生活不只是生存：教你学会生活的30种方式（二）

 　　16. Face your fears.

　　直面自己的恐惧。

　　What are you most afraid of? What is holding you back? Whatever it is, recognize it, and face it. Do what you are most afraid of. Afraid of heights? Go to the tallest building, and look down over the edge. Only by facing our fears can we be free of them.

　　你最害怕什么？什么阻止你前行？无论这是什么，找出并面对它。做你最害怕的事情。恐高？去最高的楼顶，在楼边上俯视。只有面对恐惧才能战胜它。

　　17. Slow down.

　　放慢节奏。

　　Life moves along at such a rapid pace these days. It's not healthy, and it's not conducive¹ to living. Practice doing everything slowly -- everything, from eating to walking to driving to working to reading. Enjoy what you do. Learn to move at a snail's pace.

　　现在我们的生活节奏实在太快了。既不健康，对生活也无益处。试着放慢速度去做事儿--每件事，无论是吃饭，还是走路，还是开车上班，抑或阅读。享受你做的事情。学习把节奏放慢到像蜗牛爬那样。

　　18. Volunteer.

　　做志愿者。

　　Help at homeless soup kitchens. Learn compassion², and learn to help ease the suffering of others. Help the sick, those with disabilities, those who are dying.

　　去为无家可归的人士准备食物的流动厨房帮忙。学会同情，学着去帮助减轻他人的痛苦。帮助病人、残疾人和生命垂死的人。

　　19. Play with children.

　　和孩子玩。

　　Children, more than anyone else, know how to live. They experience everything in the moment, fully³. When they get hurt, they really cry. When they play, they really have fun. Learn from them, instead of thinking you know so much more than them. Play with them, and learn to be joyful⁴ like them.

　　孩子比任何的人都懂得如何去生活。他们全身心地经历当前的事情。当他们受到伤害时，他们会真正地痛哭。当他们玩耍时，他们享受到乐趣。向他们学习，而不是觉得自己比他们知道的多。和他们玩耍，学着像他们那样开开心心。

　　20. Talk to old people.

　　和老年人交谈。

　　There is no one wiser, more experienced, more learned, than those who have lived through life. They can tell you amazing stories. Give you advice on making a marriage last or staying out of debt. Tell you about their regrets, so you can learn from them and avoid the same mistakes. They are the wisdom of our society -- take advantage of their existence while they're still around.

　　没有人比经历过生活大风大浪的老年人更聪明、更有经验、更有学识。他们可以给你讲神奇的故事，他们可以给你提供建议，让你的婚姻更加长久，或让你远离债务。他们告诉你他们的遗憾，你可以学习从而避免犯同样的错误。他们是社会的智者--趁他们还在我们身边的时候，多去向他们学习吧。

　　21. Learn new skills.

　　学习新的技巧。

　　Constantly improve yourself instead of standing⁵ still -- not because you're so imperfect now, but because it is gratifying and satisfying. You should accept yourself as you are, and learn to love who you are, but still try to improve -- if only because the process of improvement is life itself.

　　不要停滞不前，要不断地去提高自己，不是因为你现在不完美，而是因为这样做会让你开心和满意。你应该接受你自己，学着去爱自己，但是也要尝试去提高自己的水平，这只是因为生活本身就是一个不断改善的过程。

　　22. Take mini-retirements.

　　享受“小”退休时光。

　　Don't leave the joy of retirement⁶ until you are too old to enjoy it. Do it now, while you're young. It makes working that much more worth it. Find ways to take a year off every few years. Save up, sell your home, your possessions, and travel. Live simply, but live without having to work. Enjoy life, then go back to work and save up enough money to do it again in a couple of years.

　　不要把退休的乐趣留到你老的时候，那时你已经无法享受了。现在，趁着年轻，小小退休下吧。这会让你的工作更有价值。想办法每隔几年就休息一年。存点儿钱，把房子、财产卖掉，然后去旅游。可以生活得简单一些，但不要工作。这样享受生活，然后回到工作中攒上足够的钱，几年后就再退休一次。

　　23. Stop playing video games.

　　不要再玩电子游戏。

　　They might be fun, but they can take up way too much time. If you spend a lot of time playing online games, or computer solitaire, or Wii or Gameboy or whatever, consider going a week without it. Then find something else to do, outside.

　　电子游戏可能挺好玩，但是会占用你很多时间。如果你每天花大量的时间玩电子游戏、电脑纸牌游戏，或Wii、Gameboy或其他电子游戏，那么可以考虑停玩一周。找点儿别的事情去做，最好是室外活动哦。

　　24. Watch sunsets, daily.

　　每天观看日落。

　　One of the most beautiful times of day. Make it a daily ritual⁷ to find a good spot to watch the sunset, perhaps having a light dinner while you do so.

　　日落是一天最美的时刻之一。找一个好地方，每天都去观看日落，还可以在欣赏落日是安排一个烛光晚餐。

　　25. Break out from ruts.

　　打破常规。

　　Do you do things the same way every day? Change it up. Try something new. Take a different route to work. Start your day out differently. Approach work from a new angle. Look at things from new perspectives.

