论文部分内容阅读
The only real security that a man can have in this world is a reserve of knowledge, experience and ability.
Walking through the park the other day I noticed a young kid climbing a tree. I stood watching him for a few minutes, lost in nostalgia, when, out of nowhere, a woman came screaming past me. It was immediately apparent that Mom had arrived, and she was pissed. “Get out of the tree!” she screeched. “You could fall and break your arm!” Although not impressed, the little guy complied with Mom’s hollering and soon they were on their way with Mom still in full-force berate-mode.
This got me thinking: where was the little guy’s fear? Why didn’t he care about whether or not he fell out of the tree? And where did Mom’s terror come from? Surely this was not her son’s first time monkeying around the tree tops—he’d seemed a pretty adept climber to me. When do our fears, our insecurities, begin? Where do they come from?
Quite often they arise from a simple experience-learn model. If you’re dumb enough to touch the hot iron, you get burnt. Therefore, fear the hot iron and don’t touch it. This happens on a macro level as well; for example, worrying over the quality of our food after experiences like the milk scare (What’s Wrong with the Food?). And events like 1986 Chernobyl have shown us that what’s happening in Japan could have some serious consequences (Japan’s Nuclear Crisis: The Fine Line Between Security and Insecurity).
Often too we are the bringers of our own insecurities. Everyone wants to fit in, but sometimes we try too hard and our need to belong only exacerbates our feeling of loneliness (Sense of Belonging). At the other end of the spectrum, we occasionally don’t try hard enough to educate ourselves about issues and, as a direct result, end up blowing things out of proportion (Have You Got the Fear?).
So where do our insecurities come from? A combination of life lessons and personal issues, and it is up to each individual to learn the difference. A little respect for the dangers of life is a healthy thing, but we can’t let our insecurities get the best of us. We are the masters of our fears, not the other way around.
某天穿过公园的时候我看到一个小孩在爬树。我看了几分钟，沉醉怀想着自己的年少时光，这时，不知从哪里冒出来一个女人，大喊大叫地从我身边走过。一切不言自明：孩子的妈妈驾到，怒火中烧。“从树上下来！”她尖叫道，“你会从树上掉下来，摔断手的！”尽管那个小男孩对这些话没什么概念，他还是屈从了妈妈的牢骚，然后在他们回家的路上，妈妈还一直喋喋不休，怒骂不止。
这让我思考：小男孩怕什么？为什么他不害怕从树上摔下来？而妈妈的恐惧又源自何处呢？显然，这可不是她儿子第一次像猴子一样爬上树顶了——就我看来，他似乎爬得相当熟练自如。我们的恐惧，我们的不安，是从什么时候出现的？它们来自何方？
通常，不安与恐惧来源于简单的“经历—体会”模式。如果你笨到去碰一块烧红的铁，那么你会被烫伤。因此，你惧怕热铁，你不会去触碰它。宏观层面上的事也是同样的道理，在经历了类似“牛奶质量恐慌”之后，我们对食品质量的担忧再未间断（参看《你懂的，我们只想吃得安心》一文）。而类似1986年切尔诺贝利核泄漏事故那样的事件则告诉我们日本的核泄漏危机能会带来严重的后果（参看《核能：不可避免的不安？》一文）。
往往，我们的不安是自己造成的。每个人都想要合群，但有时我们勉强自己，归属的欲望加剧了孤独感（参看《不要问我从哪里来》一文）。另一方面，我们有时没有尽力去了解实情、掌握资讯，这直接导致我们容易小题大做（参看《今天你“不安”了吗？》一文）。
那么，我们的不安都来自哪里呢？生活的教训以及个人的经历，它还取决于个人对此了解的不同。对生活中的危险保持敬畏之心是有益的，但我们不能让不安占了上风。我们要控制自己的不安，而不是让其控制我们。
Walking through the park the other day I noticed a young kid climbing a tree. I stood watching him for a few minutes, lost in nostalgia, when, out of nowhere, a woman came screaming past me. It was immediately apparent that Mom had arrived, and she was pissed. “Get out of the tree!” she screeched. “You could fall and break your arm!” Although not impressed, the little guy complied with Mom’s hollering and soon they were on their way with Mom still in full-force berate-mode.
This got me thinking: where was the little guy’s fear? Why didn’t he care about whether or not he fell out of the tree? And where did Mom’s terror come from? Surely this was not her son’s first time monkeying around the tree tops—he’d seemed a pretty adept climber to me. When do our fears, our insecurities, begin? Where do they come from?
Quite often they arise from a simple experience-learn model. If you’re dumb enough to touch the hot iron, you get burnt. Therefore, fear the hot iron and don’t touch it. This happens on a macro level as well; for example, worrying over the quality of our food after experiences like the milk scare (What’s Wrong with the Food?). And events like 1986 Chernobyl have shown us that what’s happening in Japan could have some serious consequences (Japan’s Nuclear Crisis: The Fine Line Between Security and Insecurity).
Often too we are the bringers of our own insecurities. Everyone wants to fit in, but sometimes we try too hard and our need to belong only exacerbates our feeling of loneliness (Sense of Belonging). At the other end of the spectrum, we occasionally don’t try hard enough to educate ourselves about issues and, as a direct result, end up blowing things out of proportion (Have You Got the Fear?).
So where do our insecurities come from? A combination of life lessons and personal issues, and it is up to each individual to learn the difference. A little respect for the dangers of life is a healthy thing, but we can’t let our insecurities get the best of us. We are the masters of our fears, not the other way around.
某天穿过公园的时候我看到一个小孩在爬树。我看了几分钟，沉醉怀想着自己的年少时光，这时，不知从哪里冒出来一个女人，大喊大叫地从我身边走过。一切不言自明：孩子的妈妈驾到，怒火中烧。“从树上下来！”她尖叫道，“你会从树上掉下来，摔断手的！”尽管那个小男孩对这些话没什么概念，他还是屈从了妈妈的牢骚，然后在他们回家的路上，妈妈还一直喋喋不休，怒骂不止。
这让我思考：小男孩怕什么？为什么他不害怕从树上摔下来？而妈妈的恐惧又源自何处呢？显然，这可不是她儿子第一次像猴子一样爬上树顶了——就我看来，他似乎爬得相当熟练自如。我们的恐惧，我们的不安，是从什么时候出现的？它们来自何方？
通常，不安与恐惧来源于简单的“经历—体会”模式。如果你笨到去碰一块烧红的铁，那么你会被烫伤。因此，你惧怕热铁，你不会去触碰它。宏观层面上的事也是同样的道理，在经历了类似“牛奶质量恐慌”之后，我们对食品质量的担忧再未间断（参看《你懂的，我们只想吃得安心》一文）。而类似1986年切尔诺贝利核泄漏事故那样的事件则告诉我们日本的核泄漏危机能会带来严重的后果（参看《核能：不可避免的不安？》一文）。
往往，我们的不安是自己造成的。每个人都想要合群，但有时我们勉强自己，归属的欲望加剧了孤独感（参看《不要问我从哪里来》一文）。另一方面，我们有时没有尽力去了解实情、掌握资讯，这直接导致我们容易小题大做（参看《今天你“不安”了吗？》一文）。
那么，我们的不安都来自哪里呢？生活的教训以及个人的经历，它还取决于个人对此了解的不同。对生活中的危险保持敬畏之心是有益的，但我们不能让不安占了上风。我们要控制自己的不安，而不是让其控制我们。