英语专业晨读美文-哲理篇 7 On the Road, No Burden

（单词翻译）

[00:01.51]On the Road, No Burden
[00:04.69]To a large degree,
[00:07.30]the measure of our peace of mind is determined¹ by
[00:10.37]how much we are able to live in the present moment．
[00:13.65]Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year,
[00:17.26]and what may or may not happen tomorrow,
[00:20.00]the present moment is where you are—always.
[00:24.04]Without question,
[00:25.36]many of us have mastered the neurotic² art of spending much of our lives
[00:29.62] worrying about a variety of things—all at once.
[00:33.44]We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments,
[00:38.47]so much so that we end up anxious, frustrated³, depressed⁴,
[00:42.74]and hopeless. On the flip⁵ side,
[00:45.37] we also postpone⁶ our gratification, our stated priorities,
[00:49.74]and our happiness,
[00:51.27]often convincing ourselves that "someday" will be better than today.
[00:55.65] Unfortunately,
[00:56.85] the same mental dynamics⁷ that tell us to look toward the future
[01:00.68] will only repeat themselves so that "someday" never actually arrives.
[01:05.38]John Lennon once said:
[01:07.46]"Life is what's happening while we're busy making other plans."
[01:11.62]When we're busy making "other plans",
[01:14.57] our children are busy growing up,
[01:17.08]the people we love are moving away and dying,
[01:20.03]our bodies are getting out of shape,
[01:22.44]and our dreams are slipping away.
[01:24.74]In short, we miss out on life.
[01:27.48]Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal⁸ for some later date.
[01:32.50]It isn't. In fact,
[01:34.69]no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow.
[01:38.74]Now is the only time we have,
[01:41.37]and the only time that we have any control over.
[01:44.64]When our attention is in the present moment,
[01:47.05]we push fear from our minds.
[01:49.67]Fear is the concern over events
[01:51.99]that might happen in the future—we won' t have enough money,
[01:55.82] our children will get into trouble,
[01:57.68] we will get old and die, whatever.
[02:01.07]To combat fear,
[02:02.39]the best strategy is to learn to bring your attention back to the present.
[02:06.32] Mark Twain said:"I have been through some terrible things in my life,
[02:11.13] some of which actually happened.
[02:13.43]" I don't think I can say it any better.
[02:16.39] Practice keeping your attention on the here and now.
[02:19.88]Your efforts will pay great dividends⁹.