幸福就在此时此刻<br> Learn to Live in the Present Moment<br> 理查德·卡里森/Richard Carison<br> 在很大程度上，能不能生活在此时此刻，是衡量我们内心世界是否平和的一个标准。不论昨日或去年发生了什么，也不管将会发生什么，此刻才是我们的真正所在——并且始终都是！<br> 诚然，许多人把生命耗费在焦虑之中，我们同时对一连串的事情忧心，因此而导致的神经过敏几乎成了一种我们熟稔的艺术。对过去的困惑和对未来的忧虑占据了我们当前的每时每刻。于是，我们整日忧心忡忡，灰心丧气，情绪低落，甚至悲观绝望。另外，我们不断推延让自己获得满足感的时间，推延应当优先考虑的事，推后自己的幸福感，并常用最有力的理由说服自己，“有一天”将会比今天更加美好。遗憾的是，如此期待未来的精神安慰只会周而复始地重复。所以，“有一天”永远都不会真正到来。约翰·列农曾经说过，“生活就是我们忙于制订其他计划时所发生的一切。”当我们正制订“其他的计划”时，孩子们正迅速地成长，爱人或离开或死亡。我们的身体开始变形，梦想开始消逝。总之，我们正失去生活。<br> 许多人沉迷于对未来的幻想中。现在的生活, 对他们而言, 就像是未来生活的彩排。然而, 生活绝非如此。事实上，任何人都不能保证自己明天仍存于世间。此刻是我们拥有的唯一时间，也是唯一能控制的时间。当我们的注意力集中于此刻时，就会将恐惧抛至脑后。恐惧是我们对未来可能发生之事的忧虑——我们没有足够的钱，我们的孩子会陷入麻烦，我们会变老甚至死亡，等等。<br> 战胜恐惧最好的策略是，学会将注意力转回现在的每时每刻。马克·吐温说过，“我一生经历过许多恐怖的事，但有一些纯粹是偶然。”我想，没有比这说得更好的了。把你的注意力集中在此时此刻，你的付出终将有硕果回报。<br> To a large degree, the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment. Irrespective1 of what happened yesterday or last year, and what may or may not happen tomorrow, the present moment is where you are—always!<br> Without question, many of us have mastered the neurotic2 art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things—all at once. We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments, so much so that we end up anxious3, frustrated, depressed, and hopeless. On the flip side, we also postpone our gratification, our stated priorities, and our happiness, often convincing ourselves that “someday” will be better than today. Unfortunately, the same mental dynamics4 that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that “someday” never actually arrives. John Lennon once said, “Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans.” When we’re busy making “other plans”, our children are busy growing up, and people we love are moving away and dying, our bodies are getting out of shape, and our dreams are slipping away. In short, we miss out on life.<br> Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date. It isn’t. In fact, no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow. Now is the only time we have, and the only time that we have any control over. When our attention is in the present moment, we push fear from our minds. Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future—we won’t have enough money, our children will get into trouble, we will get old and die, whatever.<br> To combat5 fear, the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present. Mark Twain said, “l have been through some terrible things in my life, some of which actually happened.” I don’t think I can say it any better. Practice keeping your attention on the here and now. Your efforts will pay great dividends.
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