Occasionally my mother used to announce that she was going to take time out from the day's activities "to rest," she would say, "and to invite my soul." She always put the phrase in quotes, in order, I expect, to divert the facetious remarks which might arise from the worldly or practical-minded folk within earshot or disarm those who might feel "soul" was a Sunday word not to be used in everyday conversation.
But she meant to do exactly what she said, "invite my soul."
The pressure of the modern world is so great upon us today that we find little time for rest, physical rest, let alone leisure for spiritual reception. Thus, when we take the word "soul" out of its Sunday clothes it is unfamiliar to us, we don't know it very well.
We may have different interpretations of the meaning of the word; to some it may mean "conscience," to others that part of our being given us with life.
I believe with Dr. Schweitzer in the sanctity of life, that the miracle called life, which cannot be manufactured by man, does come from a source which we call God, and that life and soul are the same. And yet when I am asked point-blank, "What do you believe?" I hedge and play for time in my confusion by saying, "Well, now, that's a pretty big question."
It is not altogether the pressure of the modern world which has clouded our comprehension; "the simple faith of our fathers" got a nasty jolt when Copernicus propounded his theory that the sun and stars did not revolve around the earth and that therefore man was not the sole object of celestial concern.
Darwin dealt another blow and Freud's search into the operations of our hidden selves shook our conviction that man could be made in the image of God.
It might be said that such matters affect only dogma and not belief, and yet the mounting complexities of man's discoveries about himself and the world he lives in increase so with the years it is little wonder man cries out for something simple and enduring in which to believe.
As in moments of great grief the reeling emotions steady themselves by concentrating upon small physical occupations - the careful tying of a shoelace, the straightening of a crooked picture on the wall, the tidy folding of a napkin - so I believe, in this heartbreaking world, in tending to the simple familiar chores which lie at hand.
I believe I must keep my doorstep clean, I must tidy up my own backyard. I need keep only the two great commandments to live by: to respect the Giver of Life, and my duty towards my neighbor.
I believe that people deeply revere these two commandments (upon which hang all the laws and the prophets) and suffer personal distress when they are broken. When the property owners in South San Francisco refuse to let a Chinese family move into their district, when flaming crosses are burned and when the homes of decent people are bombed, we are all aware that our own doorsteps have been sullied and the human neighborhood besmirched.
If I am too puny to grasp the cosmic contours I believe I can at leave live my faith within my own small orbit, gaining in strength from others until that time when all men can rest - and invite their souls.
从前，我母亲不断会发布她要在天天的事务中抽出点时间来“休息”一下——“我要招待自己的灵魂”，她说这些话时老是用手势做个引号。我猜这是由于她不想被那些圆滑或讲究实际的家伙听到后开她的玩笑，或是让那些感到“灵魂”这个词仅仅在星期日才会用的人释怀。
但母亲所想的和她所说确实实是一回事，也就是“要招待自己的灵魂”。
现代社会带给我们太多的压力，让我们简直找不到时间让身材得到休息，更不必说抽时光来招待自己的心灵。所以，当我们脱下“灵魂”这个词的宗教外衣，它就变得如此生疏，我们并未真正懂得它。
我们对“灵魂”这个词也许有不同的懂得：有人认为它指的是“良心”，有人认为它是指我们生命中生而有之的那一局部。
我认同史怀哲医生的观点，认为生命是神圣的，生命这一奇观不可能来自人类的发明，它的源头就是我们所说的上帝，而性命和灵魂本就是一体的。可是，当有人开门见山地问我，“你的信仰是什么?”我不免有些困惑，只好支支吾吾、闪耀其词地说，“哦，这个嘛，这是个很复杂的问题”。
我们意识上的迷惑并不完整来自古代社会带来的压力。哥白尼提出太阳跟星辰并非缭绕着地球转，这一实践重大摇动了“咱们祖辈单纯的信奉”，如斯一来，人类不再是上天独一的眷顾。
达尔文又给了人们当头一棒，弗洛伊德对人们暗藏的自我所进行的摸索再次动摇了我们对于人可能是依照上帝的形象所创造出来的信念。
这些兴许只影响到教义而非信奉，但跟着这些年来人们对本身以及世界的认识日趋深刻、日渐庞杂，人们为何需要某种简略而长久的信奉便绝不奇异了。
在极度悲伤的时候，目不转睛做些琐事能够平复自己缭乱的情感——仔细心细地系好鞋带，把墙上倾斜的丹青挂正，或是将餐巾叠得整整洁齐。同样，在这个令人伤心的世界上，我们也应把手边那些司空见惯的日常琐事处置好。
我以为我应该把自家门前打扫清洁，我应当坚持自家后院的整齐。我只须要遵守两条最主要的训诫，一是对造物主心存尊重，一是对邻里尽到职责。
我信任这两条训诫深得人们的敬畏(所有的法律与预言都树立在这两条训诫之上)，而当它们被损坏时人们就会陷入苦痛之中。当三藩市南部的居民不让一家中国人搬入他们社区时，当十字架在熊熊火焰中焚烧、仁慈人的家园被炸毁时，我们都意识到自家的家门口受到了玷辱，人类的社区已变得龌龊。
假如弱小的我无奈控制宇宙的特点，至少我能在本人窄小的轨道里按我的信心生涯，从其余人那里取得力气，直到有一天所有的人都能休息一下——去接待自己的灵魂。
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