Learn to Live in the Present Moment
理查德 · 卡裏 / Richard Carison
Practicing for Better Learning
First listen and then answer the questions.
1. We often say “Someday，I can succeed.”.Will the “someday” really happen according to the passage？ Why？
2. What’s author’s opinion about “the present”and “the future”？
To a large degree， the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment. Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year， and what may or may not happen tomorrow， the present moment is where you are — always！
Without question， many of us have mastered the neurotic art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things — all at once. We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments， so much so that we end up anxious， frustrated， depressed， and hopeless. On the flip side， we also postpone our gratification， our stated priorities， and our happiness， often convincing ourselves that “someday” will be better than today. Unfortunately， the same mental dynamics that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that “someday” never actually arrives. John Lennon once said， “Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans.” When we’re busy making “other plans”， our children are busy growing up， and people we love are moving away and dying， our bodies are getting out of shape， and our dreams are slipping away. In short， we miss out on life.
Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal for some later date. It isn’t. In fact， no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow. Now is the only time we have， and the only time that we have any control over. When our attention is in the present moment， we push fear from our minds. Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future — we won’t have enough money， our children will get into trouble， we will get old and die， whatever.
To combat fear， the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present. Mark Twain said， “l have been through some terrible things in my life， some of which actually happened.” I don’t think I can say it any better. Practice keeping your attention on the here and now. Your efforts will pay great dividends.
在很大程度上，能否活在當下是衡量我們內心世界是否平和的一個標準。不論昨日或去年發生了什麽，也不管將來會發生什麽，此刻才是我們的真正所在——並且始終都是！
誠然，許多人把生命耗費在焦慮之中，我們同時對一連串的事情憂心忡忡，因此導致的神經過敏幾乎成了一種我們熟稔的藝術。對過去的困惑和對未來的憂慮占據了我們當前的每時每刻。於是，我們整日憂心忡忡，灰心喪氣，情緒低落，甚至悲觀絕望。另一方麵，我們不斷推遲讓自己獲得滿足感的時間，推遲應當優先考慮的事，推後自己的幸福感，並常用最有力的理由說服自己，“有一天”將會比今天更加美好。遺憾的是，如此期待未來的精神安慰隻會周而複始地重複。所以，“有一天”永遠都不會真正到來。約翰·列農曾經說過：“生活就是我們忙於製訂其他計劃時所發生的一切。”當我們正製訂“其他的計劃”時，孩子們正迅速地成長，愛人或離開或死亡。我們的身體開始變形，夢想開始消逝。總之，我們正在失去生活。
許多人沉迷於對未來的幻想中。對他們而言，現在的生活就像是未來生活的彩排。然而，生活絕非如此。事實上，任何人都不能保證自己明天仍存於世間。此刻是我們擁有的唯一時間，也是唯一能控製的時間。當我們的注意力集中於此刻時，就會將恐懼拋至腦後。恐懼是我們對未來可能發生之事的擔憂——我們沒有足夠的錢，我們的孩子會陷入麻煩，我們會變老甚至死亡，等等。
戰勝恐懼最好的策略是，學會將注意力轉回當下。馬克·吐溫曾說：“我一生經曆過許多恐怖的事，但有一些純粹是偶然。”我想，沒有比這說得更好的了。把你的注意力集中在當下，你的付出終將有碩果回報。
心靈小語
昨天的夢想需要今天的行動去實現，明天的謎底需要今天的行動去揭曉，生活隻在今天。今天的我們才是存在的我們、今天的努力才是存在的努力、今天的改變才是存在的改變。讓昨天的我們和明天的我們、讓昨天的努力和明天的努力、讓昨天的改變和明天的改變都統統屬於今天吧。活在當下，感受屬於我們最真實的存在。
Ace in the Hole
Keywords and expressions
allow
作動語：允許；給予；認可；容許；考慮
短語：allow for 考慮到，慮及
allow of 容許
例：I don’t think he would allow it.
我想他不會允許的。
Chunks in Practice
Listen to the following passage twice and then fill in the blanks with
appropriate words.
1. To a large degree， the measure of our peace of mind is _ by how much we are able to live in the _ . Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year， and what may or may not happen _ ， the present moment is where you are—always！
2. Fear is the _ events that might happen in the future—we won’t have enough money， our children will get into _ ， we will get old and die， whatever.
Now a Try
Please fill in the blank with the proper words according to the given
sentences.
1. We _ obstacles in order to get repose.
為了獲得歇息，我們與困難鬥爭。
2. Should America bomb Iran or _ Iran to get the bomb？
美國是應該轟炸伊朗還是讓伊朗得到炸彈。
3. If so， does this _ defaults of some kind？
那麽，這能為某種違約提供擔保嗎？