文字难度：★★☆
Brushes and paint were spread around me in my 1)den.
在我的小书房里,画笔和颜料散落在我周围。
I laid the first layer of blue paint across the paper, a “2)wash” I remembered my teacher calling it. I closed my eyes and tried to envision what it was I wanted to paint. But all I could see was a vast dark 3)void, swirling, 4)menacing storm clouds that seemed to 5)envelop me. My mind was full of anger, fear, panic.
我在纸上用蓝色颜料涂上第一层,记得我的老师把这称为“底色”。我闭上眼睛,试着去想象我要画的东西。但是,我所能看到的只有巨大的黑洞,令人压抑的重重乌云如漩涡翻涌,仿佛要将我吞噬。我脑子里满是愤怒、恐惧、惊慌。
My eleven-year marriage was over. Our finances, I’d discovered, were in 6)shambles. In a few days I would have to leave this house, the place I’d hoped to make a home for my children and husband. Everywhere I looked I was reminded of failure, of cherished dreams that hadn’t turned out the way I’d planned.
我十一年的婚姻破裂了。我们的财务状况,我发现,也是一团糟。我必须在几天内搬离这所房子——这个我一直想要为我的丈夫和孩子营造一个“家”的地方。我目所能及的每处地方都会让我回想起挫败,回想起那些没有按照我的计划去实现的美梦。
Like this painting, I thought. A few shapeless 7)strokes on a piece of paper. I stared at it, trying to imagine a scene, someplace far away, something8)soothing. It was no use.
我的生活就像这幅画一样,我心想。在一张纸上,只有那么不像样的几笔。我凝视着它,试着去想象一幅场景,某个遥远的地方,以及一些抚慰人心的事,只是,这样做毫无用处。
I’d been an actress all my life, but painting was new to me. I’d only had two one-hour lessons from an artist who had offered to teach me the basics of watercolor. I’d happily accepted, eager for anything that could take my mind away from court9)filings and financial documents.
我当了一辈子的演员,绘画对我而言却是一种新体验。之前有一位艺术家主动要教我水彩画基础知识,我只上了两堂一小时的课程。我很乐意让他教我,一心想着要找些东西让自己的思想从法庭文件及财务文件中抽离出来。
“Visualize the details of what you’re painting,” my instructor said. “See the shapes and colors, the whites and darks. Sometimes it’s what you don’t see that’s most important.”
“想象一下你将要画的事物的细节,”我的导师说道,“看看它们的形状及颜色,所有的白色及深色。有些时候,你看不到的东西才是最重要的。”
How was I supposed to do that after two lessons? I thought as I looked at my 10)nondescript brush strokes on the paper in front of me. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, but all I could see was darkness. All I could think about were my worries. I said a quick prayer: Please show me a way to find comfort.
我只上了两堂课,叫我怎么做得到呢?我一边思考一边望着我面前的纸上那无法形容的几笔。我闭上眼睛,深呼吸了一下,但我只能看到黑暗。我脑海里想到的只是种种烦恼。我匆匆地做了一个祷告:请指引一下我如何才能找到安慰吧。
In my mind, I looked again into the gray 11)haze. My muscles relaxed slightly. It was a relief to shut out the world for even a few minutes. I let myself enjoy the peace. I felt almost as if I were floating, a gentle rocking motion. I tried to focus, tried to look into the distance. Slowly, I began to make out water, a lake. And then, I could see it—the whole picture in front of me, with unbelievable clarity! There was the sunlight catching the water, creating a 12)kaleidoscope of colors; a gentle breeze 13)rippling the surface; in the background a 14)marsh.
在我脑海里,我重新望向灰色的“模糊地带”。我的肌肉开始慢慢放松。将现实世界抛诸脑后,即使是那么几分钟,也是一种解脱。我让自己沉浸在平静当中,我几乎觉得自己的身体仿佛在轻轻地摇动着,漂浮着。我试着集中精神,望向远方。慢慢地,我开始想象一片湖水的景象。然后,我真的看到它了——整幅美景就在我眼前,无比清晰!阳光洒在水面上,营造出如万花筒般的色彩;微风轻轻拂过湖面,泛起一阵涟漪;湖泊后面有一片沼泽。
I opened my eyes, but the scene remained in my mind. I dipped my brush in the green paint and began layering it over the blue, the lake coming alive on the paper. It is amazing how many 15)shades of blue, green, brown, white and gray there are in water. It was as if I was seeing it for the first time. I added the marsh with a few strokes of my brush and then closed my eyes again. I could see it clearly: There was a brown, wooden boat, empty, but floating peacefully on the water, as if it were waiting to carry someone to the shore. How had I missed it the first time?
我睁开眼睛,但景象仍停留在脑海中。我用画笔蘸了蘸绿色颜料,画在蓝色上面,湖泊便跃然纸上了。水中可以映出蓝、绿、棕、白及灰色等多种色调,这是多么的神奇啊。感觉就像是我之前从未见到过那样的景象。我加了几笔 画出了沼泽,然后重新闭上了眼睛。我能够十分清楚地看到:有一只褐色的小木船很平静地漂浮在水面上,船上空空的,仿佛正在等待着将某人送到岸上。第一次展开想象时我怎么就错过它了呢?
Little by little the 16)dinghy took shape on the paper. I noticed its curves, how part of it was hidden under the water—seeing what wasn’t there! I stepped back and looked at the painting. I’d done it! Maybe not a masterpiece, but a beautiful work of art all the same.
一点一点地,小船在纸上成形了。我注意到了它的曲线,原来它有一部分藏在了水里——那一部分看不到。我后退,看了看画作。我做到了!这可能不算是一幅杰作,但仍然是一幅很美的艺术作品。
I felt the most incredible feeling of warmth and support, as if a heavenly presence were there beside me, guiding me, teaching me to see the world with new eyes in all its beauty and 17)exquisite detail, a future so much bigger than any of my 18)immediate troubles.
我感受到有一种不可思议的温暖与支持,仿佛有一股来自天使的力量在我身旁指引着我,教导我如何用新的眼光去看待这个世界,去挖掘它所有的美丽及微妙的细节,让我看到一个远离我现有的烦恼且更为广阔的未来。
I looked closely again at the painting. There were no angels visible in the swirls of color, but I knew they were all around. And like my teacher said, sometimes it’s what we don’t see that’s most important.
我又细看了一下画作。色彩的漩涡中看不到有天使的存在,但是我知道,他们无处不在。正如我的导师所说,有些时候,你看不到的东西才是最重要的。
Life, I realized, is constantly changing and evolving, like a painting, and that it only takes a few brush strokes and eyes open to possibilities to change your entire perspective. It worked for me at a difficult time in my life, and I haven’t put my brushes down since.
我意识到,生活在不断地变化和发展,就像一幅画作一样,只需简单的几笔以及善于发现多种可能性的眼睛便可改变你的整个视野。在我人生的艰难时期,这种想法改变了我,自此,我便没有放下过画笔。
