 There is a paradox with living as a human nowadays. 如今，现在的人们活着，容易产生一种悖论。 A 2014 article from the United Nations states that about 54 percent of the human population lives in urban areas (more by now), a proportion that is projected to increase to 66 percent by 2050. 联合国2014年的一篇文章指出，约有54％的人口居住在城市地区（目前更多），预计到2050年将增加到66％。 By 2045, the report says, more than six billion people will crowd cities. 到2045年，报告称，超过60亿人们会挤占城市。 People flock to cities for obvious reasons, all very understandable: more job opportunities; more choices; more culture and cultural diversity; larger communities. 人们涌入城市的原因很明显，又很容易理解：更多的就业机会;更多的选择;更多的文化和文化多样性;更大的社区群体。 Yet, and this is the paradox, living in a crowded, concrete-walled, green-poor, urban environment takes something away from our very essence, our primal need to be close to nature. 然而，这就是悖论，生活在一个拥挤的，混凝土墙所包围的，绿色贫瘠的城市环境中，远离我们的本质，我们最初的需要是接近自然。 An EPA study found that Americans spend approximately 90 percent of their time indoors, where the concentrations of some air pollutants can be 2 times to 5 times higher than outdoors. 美国环保局的一项研究发现，美国人大约有90％的时间花在室内，其中一些空气污染物的浓度可能比室外高2至5倍。 Essentially, we spend our lives in cages breathing bad air. 基本上，我们把生命用来在笼子里呼吸不良空气。 Too much grey, black, and white — and not enough immersion in greens and blues. 太多的灰色，黑色和白色——不足的绿色和蓝色。 It is no wonder that many large cities take landscaping seriously, adding parks and green areas wherever possible. 难怪许多大城市都认真对待园林绿化，并尽可能增加公园和绿地。 We can't quite sever the link with our evolutionary past and part ways with our origins. 我们不能完全切断与我们的进化历史的联系，也不能与我们的起源分道扬镳。 We are, after all, animals, and it's hard to forget that, even if some try real hard, surrounding themselves with walls, metal, glass, and screens. 毕竟，我们是动物，而且很难忘记这点，即使有些人真的很努力地用墙、金属、玻璃和屏幕环绕自己。 Those people tend to pay a price, often with their health and quality of life. 那些人往往会为他们的健康和生活质量付出代价。 In Japan, the country that has the highest population density in the world but also vast expanses of green forests (about 3,000 miles of them), an ancient tradition tries to balance out the crush from urban living. 日本是世界人口密度最高的国家，但也有广阔的绿色森林（约3000英里），人们试图用古老的传统平衡城市生活的压力。 It's known as shinrin-yoku, or "forest bathing." 它被称为shinrin-yoku，或“森林浴”。 It's the practice of spending prolonged periods of time with trees in order to gain from their many health benefits. 这是为了使健康受益而花费很长时间培育大量树木的做法。 In a book hitting shelves this month, Forest Bathing: How Trees Can Help You Find Health And Happiness, Dr. Qing Li, the world's foremost expert in forest medicine, introduces readers to the healing practice of forest bathing — and the art and science of how trees can enrich your life. 在本月上架的一本书中，《森林浴：树是如何帮助你找到健康和幸福的》，世界首屈一指的森林医学专家李清博士向读者介绍了森林浴疗法——以及树木如何丰富你的生活中的艺术和科学。 (There are other books on forest bathing that I also recommend, including the recently released Your Guide to Forest Bathing, by M. Amos Clifford, focusing on the more meditative side of shinrin-yoku.) （我还推荐了其他一些有关森林沐浴的书籍，其中包括最近发布的由M. Amos Clifford发表的“森林沐浴指南”，着重介绍shinrin-yoku的更加沉思的一面。） Dr. Li's book is itself a tribute to forests and the magnificence of trees, featuring more than 100 color photographs of forests around the world. 李博士的这本书本身就是对森林和树木的辉煌的赞扬，展示了全世界100多幅森林彩色照片。 One may dismiss this kind of book as yet more pseudoscience babble, but the point is that Li has not just practiced shinrin-yoku, but has also studied its impact on people's health through numerous scientific studies. 有人可能会把这种书看作是更伪科学的喋喋不休，但问题是，李博士不仅亲身实践了森林浴，而且还通过大量的科学研究研究了它对人们健康的影响。 