原諒：還你一顆自由的心

寬恕他人， 你會發現原來一直被困在牢籠里的那個人是你自己。

The dream startled me so much that I woke up gasping， my hand clutching the 1）comforter. My husband’s gentle snore and the familiar shapes in our darkened bedroom reassured me that what I’d seen wasn’t real.

Even so， the image of my father wearing a red shirt， lying on his back on my living room sofa， would not go away.

The clock on the nightstand told me I needed to go back to sleep， but I hesitated to close my eyes. I feared the dream might continue， that Dad would once again say， “ You haven’t forgiven me yet.” Five words that made my stomach 2）churn.

The next day， I told myself it was ridiculous to allow a dream to unsettle me so. And it was only a dream. Dad had died in 1995， so suddenly that there had been no time to say anything to him. In life， my father would never have worn a red shirt or a red tie， not a red anything. He would also never have asked for forgiveness.

那個夢驚得我整個人彈了起來，抓著床罩喘氣連連。黑暗的臥室里，丈夫輕輕的鼾聲以及熟悉的擺設讓我放下心來：我看到的一切都不是真的。

盡管如此，父親穿著紅色襯衫躺在客廳沙發上的畫面卻一直在我腦海里揮之不去。

床頭幾上的鐘告訴我，我得重新入睡，但我不敢閉上眼睛。我害怕那個夢會繼續，爸爸又會再次說出那句話：“你沒原諒我。”這五個字令我脾胃翻騰。

第二天，我告訴自己，被一個夢弄得如此心神不寧是件非常荒謬的事。這只是一個夢。爸爸在1995年就去世了，他走得那么突然，都沒有時間和他說再見。爸爸在世時，從不會穿紅襯衫或打紅領帶，他不會穿任何紅色的東西。他也從來不會請求原諒。

LET GO OF THAT GRUDGE AND FORGIVE·原諒別人，放過自己

My father had been a complicated man， and during all of my adult years， I had a love/hate relationship with him. He provided the necessities of life in my growing-up years. He was fun to be with some of the time. My three brothers and I knew he loved us， but we also knew that he could turn from loving father to a man who 3）belittled and verbally abused us if we moved outside the lines he’d drawn. We were to believe only what he believed， there was no discussion， no difference of opinion， no respect for our thoughts.

He verbally and emotionally abused my mother even while loving her deeply. Having to watch silently hurt me. None of us suffered physical abuse from him， but we bore the scars of the cutting words hurdled at us during his flares of temper.

He raged like a bull in a Spanish 4）bullring when I wanted to leave the Midwest and teach in California. He disowned my youngest brother because the young college student 5）had the nerve to fall in love with someone of a different race. The bitterness I harbored against my father sat inside me like a weighty rock for many years.

The dream brought it all to the surface. All that day， whenever I passed through my living room， I saw my father in the red shirt lying on the sofa and I shivered inwardly. My sensible self knew he wasn’t really there. I only imagined it.

Days， and then weeks， passed and I still had trouble looking at my sofa. No way would I sit on it！ I churned inside. Why the dream？ Why the red shirt？ Why was he asking for my forgiveness？ I couldn’t put it together， didn’t know what I should do， and it felt like a wound that refused to heal.

One afternoon， I needed a break while cleaning the house， so I fixed a cup of steaming hot tea， grabbed a freshly-baked sugar cookie and sank into my favorite chair. Suddenly， Dad appeared on the sofa. “You still haven’t forgiven me，” he said so softly I had to strain to hear the words.

Then began an 6）epiphany. Instead of all the negative memories about my father that I’d harbored for so many years， I thought about the positives. My girl-scout troop sponsored a Father-Daughter dance and Dad escorted me， beaming with pride. He taught me to be loyal， to love my country and to believe in God. He encouraged me to go to college when our family really could not afford it.

As I sipped my tea， I remembered the wonderful support Dad gave me when my first child was born with severe birth defects. I had a vision of the secondhand bike he’d fixed up like new as a birthday gift for me. I thought about my wedding day when he’d walked me down the aisle while I held on to his strong， steady arm.

I set my cup of tea on the end table and silently forgave him for all the hurt he’d 7）inflicted over the years. It was time to bring some balance to my memories. Besides that， I finally realized that my forgiving him would afford both of us peace of mind. What good， I asked myself， did holding a 8）grudge all these years do？ It didn’t help anyone， most of all， me. Once it was done， Dad disappeared from the sofa. I never saw him again.

Now， the good times about my life with Dad are remembered more than the dark ones. He came to ask my forgiveness， but the one who felt cleansed and free of bitterness turned out to be me.

爸爸是個多重性格的人。在我成年后，我和他的關系可以說是愛恨交織。在我的成長過程中，他給我提供了所有的生活必需品。他有時候也很風趣。我和三個兄弟都知道他很愛我們，但一旦我們做出他無法容忍的事情，他就會從慈父變成一個用語言辱罵、貶低我們的人。他的信仰就是我們的信仰，沒有任何商量的余地，也不允許任何不同的意見，我們的想法得不到任何尊重。

盡管他深愛著媽媽，他也會對她進行言辭激烈的辱罵。而我只能在一旁沉默地看著，這讓我很受傷。他沒有對我們任何一個人使用過暴力，但是當他大發雷霆時，我們都受過他那錐心之言所帶來的傷害。……