Lesson58
A gifted American psychologist has said, 'Worry is a spasm of the emotion; the mind catches hold of something and will not let it go.' It is useless to argue with the mind in this condition. The stronger the will, the more futile the task. One can only gently insinuate something else into its convulsive grasp. And if this something else is rightly chosen, if it is really attended by the illumination of another field of interest, gradually, and often quite swiftly, the old undue grip relaxes and the process of recuperation and repair begins.
The cultivation of a hobby and new forms of interest is therefore a policy of first importance to a public man. But this is not a business that can be undertaken in a day or swiftly improvised by a mere command of the will. The growth of alternative mental interests is a long process. The seeds must be carefully chosen; they must fall on good ground; they must be sedulously tended, if the vivifying fruits are to be at hand when needed.
To be really happy and really safe, one ought to have at least two or three hobbies, and they must all be real. It is no use starting late in life to say: 'I will take an interest in this or that.' Such an attempt only aggravates the strain of mental effort. A man may acquire great knowledge of topics unconnected with his daily work, and yet hardly get any benefit or relief. It is no use doing what you like, you have got to like what you do. Broadly speaking, human beings may be divided into three classes: those who are toiled to death, those who are worried to death, and those who are bored to death. It is no use offering the manual labourer, tired out with a hard week's sweat and effort, the chance of playing a game of football or baseball on Saturday afternoon. It is no use inviting the politician or the professional or business man, who has been working or worrying about serious things for six days, to work or worry about trifling things at the week-end.
As for the unfortunate people who can command everything they want, who can gratify every caprice and lay their hands on almost every object of desire for them a new pleasure, a new excitement is only an additional satiation. In vain they rush frantically round from place to place, trying to escape from avenging boredom by mere clatter and motion. For them discipline in one form or another is the most hopeful path.
It may also be said that rational, industrious, useful human beings are divided into two classes: first, those whose work is work and whose pleasure is pleasure; and secondly, those whose work and pleasure are one. Of these the former are the majority. They have their compensations. The long hours in the office or the factory bring with them as their reward, not only the means of sustenance, but a keen appetite for pleasure even in its simplest and most modest forms. But fortune's favoured children belong to the second class. Their life is a natural harmony. For them the working hours are never long enough. Each day is a holiday, and ordinary holidays when they come are grudged as enforced interruptions in an absorbing vocation. Yet to both classes the need of an alternative outlook, of a change of atmosphere, of a diversion of effort, is essential. Indeed,
it may well be that those whose work is their pleasure are those who most need the means of banishing it at intervals from their minds.
WINSTON CHURCHILL Painting as a Pastime
参考译文
一位有才华的美国心理学家曾经说过，“烦恼是情感的发作；脑子紧紧抓住某种东西就是不肯放。”同处于这种情况的人争论是无用的。意志越坚强，开导越无效。人们只能逐渐而巧妙地让别的东西进入其起痉挛的坚固的脑子。如果选择得当而且真能启发另一方面的兴趣，那么旧的过度紧张就会逐渐而且常常是相当快地松弛下来，于是康复也就开始。
因此，对社会活动家来说，培养业余爱好和新的兴趣就成为头等重要的事情了。但这不是能一蹴而就的事情，也不能单靠毅力就能临时凑成。不同内心兴趣的成长是一个很长的过程。必须仔细选择种子；它们得种在沃土上；必须对它们小心翼翼地照顾，才能在需要时随手采下生机勃勃的果实。
要真正快乐和安全，人们至少需要有两或三种业余爱好，而且全都应该是货真价实的，不要等到老了才空说：“我会对这个或那个发生兴趣。”这种尝试蛤会增加脑力的紧张程度。一个人可能会从同自己日常工作无关的论题中获得大量的知识，然而却几乎得不到任何好处或宽慰。做喜欢做的事是无用的；你得喜欢你所做的事情。广义地说，人类可分
为三种：累死的、愁死的和烦死的。向一星期下来辛苦劳累的一个劳动者提供星期六下午玩一场足球或棒球的机会是无用的。同样，也不该让六天里一直为正经事工作或烦恼的政治家、专业人员或商人在周未再为小事而劳碌或操心。
至于那些任性而又贪得无厌的想要什么有什么的不幸的人们，对他们来说，一个新的欢乐或是一次新的激动只不过是多增一分厌腻而已。他们发狂似的一处又一处瞎转，徒然想以喧嚣和走动逃避厌烦对他的报复。对他们来说，规律化的生活是最有希望的出路。
也可以说，理智的、勤劳的、有用的人们可分为两类：第一类，工作是工作，享乐是享乐；第二类，工作和享受合二为一。其中第一类人占大多数。他们有自己的补偿。在办公室或工厂里的漫长时间所带给他们的报酬，不止是维持生计的财力，而且能满足他们的那怕是最简单最朴素享受的强烈爱好。但只有第二类人才是天之骄子。他们
的生活是天生的和谐。对他们来说，工作时间永远不够长。每一天都是节日，却把普通的节假日不情愿地看成是令人全神贯注的天职的被迫中断。不过对两种人来说，都极需要另开眼界、改变气氛和转移注意力。实际上把工作当作享受的那些人可能最需要间歇地把工作从思想中撇开。
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