今天，你Me-Time 了吗？

覃凤丽

（湖北省武汉市新洲一中阳逻校区）

越来越多的人开始接触瑜伽和冥想，因为人们慢慢意识到安静和独处的重要性，因此也就有了“Me-Time（独处时光，私人专属时间）”的概念。Me-Time 指的是自我享受时间，非正式表达。忙碌的你花时间做你喜欢做的事情，做你享受的事情，这个时间就叫Me-Time。它是你留出的与自己的思想、身体和精神同在的时间。花时间照顾自己对保持健康、幸福和生产力都非常重要。

The Birds and the Bees

By Kat Gottlieb

The timer was set for ten minutes.I sat down on a soft pillow and crossed my legs with hands resting on my knees,palms up,eyes closed.“Okay,time to center myself,inhale,exhale.Relax...Re-lax...RELAX!”

I cracked an eye to check the timer.Thirty seconds had passed.Oh boy,this“me time”was going to be difficult!

As a working mother,my years passed in a blur of family-oriented activity without time for relaxing.When the kids were fi ally out of the nest and I was able to retire from my full-time career,I thought,Now I can take some time for ME!

Of course,as a lifelong list maker,I did my research.There were many possibilities.There were relaxation activities like yoga,meditation,getting pampered at a spa,exercise,socializing...I was determined to find the one thing that truly filled my soul.And so began my not-so-smooth journey to finding myself

Meditation was the first to come and go.I never fully understood how to shut my mind off for any length of time.I always felt like I was just waiting for it to end.

Next,I tried“Teatime as Me Time.”At first,I was very enthusiastic about this dainty endeavor.I envisioned sitting across from a dear friend,sipping from delicate cups and nibbling tiny sandwiches,but that is as far as it ever went.I have the fancy tea set(never used) and a pantry（餐具柜）shelf full of tea packages that I will never consume.(I prefer the electric jolt of coffee in the morning.)

Many other me-time experiments left me wanting less of them,not more.I felt like a failure at this relaxation thing,especially when I found myself procrastinating to begin a me-time routine.I would criticize myself for“wasting”precious hours daydreaming on my front porch with my two dogs,watching the big,fuzzy（毛茸茸的）bumblebees（大黄蜂）buzz about my garden.In those moments,time stood still.I could while away the morning watching the bugs,birds,and critters（生物，动物）do their thing.I would delight in the seasons — Mother Nature birthing and dying in her perennial cycle.

A profound perspective is gained when noticing the small details of this miraculous world.My self-absorbed human concerns were really nothing in the grand scale of things.Taking the focus off myself was a relief.I realized that all the shoulda-woulda-couldas of living my best life placed more expectations on me,my relaxation and my performance.Ironically,I discovered that I truly desired less emphasis on meal together.

Maybe the experts had this me-time thing all wrong,and it had little to do with“me”or“time”as I was defining it.Perhaps we are too concerned with how we spend our time instead of enjoying the nothing-ness of simply being.Instead of viewing it as a void,a hesitation between activities,we can shift our consciousness into embracing timelessness.Witnessing simple,humble moments of nature re-centered my soul better than anything else.Maybe a better version of“me time”is simply“be time”...or,better yet,“bee time”!

I just watched a young robin sunning its outstretched wings in the afternoon warmth.He closed his eyes as if to fully appreciate the moment,and I wondered if he was taking a little me time for himself.I watched until he flew away,and I am not sure how much time transpired.It could have been a minute or ten,but I enjoyed every second of it.However,I wonder,“Does it count as me time when I watch a bird enjoying his?”

【内容简介】

孩子成年离家，作者终于有属于自己的时间。怎么才能有意义地度过自己的时间呢？瑜伽？冥想？……作者尝试了很多种方式，最后发现，当我们不再关注自身，而是跟随大自然的节奏，静静地感受细节的奇妙之时，那才是真正的“私人专属时间”。

全篇译文

鸟和蜜蜂

凯特·戈特利布

计时器设定为十分钟。我坐在一个柔软的抱枕上，双腿交叉盘着，双手放在膝盖上，手心向上，双眼紧闭。“好了，是时候集中精神了，吸气，呼气。放松……放松……放松!”

