怪盗基德vs怪盗joker:真正衡量你财富的方式

The Real Measure of Your Wealth

真正衡量财富的方式

Editor’s Note: This is a contribution by Julie Hoyle

       编者：朱莉.霍伊尔投稿

“The real measure of your wealth is how much you’d be worth if you lost all your money.”   

          真正衡量你财富的方式，应该是看你失去所有钱的时候还拥有些什么。

     A wonderful story from the yogic tradition highlighting the true meaning of wealth goes something like this:

      有一个非常精彩的故事，讲述的是瑜伽传统所揭示的财富真谛：

     There was once a beggar who spent his days sitting under an old banyan tree on the side of a dusty road that led to a bustling town. The man had been begging in that spot for years, rattling an old tin can hoping that passers-by would feel compassion and offer alms.

       曾经有一个乞丐，多年来，他一直坐在一颗古老的菩提树下乞讨。这棵树在一条临近闹市而且满是灰尘的街道上。他的面前摆着一个很旧的锡罐，希望过路的人给予同情和施舍。

  Yet, at the end of each day he would only have collected one or two rupees, barely enough to buy a dry chapati and a cup of sweet chai.

    但是每一天，他都只能得到一个或两个卢比，只够买一个干面包和一杯印度奶茶。

One day a wise man approached. Witnessing the beggar’s plight he called out, “My man, why are you wasting your days begging in this way? If you dig right where you are, you will discover great treasure!”

         一天一个智者来到了他面前。看到乞丐的处境之后他忍不住叫道：“老兄，你为什么要浪费时间乞讨呢？如果你试着挖一下你面前的这块地方，你会发现大量的财富！”

  Desperate about his impoverished situation and intrigued by this idea, the beggar decided to take the wise man’s advice. Using his bare hands he began digging the earth under where he had been sitting.

     智者的话提起了他的兴趣，由于对自己贫困处境的焦虑，这个乞丐决定采纳智者的建议。他用自己的双手开始在一直坐着的地方挖掘。

To his utter amazement the beggar discovered a huge bag of rare, gold coins.

     让他惊讶的是，他真的发现了一大包真正的金币。

Dancing with joy he declared, “Had I realized I was sitting on top of great wealth I could have eased my suffering years ago!” 

     他高兴的宣布道：“我现在拥有了大量的财富，从今以后，我再也不会过以前那种受苦的生活了！”

I was once like the beggar, always seeking ways to fill the empty bowl of my perceived lack, believing that if I worked and saved hard enough I would ensure financial security. However, on October 6th 2008, the bubble of that illusion burst when my husband and I discovered our bank had dramatically collapsed.

    我曾经就像这个乞丐，经常寻找各种方式想要填补自己所缺乏的东西，并且坚信只要我努力地工作就可以确保经济无忧。但是，2008年地10月6号，泡沫经济发生了，我和我的丈夫一瞬间就什么都没有了。

Suddenly finding myself looking into the grim face of my worst possible fear, I knew I had to change my understanding of what the energy of money represented and discover the source of true wealth.

     突然间我发现自己已经处于一种最害怕的最糟糕的状态，我知道必须改变自己对于钱的重要性的看法，并且找到真正的财富所在。

As a young adult, I had inherited a strong work ethic from my father along with a subconscious belief that money was “hard to come by.” As a consequence, I had become terrified of lack and even more terrified of loss.

      作为一个年轻人，我从我父亲那里继承了坚强的理念，还有一种潜意识的信念就是“钱是不容易挣的。”因此，我没有感到恐慌，更没有感到失去的害怕。

Though I had recognized this unhealthy energy dynamic years ago when starting out on my spiritual path, and grew determined to face and transform ingrained fears, here it was again in a form that could not be ignored.

     因为早在几年前，我就已经意识到了这种危险的动态，并且决定要勇敢面对进而改变这种害怕的心态。这种情况现在又一次发生，我已经不能再逃避了。

Committing to pulling the old beliefs out by the roots, I kept drawing strength from entries I had made in my journal a few months earlier. They came in the form a wise man whose “voice” was so strong, powerful, and imbued with equanimity that I was compelled to listen.

