勇气的声音

佚名

know what courage sounds like. I heard it on a flight I took six years ago, and only now can I speak of it without tears filling eyes at the memory.

When our L1011 left the Orlando airport that Friday morning, we were a chipper, high-energy group. The early morning flights hosted mainly professional people going to Atlanta for a day or two of business. As I looked around, I saw lots of designer suits, CEO-caliber haircuts, leather briefcases and all the trimmings of seasoned business travelers. I settled back for some light reading and the brief flight ahead.

Immediately upon takeoff, it was clear that something was amiss. The aircraft was bumping up and down and jerking left to right. All the experienced travelers, including me, looked around with knowing grins. Our communal looks acknowledged to one another that we had experienced minor problems and disturbances before. If you fly much, you see these things and learn to act blase about them.

We did not remain blase for long. Minutes after we were airborne, our plane began dipping wildly and one wing lunged downward. The plane climbed higher but that didnt help. The pilot soon made a grave announcement.

“We are having some difficulties,” he said. “At this time, it appears we have no nose-wheel steering. Our indicators show that our hydraulic system has failed. We will be returning to the Orlando airport at this time. Because of the lack of hydraulics, we are not sure our landing gear will lock, so the flight attendants will prepare you for a bumpy landing.”

In other words, we were about to crash. The flight attendants helped people get into position and comforted those who were already hysterical.

As I looked at the faces of my fellow business travelers, I was stunned by the changes I saw in their faces. Many looked visibly frightened now. Even the most stoic looked grim and ashen. Everyone lost composure.

Then, I heard a still calm voice, a womans voice, speaking in an absolutely normal conversational tone. There was no tremor or tension. It was a lovely tone. I had to find the source of this voice.

All around, people cried. Many wailed and screamed. A few of the men held onto their composure by gripping armrests and clenching teeth, but their fear was written all over them. Although my faith kept me from hysteria, I could not have spoken so calmly, so sweetly at this moment as the assuring voice I heard. Finally I saw her.

In the midst of all the chaos, a mother was talking, just talking, to her child. The woman, in her unremarkable looking in any other way, was staring into the face of her daughter, who looked to be four years old. The child listened closely, sensing the importance of her mothers words. The mothers gaze held the child so fixed and intent that she seemed untouched by the sounds of grief and fear around her.

I strained to hear what this mother was telling her child. I was compelled to hear. I needed to hear. Finally, I leaned over and by some miracle could hear this soft, sure voice with the tone of reassurance. Over and over again, the mother said, “I love you so much. Do you know for sure that I love you more than anything？”

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“Yes, Mommy,” the little girl said.

“And remember, no matter what happens, that I love you always, and that you are a good girl. Sometimes things happen that are not your fault. You are still a good girl and my love will always be with you.”

Then the mother put her body over her daughters, strapped the seat belt over both of them and prepared to crash. For no earthly reason, our landing gear held and our touchdown was not the tragedy it seemed destined to be. It was over in seconds.

The voice I heard that day never wavered, never acknowledged doubt, and maintained an evenness that seemed emotionally and physically impossible. Not one of us hardened business people could have spoken without a tremoring voice. Only the greatest courage, undergirded by even greater love, could have borne that mother up and lifted her above the chaos around her. That mom showed me what a real hero looks like. And for those few minutes, I heard the voice of courage.

知道勇气的声音是什么样的，六年前我在飞机上听到了。直到现在，我才可以不落泪地凭着记忆把这个故事讲出来。

那个周五的早上，当我们乘坐的L1011航班飞离奥兰多机场时，飞机上的人们个个精神饱满。搭乘早班飞机的人主要是前往亚特兰大出差一两天的职业人士。我环顾四周，看到很多品牌西装、准经理人式发型、皮质公文包以及各种老练的商务旅行者所用的东西。我向后靠靠身子，准备用读书的方式度过接下来的那段旅程。

起飞不久，飞机很显然出现了一些故障。机身剧烈地上下颠簸、左右晃动。所有有经验的旅行者，包括我在内，都会心地微笑着四下看看。大家同样的表情是在彼此相告：我们经历过这样的小麻烦和混乱情况。如果飞机乘坐多了，你就会遇见这样的事情，就知道该如何应对了。

可是，我们的心没能平静多久。飞机升入空中几分钟后，机身就开始大幅度倾斜，一个机翼朝下。飞机飞得更高了些，可是无济于事。没过多久，飞行员就沮丧地向乘客们作了通报。

他说：“我们现在遇到了一些麻烦。目前看来，似乎是前轮转向装置坏了。指示器显示，飞机的液压系统失灵。我们现在要返回奥兰多机场。由于缺少液压装置，我们不能确定起落架能否固定得住，因此飞机上的乘务人员会帮助你们作好着陆时的防冲击准备。”

换句话说，我们要坠机了。乘务人员帮助乘客做好防冲姿势，并安慰着那些已歇斯底里的人。

当我再看那些因商务出差的旅伴们时，我对他们脸上表情的突变感到惊讶。现在，显然很多人都受到了惊吓，就连那些最有自制力的人，表情也变得严肃起来，面如死灰。每个人都乱了方寸。

接着，我听到一个女人的声音，她的声音依然是镇定的。她正在以一种绝对正常的、聊天式的声调说着话。她的声音中没有颤抖，也没有紧张，就连声调也是那样悦耳。我得弄明白这声音是谁发出来的。

四周的人们都在哭泣。很多人都在哀号和尖叫，还有几个人死死地抓着椅子把手，紧咬着牙来保持镇定，然而，恐惧早已在他们身上展露无遗。尽管我的信仰使我没有变得歇斯底里，但是此刻，我已经不能镇定地、像我听到的那个声音那样悦耳地、充满信心地讲话了。最后，我看到了她。

混乱中，一位母亲正在与她的孩子交谈着。她相貌平平，正全神贯注地看着自己大约四岁的女儿的脸。孩子倾听着，察觉到了母亲所说的话的分量。母亲如此专注的目光，似乎能让女孩不受到周围哀伤和恐惧的声音的影响。

我努力去听清楚母亲对孩子所说的话。我必须听到，我需要听到。我弯下身子，终于奇迹般地听到了那温柔的、自信的、令人放心的声音。一遍又一遍，母亲告诉女儿：“我很爱你。你相信妈妈爱你胜过一切吗？”

“相信，妈妈。”小姑娘回答。

“不管发生什么事，你都要记住，妈妈会一直爱你。你是个好孩子。有些事情的发生并不是你的错，你还是个好孩子，我的爱将会永远与你同在。”

说完，母亲俯身遮住女儿的身体，用座位上的安全带将两个人系在一起，作好了防冲准备。然而，飞机着陆传动装置竟然奇迹般地挺住了，看似注定的着陆惨案没有发生。潜在的危险在数秒之内结束。

我在那天听到的那个声音，自始至终都没有颤抖过，没有半点犹豫，一直保持着情绪上和身体上令人难以置信的平和。我们这些坚毅的商人，没有一个可以保持自己的讲话声音不颤抖。只有最伟大的勇气，在更伟大的爱的鼓舞下，才能支持住母亲，使她超然于周围的混乱。那位母亲向我展示出了真正的英雄形象。就在那短短的几分钟内，我听到了勇气的声音。

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