英語散文：彼岸無盡頭，知足才常樂

"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 To 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.

　　彼岸無盡頭，知足才常樂

　　許多人都相信，一旦他們達到了自己所設定的某個特定目標，他們就會開心、快樂。然而事實往往是，當你到達彼岸時，你還是不知足、不滿意，而且又有了新的彼岸--新的幻想和憧憬。由于你總是疲于追逐一個又一個的彼岸，你從未真正欣賞、珍惜你已經(jīng)擁有的一切。不安于現(xiàn)狀的欲望人皆有之，由來已久，但重要的是要對它保持清醒的頭腦。一方面，你的生活因為夢想和渴望而更加精彩。另一方面，這些欲望又使你越來越不懂得珍惜和享受現(xiàn)在擁有的生活。假如你能懂得感恩，學會知足，你就接近實現(xiàn)生活在現(xiàn)實中提出的要求。

　　感恩之心感恩是指你感激、珍惜自己當前所擁有的一切以及所處的人生境遇。心存感恩，你的心靈就充滿愉悅，你就能真正領會人生路上的種種體驗。如果你努力把眼光鎖定在此時此刻，你就能感受它的美妙之處。

　　感恩之心需要經(jīng)常加強。許多方法可以培育感恩之心，你不妨試試以下幾種：

　　1．設想如果你失去了你現(xiàn)在所擁有的一切，你的生活將會怎么樣。它肯定會使你回想起原來你是多么喜歡和珍視這一切。

　　2．每天都列出那些值得你感激的事物，那樣你就能時時刻刻意識到自己的幸運。每天都要這么做，尤其是當你覺得好像沒有什么可感激的時候。另外你也可以每天臨睡前花幾分鐘感恩自己所擁有的一切。

　　3．花時間幫助那些沒有你那么幸運的人，這樣你也許會對生活有正確的認識。

　　其實，你選擇何種方法去學會感恩，這無關緊要，真正重要的是你應該有意識地努力去欣賞和珍視你現(xiàn)在所擁有的一切，這樣你就可以更快樂地享受你目前的生活。

　　知足常樂貧窮是人類最普遍的恐懼之一。許多人擔心自己的所需所求不夠，所以他們總是孜孜以求有朝一日能心滿意足，別無他求。

　　艾倫和琳達都來自貧苦的工人家庭，都一直夢想著過上"好日子"。他們早早地成了家，然后就開始為他們共同的致富目標奮斗。他們拼命工作了好幾年，終于積攢了一筆錢，從兩居室搬到了一套坐落在最高檔街區(qū)的富麗堂皇的七居室大房子。此后，他們費盡心思去積聚那些他們認為是代表富足的東西：當?shù)匚┮坏囊患亦l(xiāng)村俱樂部的會員資格、豪華汽車、名牌服裝，以及上流社會的朋友。但是，不論他們積聚了多少，似乎永遠難以滿足。他們倆誰都無法消除小時侯對貧窮的刻骨銘心的恐懼。其實，他們就需要學會知足常樂這一課。1987年，股市遭受重創(chuàng)，艾倫和琳達損失慘重。禍不單行，一場莫名其妙的昂貴的官司又耗盡了他們的一大筆積蓄，這一切使他們陷入了經(jīng)濟困境。他們不得不變賣家產(chǎn)，最后他們丟掉了鄉(xiāng)村俱樂部的會員資格，失去了汽車和房子。艾倫和琳達努力奮斗了好幾年才從困境中走出來?，F(xiàn)在他們的生活毫不奢華，但是他們是自己生活的主宰，幸福而又知足。只有在這時，他們才掂量著那些尚未失去的東西，如穩(wěn)固相愛的婚姻、健康的身體、可靠的收入、真正的朋友等等，他們終于認識到，真正的富足不是來自財富的積聚，而是來自對所擁有的一切的珍視。

　　貧窮感可以歸因于"精神空虛綜合癥"，即我們試圖用身外之物來填補內心的空缺。但是，就像拼圖游戲一樣，你不能把本來不屬于那個地方的東西硬塞進去。任何身外之物、情感、關愛和關注都無法填補內心的空虛。我們擁有的已經(jīng)足夠，因此我們應該滿足于內心世界的豐富與充實。