       从几个月前开始我已经明白，这种旧观念要彻底抛却，我从自己的日记中来获取继续支撑下去的力量。这力量来自于一个智者，他的声音听起来那么坚强，有力，能够给我平静的力量。

The first message was an insistent directive I had heard repeated while waking up early  one morning. It was:“Why are you sitting on your wealth? You have been given everything! What are you waiting for?”

      有一天早晨，我醒来的时候听到一个声音持续地这样说到：“你为什么还要担心你的财富呢？你已经拥有了所有的东西，你还想得到什么呢？”

And intriguingly another message had been:

“You are exhausted because you are repressing the energy of your own creative impulse, which is your true wealth.”

     有趣的是，另一个声音这样说：“你已经精疲力尽了，因为你丧失了自己的创造力，那才是你真正的财富。”

Now I became acutely aware of being presented with two choices. One was to descend into contraction, panic, and despair. The other was to accept what was unfolding, view the situation from an elevated perspective, and use the messages like a lifeline.

     现在我已经清醒的看到摆在我面前的两个选择。一个是继续痛苦，恐慌甚至绝望。另一个就是接受已经发生的事，从更高的角度看问题，把困难当成另一个生命中的机会。

Choosing an elevated perspective, I knew my soul was urging me to take action and find the courage to share my intuitive gifts rather than continuing to hide out of fear. It was definitely time to start digging in.

      站在更高的角度，我知道我的心正指引着我采取行动，我从上天的恩赐中得到勇气而不是继续害怕。是时候开始像那个乞丐一样挖地了。

With that awareness I formed an intention to heal the financial and creative dynamic, realizing one was simply a reflection of the other:

     认识到这点，我开始想办法弥补我的财政危机，并且意识到这仅仅只是一种不同的现象而已：

First: I accepted the financial loss as a gift, immediately resolving to turn it into a positive, abundant experience.Second: I wrote a statement in my journal declaring, “Fine! If we have lost everything, let this be a beautiful starting point. I vow to spend the rest of my life living in alignment with my gifts, skills, and talents.”Third: I began to work on the situation energetically. When I sat quietly and asked: “How does this financial situation manifest in terms of a fear-based image?” I saw a dark pit, descending deep into the ground which had the power to suck me in, draining all my energy and resources. The title I gave it was: “Bottomless Pit.”Fourth: On inquiring, “What can be done to transform the fear into expansion and abundance?” I began to feel a sense of empowerment and began directing light to the image, working on reducing the size of the opening.

     首先:我把失去所有的钱财当做上天的一份礼物，因为这件事带给我一种积极的，丰富的经验。第二：我在我的日记中写道：其实这样也不错，既然我们失去了所有的东西，那就把它当做一个美好的开始吧。我发誓，我的余生一定是充满着礼物、惊喜和各种恩赐的。第三：我开始积极面对眼前的情况。我坐下来问自己：“我应该怎么样从这种经济的恐慌中摆脱出来？”我看到了黑暗的深坑，它会吸走我所有的能量，我把它称为“无底洞”。第四：调查。“怎么样可以把恐惧转化成能量？”有了想法之后我直接开始行动，给自己创造机会。

For weeks after, every time fear began surfacing in response to lack, I would visualize the hole becoming smaller and smaller until it was completely gone.

     几周之后，我觉得每一次恐惧来袭带给我的影响已经越来越小，直至完全消失。

In its place, rising up and out into the universe, I visualized a strong web of light, like a vast tree, spreading its golden limbs into infinity. This image reflected the belief that we receive limitless resources if we share the abundance of who we are, rather than believing in scarcity and limitation.

    在这种状况里，我感受到了一种坚强的力量，这种力量不断增长，越来越强大。这也反映了我们自己的能量石有限的，但是如果我们把自己的这种丰富的经验跟别人分享，而不只是为自己的不足感慨，我们都会获得自己的成功。