Fall Is the Season for Building Mindfulness and Resilience秋天是培養(yǎng)正念與韌性的季節(jié)

Whether you like it or not， fall is here. Soon the weather will get colder. The leaves will die and the nights will stretch longer than the days. Outdoor pools have closed and the holidays are coming. Another year is dying; that’s just how it goes.

不論你是否愿意，秋天已至。很快天氣就會變冷，葉子會枯萎，夜晚也會長過白天。室外游泳池已經(jīng)關(guān)閉，節(jié)日的腳步也在臨近。又一年即將過去，一年一年周而復始。

At least， that is the way autumn often is cast—as a time of aging and decay. The poet Percy Shelly compared autumn’s falling leaves to corpses in the grave. William Shakespeare called it “Death’s second self，” when youth burns to ashes. More recently， it’s become a time to acknowledge our existential dread. For many of those who struggle with seasonal depression in the winter months， the fall is the beginning of their symptoms. A few studies even suggest that if you are “ruminative”， or deeply pre-occupied with your thoughts， in the autumn， you may be at more risk for depression in the winter. Changing the clocks in the fall is associated with depressive episodes （changing them back in spring is not）. It is no wonder that the season has so many celebrations to attempt to keep our spirits up.

至少人們常常這樣描繪秋天——這是衰老和凋零的季節(jié)。詩人雪萊將秋天的落葉比作墳墓里的尸體。莎士比亞稱秋天為“死神化身”，那個時節(jié)，青春化作灰燼。近年來，人們更多地將秋天視為直面生存恐懼的時候。對許多患有冬季抑郁癥的人來說，秋天是癥狀初顯的開始。一些研究甚至顯示，如果你在秋季“苦思”，即深陷思考，可能更易在冬季抑郁。抑郁癥發(fā)作與秋季撥動時鐘有關(guān)（春季調(diào)回時鐘則無此現(xiàn)象）。難怪秋季有這么多的慶祝活動，正是為了振奮人們的精神。

Psychologists say that the feelings that often crop up in autumn stem from our discomfort with change， and an anxiety and uncertainty about what that change will bring. The melancholy we feel is a form of grief， mourning the lost sunlight， the ease of summertime， and the greenery that abounds in the warm weather.

心理學家指出，秋天常見的情緒反應源于我們對變化的不適以及對這種變化會帶來什么感到焦慮不安。我們感受到的憂郁，其實是對逝去的陽光、夏日的愜意以及天暖時盈盈綠意的哀悼。

But it is not that bad. Fall also brings with it bright， brisk1 days， pumpkin patches and cozy sweaters. Somewhere in the crunching2 leaves， crackling fires and chilly air， you might locate a feeling of possibility， even electricity.

但其實沒那么糟。明媚清爽的天氣、南瓜田和舒適的毛線衫，都是秋天的饋贈。在落葉的沙沙聲、篝火的噼啪聲和清冷空氣中，你可能感覺會發(fā)生些什么，甚至有些激動。

And of these things—the anxiety， the promise and even the rumination—make it the ideal season to build resilience and practice mindfulness.

所有這些——焦慮、希望，乃至沉思——都使秋天成為鍛煉韌性和練習正念的最佳季節(jié)。

For Jelena Kecmanovic， the founder of Arlington Behaviors Therapy Institute， the fall is reminiscent of exploring the mountains near her home， where she spent the first 20 years of her life. She described autumn as the season when we can work on our acceptance of uncertainty—embracing that unsettled feeling we may have as we move out of our warm-weather routines.

對于阿靈頓行為療法研究所創(chuàng)始人葉連娜·凱茨曼諾維奇來說，秋天讓她回憶起早年在家附近山中探險的經(jīng)歷——她20歲后才離開家鄉(xiāng)。她形容秋天是我們學會接受不確定性的季節(jié)——接納我們在告別自己所習慣的溫暖天氣時所感受到的不安。

Psychologists have found that the thought of change， the ending of one thing， the beginning of another， and， yes， perhaps our own mortality3， underlies4 a great deal of anxiety. Some of us struggle with “intolerance of uncertainty，” as experts call it， more than others. This tendency was first named in the 1990s by a team of Canadian psychologists and has since been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health.

