“There” Is No Better Than ?Here? 知足者常乐

“There” Is No Better Than ?Here?　知足者常乐

◎ Claire Bidwell Smith


Live 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.


从此刻起，开始生活吧。为了更好地面对当前生活的挑战，你要学会感激和满足这两课。
感激。感激意味着你对你现在所拥有的一切、你现在所在人生旅途的位置心存感激并懂得珍惜。感激会将欢乐填满你的心房，让你充分领会人生道路上出现的每个景致。在你聚焦“此时此刻”的时候，你就能体验到“这里”的全部妙思。
有很多种培养感激之情的方法。
下面这些建议你或许可以尝试一番。
（1） 想象一下你变得一无所有，你的生活将是什么样子。这一定会提醒你，你应该多么感激和喜欢现有的一切。
（2） 每天列出那些值得你感激的事，这样你会清醒认识到自己每天都有“福气”。特别是当你觉得生活中好像没什么可感激的时候，你更要这样做。在睡前花几分钟时间感激你所拥有的一切。
（3） 花些时间去帮助那些没有你幸运的人，这样你就可能会获得新的认识。
无论你如何去学习感恩，这都无关紧要。重要的是在你内心留出一个空间，去感激你现在所拥有的一切，这样你会更愉快地活在“现在”。
满足。人类最普遍的恐惧就是不足。很多人都害怕自己所需要的或想得到的东西不能够得到，所以每个人都会孜孜以求有朝一日能够得到全部，达到他们认为能够让自己满意的程度。
艾伦和琳达总是梦想能过上“美好的生活”。两人都来自贫苦的工人家庭，年纪轻轻就结了婚，然后就开始为了变得富有这个共同目标一起努力。很多年来他们一直拼命工作，积累了一笔财富，于是就能从原来的两居室搬进高档住宅区的富丽堂皇的房子去。他们费尽心思去积聚那些他们认为象征富足的东西：当地唯一一家高级会所的会员身份、豪华汽车、名牌服装、上流社会的朋友。无论他们拥有了多少，似乎永远都还不够。他们无法消除童年时期形成的对贫穷的深深恐惧。他们需要学会“知足常乐”这一课。1987年股市崩盘，艾伦和琳达损失了大量的财富。一场突如其来的官司更是花掉了他们大笔的积蓄。接二连三的坏消息使他们陷入财政危机。他们不得不变卖所有的资产，最终失去了高级会所的会员资格，失去了名车，失去了房子。艾伦和琳达更加努力地工作了好几年才重新安顿下来。尽管他们现在的生活远远谈不上奢华，但他们更懂得生活了，他们感到很幸福。只有现在，当他们审视自己剩下的财富——稳固幸福的婚姻、健康活力的身体、稳定可靠的收入、亲密无间的好友——他们才意识到，真正的富足不是来自财富的积累，而是感恩的心。
不足的意识源自于“精神空虚综合征”。这是指我们试图用外部事物去填补内心的空虚。但是，就像拼图游戏一样，你不能将错误的拼块硬塞进本不属于它的地方。任何身外之物、情感、关爱和关心都无法填满内心的空虚。我们拥有的已经够多了，所以我们应满足于内心丰富的世界。