　　你是不是每天都做同样的事情？改变一下。尝试新的事情。上班时走不同的路线。用不同的方式开始新的一天，用新的方法去做工作，从新的角度去看事情。

　　26. Stop watching the news.

　　停止看新闻。

　　It's depressing and useless. If you're a news junky, this may be difficult. I haven't watch TV news or read a newspaper regularly in about two years. It hasn't hurt me a bit. Anything important, my mom tells me about.

　　看新闻会让人沮丧，而且没什么用。如果你喜欢看新闻，这条可能很难做到。我有两年的时间没有定期看电视新闻或看报纸了。不过这样也没什么损失。有重要的事情，我母亲会告诉我的。

　　27. Laugh till you cry.

　　开心笑到流眼泪。

　　Laughing is one of the best ways to live. Tell jokes and laugh your head off. Watch an awesome⁸ comedy. Learn to laugh at anything. Roll on the ground laughing. You'll love it.

　　笑是生活的最佳方式之一。讲笑话直到笑到肚子疼。看一部好看的喜剧。学着笑对一切，笑到打滚。你会爱上这种感觉的。

　　28. Cry.

　　哭。

　　Men, especially, tend to hold in our tears, but crying is an amazing release. Cry at sad movies. Cry at a funeral. Cry when you are hurt, or when somebody you love is hurt. It releases these emotions and allows us to cleanse⁹ ourselves.

　　男性尤其会忍住不哭，但是哭是一种非常好的释放方式。看悲伤的电影时哭，在葬礼上哭，当你受到伤害时哭，或当你爱的人受到伤害时哭。哭会释放到情感，让我们净化自己。

　　29. Try something new, every week.

　　每周都尝试一些新的事物。

　　Ask yourself: "What new thing shall I try this week?" Then be sure to do it. You don't have to learn a new language in one week, but seek new experiences. Give it a try. You might decide you want to keep it in your life.

　　问问自己：“这周能尝试一下什么新的事情？”然后务必要做成这件事。你不必每周学习一种新的语言，但是可以寻求新的体验。试一下吧。你也许会决定保持这种生活方式。

　　30. Be in the moment.

　　活在当下。

　　Instead of thinking about things you need to do, or things that have happened to you, or worrying or planning or regretting, think about what you are doing, right now. What is around you? What smells and sounds and sights and feelings are you experiencing? Learn to do this as much as possible through meditation¹⁰, but also through bringing your focus back to the present as much as you can in everything you do.

　　不要去想你要做的事情，或去想已发生在你身上的事情，或担心、或计划或遗憾，而是要想想你正在做的事情。你周围是什么？你闻到了什么气味？听到了什么声音？看到了什么？感觉到了什么？学着尽可能多想想这些事，可以通过冥想学习，也可以集中注意力关注当前在做的事情。

 

1 conducive   

adj.有益的，有助的

参考例句：

• This is a more conducive atmosphere for studying.这样的氛围更有利于学习。
• Exercise is conducive to good health.体育锻炼有助于增强体质。

2 compassion   

n.同情，怜悯

参考例句：

• He could not help having compassion for the poor creature.他情不自禁地怜悯起那个可怜的人来。
• Her heart was filled with compassion for the motherless children.她对于没有母亲的孩子们充满了怜悯心。

3 fully   

adv.完全地，全部地，彻底地；充分地

参考例句：

• The doctor asked me to breathe in,then to breathe out fully.医生让我先吸气，然后全部呼出。
• They soon became fully integrated into the local community.他们很快就完全融入了当地人的圈子。

4 joyful   

adj.欢乐的，令人欢欣的

参考例句：

• She was joyful of her good result of the scientific experiments.她为自己的科学实验取得好成果而高兴。
• They were singing and dancing to celebrate this joyful occasion.他们唱着、跳着庆祝这令人欢乐的时刻。

5 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

6 retirement   

n.退休，退职

参考例句：

• She wanted to enjoy her retirement without being beset by financial worries.她想享受退休生活而不必为金钱担忧。
• I have to put everything away for my retirement.我必须把一切都积蓄起来以便退休后用。

7 ritual   

adj.例行的，老规矩的，惯常的

参考例句：

• This was the monthly ritual.这是每月一次的例规。
• I realized that here the conventions required me to make the ritual noises.我意识到此时按照惯例我应该说些客套话。

8 awesome   

adj.令人惊叹的，难得吓人的，很好的

参考例句：

• The church in Ireland has always exercised an awesome power.爱尔兰的教堂一直掌握着令人敬畏的权力。
• That new white convertible is totally awesome.那辆新的白色折篷汽车简直棒极了.

9 cleanse   

vt.使清洁，使纯洁，清洗

参考例句：

• Health experts are trying to cleanse the air in cities. 卫生专家们正设法净化城市里的空气。
• Fresh fruit juices can also cleanse your body and reduce dark circles.新鲜果汁同样可以清洁你的身体,并对黑眼圈同样有抑制作用。

10 meditation   

n.熟虑，（尤指宗教的）默想，沉思，（pl.）冥想录

参考例句：

• This peaceful garden lends itself to meditation.这个恬静的花园适于冥想。
• I'm sorry to interrupt your meditation.很抱歉，我打断了你的沉思。