心理學家已經(jīng)發(fā)現(xiàn)，對變化——一個事物的結(jié)束、另一事物的開始，對了，或許還有我們終將離世的命運——的思考，是許多焦慮的根源。在專家所稱的“無法容忍不安情緒” 方面，有些人應對起來比其他人更困難。這一傾向最早在20世紀90年代由一個加拿大心理學家團隊命名，自此被認定為心理健康狀況不佳的風險因素。

“A massive amount of research has been showing that intolerance for distress， for discomfort， for impermanence5， for uncertainty， predicts bad outcomes in the long run，” Dr. Kecmanovic said. But intolerance of uncertainty is a part of being human; everyone has it on some level. And it is changeable. One way to build tolerance is to lean into it—to cultivate uncertainty rather than running away from it. “A feeling of exhilaration can also come from experiencing something new or uncertain， which in turn builds resilience.” Dr. Kec- manovic said.

“大量研究表明，無法容忍痛苦、不適、無常、不安，從長遠來看會帶來不良結(jié)果。”凱茨曼諾維奇博士表示。但不容忍不安情緒是人之常情；每個人或多或少都會這樣。而這是可以改變的。學會容忍不安情緒，方法之一就是積極面對——培養(yǎng)對不安情緒的接納，而非逃避。凱茨曼諾維奇博士說：“體驗新事物或不確定的事物，我們也能從中感受到興奮，這反過來又能增強我們的韌性。”

Bike through a neighborhood you have never been to without a map. Set out during one of these lengthening autumn nights to find somewhere dark enough to do some stargazing. Go for a walk on a day when it might rain. You might get lost， or soaked， or be unable to see many stars. You might feel uncomfortable or like you are wasting your time. But those small moments of uncertainty will build exposure to， a tolerance toward and perhaps even an appreciation of times when you don’t know what’s ahead and feel out of control.

不帶地圖，騎車穿越你未曾涉足的街區(qū)；在這些日漸漫長的秋夜中，去找一個足夠黑暗可以觀星的地方；在可能下雨的日子出去散散步。你可能會迷路、淋濕，或看不到多少星星。你可能會感覺不舒服或認為自己在浪費時間。但這些充滿不安的小小瞬間，會逐漸讓你適應、乃至欣賞那些你不知道將會發(fā)生什么并感到無法掌控的時刻。

Another strategy experts suggest for soothing anxiety is to step back and simply observe the world around you. Quietly sit on a park bench and watch a tree drop its leaves， for instance; examine the roses in the garden that need pruning6， imagining what they need ... in such moments， it’s important to stop thinking， analyzing， or having internal conversations about work or troubles or even whatever you are witnessing.

專家建議的另一種緩解焦慮的方法是退后一步、只觀察周遭。比如，靜靜地坐在公園的長椅上，靜看樹葉的飄落；或是細看花園里需要修剪的玫瑰，想象它們需要什么……在這些時刻，重要的是停止思考、分析，停止就工作、煩惱等親歷的一切進行內(nèi)心對話。

Autumn will probably hold some whisper of decay and mortality for humans. But embracing that sadness is important. If you are always trying to avoid difficult feelings， you might end up also cutting yourself off from love and richness and sweetness. Dr. Wilson said， “this is how life is： sweet and sad， poured from the same vessel in equal measure.”

秋天對人類而言，可能會有些許衰敗和死亡的意味。但接受悲傷很重要。如果總是試圖逃避這種悲秋的情結(jié)，你或許最終也無法感受到愛意、豐盈和甜蜜。威爾遜博士說：“生活就是這樣的：同一個容器里倒出的既有甜蜜，也有悲傷，二者等量。”

（譯者單位：遼寧大學外國語學院）

1 brisk（風或天氣）涼爽的；清新的。 2 crunching嘎吱作響的。

3 mortality生命的有限。 4 underlie是……的深層原因。 5 impermanence非永久（性），短暫（性）。

6 prune修剪（樹枝）。