雙語散文:丘吉爾:培養一種愛好

丘吉爾：培養一種愛好

A gifted American psychologist has said, “Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.” It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will , the more futile tha task. One can onlyy gently insinuate something else into its rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swifty, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair, begins.

The cultivation of a hobby and nes forms of interst is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man this is not a business that can be untaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended , if the vivifying fruits are to be at band when needed.

To be really happy really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: “I will take an interest in this or that.” Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use dong what you like; you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking , human beings may be divided into three classes; those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week’s sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or businessman, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the week-end.

As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire — for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place,trying to escape frome avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.

It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are dividing into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the formmer is majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for laeasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But Fotune’s favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natrual harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holidy, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere , of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed, it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.

　　美國一位天才心理學家曾經說過：“憂慮是一陣情感的衝動，意識一旦陷入某種狀態，這種狀態將很難被改變。”在這種情況下，與意識去抗爭是徒勞的。意志力越強，這種抗爭就越顯得徒勞無益。這時，唯一的解決辦法只能是悄悄的滲入某種新的東西，來分散注意力。如果這種新的東西選擇恰當，而且確實能激起你對另一領域的興趣，漸漸地、而且經常是非常迅速地，你過分緊張的情緒就會緩解，你又開始恢復到原來的狀態。

因此，對一個公衆人物來說，培養一種業餘愛好、一種新的興趣顯得尤爲重要。但這不是一件一朝一日或憑一時的意氣就能一蹴而就的事情。這種替代憂慮的心理興趣培養是一個長期的過程。它的種子必須要精挑細選，然後播撒到肥沃的土壤中，要想得到籽粒飽滿、需要時隨手可摘的果實，還必須對他們精心呵護。

　　要想真正的快樂，而且每次都能真正奏效，一個人必須有兩種或三種業餘愛好，而且必須是真正的業餘愛好。一個人到了晚年才說：“我要培養這種或那種興趣。”那已經沒有任何意義了。這種嘗試只能更加增加大腦的壓力。一個人可能具有與他日常工作無關的大量的知識，但這些知識並無助於他減輕心理壓力。隨心所欲的做你喜歡的工作不會幫你減輕心理壓力，而是你必須設法喜歡你目前所做的工作。大致來說，人可分爲三類：第一類人是累死；第二類人是愁死；第三類人是煩死。體力勞動者經過一週的辛勤勞動已經筋疲力盡，再讓他們在週六下午踢足球或打棒球無助於消除他們的疲勞。讓那些爲一些大事已經連續工作或煩惱了六天的政治家、專業人員或工商界人士來說，在週末的時候讓他們爲一些雞毛蒜皮的小事煩惱費神，也不會使他們身心輕鬆。

對於那些不幸的人：那些可以隨意發號施令；那些隨心所欲，無所不能的人，新的樂趣、新的喜悅對他們來說是無所謂的事情。他們狂亂地從一個地方跑到另一個地方、想通過不斷換地方的這種方式來擺脫煩惱，這是徒勞的。對他們來說，條理、規矩是他們最有希望擺脫煩惱的辦法。

　　也可以說，理智、勤奮、有才能的人可以分爲兩類：第一類是工作與娛樂涇渭分明；第二類人是工作與娛樂合二爲一。大多數人屬於前者。他們有他們的報酬。長時間在辦公室或工廠的辛勤勞作不僅使他們得到了維持生命的薪水，而且培養了他們追求快樂的強烈願望，即使僅僅是那些最簡單、最樸實的形式。然而命運女神所偏愛的卻是第二類人。他們的生活自然、和諧。對他們來說，工作的實踐永遠都不夠長。每一天都是假期，法定假期到來時，他們不願休假，認爲這是強行終端干擾了他們精彩的假期。然而，這兩類人都必須改變一下他們的觀點，調整一下氣氛、轉移一下奮鬥的方向。事實上或許那些以工作爲了的人正是那些最需要通過一種興趣或愛好使自己適時忘記自己工作的人。