送花,请及时

送花，请及时，不要等人死了才送——多么充满讽刺意味。文字简单易懂，却蕴含了大智慧，作者略带调侃的幽默，引发深思，那么就让我们来细细品读其真知灼见吧~

Here’s a quick question: did you ever notice what happens at a funeral? You know, someone dies and everyone sends flowers or cards. They show up at the funeral and they say nice things about the departed. And, you know, if the departed’s there, which I’m sure they are, you know, sometimes you wonder what they might be saying. Maybe they’d say something like, “Wow, it sure would have been nice if you would have said that to me when I was alive.” Or maybe something like, “Wow, look at all these cards and flowers. I didn’t know that these people actually cared about me.”

Look at all the people you live with or interact with now, today. How often do you say “Thank you”? How often do you stop what you’re doing, which is essentially little things that make you appear to be busy, and call someone and tell them, “Thanks” or even “I love you”? Maybe you see it in the corporate world all the time: Someone retires and they throw him a party, and people come up and say, “Boy, it was great working with you. You always did such a great job.” I wonder if those same people ever said that to the person while they were actually working at their job. Probably not.

I know, better late than never, but…really? What difference do you think it makes to the person who is walking out of the office door, never to return again, to hear from someone, “Boy, it was great working with you.” if they never said that to them when they were actually working there? What difference does it make when I’m dead, that you thought I was a great friend if you never told me that when I was alive?

先来想想这个简单的问题：你有没有注意过在葬礼上发生了什么？你知道，有人死了，然后每个人都送来鲜花或卡片。他们出席葬礼，说着死者的好话。而且,你知道，如果死者就在那里，我确信他们在，你知道，有时你也想知道他们会说些什么。也许他们会这样说：“哇，如果在我还活着的时候你跟我说这些话，那该多好啊。”或者诸如这样的：“哇，看看这些卡片和鲜花，我从来都不知道这些人真的在乎我。”

想一想那些和你一起生活，或现在与你一起打交道的人，就今天。你多久会说一次“谢谢”？你多久会停下手上的事儿，那些让你看起来很忙，实质上却是不太重要的事情，对某个人说声，“谢谢”或甚至是“我爱你”？也许在大公司里，你会经常看到这样的现象：有人退休，然后公司会给他举办一个派对，派对上有人会来对他说：“哥们，能跟你一起共事真的是一件很不错的事情，因为你工作非常出色。”我想知道，在他们真正一起工作的时候，这些人是否曾经对这位当事人说过这样的话。可能没有。

我知道，迟做总比不做好，但……真的是这样吗？当一个人正走出办公室，永远不再回来的时候，听到有人这样跟他说：“哥们，能跟你一起共事真的是一件很不错的事情。”但是在他们真正一起工作的时候却没有这样说。你觉得对那个人来说，这话说与不说有什么区别？想一想，在我死了的时候，你觉得我是你一个很棒的朋友，但是在我生前，你却从未告诉过我，你觉得这话说了有意义吗？

What about people you don’t know? You know, I’ve seen people order waiters around like they were slaves, or ignoring them when they brought something to the table the guest requested. No “thank you, ” just do my bidding. Isn’t it amazing? They don’t say anything. The waiter drops it right down in front of them, something that they asked for, they say nothing, no “thank you,” anything. How ignorant!

I was just at the airport, and an airline employee went out of her way to help a passenger find the right gate. I mean, this airline employee stopped what she was doing, walked this woman out to the monitor, showed her where her flight was located on the monitor, and then walked her in the right direction. And you know what, that passenger didn’t even say “thank you.” They just kept walking. The airline employee just stood there, shrugged her shoulders, and went back to what she was doing before, which was helping other passengers. Would it have killed that passenger, who was lost, to say “thank you” ? No. Ignorance.

Don’t be ignorant. That’s harsh, isn’t it? Sometimes I gotta wake you up. Take some time today to be kind. After all, that’s what we’re talking about is kindness: kindness to people you don’t know who do things for ya; kindness to those people you do know who do things for ya; and kindness to those who do little or nothing for you except they are who they are. They’re your family, your friends, your neighbours, people that you say “I love you” when they’re dead.

I always say, just give me kindness while I’m alive. Give me flowers while I’m alive. If you want to say something bad, wait ’til I’m dead.

对于那些你不认识的人呢？你知道，我经常看到客人用命令的语气跟侍者说话，就像那些侍者是他们的奴隶一样，或者在侍者拿来客人要的东西时又不理会他们。没有“谢谢”，只是一味地下命令。这难道还不够令人吃惊么？他们什么都不说。侍者把客人要的东西放在他们面前，但是他们什么都没说，没有“谢谢”之类的。多么没有教养！

我曾经在机场看到这样的情景：一位航空公司工作人员竭力帮助一位乘客找她该去的登机口。我的意思是，这位航空公司工作人员停下她手上的工作，带着这位女士走到显示屏幕前，在显示屏幕上告诉她航班所在的位置，然后带她往那个方向走。你知道吗？那位乘客甚至没有说声“谢谢”。他们只是继续往前走着。那位航空公司工作人员只是站在那里，耸了耸肩，然后回到之前做的事情上，那就是继续帮助其他乘客。难道那位迷路乘客说声“谢谢”会要了她的命吗？当然不会，是没教养。

不要失礼。这话很刺耳，对吧？有时我需要提醒你。今天花一点时间做一些善事吧。毕竟，我们谈论的是友善：请友好对待那些为你做事的陌生人；请友好对待那些你认识的并为你做事的人；请友好对待那些为你做了小事或什么都没有为你做的人，因为他们本性使然。他们是你的家人，你的朋友，你的邻居们，他们是在死后你会说“我爱你”的人。

我总是说，请在我还活着的时候，友善待我。请在我还活着的时候，给我送花。如果你想说点什么坏话，那请等到我死了之后吧。