OWNED BY PARROT01

The spirit of the late Sir Jimmy Savile was alive and well in the Savile Hall in Leeds two days ago when personal items were sold to benefit his favourite charities. In a 12-hour sale over 350 items raised £330,000 for charity. Rolex and Rolls-Royce, shades and shirts all went under the hammer to help out the needy. Even from beyond the grave, it seems, Jim was still fixing it in what one journalist described as his “final act of charity”.But it wasn’t just the cash which raised the headlines. It was something about the man himself, which stoked the interest and created the sales pitch as most of the articles sold above their evaluation. Savile’s charitable lifestyle exemplified the idea that whatever we actually own in life, our deeds may speak louder and longer. As Jesse Jackson the civil rights cleric once said, “Death is an inescapable reality but good deeds live forever.”The Old Testament account of the first family feud carries the same idea. When God showed his preference for Abel’s sacrifice, his brother Cain became envious and killed him. But in the New Testament book of Hebrews, the writer has a fascinating take on the whole event. “By faith,” he says, “Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.”What we believe, and do about it, lingers after we’re gone. There is after all, something enduring about acts of kindness which Savile captured in his lifetime. He threw himself across our television screens spilling humour, eccentricity and goodwill over viewers and participants alike. His career had its ups and downs and he certainly wasn’t everyone’s favourite character. But even so, the man ran more than 200 marathons and raised over £40 million for charity. All our expressions of human kindness creates small reservoirs in which other people may also flourish. And the wealth we derive from their happiness is a reminder that in the words of Jesus, our lives should never really be measured by the abundance of things we possess. Anyone who took away a memorabilia on Monday should remember that a life worth living is lived for others. It’s loving your neighbour as yourself. And even if you don’t become famous, perhaps you can still be famously kind.

两天前利兹市萨维尔宫一场慈善个人物品拍卖会上， 去世的吉米萨维尔爵士的慈善精神得到发扬光大。12个小时之内350多件物品进行了慈善拍卖，募得善款330,000英镑。 从劳力士到劳斯莱斯，各种物品都在慈善拍卖中用来帮助那些需要的人。吉米即使在坟墓中还在践行着被记者成为‘最后的慈善行动’的义举。让他登上头条的并不仅仅是募得的善款，而是因为萨维尔爵士本人，是他倡导并创建了慈善推销的活动，使得大多数物品都拍得了超过本本身价值的价格。萨维尔的慈善生活方式诠释并发扬了他的理念，即无论我们在生活中拥有什么， 我们的所作所为才能真正反映我们的人生。正如人权教士杰西·杰克逊所说，“死亡难以避免但是善举会永生。”旧约中的第一家庭也有类似的理念。当上帝对亚伯表现出偏爱时，他的兄弟该隐出于妒忌杀死了他。但是在犹太新约，作者做了一个绝妙的发挥，他说“因为信仰，亚伯仍然活着即使他已经死了。”我们的信念，以及为信念所做的努力，即使在我们死后，也依然存在。不管怎样， 萨维尔生前所作的仁慈的行为是不朽的。他通过电视屏幕把幽默，怪癖和善意传播给观众和参与者。他的职业生涯起起落落，他的怪癖也并不是能够被每个人接受，但即便如此，他跑了200次马拉松，募得了超过4千万美元的善款。我们所有人类的善意，像很多小水库那样汇聚起来，让其他的人能得以发展。我们从他们的幸福中得到财富，同时也得到提醒，如耶稣所说， 我们的生命不是由我们所占有的那些东西来衡量的。那些在周一带走了纪念品的每一个人都应该记住，为别人而活的生命才值得活着。爱你的邻居就像你爱自己一样。即使你不能出名，你也许仍然可以做到出名的善良。