“积极性”真实的一面

译者 一林

If you’re like me, you may have struggled with the idea of being positive at one point or another.  My philosophical pursuits have taken me through the various major eastern religions; Taoism, Hinduism, and Buddhism.  One of my biggest fascinations along these journeys was the principle of non-duality.  Non-duality states that while opposites may seemingly be two separate entities they are in reality, one.  The reason we say non-dual though is because anytime you think of one, it’s always in reference to many.

如果你像我一样，你或许在对某些问题的积极的想法上纠结过。我的哲学诉求带我领略过东方的各种的宗教：道教，印度教，以及佛教。这个过程中最大的魅力就是其非二元性的特点。非二元性意味着看起来相对立的两个对立的实体实际上是一个。我们之所以称其为非二元，是因为每当你只想一件事的时候，常常涉及到了好多其他。

Now what does this have to do with positivity you might ask?  Good question.  If you are a “positivist” or “think positively” and also hold a non-dualistic philosophy, these two paths seem to conflict with each other.  If positive and negative are merely opposites, and they are in fact one, how can you say that being positive is any better than being negative.  This always caused a great deal of conflict within me.  I always thought, I can’t be positive, or strive for goodness, or happiness (what I classified as a positive trait) if it’s a delusion.  I should be striving for nothing, because positivity isn’t necessarily real, it’s just one side of the same coin.  It’s like trying to find the beginning of a circle.  You’ll end up like a hamster on a never-ending wheel.  There is no end.

现在你可能会问到，这根积极性有什么关系？问得好。如果你是个乐观主义者，或者想法积极的人，而且秉持着非二元性的哲学，这两条路之间看起来好像是冲突的。如果积极和消极仅仅是相对立，而且他们实际上是一个的话，那你怎么能说积极就一定比消极好呢。这样的问题经常把我搞糊涂。我以前经常想如果它是幻觉的话，我就不能积极的，或者努力的寻找好的东西，或者幸福（我将其化为积极路线）。我应该努力无为，因为正面的行为不是真的那么必要，它只不过是硬币的一面而已。就像想方设法的去找圆的起点一样。你就如同一个被放在轮子里的仓鼠一样。没有终点。

The whole problem with this thinking is a widespread assumption that positivity equals desirability.  In other words positive=good, wanted, desirable and negative=bad, not good, undesirable.  But what are the definitions really of positive and negative?  To posit something is to assert it, to affirm it.  To negate is to deny.  I think this is the source of a lot of confusion.  In reality, something is not necessarily bad if it’s negated.  You can negate fear, negate anxiety or you can posit despair or weakness.  You can also posit strength and joy, or you negate abuse and addiction.  These terms are not meant to imply a value, they simply describe a state of a given value.  Now, I’m not sure how positive and negative started to be interpreted as good and bad, but for logical people, it can be very frustrating trying to make reality fit into positives and negatives.  In reality there are things that are good and bad, positive and negative aside.  But good and bad are not necessarily precise enough words either.  When it comes down to it, what really matters is desirability.  Desire is independent of being positive or negative, good or bad.  Desire comes from our integrity, desire is what fuels our existence.

这种想法的全部问题在于一个广为流传的假设，那就是积极性就是欲望。换句话说积极就是好的，想要的，让人满意的，而消极就是坏得，不好的，让人摒弃的。但是积极和消极的定义究竟是什么呢？对什么事积极，就是维护它，而消极就是否定。我认为这就是迷惑的原点。现实中，如果有些东西被否定了，它不一定就是坏的。你可以否定恐惧，否定焦虑或者你可以崇尚沮丧或者虚弱。你也可以喜欢力量和欢乐，或者你否定不良的习惯。这些东西不会产生一个确定值，他们仅仅描述了一个给定值的状态。现在我不确定积极和消极如何一开始就被解释为好和坏，但是对于逻辑思维的人来说，用消极和积极去衡量现实太难了。现实中有很多事情或者很好和很坏，或者积极和消极。但是好和坏也并不是十分准确的词。说到底，最重要的还是欲望。欲望是独立与消极和积极，或者好与坏之外的。欲望来自我们的整体，欲望使我们的存在有了意义。

The real lesson here is that positivity and negativity don’t really matter so much.  They’re not an accurate way of describing our feelings.  What really important is your level of authenticity.  Your so-called “negative feelings” about the job you dread going to everyday, turned out to be signs that you needed to change course, that your life wasn’t going in the right direction.  Your negative thoughts about obese people, turned out to be inner signs that you had unquestioned assumptions that you needed to examine.  Maybe you even have a fear of becoming obese.  Your positive thinking about your car going to make it all the way to your 3 hour drive to Vegas when the check engine light was on the whole way, turned out to be denial and it cost you $800 instead of $120 if you would have been honest with yourself.

这里真实的原因是消极和积极并不如此重要。他们并不是准确的描述你感觉的方式。真正重要的是你的真实性的等级。你对你每天面对的工作的所谓消极感，其实就是你需要改变的信号，你的生活没有处在一个正确的轨道上。你对胖人消极的想法其实就是来自内心深处的信号，而你需要审视你那毋庸置疑的假设。或许你害怕有变胖的恐惧。当一路上引擎检查灯一直亮着的时候，你的汽车能跑完去维加斯三小时的车程这样乐观的想法，其实就是你在否认，而如果你对自己诚实点的话你就会花费120刀，而不是实际的800刀。

I know I’m not going to change everyones thinking just by writing this article.  My intent is only to better explain the true nature of positivity and negativity to those who are striving for an accurate model of reality.  When you have an accurate model of reality, one that is driven by desire, not division and duality, your life will start to become much easier.   You won’t be striving to “stay positive” or “stop thinking negatively”, you’ll be living authentically.  And that’s what it means to live with integrity and awareness.

我知道我写这篇文章不会改变大家的想法的。我的目的仅仅是想为那些拼命的追寻现实生活模型的人们更清楚的解释积极性和消极性的真实的性质。当你真的有了现实生活的模型的时候，那些被欲望驱使而非什么单一或者对偶理论的人，你们的生活将会变得更加容易。你们不会再去想着保持“积极”，停止消极的思考，你们将会获得真实，可靠。而这也就是所谓的完整的，明白的生活。