September 10th
PREPARING ON THE SUNNY DAY
“Here’s a lesson to test your mind’s mettle: take part of a week in which you have only the most meager and cheap food, dress scantily in shabby clothes, and ask yourself if this is really the worst that you feared. It is when times are good that you should gird yourself for tougher times ahead, for when Fortune is kind the soul can build defenses against her ravages. So it is that soldiers practice maneuvers in peacetime, erecting bunkers with no enemies in sight and exhausting themselves under no attack so that when it comes they won’t grow tired.”
—SENECA, MORAL LETTERS, 18.5–6
What if you spent one day a month experiencing the effects of poverty, hunger, complete isolation, or any other thing you might fear? After the initial culture shock, it would start to feel normal and no longer quite so scary.
There are plenty of misfortunes one can practice, plenty of problems one can solve in advance. Pretend your hot water has been turned off. Pretend your wallet has been stolen. Pretend your cushy mattress was far away and that you have to sleep on the floor, or that your car was repossessed and you have to walk everywhere. Pretend you lost your job and need to find a new one. Again, don’t just think about these things, but live them. And do it now, while things are good. As Seneca reminds us: “It is precisely in times of immunity from care that the soul should toughen itself beforehand for occasions of greater stress. . . . If you would not have a man flinch when the crisis comes, train him before it comes.”
9月10日
在阳光灿烂的日子里做好准备
“这里有一个检验你心志是否坚韧的方法：从一周中抽出几天，只吃最少、最便宜的食物，穿着单薄而破旧的衣服，然后问问自己：这真的就是我所害怕的最糟糕的情况吗？正是在日子顺利的时候，你应该为未来更加艰难的时期做好准备；因为当命运善待我们时，灵魂正好可以筑起防御，以抵抗她日后的摧残。因此，士兵会在和平时期进行军事演练；明明看不到敌人，他们仍然修筑掩体；明明没有受到攻击，他们仍然让自己筋疲力尽，这样真正的战斗到来时，他们就不会轻易疲惫。”
——塞内卡，《道德书信》，18.5–6
如果你每个月拿出一天，亲身体验贫穷、饥饿、完全孤立，或者任何其他你所害怕的事情，会怎么样？最初的冲击过去之后，这种体验就会开始变得正常，也不再显得那么可怕。
有很多“不幸”其实可以提前练习，也有很多问题可以提前演练如何解决。假装家里的热水被停了。假装钱包被偷了。假装那张舒适柔软的床垫不在身边，你必须睡在地板上；或者假装你的汽车被收走了，你必须走路去所有地方。假装你失去了工作，必须重新找一份。再次强调，不要只是想象这些事情，而要真正去体验它们。而且要趁现在一切顺利的时候去做。正如塞内卡提醒我们的：“恰恰是在无忧无虑的时候，灵魂就应该提前让自己变得坚强，为将来更大的压力做好准备……如果你不希望一个人在危机来临时畏缩，那就在危机到来之前训练他。”
读要读顺口，写要写顺手， 擒字如擒虎，解句如解题。 |