了然最近收到一則 e-mail，那是由 Daniel Sapia 原著、名為「The Rope」PowerPoint 的投影片檔案，The Rope 的中文譯名為「生命中的那根繩子」… 該檔案的內容相當感人，了然現將其投影片「中、英文」部分的內文先行拆解下載，隨後再組合改寫、粘貼如下文二段…

中譯部分：生命中的那根繩子…

這是一篇有關一位全心全意想要攀登世界第一高峰登山者的故事。

經過多年的籌備之後，那位登山者開始了他的旅程！由於他希望自己一個人單獨享有全部的榮耀，因此他決定不邀請友人同行而選擇了獨自一人出發。

登山者開始往上攀爬，但是時間已經開始變得有些晚了，他非但沒有停下來準備露營夜宿的帳棚，反而繼續向上攀登，直到四周的天色變成非常的陰暗！高山上的夜晚顯得格外沉寂，那位登山者什麼都看不見，到處都是黑漆漆的一片，而此時的能見度已經降到了「零」，因為月亮和星星都被雲層給遮掩住了！即便如此，登山者仍舊持續不斷地向上攀爬，就在離山頂只剩下幾英呎的地方，他失足滑倒並高速地往山谷跌了下去！在跌落的過程當中，登山者只能感受到週遭的某些黑色陰影，以及一種因為被地心引力吸住而快速下墜的恐怖感覺。

他不斷地持續下墜著，在那極其恐怖的時刻裡，登山者的一生、不論好與壞，也都一幕幕如影片般地映現在他的腦海中！當他心煩意亂地思索著，此刻死神正快速逼近的時候，突然間，他感覺自己被繫在腰間的繩子重重地拉住了！登山者整個人被吊在半空中，而那根繩子就是唯一牽引著他的東西。在那種上不著天、下不著地的無助情況下，他一點辦法也沒有，於是只好大聲呼叫著：「上帝啊，救救我吧！」

此時天上有個低沈的聲音回答他說：「你要我做什麼？你真的相信我可以救你嗎？」登山者趕緊回答：「我當然相信！」那個聲音緊接著告訴他：「那就把繫在你腰間的繩子割斷吧。」

在一陣短暫的寂靜之後，登山者決定使盡全力繼續抓著那根救了他生命的繩子！

根據搜救隊員事後的陳述，他們在第二天發現一個凍得僵硬的登山者遺體，他的屍體掛在一根繩子上，登山者的雙手緊緊地抓著那根繩子，就在距離地面僅僅只有十英呎的地方！…

朋友！你有多依賴你的那根繩子？你願意丟棄它嗎？

「捨與得」往往都是最讓人猶豫與掙扎的！人生在世，有的時候就是要能夠懂得「捨」的道理！

如果你認為本文對你而言是個福份，請和你所鍾愛的人一起分享吧！祝福你...

英文原稿：The Rope…

The story tells about a mountain climber, who wanted to climb the highest mountain. He begun his adventure after many years of preparation, but since he wanted the glory just for himself, he decided to climb the mountain alone.

He started to climb but it begun to get very late, and instead of preparing his tent to camp, he kept climbing until it got very dark. The night felt heavy in the heights of the mountain, and the man could not see anything. All was black_Zero visibility, and the moon and the stars were covered by the clouds. As he was climbing, only a few feet away from the top of the mountain, he slipped and fell into the air, falling at a great speed. The climber could only see black spots as he went down, and the terrible sensation of being sucked by gravity.

He kept falling, and in those moments of great fear, it came to his mind all the good and bad episodes of his life. He was thinking now about how close death was getting, when all of a sudden he felt the rope tied to his waist pull him very hard. His body was hanging in the air, only the rope was holding him, and in that moment of stillness he had no other choice but to scream: 'HELP ME, GOD!'

All of a sudden, a deep voice coming from the sky: 'What do you want me to do? Do you really think I can save you?'... The climber said: 'Of course, I believe You!' The voice from the sky answered: 'THEN CUT THE ROPE TIED TO YOUR WAIST!'…

There was a moment of silence, and the man decided to hold on to the rope with all his strength.

The rescue team tells that, the next day a climber was found dead and frozen. His body hanging from a rope, his hands holding tight to it. ONLY 10 FEET AWAY FROM THE GROUND!…

My Friend, how attached are you to your rope? Will you let go?

Don't ever doubt the things from God. You never should say that He has forgotten or abandoned you. Don't ever think that He does not take care of you. Remember that He is always holding you with His right hand. _Is(a). 41:13

If this message was a blessing to you, share it with the ones you love. God Bless you...

了然加註：原文末段「Don't ever doubt the things from God. You never should say that He has forgotten or abandoned you. Don't ever think that He does not take care of you. Remember that He is always holding you with His right hand.」出自於舊約聖經 The Book of the Prophet Isaiah、以賽亞書中的第 41 章、13 節；本文的中譯「『捨與得』往往都是最讓人猶豫與掙扎的！人生在世，有的時候就是要能夠懂得「捨」的道理！」並非字譯、而是意譯。

1/16/2004 初稿 7/6/2006 改寫、上載