心靈雞湯:知足者常樂

【英文原文】

"There" Is No Better than "Here"

Many people believe that they will be happy once they arrive at some specific goal they set for themselves. However, more often than not, once you arrive " there" you will still feel dissatisfied, and move your " there" vision to yet another point in the future. By always chasing after another "there," you are never really appreciating what you already have right "here." It is important for human beings to keep soberminded about the age-old drive to look beyond the place where you now stand. On one hand, your life is enhanced by your dreams and aspirations. On the other hand, these drives can pull you farther and farther from your enjoyment of your life right now. By learning the lessons of gratitude and abundance, you can bring yourself closer to fulfilLing the challenge of living in the present.

Gratitude be grateful means you are thankful for and appreciative of what you have and where you are on your path right now. Gratitude fills your heart with the joyful feeling and allows you to fully appreciate everything that arises on your path. As you strive to keep your focus on the present moment, you can experience the full wonder of "here."

There are many ways to cultivate gratitude. Here are just a few suggestions you may wish to try:

1. Imagine what your life would be like if you lost all that you had. This will most surely remind you of how much you do appreciate it.

2. Make a list each day of all that you are grateful for, so that you can stay conscious daily of your blessings. Do this especially when you are feeling as though you have nothing to feel grateful for. Or spend a few minutes before you go to sleep giving thanks for all that you have.

3. Spend time offering assistance to those who are less fortunate than you, so that you may gain perspective.

However you choose to learn gratitude is irrelevant. What really matters is that you create a space in your consciousness for appreciation for all that you have right now, so that you may live more joyously in your present moment.

Abundance. One of the most common human fears is scarcity. Many people are afraid of not having enough of what they need or want, and so they are always striving to get to a point when they would finally have enough.

Alan and Linda always dreamed of living "the good life." Both from poor working-class families, they married young and set out to fulfill their mutual goal of becoming wealthy. They both worked very hard for years, amassing a small fortune, so they could move from their two-bedroom home to a palatial seven-bedroom home in the most upscale neighborhood. They focused their energies on accumulating all the things they believed signified abundance: membership in the local exclusive country club, luxury cars, designer clothing, and high-class society friends. No matter how much they accumulated, however, it never seemed to be enough. They were unable to erase the deep fear of scarcity both had acquired in childhood. They needed to learn the lesson of abundance. Then the stock market crashed in 1987, and Alan and Linda lost a considerable amount of money. A bizarre but costly lawsuit depleted another huge portion of their savings. One thing led to another, and they found themselves in a financial disaster. Assets needed to be sold, and eventually they lost the country club membership, the cars, and the house. It took several years and much hard work for Alan and Linda to land on their feet, and though they now live a life far from extravagant, they have taken stock of their lives and feel quite blessed. Only now, as they assess what they have left -- a solid, loving marriage, their health, a dependable income, and good friends -- do they realize that true abundance comes not from amassing, but rather from appreciating.

Scarcity consciousness arises as a result of the "hole-in-the-soul syndrome." This is when we attempt to fill the gaps in our inner lives with things from the outside world. But like puzzle pieces, you can't fit something in where it does not naturally belong. No amount of external objects, affection, love, or attention can ever fill an inner void. We already have enough, so we should revel in our own interior abundance.

【中文譯文】

一些人認爲一旦他們實現給自己制定的某些具體目標，他們就會快樂。然而，你常常會發現，一旦你到達了“那裏”，你仍然會感覺不滿足，而且會將的你“那裏”的視野移向未來的某一點。不斷的追求一個又一個“那裏”，你永遠不能真正欣賞你已經在“這裏”所擁有的一切。人類在面對“不滿足現狀”這個古老的驅動力時保持冷靜的頭腦很重要。一方面，你的生活通過你的夢想和渴望來提高。另一方面，這些驅動力使你越來越遠離你現有的生活中的快樂。學會感激和滿足，你會更加接近如何成功地完成“現時”生活中的挑戰。

感激。感激的含義是你對於你現在所擁有的一切和你現在所在人生旅途中的位置心存感激並欣賞。感激使你的心充滿愉悅的感覺並且使你完全欣賞人生路上的所有景緻。在你將焦點放在“現在”的時候，你就能夠體會“這裏”的全部奇妙。

培養感激的心情有很多方式。以下是一些你可能想要嘗試的建議：

1. 想象一下如果你失去你現在所擁有的一切，你的生活將是什麼樣子。這一定會提醒你應該多麼感激現有的一切。

2. 每天列出所有你要心存感激的事，這樣你每天都會意識到自己應該懷有感恩之心。當你覺得你沒有什麼需要感激的時候更要這樣做。或者在睡前拿出幾分鐘時間感謝你所擁有的一切。

3. 拿出時間向那些沒有你幸運的人提供幫助，這樣你可能會獲得新的認識。

你如何去學習感恩無關緊要。重要的是你在心中留下了一席之地去感激你所擁有的一切。這樣你可以更開心的活在“現在”。

滿足。人類最害怕的東西之一是不足。很多人害怕無法擁有足夠的他們需要或者想要的東西，於是他們在要最終獲得足夠的東西的時候還會覬覦其他的。

埃蘭和琳達總是夢想過“好生活”。兩人都來自於貧困的工薪階層家庭，他們很早結婚，開始變得富有這一共同目標努力。他們努力工作了很多年，積累了一點財富，於是他們能夠從他們兩室的家搬到高消費社區的一所富麗堂皇的七室的房子中去。他們把精力放在所有他們認爲能象徵富足的東西上面；本地高級俱樂部的會員身份、豪華轎車、名師設計的服裝、上流社會的朋友。無論他們積累了多少財富，似乎都是不夠的。他們無法消除來自兩個人童年時期對貧乏的深深的恐懼。他們需要學會滿足。1987年股市崩盤，埃蘭和琳達損失了很多錢。一件奇怪但是花費很多的訴訟又耗掉了他們另一大筆積蓄。雪上加霜，他們發現自己陷入經濟困境中。資產需要被賣掉而且他們最終失去了高級俱樂部的會員身份、汽車和房子。埃蘭和琳達更加努力的工作了幾年才使生活又安定下來。儘管他們的生活大大地遠離了奢華，但是他們更懂得生活了，他們感到很幸福。只有現在他們審視他們剩下的財富的時候——堅定而且充滿愛的婚姻、健康、穩定的收入、好朋友——他們才認識到滿足不是來自於積蓄而是感恩的心。

不足的意識來自於“精神空虛綜合症”。這是指我們要用外界世界的東西來填補內心世界的空白。但是就像拼圖遊戲一樣，你不能在本來沒有東西的地方填上任何東西。客觀事務、感情、愛或者關注永遠不能填滿內心的空虛。我們已經擁有足夠的東西，所以我們應該發自內心地滿足。

【譯者感言】

中國有句老話“知足者常樂”！平實的語言中蘊含着深奧的哲理。很多時候我們會抱怨自己很累，好像心中很委屈，覺得誰都對不起自己。其實不妨換個角度想想，我們如此努力的真正的驅動力是什麼？真的是我們掛在嘴邊的想要家人過得多好嗎？我們真的是無私地永遠爲別人而活嗎？也許我們只是不願承認或者從沒想到過這一切壓力的真正來源恰恰是我們內心的不滿足。現有的東西似乎永遠是最差的，沒有得到的永遠是最好的。追求更高的目標當然無可厚非，只是我們也要學會滿足，學會放棄如同心魔般的渴求。這樣我們每一個“現在”都會過得更開心。有了這麼多開心滿足的“現在”，還擔心沒有好的“未來”嗎？