家长的信念与孩子的健康

当然，良好的健康与一个家庭对身体的信念密切相关。如果父母相信身体在某种程度上是精神的低劣载体，或者如果他们只是认为身体是不可靠的、虚弱而易受伤害，那么孩子会在很小的时候就开始将健康视为稀罕物，学会把抑郁、精神不振、身体酸痛当作一种自然、正常的生活状态。

Good health is closely related, of course, to a family's beliefs about the body. If parents believe that the body is somehow an inferior vehicle for the spirit, or if they simply view the body as unreliable or weak and vulnerable, then children will at an early age begin to consider good health as a rarity, and learn to take depression, poor spirits, and bodily aches and pains to be a natural, normal condition of life. 

另一方面，如果父母认为身体是一种健康、可靠的表达工具和感觉工具，那么他们的孩子将以同样的方式看待自己的身体。父母对彼此、对孩子表达爱意是非常重要的。这样，大多数孩子会确信父母的爱，因此不需要以生病为手段来获得关注或考验父母的爱与奉献。

If, on the other hand, parents view the body as a healthy, dependable vehicle of expression and feeling, then their children will look at their own bodies in the same fashion. It is very important that parents express a fond affection toward each other, and toward their children. In this way most children are assured of their parents' love, and hence need not resort to illness as a way of gaining attention or testing a parents' love and devotion. 

孩子没有自然的理由对身体的任何部位感到羞耻。身体的任何部位都不应该用秘密的、悄悄的声调来谈论。可是，应该告诉每个孩子，他或她的身体是一件珍贵的私人物品，这样就很容易建立一种理想的身体隐私感，而不带任何羞耻或罪恶的暗示。

There is no natural reason for children to feel a sense of shame concerning any bodily part. No portion of the body should be spoken about in secret, hushed tones. Each child should be told that his body, or her body, is a precious private possession, however, so that it is easy to build up a desirable feeling of bodily privacy, without any hint of shame or guilt. 

不用说，父母应该对他们的男孩和女孩的身体一视同仁，这样才不会有一个不如另一个的想法。每个孩子都该尽早接受父母的教育，这样小孩就可以被反复提醒身体的自然资源和康复能力。

It goes without saying that parents should hold the bodies of their male and female children in equal favor, so that one is not considered inferior to the other. Each child should be educated as early as possible by their parents, so that the youngsters are repeatedly reminded of the body's natural resources and healing abilities. 

其实很担心孩子容易生病的家长往往会走极端，强调各种体育运动和与体育相关的项目，但孩子们能感受到父母未言明的恐惧，他们试图通过在体育项目里实现高目标或取得好成绩来使父母放心。

Parents who are actually quite worried about their childrens' susceptibility to illness often go overboard, stressing all kinds of sports and sports-related projects, but the children sense their parents' unspoken fears, and they try to reassure their parents through achieving high goals or merit in sports programs. 

没有任何一个思想或信念领域不以这样或那样的方式触及到健康这个主题。因此，在这本书中，我们将致力于许多乍看之下与当前话题无关的想法。

There is no area of thought or belief that does not touch upon the subject of health in one way or another. Therefore, throughout this book we will be devoted to many ideas that may at first seem unrelated to the topic at hand. 

——摘译自《健康之道》第七章