Fall Is the Season for Building Mindfulness and Resilience秋天是培养正念与韧性的季节

Whether you like it or not， fall is here. Soon the weather will get colder. The leaves will die and the nights will stretch longer than the days. Outdoor pools have closed and the holidays are coming. Another year is dying; that’s just how it goes.

不论你是否愿意，秋天已至。很快天气就会变冷，叶子会枯萎，夜晚也会长过白天。室外游泳池已经关闭，节日的脚步也在临近。又一年即将过去，一年一年周而复始。

At least， that is the way autumn often is cast—as a time of aging and decay. The poet Percy Shelly compared autumn’s falling leaves to corpses in the grave. William Shakespeare called it “Death’s second self，” when youth burns to ashes. More recently， it’s become a time to acknowledge our existential dread. For many of those who struggle with seasonal depression in the winter months， the fall is the beginning of their symptoms. A few studies even suggest that if you are “ruminative”， or deeply pre-occupied with your thoughts， in the autumn， you may be at more risk for depression in the winter. Changing the clocks in the fall is associated with depressive episodes （changing them back in spring is not）. It is no wonder that the season has so many celebrations to attempt to keep our spirits up.

至少人们常常这样描绘秋天——这是衰老和凋零的季节。诗人雪莱将秋天的落叶比作坟墓里的尸体。莎士比亚称秋天为“死神化身”，那个时节，青春化作灰烬。近年来，人们更多地将秋天视为直面生存恐惧的时候。对许多患有冬季抑郁症的人来说，秋天是症状初显的开始。一些研究甚至显示，如果你在秋季“苦思”，即深陷思考，可能更易在冬季抑郁。抑郁症发作与秋季拨动时钟有关（春季调回时钟则无此现象）。难怪秋季有这么多的庆祝活动，正是为了振奋人们的精神。

Psychologists say that the feelings that often crop up in autumn stem from our discomfort with change， and an anxiety and uncertainty about what that change will bring. The melancholy we feel is a form of grief， mourning the lost sunlight， the ease of summertime， and the greenery that abounds in the warm weather.

心理学家指出，秋天常见的情绪反应源于我们对变化的不适以及对这种变化会带来什么感到焦虑不安。我们感受到的忧郁，其实是对逝去的阳光、夏日的惬意以及天暖时盈盈绿意的哀悼。

But it is not that bad. Fall also brings with it bright， brisk1 days， pumpkin patches and cozy sweaters. Somewhere in the crunching2 leaves， crackling fires and chilly air， you might locate a feeling of possibility， even electricity.

但其实没那么糟。明媚清爽的天气、南瓜田和舒适的毛线衫，都是秋天的馈赠。在落叶的沙沙声、篝火的噼啪声和清冷空气中，你可能感觉会发生些什么，甚至有些激动。

And of these things—the anxiety， the promise and even the rumination—make it the ideal season to build resilience and practice mindfulness.

所有这些——焦虑、希望，乃至沉思——都使秋天成为锻炼韧性和练习正念的最佳季节。

For Jelena Kecmanovic， the founder of Arlington Behaviors Therapy Institute， the fall is reminiscent of exploring the mountains near her home， where she spent the first 20 years of her life. She described autumn as the season when we can work on our acceptance of uncertainty—embracing that unsettled feeling we may have as we move out of our warm-weather routines.

对于阿灵顿行为疗法研究所创始人叶连娜·凯茨曼诺维奇来说，秋天让她回忆起早年在家附近山中探险的经历——她20岁后才离开家乡。她形容秋天是我们学会接受不确定性的季节——接纳我们在告别自己所习惯的温暖天气时所感受到的不安。

Psychologists have found that the thought of change， the ending of one thing， the beginning of another， and， yes， perhaps our own mortality3， underlies4 a great deal of anxiety. Some of us struggle with “intolerance of uncertainty，” as experts call it， more than others. This tendency was first named in the 1990s by a team of Canadian psychologists and has since been identified as a risk factor for poor mental health.

