, learn to maintain a high level of curiosity toward things, and enjoy the pleasure of learning. From when I was young, all the way until after I had grown up, my mother was never stingy in giving me praise and encouragement, which inadvertently allowed me to establish a good self-image, and also let me better understand how to sincerely appreciate, praise and inspire others. Additionally, in everyday life, if there is anything good to eat, mom will always want to share with me, to enjoy together. She likes quietly sitting across from me, watching me with a smile while I eat, asking me if it’s delicious. She'll see my content expression while eating, and seeing me happy, makes her happy too! A mother's love and kindness is hard to put into words, and yet can be spoken about endlessly...

尤其當我也成為一位母親之後，更能深深體會愛的力量。愛孩子，就是帶孩子一起禱告，領受天上的祝福。有一天晚上，當我帶著孩子做完睡前晚禱之後，孩子突然興奮地將手指向窗外，對我說：「媽咪妳看，月亮十字架！」我立即望向窗外皎潔的月亮，真的親眼看見那顆月亮四周竟散發著十字架的光芒，多麼聖潔又美麗，覺得好不可思議啊！它向我們彰顯十字架放射出救主慈愛的光輝，藉此，我和孩子一起經歷了天父的愛，那來自神——愛的奇蹟！

Especially after I became a mother, I was more able to deeply appreciate the power of love. To love children, is to take children to pray and receive the blessings of heaven. One night, after taking my child to finish his evening prayers before bed, my child suddenly and excitedly pointed his finger out the window, saying to me "mommy look, moon cross!" I immediately looked out the window at the bright moon, and actually saw the moon's light on four sides emitting a cross, so holy and beautiful, it was unbelievable! To us, the shining light displayed the crucifix, radiating our Savior's loving glory, bringing my child and me together to experience the love of the Heavenly Father, and that which comes from God—the miracle of love!

作者:譚亞菁 May.08, 2013

Translated by Parker Gadbois