Dr. Stuart Brown, a psychiatrist and founder of the National Institute for Play, says that we are hardwired to play and that to neglect our natural playful impulses can be as dangerous as avoiding sleep. Dr. Brown studied Death Row inmates and serial killers and found that nearly all of them had childhoods that lacked normal play patterns. He says the opposite of play is not work, it is depression, so play might well be considered a survival skill.
根據布朗醫(yī)生的看法,冒險的、打打鬧鬧的游戲有助于孩童和成人發(fā)展社交、認知、情感和身體技能。他認為我們甚至應該把工作和玩樂結合在一起,而不是另外安排所謂的休閑時間。
Risky, rough-and-tumble play helps children and adults develop their social, cognitive, emotional, and physical skills, according to Dr. Brown, who believes we should even try to incorporate work and play rather than just setting aside time for recreation.
我認識一些人,年輕時追求他人的認同與財富,到了晚年卻發(fā)現自己沒有享受到人生。不要讓這種事發(fā)生在你身上。為了生存,你有必須做的事,但也請你盡可能找機會追求自己熱愛的事物。
I've known of men who spent their youths chasing recognition and wealth, only to hit their later years and realize that they had reached the end of a journey that they did not enjoy. Don't let that happen to you. Do what you need to do to survive, but do what you love as often as possible too!
日復一日,人們陷在一成不變的生活中,為生存打拼,卻忽略了生活品質,這真的很可怕。平衡并不是“有一天”才要達成的目標,所以別忘了找些荒誕可笑的樂子,享受有趣的活動,讓自己忘了時間,忘了身在何處。
It's scary how you can get so caught up in daily routines and the struggle to make a living that you neglect the quality of your day-to-day life. Balance isn't something you achieve "someday." So don't forget to have some ridiculous fun by enjoying whatever playful activity so absorbs you that you lose track of time and place.
研究指出,在做喜歡的事情時——不論是玩大富翁、畫風景畫或跑馬拉松——那種渾然忘我或全神貫注可能很接近真正的快樂。釣魚是我最喜歡的休閑活動,而我在釣魚時,就常常陷入那種“涌動”[31]的狀態(tài)。
Studies have shown that being "lost" or totally engaged in your favorite activity, whether it's playing Monopoly, painting a landscape, or running a marathon, may just be as close to true happiness as we can get on this earth. I often fall into that sort of "flow" state when I fish, which is my favorite form of relaxing play.
爸爸、媽媽在我6歲時帶我去釣魚。媽媽給了我釣魚的手線,用玉米粒當釣餌。她把餌丟進水里,然后我用腳趾抓住手線。我是個意志堅定的人,肯定比魚有耐性。它們早晚會咬走我的玉米餌,因為沒等到大魚上鉤,我是不會走人的。
My parents first took me when I was just six years old. My mum gave me a hand line with corn niblets as bait. She threw it into the water, and I held on to the line with my toes. I was a determined tyke. I figured I could outwait the fish. Sooner or later they'd have to take a bite of my corn because I wasn't leaving until I hooked a whopper.
我的策略成功了,一只大約60厘米長的魚終于來追我的玉米粒——可能是因為它覺得我小小的影子在水面上陰魂不散很煩人吧。當這只怪物咬住我的餌,帶著它跑時,我趾間的釣線被拉動,腳趾頭痛得要命。但我不放開這條大魚,巧妙地移動,整個人坐在釣線上跟它拼了。當這只大魚不停地拉扯釣線時,我的屁股被磨得好像要燒起來了。
My strategy worked. A two-foot fish finally went after my niblet, probably because he was tired of my little shadow hovering over the water. When the monster took my bait and ran with it, he pulled the fishing line through my toes and it hurt like crazy. Rather than let go of the fish, I came up with an ingenious move. I sat on the line, which then burned my bum when the big fish kept pulling on it.
“我釣到一條魚了!哎喲,我的屁股好痛!但是,我釣到一條魚了!”我大叫著。
"I've got a fish. Oh, my bum hurts. But I've got a fish!" I screamed.
爸爸、媽媽和堂兄弟們全都飛奔過來幫我把大魚拉上來,這條魚的長度跟我的身高差不多呢。結果我釣到的魚是當天最大的一條,我吃的苦頭也算值得了。從此以后,我就讓釣魚這件事給鉤住了。
My mum and dad and cousins came running to help me pull in the whopper, one that was about the same length as me. Mine was the biggest fish caught all day, and it was worth every bit of my pain. After that, I was hooked on fishing for life.
后來我不只用手線,也用釣竿和卷線,這樣我的屁股就不會再出現燒燙傷危機。如果魚兒上鉤,我已經強壯到可以用肩膀和下巴夾住釣竿。要拋出魚餌時,我則是用牙齒咬住釣線,時機一到再丟出去——沒錯,釣線也是我的牙線,釣魚順便清牙縫。
I no longer use just a hand-held fishing line. I mastered the rod and reel so I wouldn't suffer any more bum burns. If a fish bites, I'm strong enough to hold the rod between my shoulder and chin. I cast by holding the line in my teeth and releasing at just the right moment. Yes, it's true, I floss and fish at the same time!