【卡傳@UCR】小小念恩傳遞大大祝福
2016.12.02編輯
The only objective on behalf of Bliss and Wisdom?
“To let people express their gratitude to those they love … and to encourage happiness through gratitude by doing small things like these,” shared Mike Shih, an advisor for BWI at UCR.
福青社舉辦這個活動的目的是什麼呢?
美國加州大學河濱分校 (UCR)福青社的指導老師Mike Shih分享:「讓大家對愛的人表達感恩…以小小行動體驗念恩所帶來的快樂。」
Maggie Lee, president of Bliss and Wisdom International, helps students write “Thank You” cards to friends, family and loved ones. Jimmy Lai/HIGHLANDER
美國福青社社長Maggie Lee鼓勵同學們寫感恩卡送給家人、朋友以及所愛的人。
Every Wednesday, UCR students are accustomed to seeing numerous student organizations host stands near the Bell Tower to promote their own causes. It’s usually the same ordeal every week — club officers or volunteers wait to be talked to or stand up to hold signs and shout catchy slogans, then students approach them and hopefully walk away with a better understanding of the organization.
每逢星期三,加州大學河濱分校(UCR)的鐘塔前總會看到許多社團擺攤,提倡自己社團的理想,社團幹部或義工不是待在攤位,就是拿著牌子喊著響亮的口號,吸引同學靠近攤位、多認識他們的社團一些。
On Wednesday, Nov. 16, however, something extraordinary was going on.
但是在11月16日星期三,一個不同以往的景象出現了。
Not only was Bliss and Wisdom International (BWI) tabling for a reason besides solely informing students about their cause (or at least, that was not the main reason, for some students were still curious about it), but they were also going out of their way to provide a range of different cards, colored markers, cute stickers, ribbons and other decorations for students to write their own “Thank You” cards to friends, family members and anyone else they wished to address. They even handed out free, organic and vegan snacks for anyone working on a card or walking by to indulge in before heading back to class or continuing on with their busy day.
美國福智青年社擺攤位的目的不純粹只是介紹社團的宗旨,(雖然一些同學仍對他們的社團感到好奇,但這並不是主要目的),他們盡其所能地提供各式各樣的卡片、色筆、可愛貼紙、五顏六色的緞帶,還有其他裝飾品,為的就是讓同學寫一張感謝卡,送給他們的家人、朋友、以及任何想念的人。社團還發送免費有機蔬食點心,讓寫卡片或路過的人一飽口福,充飽電之後再回去上課。
All of it was free, including the mailing (which BWI generously decided to pay for entirely), and open for all students to participate in, with the coordinators even allowing people to write more than one card. The only objective on behalf of Bliss and Wisdom?
而這些全部免費,包含郵寄服務(福青社慷慨地決定支付所有的郵寄費用),校園所有同學都可以參加,一個人還可以寫好幾張卡片。福智社舉辦這個活動唯一的目的是?
“To let people express their gratitude to those they love … and to encourage happiness through gratitude by doing small things like these,” shared Mike Shih, an advisor for BWI at UCR.
美國加州大學河濱分校(UCR)的福青社指導老師Mike Shih說:「讓大家對愛的人表達感恩 … 鼓勵大家以小小念恩行動體驗它帶來的幸福。」
Bliss and Wisdom International was founded in 1992 by Late Venerable Master Ri Chang, a Buddhist monk from Taiwan who believed that the only way we can heal a world corrupt with violence and cruelty is to cultivate a kind-hearted community. He believed in doing so by educating community members on topics such as health and the environment and engaging them in various cultural activities.
美國福智青年社是由一位台灣的上日下常老和尚於1992年創立,老和尚相信唯有透過建立良善的社會風氣,才能化解世界上的暴力與衝突,透過倡導大眾學習健康及環境等課題、參加各種文化交流活動,以期能夠達到上述目標。
One of the activities that BWI promotes every year is the Mother’s Day Card Event, which accepts card designs from students around the globe and are distributed to multiple campuses that have BWI on their campus.
「母親節卡片傳恩情」是美國福青社每年舉辦的活動之一,邀請全球各地的學生設計卡片,並將卡片分送至設立福青社的校園中。
According to Shih, the Mother’s Day Card Event spread such a good-hearted message and has been a success since the club opened at UCR eight years ago that the club decided to expand the event to Thanksgiving week as well.