我睁开一只眼看了看计时器。30秒过去了。哦，天哪，这个“私人专属时间”将会很难!

作为一名全职妈妈，我的岁月在模糊不清的家庭活动中度过，没有时间放松。当孩子们最终离开了家，我可以从我的全职工作中退休时，我想，现在我可以为自己抽出一些时间了!

当然，作为一个终身制作清单的人，我做了研究。有很多可以做的事。比如瑜伽、冥想、泡温泉、锻炼、社交这样的放松活动……我下定决心要找到一件真正充实我灵魂的事情。于是我开始了一段不那么顺利的自我发现之旅。

冥想是第一个被我尝试又被抛弃的。我从未完全明白如何在任何一段时间内封闭自己的思想。我一直觉得我只是在等待一切结束。

接下来，我试了“下午茶时间作为私人专属时间。”一开始，我对这个美好的尝试很有热情。我想象着自己坐在一位亲爱的朋友对面，用精致的杯子喝（茶），吃着小小的三明治，但也仅此而已。我有一套精致的茶具(从来没用过)，还有一个储藏室的架子，上面放满了我永远也不会喝的茶包(我更喜欢早上来杯咖啡)。

许多其他“私人专属时间”的尝试使我不那么想要“私人专属时间”了。在放松这件事情上，我觉得自己是个失败者，尤其是当我发现自己开始拖延时间不想开始私人专属时间活动的时候。我会责备自己将宝贵的时间“浪费”在和我的两只狗一起在前廊做白日梦，看着毛茸茸的大黄蜂在我的花园里嗡嗡地飞来飞去。在那些时刻，时间静止了。我可以在早上看着虫子，鸟儿和小动物做他们的事情。我喜欢在四季里寻找欢乐——感受大自然母亲四季轮回的生老病死。

当我们注意到这个神奇世界的细节时，我们会获得一个深刻的视角。无比自我的人类所关注的事情与自然界大规模的事情相比真的算不得什么。把注意力从自己身上移开是一种解脱。我意识到，所有那些本应该——也许——可以过上最好生活的事情，都让我对自己、对自己的放松和自己的表现有了更多的期望。具有讽刺意味的是，我发现我真的希望少强调一起吃饭。

也许专家们把“私人专属时间”这个概念完全弄错了，它和我所定义的“自我”或“时间”几乎没有什么关系。也许我们太在意如何度过我们的时间，而不是享受简单存在的虚无。我们可以将意识转变为拥抱永恒，而不是将其视为一种空虚，一种活动间的犹豫。亲眼看到大自然简单而微小的时刻，比任何其他事情都更能重新定位我的灵魂。也许“私人专属时间”的一个更好的版本是简单的“度过时间”……或者，更好的是，“蜜蜂时间”！

我刚刚看到一只小知更鸟在午后温暖的阳光下展开翅膀晒太阳。他闭上了眼睛，好像很投入地享受这一时刻，我不知道他是不是在度过“私人专属时间”。我一直看着他，直到他飞走。我不知道花了多长时间。可能只有一分钟或者有十分钟，但是我很享受每一秒。然而，我想知道，“当我在看一只鸟在享受它的自我时间的时候，这算不算是我的私人专属时间?”

词汇积累

inhalevt.吸入

exhalevt.散发出；排出；vi.呼气；逸散；蒸发

blurn.（移动的）模糊不清的东西vt.（使）变得模糊不清

pampervt.娇惯；纵容；溺爱；对……关怀备至

daintyadj.美味的；精美的；过分讲究的；挑剔的

envisionvt.设想；预想；展望

sipn.一小口；一抿的量vt.小口喝；抿

procrastinatevi.拖延；耽搁

nibblevi.小口地咬；啃；轻咬；（一点一点地）削减，侵蚀

joltn.摇晃；摇动；颠簸；震动；震惊；vt.使摇晃；推；撞；使震动；使震惊

perennialadj.永久的；持久的；长期的

ironicallyadv.具有讽刺意味的是；反讽地

voidn.空洞；空间；空旷adj.无效的；空的

transpirevi.蒸发；散发

佳句赏析

1.I sat down on a soft pillow and crossed my legs with hands resting on my knees,palms up,eyes closed.（我坐在一个柔软的抱枕上，双腿交叉盘 着，双手放在膝盖上，手心向上，双眼紧闭。）

