我们比以往任何时候都更需要大自然

我们比以往任何时候都更需要大自然

With so many destinations of pleasure denied to us now, we may be developing a deeper appreciation of nature, wherever we can get them.

既然现在我们已经失去了那么多快乐的去处，我们或许可以在任何我们能到达的地方，对大自然产生更深刻的欣赏。

And we're lucky that getting outside, even while requiring social distancing, is still available to us during this pandemic.

我们很幸运，在流行病期间，我们仍然可以外出，即使需要保持社交距离。

On a recent hike through the woods, I explained to my daughters how we were doing three things that were simultaneously boosting our happiness at that moment.

在最近一次穿越森林的徒步旅行中，我向女儿们解释了我们是如何在做三件事的，这三件事同时提高了我们那一刻的幸福感。

First, we were getting exercise, a proven mood booster. Second, we were spending quality time with loved ones, long associated with life happiness in surveys. And third, we were in nature.

首先，我们进行了锻炼，这被证明是一种情绪助推器。其次，我们与所爱的人一起度过了宝贵的时光，长期以来，调查显示，这与生活幸福息息相关。第三，我们身处大自然。

A walk in the woods is a trifecta of joy, and all it took was making a modest effort.

在树林里散步是一种三重的快乐，所需要的只是作出适度的努力。

My colleague Kristen Rogers did some exploring of her own and made discoveries about where the nature and happiness trails meet.

我的同事克里斯汀·罗杰斯自己做了一些探索，并发现了自然与幸福之路的交汇点。

Much of the research on how engaging with nature impacts eco-friendly behaviors and happiness has been focused on adults. But in a study published Wednesday in the journal Frontiers in Psychology, researchers examined the impact of a group of children's "connectedness to nature" on their sustainable behaviors and happiness.

许多关于与自然接触如何影响环保行为和幸福感的研究都集中在成年人身上。但在周三发表在《心理学前沿》杂志上的一项研究中，研究人员考察了一群孩子“与自然的联系”对他们可持续行为和幸福感的影响。

This kinship with nature was defined by researchers as a "characteristic of human beings that refers to thinking and feeling emotionally connected with all the elements of the natural environment, with feeling happier as a consequence."

研究人员将这种与自然的亲密关系定义为“人类的一种特征，指的是思维和情感与自然环境的所有要素有着情感上的联系，并因此感到更快乐。”

In a classroom in a Mexican city, nearly 300 children between ages of 9 and 12 responded to a questionnaire that measured their link to nature, eco-friendly behaviors and happiness.

在墨西哥一座城市的一间教室里，近300名9至12岁的儿童参与了一份问卷调查，调查内容包括他们与自然、环保行为和幸福感之间的关系。

The researchers found children who felt connected to nature -- feeling pleasure when seeing wildflowers and animals, hearing sounds of nature -- engaged in altruism, or actions that helped other people. These children actively cared for the environment by recycling, reusing objects and saving water. They were also more likely to say they believed in equality among sexes, races and socioeconomic conditions. Finally, these children scored high on a happiness scale, too.

研究人员发现，与大自然亲密接触的孩子——看到野花和动物时会感到快乐，听到大自然的声音时也会感到快乐——会参与利他主义，或帮助他人的行为。这些孩子通过回收、再利用物品和节约用水，积极关爱环境。他们也更可能说他们相信性别、种族和社会经济条件的平等。最后，这些孩子的幸福指数也很高。

Nature is the answer

大自然就是答案

When I [David] was in college I made my first pilgrimage to Walden Pond. It's the famous body of water in Concord, Massachusetts surrounded by woods, where Henry David Thoreau lived in communion with nature and wrote a book about it titled "Walden."

当我[大卫]上大学时，我第一次去瓦尔登湖朝圣。这是马萨诸塞州康科德著名的水域，被森林环绕，亨利·大卫·梭罗就住在这里，与自然交流，并写了一本关于它的书《瓦尔登湖》。

For the Transcendentalists, the meaning and power of trees, water and wind "transcended" the mere senses. Getting in touch with the natural environment is a "tonic" that will cure what ails your soul, they believed. Our souls are just parts of Nature's greater "Oversoul."

对于先验论者来说，树、水和风的意义和力量“超越”了单纯的感官。他们相信，接触自然环境是一种“滋补品”，可以治愈你的灵魂。我们的灵魂只是大自然更伟大的“超灵”的一部分。

By deliberately bringing our daughters into nature, my wife and I are connecting them to something greater than the individual elements of the outdoors, something deeper than the average afternoon experience. In nature, we're giving them answers to the fundamental questions of reality.

通过有意识地让女儿们走进大自然，我和妻子将她们与一些更伟大的东西联系在了一起，这些东西超越了户外的个体元素，超越了一般的午后体验。在自然界中，我们给了它们关于现实的基本问题的答案。

And that makes me happy.

这让我很开心。