社團指導老師Shih表示,「母親節卡片傳恩情」的活動傳遞了良善的訊息,自從社團在校內成立8年以來,持續受到同學們的熱烈回響,因此才決定在感恩節週也舉辦卡傳的活動。
Maggie Lee, president of UCR’s BWI, stated that most of the letters that she has noticed have been sent to parents as well as grandparents, and when observing the reactions of the card-writers, she realized, “We are spreading positivity and happiness to our fellow students by doing something simple like this.”
美國福青社社長Maggie Lee表示,同學的卡片幾乎都是寫給父母或爺爺奶奶,看到同學的反應讓她了解:「透過這樣簡單的舉動,我們能夠將幸福及正面的能量傳遞給學校的同學。」
Another advisor, Jessica Kuo, delightfully stated, “Everyone writing the cards are happy and full of positive energy.” When discussing the people who she thinks may have appreciated the “Thank You” card event the most, she added, “It helps those who are far from home. Their families get to know how they’re doing because we also take Polaroid pictures of them with their cards.” A Polaroid camera at that the card-making station was offered by which students could take a picture of themselves holding their card and include the instantly printed photo in their envelope.
另外一位指導老師Jessica Kuo開心地說:「每個同學寫卡片的時候感覺都很快樂,而且充滿正面能量。」當談到這個活動讓同學最感動的是什麼?Jessica補充:「有些同學離家很遠,我們除了讓同學寫卡片,也讓他們寄照片回家,這樣家人就可以知道他們過得好不好。」原來,社團還貼心地準備了一台拍立得照相機,同學只要拿著卡片站在鏡頭前喀擦一聲,照片就立刻洗出來,跟著卡片一併寄出。
One of the students leaning over the table and contently scribbling in a card was second-year computer science major Melissa Chou, who wrote to her sister who goes to school in Santa Barbara. She revealed, “I don’t get to see her that much and sending her a letter is different than emailing her.” She also mentioned that she was not sure if she would see her sister this Thanksgiving, so sending a handwritten card to her would at least let her know that she was thinking of her during the holiday season.
就讀資工系二年級的Melissa Chou坐在攤位前,滿足地寫著卡片,準備寄給在聖塔芭芭拉念書的姐妹。她說:「我們不常見面,寄卡片跟寫e-mail的感覺很不一樣。」Melissa也不確定今年的感恩節是否會見到她,因此想藉著一張手寫的卡片,讓她知道自己在感恩假期中仍然惦記著她。
Another card-writing participant, third-year psychology major Rosie Castro, who wrote a letter to her grandmother, shared, “I feel like she has always been there for me and with college always being busy, I don’t get to see her that often. A letter is more personal and grandmas are suckers for letters.”
另一名心理學系三年級的同學Rosie Castro也來攤位寫卡片,她想把卡片寄給祖母,Rosie說:「奶奶一直都在陪伴我,但我上大學之後變忙了,我們就比較少見面。親手寫的信比較有感情,而且奶奶們都愛死了親自收到信!」
Castro also held a card for her sister, who she said is in college as well and also really busy. “This is a nice gift for her with college being so stressful,” she stated.
Castro也寫了一張卡片給同樣在唸大學、非常忙碌的姐妹。她說:「大學生活壓力很大,卡片會是個很棒的禮物。」
Commenting on the letters and their impact altogether, Castro reflected, “I’m excited to see how my grandma and sister react. People don’t send cards very often.”
談到卡片帶來的影響,Castro想了一下說:「我很期待看到奶奶和姐妹的反應,畢竟現在的人很少在寄卡片了。」
Until 3 p.m. on Wednesday and again on Thursday, Nov. 17, BWI accumulated dozens of smiles on behalf of students who walked away from the stand with a freshly written letter in their hands or turned into one of the BWI officers to be mailed, knowing they had expressed their gratitude in some way. “It gives a nice feeling on both sides, not only to those receiving the letters but those writing them as well,” voiced Lee. By allowing students to send messages of appreciation to loved ones both near and far, BWI also sent a message — one that was addressed to the world, stating that all it takes is one letter of thanks to someone else in order to greatly acknowledge the amazing blessings we have in our lives.
星期三至下午三點以及11月17號星期四,福智青年社送走了幾十位滿臉笑容的同學,他們拿著剛寫好的卡片從攤位離開,或是交給福青社幹部免費投遞,臉上流露著感恩的喜悅。社長Lee說:「卡片傳恩情讓雙方都感受到溫暖,不僅收到卡片的人,寫的人也一樣充滿感動。」美國福青社透過「卡片傳恩情」的活動,不僅讓同學將感恩傳遞給周圍及遠方的親友,也傳遞了全世界這樣的訊息:只要一張感恩卡,就能感受到我們生命中擁有如此美好的幸福。