英漢英語美文：感知塑造現實，想要快樂須銘記的原則
one of the major principles of happiness – and this comes as a shock to no one – is that perception shapes reality. the way we view something determines our experience. i saw this during the inauguration. a person could say, "it's fantastic to be here among so many people," or a person could say, "it's a pain to be stuck in these crowds and long lines." same reality, different perception.
想要快樂須銘記一條原則，那就是“感知塑造現實”，誰也不會對這句話吃驚。我們看待事物的方式決定我們的體驗。從就職儀式中我就發現了這一點。一個人可以說：“能和這么多人在這里真好!”另一個人也可以說：“陷入長長的隊伍和人群中真痛苦。” 同樣的現實，不一樣的感受。
i realized the importance of characterization when i eavesdropped on a few conversations between my three-year-old and her grandmother.
我無意中聽到了我3歲女兒和她祖母的對話后，我發現了描述方式有多重要。
my daughter:"can i please have some ice cream?" (yes, she did say 'please'.)
我的女兒說：“請問我能吃一些冰激凌嗎？” (是的，她說了‘請’。)
my mother-in-law:"okay, but you had a cookie earlier, so i'm just going to give you a little bit."
我的岳母說：“好的，但是你剛才吃了一塊餅干，我只再給你一點。”
my daughter:"no, no, i want a big bowl! not a little bit."
我的女兒：“不，不，我要一大碗!不是一點。”
my mother-in-law:"tonight you're going to go to bed nice and early."
我的岳母：“今晚你要乖乖地早些睡覺。”
my daughter:"no, no, no! not early, i want to stay up late!"
我的女兒：“不，不! 不要早，要晚！”
had my mother-in-law said, "i'm giving you a big scoop" or "we're letting you stay up late," my daughter would have accepted that characterization instead of protesting. same bowl of ice cream, same bedtime, different perception.
如果我的岳母說：“我給你一大勺”或“我讓你晚些睡覺”，我的女兒也許就會接受這個“描述”而不會抗議了。同樣大小的碗，同樣的睡覺時間，不同的感知。
and this isn't just true of children. the other day, i was talking to an acquaintance, and the subject of happiness came up. she said, "well, gretchen, you dabble in the subject of happiness, don't you?"
這一情況不僅僅出現在兒童身上。前些天，我在和一位熟人談話，聊到了快樂的話題。她說：“gretchen，你在涉足快樂問題，是嗎?”
yes, in fact, i do dabble in the subject of happiness. i've been dabbling away for ten hours a day for more than three years now.
是的，事實上，我是在“涉足”快樂問題，最近三年多來每天10小時地“涉足”了。
i'm proud to say that i handled it nicely in the moment, but i'm embarrassed to admit how much this characterization annoyed me. my reaction doesn't speak well of me, at all; i know perfectly well that this person has no particular reason to know what i'm up to and that she didn't mean to bug me – yet i found it hard not to feel irritated with that particular characterization.
我很自豪當時自己很好地應對了這一情況，但是不好意思，我要承認這個人的描述方式惹惱了我。我完全不該有那樣消極的反應，因為我很清楚那人沒必要知道我所做的，而且她不是有意要氣我。可我發現，不被這種“描述”惹惱是很難的一件事。
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