He has data to support his claims, collected in a long list of peer-reviewed articles at the end of the book. 他有数据支持他的主张，收集在本书最后的一系列经过同行评议的文章中。 He is a medical doctor at the Tokyo's Nippon Medical School, and has been a visiting fellow at Stanford University School of Medicine, among other appointments and leadership roles. 他是东京日本医科大学的医学博士，并曾担任斯坦福大学医学院的访问学者以及其他任命和领导职务。 Here is the scoop: Forest bathing reduces stress, anxiety, depression, and anger. 这里是独家新闻：森林沐浴减轻压力，焦虑，抑郁和愤怒。 The book lists studies that consistently show a substantial reduction of stress hormones. 该书列出的研究始终显示应激激素的显着减少。 Essential tree oils, such as phytoncides found in forest air (pine trees and cypress tend to be the richest), increase energy levels by more than 30 percent. 在森林空气中发现的树脂（松树和柏树往往是最富有的）能够使能量水平提高30％以上。 Aromatherapy enthusiasts know well that such tree oils conjure a general state of well-being, capturing the essence of forest bathing. 香薰爱好者非常清楚，这种树脂唤起了一般人的幸福感，捕捉了森林沐浴的精髓。 There is improvement in sleep (an average increase by 15 percent after a two-hour forest walk), a boost of the immune system and in cardiovascular health, and better parasympathetic response (rest-and-recover). The health and emotional benefits are plentiful. 睡眠有改善（经过两小时森林散步后平均增加15％），提高免疫系统和心血管健康，以及更好的副交感神经反应（休息和恢复）。健康和情绪上的好处是丰富的。 Lest urban-based readers feel discouraged, forest bathing doesn't require huge expanses to be effective. 为了防止城市读者感到沮丧，森林浴不需要巨大的扩张就能有效。 Walks in parks, house plants, aromatherapy focused on cypress and other tree oils, all offer a degree of benefits. 在公园漫步，室内植物，专注于柏树和其他树脂的芳香疗法，都有一定的好处。 Li, for example, confesses that living in Tokyo has changed his practice and he now contends with lunchtime walks in a shrine next to his work. 例如，李博士承认住在东京改变了他的做法，他现在主张午餐时间在他的工作旁边的一个神社中散步。 Anyone, with some degree of effort, can find a way to mingle with nature, in a city or not. 任何人在某种程度上都可以找到一种与大自然融合的方式，无论在不在一个城市。 As the philosopher Alan Watts once wrote, "You didn't come into this world. You came out of it, like a wave from the ocean. You are not a stranger here." 正如哲学家艾伦·瓦茨曾经写道：“你没有走进这个世界，你从它里面出来，就像海洋中的波涛，对这里不陌生。” Scientific results apart, the notion of shinrin-yoku shouldn't be so surprising. 除了科学的结果之外，shinrin-yoku的概念也不应该那么令人惊讶。 Who hasn't felt an inner sense of well-being when walking along a forest trail, the sun filtering through the leaves to create a kaleidoscope of light and shadows on the ground? 当沿着森林小径行走时，谁还没有感受到一种内心的幸福，阳光透过树叶的照射，在地面上创造出万花筒般的光影? We take these walks to feel rejuvenated, more attuned to our bodies, to refresh our minds. 我们通过这些散步来恢复活力，更适应我们的身体，重新振作起来。 Stepping into a forest, or just into a small grove, is like pushing a life reset button, reestablishing a connection with our deepest needs. 踏入森林，或者只是进入一片小树林，就像按下生命重置按钮，重建与我们最深层需求的联系。 It's hard not to feel something viscerally meaningful as we surround ourselves by trees, away from the artificial sounds and smells of urban life. 当我们被树木包围，远离人造的声音和城市生活的气味时，我们很难不去感受一些有意义的东西。 Having spent the first decades of my life in big cities, I feel privileged to now live surrounded by trees, including lots of fragrant pines. 在大城市度过了我人生的头几十年，我感到很荣幸能住在树木环绕的地方，包括许多芳香的松树。 In fact, to celebrate this wonderful book, and what seems to be a rediscovery of shinrin-yoku in our lives, I'm going to go now — to take my forest bath. 实际上，为了庆祝这本精彩的书，以及在我们生活中似乎重新发现了shinrin-yoku，我现在要去——森林浴。 感谢关注 跟amber一起看世界 生活不暖 但一定要有太阳 |
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