(附中文版)
Years ago, there used to be a TV in my bedroom. From time to time, I would watch the late night news before drifting into sleep. More often than not, following those evenings of watching the news, bits and pieces of the news would somehow wind up in my dreams. Unfortunately, most of the news on TV was negative, depressing and even violent, a fact I didn’t recognize at the time. I remember getting up one morning feeling tired and disturbed following a dream that involved a fire scene; I then recalled that the last thing I did before falling asleep was watching an evening news report of an apartment building catching on fire. That was the day I moved the TV out of the master bedroom.
I realized on that day that just like I strive to feed myself healthy and nutritious food to keep my physical body healthy, I need to be equally vigilant about the kind of food I feed my mind and soul.
The information one absorbs from the environment on a daily basis is like mental “food” that is fed to the mind and soul. This mental “food” can come in the forms of media news, books one reads, phone conversation with a friend, chit chats with a co-worker and so on. How many of us have actually paid attention to the quality of the information we take in and whether these messages contribute to our sense of well-being? How much of the information you allow yourself to be exposed to is positive and how much of it is negative? Have you ever paid attention to how you feel after reading a newspaper article or after a conversation with someone? Do you feel excited, happy, touched, or do you feel drained, irritated or worried?
In the days of economic downturn like the one we are experiencing at the moment, it is hard to read the newspaper without coming across headlines of layoffs, company bankruptcies and busted real estate markets, splashing across the front page. It doesn’t take much to be drawn into such doom and gloom mentality. Negativity breeds more negativity. One would indeed believe that the world is going down the toilet after reading enough of such dire reports, coupled with more “bad news” stories from friends, neighbours, colleagues and other sources. How can one not feel fearful, worried and hopeless when one allows oneself to be excessively exposed to such an overwhelming amount of negativity?
I am not advocating that we should stop taking in information altogether and bury our heads in the sand so we don’t hear any bad news. The question is how much is enough? How does it help you to hear, read or even contribute one more piece of information that is just the same that everything is going downhill? It is important to notice how one’s attitude has been affected by dwelling on all this.
Information is a double-edged sword: it can be useful, and it can also be harmful. Repeated exposure to the same information becomes part of your thoughts and beliefs, your thoughts and beliefs then impact your emotions, and those emotions in turn influence your attitude in life. One of my all-time favourite quotes from Mahatma Gandhi beautifully illustrates this chain reaction of how one’s thoughts can turn into one’s destiny:
Your beliefs become your thoughts,
Your thoughts become your words,
Your words become your actions,
Your actions become your habits,
Your habits become your values,
Your values become your destiny.
- Mahatma Gandhi
Take good care of our mind and soul by feeding it positive, uplifting and nourishing thoughts. We can take control of our own thoughts by first of all, recognizing and weeding out excessive and harmful negativity. We can also choose the kind of attitude we want to have in life. In the face of uncertainty, we can choose to be fearful or optimistic. If becoming worried and anxious can solve all our problems, then I’d be the first one to sign up to become a perpetual worrier; however, I know that is as unlikely as proving the earth is the centre of the universe.
Economy isn’t everything and the sky is not falling; when all is said and done, we can look upon this uncertain period as another growth experience. Life is to be lived, not feared.
