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When life feels out of control, it’s important to know how to stay calm, and in his “Meditations”, Marcus Aurelius, the last of the five good emperors of Rome, offers us several insights on how to do this. By practicing the following five virtues, you’ll be able to embrace uncertainty and stay calm in most situations.当你感觉生活失去掌控时，懂得如何镇定沉着很重要，关于如何做到镇定沉着，罗马五贤帝中的最后一位皇帝马可·奥勒留，在他的的著作《沉思录》中，给我们提供了一些的深刻见解。通过践行以下五种品质，你将能够拥抱不确定性，在大多数情况下从容不迫。The first virtue is acceptance.Marcus wants us to accept things the way they are and not deny reality. In his “Meditations”, he wrote, “Something happens to you. Good. It was meant for you by nature, woven into the pattern from the beginning.” If you believe that everything that happens to you is meant to happen to you, then you’ll more easily be able to accept it. And once you accept your current situation, you will instantly feel a little more calm, knowing that where you are right now is where you are meant to be and that this is not an accident. Accepting the present is the first step to changing your future.马可·奥勒留希望我们接受事物的现状，不否认现实。在《沉思录》中，他写道：“某事在你身上发生，很好。这件事注定会发生在你身上，上天从一开始就安排好了”。如果你相信你身上发生的一切，都是注定要发生在你身上的，那么你会更容易接纳发生的事实。一旦你接受了当前的处境，你会立即感到更加冷静，明白你目前的处境，就是你注定面临的处境，而不是偶然的。接受当下是改变你未来的第一步。The second virtue Marcus talks about is mindfulness. In “Meditations”, he says, “Forget everything else. Keep hold of this alone and remember it: Each of us lives only now, this brief instant. The rest has been lived already, or is impossible to see.” Marcus wants us to focus on the present moment and our next action, because the past is merely a memory and the future is uncertain. What is certain is what you are working on right now, and if you do it with the best of intentions and to the best of your ability, that’s the most that you can do, and fate will handle the rest.在《沉思录》中，他说：“忘记一切，仅仅牢记：我们每个人只活在当下，这短暂的瞬间。其余的生活已经过去，或者根本无法预见。”马可·奥勒留希望我们专注于当下的时刻和下一步行动，因为过去只是记忆，未来是不确定的。你能确定的是现在正在做的事情，如果你怀着最美好的意愿并尽力而为，这就是你能做的最多的事了，命运会处理其余的事情。By focusing on the present moment, you will start to feel more calm. You will eliminate the anxiety that comes from worrying about the unchangeable past or the unknowable future. Focusing on what you are working on right now is the most productive use of your time.专注于当下，你将开始感到更加镇定。你将消除因为担心无法改变的过去或无法预知的未来而产生的焦虑。对时间最高效的利用，就是专注于你当前正在做的事情。The third virtue Marcus talks about is discrimination, which means being able to differentiate between the things that are in your control and the things that are not.马可·奥勒留谈到的第三种品质是明辨，即能够区分出你能控制的事物和不能控制的事物。 He writes, “Remember, nothing belongs to you but your flesh and blood – and nothing else is under your control.” What’s most under your control is your body, mind, and actions – or in other words, your self-expression. You can control how you express yourself in this world, but you can’t control how the world will react to you. You can say something with the best of intentions, but it can still be misinterpreted. You can spend years working on a song, film, or book, but you can’t force people to like it. You can dress up warmly, but you can’t stop it from raining. Your actions and self-expression are in your control, but the reactions of the world are not.他写道：“记住，除了你的血肉之躯，没有任何东西属于你 - 没有其他任何东西在你的控制之下。”你最多能控制的是你的身体、思想和行为 - 或者换句话说，你的自我表达。你可以控制你如何在这个世界上表达自己，但你无法控制世界如何对你。你可以怀着最美好的意愿说些什么，但你说的话仍然可能会被误解。你可以花多年时间创作一首歌曲、一部电影或一本书，但你无法强迫别人喜欢你的作品。你可以穿得很暖和，但无法阻止雨水的降落。你的行为和自我表达在你的控制之下，但你无法控制这个世界如何对你。When you realize and accept this, you will feel a little calmer, knowing that most things are out of your control and your only responsibility is to focus on your own actions.当你意识到并接受了这一点，你会感到更加镇定，明白大多数事情都不在你的控制之下，你唯一的责任就是专注于自己的行为。The fourth virtue Marcus talks about is judgment.He writes, “…don’t treat anything as important except doing what your nature demands, and accepting what nature sends you.” Marcus warns us to be smart about the things we judge as important. He believes that the truly important thing in life is to live virtuously, in pursuit of “justice, honesty, self-control, [and] courage…” Or in other words: being a good person. 他写道：“……除了做你的本性要求的事情，接受大自然赐予你的，不要把任何事情看得太重要。”马可·奥勒留警告我们，要明智判断事物的重要性。他认为生活中真正重要的是以追求“公正、诚信、克己、无畏……”为核心的美好生活，换句话说，就是成为一个好人。When we judge the wrong things as important, such as wealth, fame, or looking good in front of others, we tend to feel more anxious, because these things are largely out of our control and depend on other people. But when we value the right things as important, such as living virtuously and being a good person, we feel more calm and peaceful, because being a good person is always under our control.当我们错误地把财富、名声或在他人面前的形象视为重要时，往往会感到更焦虑，因为这些事情在很大程度上超出了我们的控制，并且依赖于他人。但当我们把正确的事情，如美好生活和成为一个好人，视为重要时，我们会感到更加镇定与平和，因为成为一个好人始终在我们的控制之下。The fifth virtue Marcus talks about is adaptability.He writes, “Frightened of change? But what can exist without it? What’s closer to nature’s heart? Can you take a hot bath and leave the firewood as it was? Eat food without transforming it? Can any vital process take place without something being changed? Can’t you see? It’s just the same with you – and just as vital to nature.”他写道：“害怕变化吗？但除了变化还有什么呢？什么更接近于大自然的本质？你能洗个热水澡，然后让烧掉的柴火恢复原样吗？能让吃掉的食物恢复原样吗？任何的事情不是都需要进行一些改变吗？难道你还不明白吗？无论是对于你，还是对于大自然，变化都是至关重要的。”Change is the nature of the universe. All things are in constant flux and motion. The world is constantly moving forward, so if you stand still, you will get left behind. An unwillingness to change is unnatural. If the times are changing, you have to be willing to change with the times. When you accept that it is natural and mandatory for yourself and the world to change, then you will feel a little more calm.变化是宇宙的本质。万物不断流转变化。世界不断向前推进，所以如果你止步不前，你将被抛在后面。不愿意改变是违背自然规律的。如果时代在变，你必须愿意与时俱进。当你接受改变对于你和整个世界都是自然且必然的，你会更加从容不迫。So by practicing these five virtues – acceptance, mindfulness, discrimination, judgment, and adaptability – you can be more like Marcus Aurelius, the last of the five good emperors of Rome, embracing change and staying calm – even in uncertain times.因此，通过践行这五种品质：接纳、正念、明辨、判断力和适应力。你会更像罗马五贤帝中的最后一位皇帝马库斯·奥勒留一样，拥抱变化，镇定自若，即使在不确定的时代。 译制：良哥 source: Shadé Zahrai 微信的规则进行了调整 学完请多点“在看”，喜欢请点分享和赞 这样小one的推送才能继续出现在你的订阅列表里 才能持续给大家分享实用有趣的学习干货~
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