坎迪·张：在死之前，我想......

Martin

我们周围的人能以很多种方式来帮我们把生活变得更美好 我们不一定能常常碰到我们的邻居 所以即使我们生活在同一片公共空间里 邻居的智慧也难以被传递开来

所以在过去的几年里，我尝试着以不同的方式 如用贴纸、展板和粉笔这些简单工具 来在公共空间里与邻居分享更多的东西 这些项目都源自于我自己的一些疑问，如我的邻居得付多少房租？ （笑声）我们怎么样能够从邻里间互借到更多的东西 同时避免在不合时宜的时候敲开对方的门？ 我们怎样能够更好地分享各自的 关于被毁弃的建筑的回忆 并更好地理解我们居住的这片土地？ 怎样更能表达我们对空置的店面的期待 使我们的社区能反映出 我们现在的需求和梦想？

我现时住在新奥尔良 并深深地爱上了这座城市 那些生生不息的巨型橡树总是可以抚慰我的灵魂 几百年来，情侣、醉汉和追梦人们 总会稍息在树影下 我深信这一座充满着音乐律动的城市 每当有人打喷嚏时， 我都感觉新奥尔良来了一只游行队伍（笑声） 新奥尔良拥有世界上很多最漂亮的建筑 但同时，她也是全美拥有最多 废弃建筑的城市

我住在这栋房子附近，我就想如何让它 在这片社区里成为一个更好的地方 也思考了另一件事 这件事彻底改变了我的人生

2009年，我失去了一个我挚爱的人 她的名字叫琼，对我来讲，她就像我的母亲一样 她死得很突然，没有人预料到 然后我思考了很多关于死亡的事 然后这件事让我对我拥有的时光怀着深切致意 并且 显现出了那些 对我的生命有真正意义的东西 但我却很难在日常生活中保持这种心态 我觉得人们太容易被日复一日的琐碎困住 而忘记什么才是真正重要的事

我于是在一些新老朋友的帮助下 把这栋废弃的房子的一面墙 做成了一个巨型黑板 我在上面写满了同一道填空题 “在死之前，我想??” 所以每一个路过的人都可以捡起一根粉笔 在公共场合里留下一些他们人生的痕迹 且来分享他们内心深处的愿望

我并不知道该从这个实验里期待些什么 但是第二天，整个墙壁都被填满了 而且不断有人添加新的答案 我想跟大家分享一些人们在那面墙上 写的东西

“在死之前，我想为我的海盗行为接受审判”（笑声） “在死之前，我想跨过国际日期变更线” “在死之前，我想在上百万的观众面前唱歌” “在死之前，我想种一棵树” “在死之前，我想过隐居的生活” “在死之前，我想再抱她一次” “在死之前，我想成为某个人的骑士” “在死之前，我想要做完全真实的自己”

这个本来被遗忘的建筑变成了一个极具建设性的地方 这些人的希望和梦想 让我放声大笑，也黯然落泪 也曾在我经历困境的时候给我安慰 这让我们相信自己并不孤单 让我们对邻居有了全新的 启发心智的了解 这为我们营造了一个反省和思考的空间 也提醒我们在不断成长改变的过程中 什么才是最为重要的

这个黑板是我去年做的，然后我就不断收到 一些热情的人们给我发的信息 说想在他们的社区里也设立一面这样的墙壁 所以我和我的同事们就做了一个小型工具箱 现在，这面墙壁已经遍布全球 包括哈萨克斯坦，南非 澳大利亚 阿根廷等地 这些迹象表明，如果我们能有一个 表达自己的意愿并与他人分享的机会 那么公共空间将发挥巨大的作用

我们所拥有的最珍贵的两样东西，一个是时间 还有一个，是与他人的联系 在这个物欲横流的时代里 努力坚持自我，铭记人生的短暂与生命的脆弱 变得比以往任何时代都更重要 我们总是没有勇气谈论死亡 甚至没有勇气去想着死亡 但是我意识到，为死亡做心理准备 是我们能够做到的最有力的事情之一 思考死亡能够让你对自己的人生有更清醒的认识

