It was the first day of Spring here
此時此地正是初春

but it didn’t feel like it.
卻感覺不到春天的暖意

The Coronavirus Pandemic was sweeping the globe
疫情橫掃全球

and everywhere
每個地方

there were feelings of uncertainty, fear,
都彌散著彷徨，恐懼

loneliness
孤獨(dú)

and even despair.
甚至絕望的感覺

“Social Distancing”
群體間疏離

had become the new norm.
成為新的常規(guī)

Here
在這里

the schools had been closed,
學(xué)校已經(jīng)暫時關(guān)閉

the restaurant dining rooms shut,
餐廳堂食亦關(guān)門了

and people had been told to work from home
人們被要求在家辦公

whenever they could.
只要具備此種條件

Even the sheltered workshop where my oldest son worked
即便是那件我大兒子經(jīng)營的庇護(hù)工場

had been closed
也被迫息業(yè)

until further notice.
等待進(jìn)一步的通知

People had made a run on the stores
人們都去商店里掃蕩

and large areas of the shelves were bare.
大片區(qū)域里貨架上空空如也

On the news
新聞里

the numbers of sick and dead continued to rise.
患病和死亡人數(shù)不斷增加

It felt like
讓人感覺

there was a weight on the souls of everyone in the world.
世界上每個人心頭都有千鈞重負(fù)

My own family was staying at home
我自己一家人也宅在家中

as much as possible
除非迫不得已出門

and as I looked out my window
當(dāng)我看向窗外

I wondered
我想著

how long this crisis would last.
這場危機(jī)會持續(xù)多久？

It was then, however,
然而，恰在這時

that I saw something
我看見一樣?xùn)|西

that lifted that weight off of my soul,
心頭的重負(fù)似乎減輕了一些

made my face smile,
我臉上現(xiàn)出微笑

and made my heart feel happy again.
心中又快樂起來

On the street below my house
家門外的街道上

there was an old friend of mine
站著我的一位老友

from high school
我們自高中起就認(rèn)識

who was a teacher there now.
他現(xiàn)在已經(jīng)是那里的一個教師了

With him
在他身旁

was my younger son’s former aide
是我小兒子的輔導(dǎo)員

from the high school as well.
也是高中的時候認(rèn)識的

They were delivering the school lunches
他們正在分發(fā)學(xué)校里的午餐

door to door
挨家挨戶

to the hungry children who were stuck at home.
給那些困在家里忍饑挨餓的孩子們

Watching them
看著他們

made me think of something
我想起一句話

In the bad times.
在困難的時候

Always look for the helpers.”
一定要尋求幫助

I have no doubt
我毫不懷疑

this crisis will pass
這場危機(jī)一定會過去

as all the crisis before it have.
一如它之前所有的危機(jī)

But it is our choice
但我們可以選擇

on whether it brings out the best in us
表現(xiàn)出最好的人性

or the worst in us.
或最惡毒的一面

Let it bring out the best in you.
讓它激發(fā)最好的你吧

Use it to strengthen your faith.
讓它堅定你的信吧

Use it to free yourself from fear.
利用它，從你的恐懼中掙脫

Use it to grow kinder,
讓它助你變得更加善良

more giving,
更慷慨

and more loving.
更富有愛心

Become a helper to all those in need
成為每個需要幫助的人的救助者

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