The idea sounds profoundly offensive. There were surely greater issues than tiredness.

這聽起來極為冒犯，一定有比疲勞更大的問題吧。

We are likely to be up against genuine hurdles: the economic situation, politics, problems at work, tensions in our relationship, the family.

我們可能會面臨一些真正的難關：經濟狀況、政治、工作上的問題、緊張的感情關係、家庭問題。

These are true difficulties.

這些都是真正的難題，

But what we often fail to appreciate is the extent to which our ability to confront them with courage and resilience is dependent on a range of distinctly 'small' or 'low' factors:

但我們常忽略那些讓我們有勇氣正面對抗難題的能力，仰賴的是一些"極小的"或"低等的"的要素:

what our blood sugar level is like, when we last had a proper hug from someone, how much water we've drunk – and how many hours we've rested.

我們的血糖值是多少、上次向他人得到擁抱是何時、喝了多少水? 以及，休息幾個小時?

We tend to resist such analyses of our troubles.

我們傾向於抗拒對自身困擾的分析，

It can feel like an insult to our rational, adult dignity to think that our sense of gloom might in the end stem, centrally, from exhaustion.

認為我們的黑暗面主要源於疲累，感覺像是污辱我們理性、成熟的尊嚴。

We'd sooner identify ourselves as up against an existential or sociocultural crisis than see ourselves as sleep-deprived.

我們會率先認定自己面臨的是一個已存在或社會文化面的危機而不是睡眠不足。

Yet we should be careful of under- but also of over-intellectualizing.

我們應該注意太不理智，或是過度推斷。

To be happy, we require large serious things (money, freedom, love), but we need a lot of semi-insultingly little things too (a good diet, hugs, rest).

為了快樂，我們需要一些嚴肅的東西:金錢、自由、愛，但我們也需要許多有些侮辱的小東西:好的飲食、擁抱、休息

Anyone who has ever looked after babies knows this well.

照顧過小寶寶的人都懂這個道理，

When life becomes too much for them, it is almost always because they are tired, thirsty or hungry.

當寶寶受不了人生時，幾乎都是因為累了、渴了、餓了，

With this in mind, it should be no insult to insist that we never adopt a truly tragic stance until we have first investigated whether we need to have an orange juice or lie down for a while.

了解這個道理後，我們應該堅持永不認定一切為悲劇，直到我們先檢視是否只需要來杯柳橙汁，或是小睡一下?

Probably as a hangover from childhood, 'staying up late' feels a little glamorous and even exciting; late at night is when, in theory, the most fascinating things happen.

或許是來自童年的餘韻，晚睡讓人感覺有些迷人甚至是刺激；最迷人的事，理論上，似乎皆發生於深夜。

But in a wiser culture than our own, some of the most revered people in the land would, on a regular basis, be shown taking to bed early.

但在比我們具有智慧的文化中，那些備受尊崇的人總是會，規律地，早早上床。

There'd be competitions highlighting sensible bedtimes.

競賽強調明智的睡眠時間，

We'd be reminded of the pleasures of being in bed when the last of the evening light still lingers in the sky.

而我們也想起夜色未明前早已躺在被窩中的滿足感。

Our problems would not thereby disappear, but our strength to confront them would at points critically increase.

我們的問題不會因此消失，但是面對他們的力量會在某刻大幅地增加。

Did you know that The School Of Life is actually a place? Ten places in fact.

你知道<校園生活>真的是一個地方嗎? 事實上，是十個地方。

Campuses all over the world from Melbourne to London, Taipei to Istanbul, with classes and books and lots more.

遍布世界的校園，從墨爾本到倫敦，台北到伊斯坦堡，擁有班級、書籍以及更多資源。

Please click on the link below to explore more.

請點選下方連結已探索更多。