英文自修114：承认痛苦，乐享晚年

本系列内容英文原文取自BBC Thought for the Day节目网站（www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00szxv6/clips），朋友们也可以到www.bbc.co.uk/podcasts/series/thought/all下载节目录音收听。

译者：Beryl

审读：武太白

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Thought for the Day - 04/07/2014 - Vishvapani

A doctor friend told me recently that as a medical student he’d expected he’d go into the community and cure people. But when he became a GP he learned how many problems medicine couldn’t solve. His patients had to live with them as chronic illnesses.

一位医生朋友最近告诉我，作为一名医学学生，他本以为自己会走进社区为人治病。但当他成为了一名普通科医生，他才知道有许多病症是无药可医的。他的病人不得不忍受慢性病症的煎熬。

We’ve heard recently about the growing challenges for health and care services as more of us live longer and develop long-term physical conditions like diabetes and arthritis; or mental ones like depression and dementia. The test for politicians is how public services can manage rising demand on finite resources. But as well as what the state provides, it’s also a challenge for us as individuals and as a society.

最近我们听说随着更多的人更加长寿并易生糖尿病、关节炎之类的慢性身体疾病，或如抑郁症和老年痴呆这类的心理疾病，对健康及护理服务的挑战日益增加。政客们面临的考验是公共服务如何解决社会与日俱增的对有限资源的需求。同样，这也是我们作为个人和社会所面临的共同挑战。

Individually, the challenge is that, if we live longer while feeling sicker, we need to learn to manage better with pain and difficulty. My GP friend commented that many of us regard our bodies as if they were cars. When something goes wrong we take them in to be fixed; and if the doctor can’t fix the problem we’re shocked.

作为个人，挑战在于如果我们活得更长而感觉病情加重，我们需要学会更好地处理痛苦和困难。我的医生朋友说我们很多人认为我们的身体如同汽车。当有问题时我们会去修理；如果医生不能解决问题，我们感到十分震惊。

When I’ve worked with people with chronic pain using mindfulness, I’ve seen that learning to calm our minds and acknowledge the reality of our condition can make a big difference. Pain and disability needn’t mean you can no longer live a meaningful and even an enjoyable life, but it’s not easy and we need help to become more resilient.

当我与慢性病患者共事时，我留心观察后发现尝试着平静心情并承认我们的现状将大有助益。痛和残疾并不一定意味着你不能再过有意义甚至愉快的生活，但这并非易事，我们需要帮助以增强适应能力。

The collective challenge is that looking after more people in the community means that the community itself needs to be stronger. Many of us already respond as carers or through the voluntary sector. But at a time when society is becoming more fragmented and we feel less natural connection with our neighbours, we need to cherish a vision of life that looks beyond our personal interests and struggles.

对群体的挑战是指，为照看更多的人，社区本身需要变得更强。作为看护者，我们很多人已经通过志愿者组织做出了回应。但是当社会变得碎片化，我们感到和邻居的自然关联逐渐减少时，我们应珍惜超越个人利益和竞争的人生视野。

Among others, religious and spiritual traditions have much to offer here. People often think that Buddhism, for example, focuses on self-development. In fact, it’s about overcoming selfishness, and a central focus of Buddhist life is what we call sangha: the community of those who live by the same values. My involvement in Buddhist sanghas has taught me that a healthy community needs constant attention. We foster it throughout our lives by connecting with other people and by giving our time and our friendship.

在其他方面,宗教和精神传统也大有可为。例如，人们常常认为佛教关注自我发展。事实上,它是克服自私，佛教生活的焦点就是我们所说的僧伽：那些志同道合的人所构成的生活社区。参与其中的经验告诉我，一个健康的社区需要持续的关注。我们通过与他人联系、献出我们的时间与友谊来促进社区的进步。

The care crisis isn’t going away and sooner or later it will affect us all. It’s time for the discussion to move beyond politics and to start exploring what it means for our own lives.

护理危机不会消失，它迟早会影响我们所有人。现在是时间讨论超越政治并开始探索它对我们自己的生活意味着什么。