心理学家已经发现，对变化——一个事物的结束、另一事物的开始，对了，或许还有我们终将离世的命运——的思考，是许多焦虑的根源。在专家所称的“无法容忍不安情绪” 方面，有些人应对起来比其他人更困难。这一倾向最早在20世纪90年代由一个加拿大心理学家团队命名，自此被认定为心理健康状况不佳的风险因素。

“A massive amount of research has been showing that intolerance for distress， for discomfort， for impermanence5， for uncertainty， predicts bad outcomes in the long run，” Dr. Kecmanovic said. But intolerance of uncertainty is a part of being human; everyone has it on some level. And it is changeable. One way to build tolerance is to lean into it—to cultivate uncertainty rather than running away from it. “A feeling of exhilaration can also come from experiencing something new or uncertain， which in turn builds resilience.” Dr. Kec- manovic said.

“大量研究表明，无法容忍痛苦、不适、无常、不安，从长远来看会带来不良结果。”凯茨曼诺维奇博士表示。但不容忍不安情绪是人之常情；每个人或多或少都会这样。而这是可以改变的。学会容忍不安情绪，方法之一就是积极面对——培养对不安情绪的接纳，而非逃避。凯茨曼诺维奇博士说：“体验新事物或不确定的事物，我们也能从中感受到兴奋，这反过来又能增强我们的韧性。”

Bike through a neighborhood you have never been to without a map. Set out during one of these lengthening autumn nights to find somewhere dark enough to do some stargazing. Go for a walk on a day when it might rain. You might get lost， or soaked， or be unable to see many stars. You might feel uncomfortable or like you are wasting your time. But those small moments of uncertainty will build exposure to， a tolerance toward and perhaps even an appreciation of times when you don’t know what’s ahead and feel out of control.

不带地图，骑车穿越你未曾涉足的街区；在这些日渐漫长的秋夜中，去找一个足够黑暗可以观星的地方；在可能下雨的日子出去散散步。你可能会迷路、淋湿，或看不到多少星星。你可能会感觉不舒服或认为自己在浪费时间。但这些充满不安的小小瞬间，会逐渐让你适应、乃至欣赏那些你不知道将会发生什么并感到无法掌控的时刻。

Another strategy experts suggest for soothing anxiety is to step back and simply observe the world around you. Quietly sit on a park bench and watch a tree drop its leaves， for instance; examine the roses in the garden that need pruning6， imagining what they need ... in such moments， it’s important to stop thinking， analyzing， or having internal conversations about work or troubles or even whatever you are witnessing.

专家建议的另一种缓解焦虑的方法是退后一步、只观察周遭。比如，静静地坐在公园的长椅上，静看树叶的飘落；或是细看花园里需要修剪的玫瑰，想象它们需要什么……在这些时刻，重要的是停止思考、分析，停止就工作、烦恼等亲历的一切进行内心对话。

Autumn will probably hold some whisper of decay and mortality for humans. But embracing that sadness is important. If you are always trying to avoid difficult feelings， you might end up also cutting yourself off from love and richness and sweetness. Dr. Wilson said， “this is how life is： sweet and sad， poured from the same vessel in equal measure.”

秋天对人类而言，可能会有些许衰败和死亡的意味。但接受悲伤很重要。如果总是试图逃避这种悲秋的情结，你或许最终也无法感受到爱意、丰盈和甜蜜。威尔逊博士说：“生活就是这样的：同一个容器里倒出的既有甜蜜，也有悲伤，二者等量。”

（译者单位：辽宁大学外国语学院）

1 brisk（风或天气）凉爽的；清新的。  2 crunching嘎吱作响的。

3 mortality生命的有限。  4 underlie是……的深层原因。  5 impermanence非永久（性），短暂（性）。

6 prune修剪（树枝）。