公共空间可以更好的体现到底什么对我们是真正重要的 无论是对个人来说或者对于整个社区来说 有了更多的方式来分享我们的希望，恐惧和经历 我们身边的人不仅能够帮助我们创造更美好的地方 更帮助我们过上更美好的生活 谢谢（掌声）

（掌声） 谢谢（掌声） （掌声）


There are a lot of ways the people around us can help improve our lives. We don't bump into every neighbor, so a lot of wisdom never gets passed on, though we do share the same public spaces.

So over the past few years, I've tried ways to share more with my neighbors in public space, using simple tools like stickers, stencils and chalk. And these projects came from questions I had, like, how much are my neighbors paying for their apartments? (Laughter) How can we lend and borrow more things without knocking on each other's doors at a bad time? How can we share more of our memories of our abandoned buildings, and gain a better understanding of our landscape? And how can we share more of our hopes for our vacant storefronts, so our communities can reflect our needs and dreams today?

Now, I live in New Orleans, and I am in love with New Orleans. My soul is always soothed by the giant live oak trees, shading lovers, drunks and dreamers for hundreds of years, and I trust a city that always makes way for music. (Laughter) I feel like every time someone sneezes, New Orleans has a parade. (Laughter) The city has some of the most beautiful architecture in the world, but it also has one of the highest amounts of abandoned properties in America.

I live near this house, and I thought about how I could make it a nicer space for my neighborhood, and I also thought about something that changed my life forever.

In 2009, I lost someone I loved very much. Her name was Joan, and she was a mother to me, and her death was sudden and unexpected. And I thought about death a lot, and this made me feel deep gratitude for the time I've had, and brought clarity to the things that are meaningful to my life now. But I struggle to maintain this perspective in my daily life. I feel like it's easy to get caught up in the day-to-day, and forget what really matters to you.

So with help from old and new friends, I turned the side of this abandoned house into a giant chalkboard and stenciled it with a fill-in-the-blank sentence: "Before I die, I want to ... " So anyone walking by can pick up a piece of chalk, reflect on their lives, and share their personal aspirations in public space.

I didn't know what to expect from this experiment, but by the next day, the wall was entirely filled out, and it kept growing. And I'd like to share a few things that people wrote on this wall.

"Before I die, I want to be tried for piracy." (Laughter) "Before I die, I want to straddle the International Date Line." "Before I die, I want to sing for millions." "Before I die, I want to plant a tree." "Before I die, I want to live off the grid." "Before I die, I want to hold her one more time." "Before I die, I want to be someone's cavalry." "Before I die, I want to be completely myself."

So this neglected space became a constructive one, and people's hopes and dreams made me laugh out loud, tear up, and they consoled me during my own tough times. It's about knowing you're not alone. It's about understanding our neighbors in new and enlightening ways. It's about making space for reflection and contemplation, and remembering what really matters most to us as we grow and change.

I made this last year, and started receiving hundreds of messages from passionate people who wanted to make a wall with their community, so my civic center colleagues and I made a tool kit, and now walls have been made in countries around the world, including Kazakhstan, South Africa, Australia, Argentina and beyond. Together, we've shown how powerful our public spaces can be if we're given the opportunity to have a voice and share more with one another.

Two of the most valuable things we have are time and our relationships with other people. In our age of increasing distractions, it's more important than ever to find ways to maintain perspective and remember that life is brief and tender. Death is something that we're often discouraged to talk about or even think about, but I've realized that preparing for death is one of the most empowering things you can do. Thinking about death clarifies your life.

Our shared spaces can better reflect what matters to us as individuals and as a community, and with more ways to share our hopes, fears and stories, the people around us can not only help us make better places, they can help us lead better lives. Thank you. (Applause)

(Applause) Thank you. (Applause) (Applause)

原文地址：http://candychang.com/before-i-die-in-nola/