我終於明白了電影《百萬美元寶貝》的結局。教練（克林特·伊斯特伍德飾演的角色） 做出這樣令人心碎的決定，結束一位腦部受損的女拳擊手（由希拉裏·斯旺克飾演）的生命的？他憑什麽做出這樣的選擇？他是如何下得了手的？
將近二十年後，在聽到瓊瑤的自殺和她丈夫悲慘的最後時光後，我終於開始理解了。瓊瑤希望她的丈夫能夠有一個有尊嚴的死亡，而不是在維持生命的機器上痛苦地拖延下去。然而，她與丈夫的子女之間爆發了一場激烈的公開衝突，最終不得不放棄自己的願望。
回顧這兩個故事，我意識到，做出這樣的決定必須滿足兩個重要條件：
理解
要果斷地采取行動，必須深刻理解所愛之人的真實願望。女拳擊手是一位30歲的女服務員，後來成為了一名拳擊手。她絕不可能想象自己會無助地躺在醫院的病床上，逐漸衰敗。教練對女拳擊手此有著深深的理解。同樣，在超過40年的婚姻生活中，瓊瑤完全明白她丈夫的願望——擺脫依靠機器維持的生命。
愛
隻有深沉的愛才能推動一個人采取如此極端的行動。教練清楚地知道，他通過向希拉裏的靜脈注射毒劑所做的行為幾乎等同於謀殺。瓊瑤本可以保持沉默，避免與她丈夫的子女發生衝突，但正是因為她深愛著丈夫，她才會如此堅決地爭取。無論是在電影還是現實中，愛與理解讓他們無法忍受所愛之人承受痛苦，即便這些人已經失去了意識，無法感知自己的痛楚。
某種意義上，瓊瑤的丈夫是幸運的，因為他擁有一位如此理解他、深愛他的人。
I finally understand the ending of movie Million Dollar Baby. How could Clint Eastwood's character make such heart-wrenching decision to end the life of a brain-damaged boxer (played by Hilary Swank)? What gave him the right to do that? How could he go through with it?
Almost 20 years later, after hearing the story of 瓊瑤's suicide and her husband's tragic last days, I finally began to understand. 瓊瑤 wanted her husband to have a dignified death rather than prolonging his suffering on life support. However, she faced a bitter public conflict with his children and ultimately had to give up on her wishes.
Reflecting on these two stories, I realized that for such actions to take place, two essential elements must be present:
-
Understanding
To act decisively, one must deeply understand the desires of the person they love. Hilary Swanks character, a 30-year-old waitress turned boxer, could never have imagined herself wasting away in a hospital bed. Clint Eastwoods character knew this deeply. Similarly, after more than 40 years of marriage, 瓊瑤 knew exactly what her husband wanted—freedom from a life sustained by machines. -
Love
Only profound love can compel someone to take such an extraordinary step. Eastwoods character knowingly committed an act akin to murder by injecting a toxin into Hilary's veins. 瓊瑤 could have stayed silent and avoided conflict with her husband's children, but she fought because she loved him so much. In both cases, their love and understanding of the person made it unbearable to see them suffer, even if they were no longer conscious of their pain.
In a way, 瓊瑤's husband was so fortunate to have someone who understood him so completely.
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