（中文版）
几年前，我在主卧室里放了一个电视机， 以便于睡觉前看一些夜间新闻之类的节目。没多长时间后，我发现临睡前看的这些新闻常常会零零星星地出现在我的梦里。当时，我并没有意识到大多数的媒体新闻总是在报告一些消极，令人压抑，甚至是暴力性的消息。不久后的一个早晨，尽管有了一夜充沛的睡眠，我起床后仍然觉得特别的疲乏和困扰，因为那晚我一宿都在做一个关于火灾的梦。我想起前一天晚上的夜间新闻报告的是一个关于本市一幢公寓着火的新闻。那天下班后，我把电视机搬出了主卧。
那一天，我意识到，尽管在保持身体健康的方面，我总是有意识地为自己选择一些新鲜和有营养的食品。但是，我却并没有留心自己精神和心灵上的“食物”是不是也有营养，是不是也对自己有益。
我们每天在周围的环境中吸收的信息就好比一种精神和心灵上的“食物”。这种“食物”可以是来源于新闻媒体，或者是从书里学到的东西，也可以来自于和朋友或者同事闲聊时的交流。我们有没有关心过这种被自己吸收的信息的质量如何？我们有没有观察过自己一天听到，读到，看到，或者想到的东西是积极乐观的还是消极悲观的？这种交流和吸收对自己的身心健康有没有益处? 当我们读完了一篇文章或者和别人交流完毕后，我们有没有注意到自己的感觉和情绪如何？我们是觉得高兴，快乐，感动，还是觉得恼怒，焦虑还是担忧？
在目前的这一段经济非常时期里，媒体的头条新闻通常是一些关于裁员，公司破产，或者房地产泡沫之类的消息。大家的注意力也开始一直集中在这些阴郁的消息里，再加上发生在自己身上的一些事，或者从亲戚，朋友，同事，邻居和其他渠道里听到更多的坏消息，我们的情绪和心理也随之开始变得黯淡。这种心理有时会导致一些人开始在一种惶惶不安的焦虑中生活。于是，我们对前景的看法也开始变得渺茫，灰暗。好像一瞬间这个世界充斥的都是不景气的东西。这种灰色的心情也会使我们渐渐失去看待事物的客观性，平衡性和全面性。我们一味沉浸在自己的焦虑中，而且开始忽略其它仍然在世界上发生的一些美好和令人鼓舞的事情，我们对那些美好东西的存在开始视而不见。我们眼里看到的只是一片暗淡的景象，我们的内心世界也随之变得低沉，心里越觉得低沉，眼里看出来的也就越是一幅暗淡的景象。戴灰色的眼镜看出来的自然是灰色的风景。
俗话说，近朱者赤，近墨者黑。其实，我们不仅仅要注意和什么样的人交友结伴，我们也要留意自己每天接触到的环境因素，这个环境因素包括自己每天吸取的信息及其渠道。很多时候，外在环境对内在心理是有着潜移默化的影响。
我不是倡导大家对外界的新闻和消息不闻不问，也不是否认经济在衰退的这个事实。我只是觉得，我们在观察力和思考力上要有独立性，不要不经考虑就全盘照收外界的消息，以为这个世界在这个时期只有坏的事情在发生，有的时候，媒体报道是很片面的。即便是经济衰退的时侯，世界上仍然是有很多令人振奋，感动的消息，媒体不报道或者我们没有听说不等于这些事情不存在。经济只不过是大千世界中的一个方面，经济衰退也不等于世界末日即将到来。每天阅读，打听，甚至积极参与传播这种千篇一律的消极新闻的行为对我们有益处吗？
信息是一把双刃剑，它有它的益处，但也有其不良的一面，尤其是当这种负面性的信息开始泛滥的时候。当我们一而再，再而三的让这种消极的东西包围，侵入我们的思想的时候，我们对事物的思考能力就会失去平衡性，因为我们满眼看到的都是消沉，沮丧的消息。在情绪上，我们也会因此而把前景看得更悲观。在潜移默化，不知不觉中，这种悲观的情绪也会开始影响到我们对待人生的态度。一个人的心态在很大程度上可以影响到一个人的命运。印度的圣雄甘地对这种从思想到心态，从心态到命运，一环扣一环的连锁反应有过这样一席名言：
你的人生信条会演变成你的思想，
你的思想会演变成你的言谈，
你的言谈会演变成你的行为，
你的行为会演变成你的习惯，
你的习惯会演变成你的价值观，
你的价值观会演变成你的命运。
- 圣雄甘地
如果我们想要维持自己在精神和心灵上的健康，我们必须在精神上做自己的把门人，让自己去接触更有营养，更具有积极意义的的思想和精神“食物”，把更多的焦点放在对自己身心健康有益的东西上。只有这样，我们才能更好地摆正心态来迎接生活。天没有塌下来，经济不是一切，经济不稳定的非常时期只不过是人生的一种经历。只有通过经历，我们才会真正体会生活，我们才会最终认识到什么是一个人生命中最重要，最宝贵的东西。
(版权所有，未经洁心同意，请勿转载)
