It was Sunday. I had one last patient to see. I approached her room in a hurry and stood at the doorway. She was an elderly woman, sitting on the edge of the bed, struggling to put socks on her swollen feet. I spoke quickly to the nurse and scanned her chart, noting that she was in stable condition.
I leaned on the bed, looking down at her. She asked if I could help her to put on her socks. Instead, I said, “How are you feeling? Your blood sugar and blood pressure were high, but they're better today. The nurse mentioned you're anxious to see your son, who's visiting you today. It's nice to have a family visit from far away. I bet you really look forward to seeing him.”
She stopped me with a stern, commanding voice. “Sit down, Doctor. This is my story, not your story.”
I was surprised and embarrassed. I sat down. I helped her with the socks. She began to tell me that her only son lived near to her house, but she had not seen him for five years. She believed that the stress of this had contributed greatly to her health problems. After hearing her story and putting on her socks, I asked if there was anything else I could do for her. She shook her head and smiled. All she wanted me to do was listen.
Each story is different. Some are detailed, and some are vague. Some are true, some others not. Yet all those things do not really matter. What matters to the storyteller is that the story is heard —without interruption, assumption or judgment.
【日积月累】
-swollen adj. 膨胀的，涨起的，浮肿的
-stern adj. 严厉的，坚定的，严格的
-assumption n. 设想，假定
【参考译文】
倾听是一剂良药
那天是星期天。我还剩一位病人要去查看。我疾步来到她的病房，站在门口。她是位老妇人，正坐在床边，试图把袜子套进肿胀的脚上。我快速地和护士说了几句，扫了下她的病历，发现她状况很稳定。
我靠近床边，低头看着她。她问我能不能帮她穿袜子。而我却说：“你觉得怎么样？你的血液里的含糖量和血压都高，但是今天比平常要好。护士说今天你儿子要来看望你，你有点紧张。有家人那么大老远跑过来看你真好。我猜你一定很期待看到他。”
她用严厉命令的语气打断了我：“坐下，医生。这是我的故事，不是你的。”
我既意外又尴尬。我坐下来帮她穿袜子。她告诉我她唯一的儿子住得离家很近，但她有5年没有见过他了。她想这件事带来的压力是造成她健康出状况的主要原因。听完她的故事，帮她穿上袜子后，我问还能为她做点什么。她摇摇头，笑了。她需要我做的就是坐下来倾听。
每个故事都不同。有些很详细，有些很简略。有些真实，有些虚构。但这都不重要。对于讲故事人来说重要的是有人听——而且不插嘴、不臆想、不判断。
【人生启迪】
现在的人们多以自我为中心，开口闭口都是“我”。很多时候我们在与别人交谈的时候只是为了找个倾泻的出口，而当别人开口时，耳朵就自动闭合了。把“我”先放一边吧，用心听听别人的话。你不知道有多少人多么感激有你在倾听。