美文賞析：讓我們打開心門擁抱生活

　　We often close ourselves off when traumatic events happen in our lives; instead of letting the world soften us, we let it drive us deeper into ourselves. We try to deflect the hurt and pain by pretending it doesn’t exist, but although we can try this all we want, in the end, we can’t hide from ourselves. We need to learn to open our hearts to the potentials of life and let the world soften us.

　　生活發生不幸時，我們常常會關上心門；世界不僅沒能慰藉我們，反倒使我們更加消沉。我們假裝一切仿佛都不曾發生，以此試圖忘卻傷痛，可就算隱藏得再好，最終也還是騙不了自己。既然如此，何不嘗試打開心門，擁抱生活中的各種可能，讓世界感化我們呢？

　　Whenever we start to let our fears and seriousness get the best of us, we should take a step back and re-evaluate our behavior. The items listed below are six ways you can open your heart more fully and completely.

　　當恐懼與焦慮來襲時，我們應該退后一步，重新反思自己的言行。下面六個方法有助于你更完滿透徹地敞開心扉。

　1. Breathe into pain

　　直面痛苦

　　Whenever a painful situation arises in your life, try to embrace it instead of running away or trying to mask the hurt. When the sadness strikes, take a deep breath and lean into it. When we run away from sadness that’s unfolding in our lives, it gets stronger and more real. We take an emotion that’s fleeting and make it a solid event, instead of something that passes through us.

　　當生活中出現痛苦的事情時，別再逃跑或隱藏痛苦，試著擁抱它吧；當悲傷來襲時，試著深呼吸，然后直面它。如果我們一味逃避生活中的悲傷，悲傷只會變得更強烈更真實——悲傷原本只是稍縱即逝的情緒，我們卻固執地耿耿于懷。

　　By utilizing our breath we soften our experiences. If we dam them up, our lives will stagnate, but when we keep them flowing, we allow more newness and greater experiences to blossom.

　　深呼吸能減緩我們的感受。屏住呼吸，生活停滯；呼出呼吸，更多新奇與經歷又將拉開序幕。

　2. Embrace the uncomfortable

　　擁抱不安

　　We all know what that twinge of anxiety feels like. We know how fear feels in our bodies: the tension in our necks, the tightness in our stomachs, etc. We can practice leaning into these feelings of discomfort and let them show us where we need to go.

　　我們都經歷過焦灼的煎熬感，也都感受過恐懼造成的生理反應：脖子僵硬、胃酸翻騰。其實，我們有能力面對這些痛苦的感受，從中領悟到出路。

　　The initial impulse is to run away — to try and suppress these feelings by not acknowledging them. When we do this, we close ourselves off to the parts of our lives that we need to experience most. The next time you have this feeling of being truly uncomfortable, do yourself a favor and lean into the feeling. Act in spite of the fear.

　　我們的第一反應總是逃避——以為否認不安情緒的存在就能萬事大吉，可這也恰好妨礙了我們經歷最需要的生活體驗。下次感到不安時，不管有多害怕，也請試著勇敢面對吧。

　3. Ask your heart what it wants

　　傾聽內心

　　We’re often confused at the next step to take, making pros and cons lists until our eyes bleed and our brains are sore. Instead of always taking this approach, what if we engaged a new part of ourselves that isn’t usually involved in the decision making process?

　　我們常對未來猶疑不定，反復考慮利弊直到身心俱疲。與其一味顧慮重重，不如從局外人的角度看待決策之事。

　　I know we’ve all felt decisions or actions that we had to take simply due to our “gut” impulses: when asked, we can’t explain the reasons behind doing so — just a deep knowing that it had to get done. This instinct is the part of ourselves we’re approaching for answers.

　　其實很多決定或行動都是我們一念之間的結果：要是追問原因的話，恐怕我們自己也道不清說不明，只是感到直覺如此罷了。而這種直覺恰好是我們探索結果的潛在自我。

　　To start this process, take few deep breaths then ask, “Heart, what decision should I make here? What action feels the most right?”

　　開始前先做幾次深呼吸，問自己：“內心認為該做什么樣的決定呢？覺得采取哪個方案最恰當？”

　　See what comes up, then engage and evaluate the outcome.

　　看看自己的內心反應如何，然后全力以赴、靜待結果吧。

　　美文欣賞:你可以選擇自己想過的生活

　　Occasionally, life can be undeniably, impossibly difficult. We are faced with challenges and events that can seem overwhelming, life-destroying to the point where it may be hard to decide whether to keep going. But you always have a choice. Jessica Heslop shares her powerful, inspiring journey from the worst times in her life to the new life she has created for herself:

　　生活有時候困難得難以置信，但又不容置疑。我們面臨的挑戰與困境似乎無法抵御，試圖毀滅我們生活，甚至使你猶疑是否繼續走下去。但是你總有選擇的余地。從人生低谷走向新生活的杰西卡·赫斯樂普，在這里與我們分享她啟迪心靈、充滿震撼力的生活之旅。

　　In 20xx I had the worst year of my life.

　　20xx年是我生活中最艱難的一年。

　　I worked in a finance job that I hated and I lived in a concrete jungle city with little greenery. I occupied my time with meaningless relationships and spent copious quantities of money on superficialities. I was searching for happiness and had no idea where to find it.

　　我做著討厭的財務工作，住在難尋綠色的高樓林立的城市。我忙于無意義的交往，在一些膚淺表面的東西上大筆開銷。我尋找快樂，卻又不知道它在哪里。

　　Then I fell ill with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) and became virtually bed bound. I had to quit my job and subsequently was left with no income. I lived with my boyfriend of then only 3 months who financially supported me and our relationship was put under great pressure. I eventually regained my physical health, but not long after that I got a call from my family at home to say that my father’s cancer had fiercely progressed and that he had been admitted to a hospice.

　　然后我患上了慢性疲勞綜合癥，幾乎到了臥床不起的地步。我不得不辭掉工作，同時也就斷了財源。我和那時僅相處了3個月的男友住在一起，經濟上完全依賴于他，我們的關系承受著巨大壓力。終于我恢復健康，但不久，我接到家里的電話，父親的癌癥急劇惡化，已經住進了臨終關懷中心。