We often close ourselves off when traumatic events happen in our lives; instead of letting the world soften us, we let it drive us deeper into ourselves. We try to deflect the hurt and pain by pretending it doesn’t exist, but although we can try this all we want, in the end, we can’t hide from ourselves. We need to learn to open our hearts to the potentials of life and let the world soften us.

生活發生不幸時，我們常常會關上心門;世界不僅沒能慰藉我們，反倒使我們更加消沉。我們假裝一切仿佛都不曾發生，以此試圖忘卻傷痛，可就算隱藏得再好，最終也還是騙不了自己。既然如此，何不嘗試打開心門，擁抱生活中的各種可能，讓世界感化我們呢?

traumatic [tra?’m?t?k] adj. 外傷的;創傷的 n. 外傷藥

Whenever we start to let our fears and seriousness get the best of us, we should take a step back and re-evaluate our behavior. The items listed below are six ways you can open your heart more fully and completely.

當恐懼與焦慮來襲時，我們應該退后一步，重新反思自己的言行。下面六個方法有助于你更完滿透徹地敞開心扉。

1. Breathe into pain

直面痛苦

Whenever a painful situation arises in your life, try to embrace it instead of running away or trying to mask the hurt. When the sadness strikes, take a deep breath and lean into it. When we run away from sadness that’s unfolding in our lives, it gets stronger and more real. We take an emotion that’s fleeting and make it a solid event, instead of something that passes through us.

當生活中出現痛苦的事情時，別再逃跑或隱藏痛苦，試著擁抱它吧;當悲傷來襲時，試著深呼吸，然后直面它。如果我們一味逃避生活中的悲傷，悲傷只會變得更強烈更真實——悲傷原本只是稍縱即逝的情緒，我們卻固執地耿耿于懷。

fleeting [’fli?t??]adj. 飛逝的;轉瞬間的 v. 迅速移動(fleet的ing形式)

By utilizing our breath we soften our experiences. If we dam them up, our lives will stagnate, but when we keep them flowing, we allow more newness and greater experiences to blossom.

深呼吸能減緩我們的感受。屏住呼吸，生活停滯;呼出呼吸，更多新奇與經歷又將拉開序幕。

2. Embrace the uncomfortable

擁抱不安

We all know what that twinge of anxiety feels like. We know how fear feels in our bodies: the tension in our necks, the tightness in our stomachs, etc. We can practice leaning into these feelings of discomfort and let them show us where we need to go.

我們都經歷過焦灼的煎熬感，也都感受過恐懼造成的生理反應：脖子僵硬、胃酸翻騰。其實，我們有能力面對這些痛苦的感受，從中領悟到出路。

The initial impulse is to run away — to try and suppress these feelings by not acknowledging them. When we do this, we close ourselves off to the parts of our lives that we need to experience most. The next time you have this feeling of being truly uncomfortable, do yourself a favor and lean into the feeling. Act in spite of the fear.

我們的第一反應總是逃避——以為否認不安情緒的存在就能萬事大吉，可這也恰好妨礙了我們經歷最需要的生活體驗。下次感到不安時，不管有多害怕，也請試著勇敢面對吧。

3. Ask your heart what it wants

傾聽內心

We’re often confused at the next step to take, making pros and cons lists until our eyes bleed and our brains are sore. Instead of always taking this approach, what if we engaged a new part of ourselves that isn’t usually involved in the decision making process?

我們常對未來猶疑不定，反復考慮利弊直到身心俱疲。與其一味顧慮重重，不如從局外人的角度看待決策之事。

pros[pr?uz]n. 贊成者;贊成的意見(pro的復數) abbr. 舞臺前部(proscenium);詩體學(prosody)

I know we’ve all felt decisions or actions that we had to take simply due to our “gut” impulses: when asked, we can’t explain the reasons behind doing so — just a deep knowing that it had to get done. This instinct is the part of ourselves we’re approaching for answers.

其實很多決定或行動都是我們一念之間的結果：要是追問原因的話，恐怕我們自己也道不清說不明，只是感到直覺如此罷了。而這種直覺恰好是我們探索結果的潛在自我。

To start this process, take few deep breaths then ask, “Heart, what decision should I make here? What action feels the most right?”

開始前先做幾次深呼吸，問自己：“內心認為該做什么樣的決定呢?覺得采取哪個方案最恰當?”

See what comes up, then engage and evaluate the outcome.

看看自己的內心反應如何，然后全力以赴、靜待結果吧。