坐看云起时

by Leo Babauta

Have you ever felt that we are rushing through life， that we get so caught up in busy-ness[忙碌] that life is passing us almost without notice？

I get this feeling all the time.

The antidote[解毒剂] is simple： sitting and watching.

Take a minute out of your busy day to sit with me， and talk. Take a moment to imagine being in the middle of traffic—youre driving， stressed out[有压力的] by the high amount of traffic， trying to get somewhere before youre late， angry at other drivers who are rude or idiotic[愚蠢的]， completely focused on making your way through this jungle of metal on a ribbon[带状物] of asphalt[沥青]. Now youve gotten to the end， phew[呸]， you made it， wonderful， and youre only a few minutes late…but did you notice the scenery you passed along the way？ Did you talk to any of the other people along your path？ Did you enjoy the ride？

No， probably not. You were so caught up in getting there， in the details of navigating[驾驶]， in the stress of driving， that you didnt have time to notice your surroundings， the people nearby， or the wonderful journey. This is how we are in life.

你是否有过生活很仓促的感觉？我们被忙碌绑架，而不知不觉间，生命在流逝。

我一直有这种感觉。

其实解药很简单：静静地坐着，看着。

从你那忙碌的一天中抽出一分钟，坐下来陪我聊聊天吧。花一点时间想象自己正处于车流中：你开着车，无尽的车流让你倍感压力，你试图在迟到前抵达某地，对其他无礼、愚蠢的司机感到愤怒，完全专注于如何穿过这沥青路上的金属丛林。现在你到达目的地，轻呸一声，你做到了，好在你只迟到了几分钟……但你有没有注意到沿途的风景？你有没有和任何一个路人搭话？你是否享受这段旅程？

大概没有。你沉浸于驾驶的细节和压力之中，完全没有时间去注意周围的事物、身边的人，或美妙的旅程。这就是忙碌生活中的我们。

Now imagine that you pulled over， got out of the car， and found a grassy[多草的] spot to sit. And you watched the other cars zoom[飞驰] by. And you watched the grass blown gently by the wind， and the birds making a flocking[簇拥] pattern overhead， and the clouds lazily watching you back.

Sit and watch.

We dont do this， because its useless to do something that isnt productive[有生产价值的]， that doesnt improve our lives. But as Alan Watts注1 wrote in The Way of Zen[禅]：

“As muddy water is best cleared by leaving it alone， it could be argued that those who sit quietly and do nothing are making one of the best possible contributions[贡献] to a world in turmoil[动荡].”

Its interesting， too， what we see when we sit and watch. We will notice others rushing， and worried， and angry， and in them see a mirror of ourselves. We will notice children laughing （or crying） with their parents， and remember what were missing when we rush to improve our lives.

More interesting is what you see when you sit and watch yourself. You learn to step outside yourself， and act as an observer. You see your thoughts， and learn more about yourself than you ever could if you were rushing to take action. You see your self-doubts[缺少自信]， and self-criticism[自我批评]， and wonder where they came from（a bad incident in childhood， perhaps？） and wonder if you are smart enough to let them go. You see your rationalizations[合理化]， and realize that they are bullshit[胡扯]， and learn to let those go too. You see your fears， and realize what hold they have over you， and realize that you can make them powerless[无力的]， by just sitting and watching them， not taking action on them.

现在想象一下，你把车停在路边，走出车子，然后找到一处长满青草的地方坐下。你看着其他车子飞驰而过，看着小草在风中轻摇，看着鸟儿在空中簇拥成群，再看着云朵慵懒地与你对望。

静静地坐着，看着。

我们不这样做，是因为做没有价值的事是无谓的，它不会改善我们的生活。但正如艾伦·瓦茨在《禅之道》中所言：

“就像让浑水变清最佳方法是让它自己沉淀，可以说，那些静坐无为的人为这动荡的世界做出了最合适的一种贡献。”

坐看之时，我们之所见也很有趣。我们会注意到他人的匆忙、忧虑、愤怒，还有从他们身上映照出来的自己。我们会发现孩子与父母在一起时的欢笑（或哭泣），然后记起我们在改善生活的匆忙之中所丢失的东西。

更有趣的是在坐看中你所看到的自己。你学会跳脱自我，像观察者般打量自己。你看到自己的想法，对自己的了解超过了以往仓促行动的自己。你看到了自己的不自信、自我批评，想知道它们从何而来（或许是孩童时期的事故？），而且怀疑自己是否足够聪明地把它们放下。你看到了自己的“有理有据”，意识到那不过是胡扯，并且也学会了抛弃。你看到了自己的恐惧，知道它们产生的来源，然后相信自己能无视它们，只需要坐看它们，不需要采取任何行动。

By sitting and watching， you come to know yourself.

You learn the most valuable lessons about life， by sitting and watching.

And as we know from the observer effect注2 in physics， by watching， we change what we watch.

Take a few minutes today， to sit and watch. It might change your life.

通过坐和看，你开始认识你自己。

通过坐和看，你学到了关于生命的最有价值的一课。

正如我们所知的在物理学中“观察者效应”一样，通过观看，我们改变我们之所见。

今天，请花几分钟静静地坐看。它可能会改变你的生活。