2.I envisioned sitting across from a dear friend,sipping from delicate cups and nibbling tiny sandwiches,but that is as far as it ever went.（我想象着自己坐在一位亲爱的朋友对面，用精致的杯子喝（茶），吃着小小的三明治，但也仅此而已。）

3.I would criticize myself for“wasting” precious hours daydreaming on my front porch with my two dogs,watching the big,fuzzy bumblebees buzz about my garden.（我会责备自己将宝贵的时间“浪费”在和我的两只狗一起在前廊做白日梦，看着毛茸茸的大黄蜂在我的花园里嗡嗡地飞来飞去。）

4.I just watched a young robin sunning its outstretched wings in the afternoon warmth.（我刚刚看到一只小知更鸟在午后温暖的阳光下展开翅膀晒太阳。）

阅读小练

1.What can be inferred from the first two paragraphs

A.The author was favorable to“me-time”.

B.The author had difficulty enjoying“me-time”.

C.The author was tolerant of“me-time”.

D.The author paid little attention to“me-time”.

2.What kind of person is the author according to

Paragraph 3 and 4?

A.Strong-willed.

B.Well-organized.

C.Fully-dedicated.

D.Self-contented.

3.What do the underlined words“while away” mean?

A.Treat casually.

B.Take seriously.

C.Enjoy casually.

D.Watch carefully.

4.What was the experts’ opinion of me-time according to the another?

A.We should appreciate simple moments.

B.We should embrace timelessness.

C.We should enjoy bee time.

D.We should concentrate on ourselves.

5.What is the passage mainly about?

A.Adopting the pace of nature.

B.Wanting less of daily life.

C.Valuing more of me-time.

D.Seeking peace in busy life.

推此及彼

假如你叫李华，是校学生会主席。为了给高三的同学们减压，同时提升保护大自然的意识，最近你校学生会发起了一个名为“走进大自然”的主题活动，请你代表学生会写一个倡议书。内容包括：

1.走进大自然的必要性；

2.如何走进大自然；

3.提出倡议。

Dear fellow students,_______________________________________

The Student Union

答案和解析

【阅读小练】

1.B。细节推断题。根据第一、二段内容可知，作者用计时器设定了10 分钟，她偷看时间时只过了30 秒，作者认为“this‘me time’was going to be difficult!”。故可知，她觉得“这种度过‘私人专属时间’的方式太难了”，即她很难享受“me-time”。故选B。

2.B。细节推断题。根据第三、四段内容可知，作者先以家庭为重，后又为自己的生活做调查，特别是第四段中的“Of course,as a lifelong list maker,I did my research.”（当然，作为一个终身制作清单的人，我做了研究），说明作者做事情有条不紊，很有条理。故选B。

3.C。词义猜测题。根据第七段第四、五句可知，作者能看鸟儿、小动物们做它们的事情，由此可推知，作者应该是“悠闲地度过”自己的时间。故选C。

4.D。推理判断题。根据第九段内容可知，作者认为“专家的理解和‘我’定义的自我时间没有什么关系。专家的观点使得我们太关注于怎么样度过时间而不是享受简单的无所事事。”由此推可知，作者和专家对me-time 理解不同，专家认为的自我时间就是我们要刻意地关注怎样度过时间，即“关注自身”。故选D。

5.A。主旨大意题。整篇文章记录了作者探索不同自我时间的方式，最后发现最好的自我时间方式不是刻意去追求的，而是跟随大自然及微小事物的节奏而自然而然得到的。A 项“接受大自然的节奏”，符合文章主旨。故选A。

【推此及彼】

Dear fellow students,

With the purpose of relieving our pressure as well as raising the awareness of protecting nature,our school is organizing an activity themed“Getting close to nature”.

Many ways are available to us to get close to nature.We can go to a park with our family or friends,resting ourselves on a bench,eye closed,listening to birds’ singing.Planting trees or growing some flowers around our house is also a good idea.What’s more,even if we are on campus,we can slow down our pace,watching a bird sunning its outstretched wings in the afternoon warmth or smelling the fragrance of flowers.

Getting close to nature will make us realize how wonderful our nature is and it’s our duty to protect nature.

The Student Union