Fear Is Not a Good Excuse恐懼不足好借口

Peggy Frezon　任新超

If there was a way to avoid exercise，I found it. Aerobics1？ Bad knees. Personaltrainer？ Too expensive. Tread -mill2？ No room.

“Theres one exercise I bet you cantgive up，”my husband challenged.“Walking.Its free， easy， and you dont needany special equipment.”

But I had an excuse： fear.

I used to take walks. Putting on mysneakers and hitching3 a leash4 to myspunky5 little spaniels6 collar， wed hitthe pavement7 together. Kellys tailwaved like a flag. Walking with my dog，exercise was actually enjoyable until oneday when Kelly and I were walkingthrough a park near my neighborhood.

如果有辦法避免運動，我找到了。有氧運動？對膝蓋不好。私人教練？太貴了。跑步機？沒有地方放。

“我敢打賭有一種鍛煉你不會放棄。”我丈夫質(zhì)疑道，“走路。它免費、簡單，而且你不需要任何特殊設(shè)備?！?/p>

但我有個借口：恐懼。

我以前經(jīng)常散步。我穿上運動鞋，將牽引繩鉤在我那只活蹦亂跳的小西班牙獵犬的項圈上，然后一起上街。凱莉的尾巴像一面旗幟一樣揮舞。和我的狗一起散步時，鍛煉其實令人很愉快，直到有一天凱莉和我在我家附近的公園散步時為止。

She wandered at the end of her leashalong a bank that sloped8 down toward ariver. Watching her happily， I didnt noticeanyone else around us until an alarming，huge shape appeared： a dog big enough toeclipse9 the sun， ears flat， teeth bared.

Im not usually afraid of dogs. Butwhen I saw that huge， vicious-looking creaturerunning straight toward us， I almostjumped in the river.

In the large， grassy openness therewasnt even a little tree to shield10 us. Mygrip tightened on Kellys leash， my mindfilled with fear that my lovely pooch wouldsoon serve as an appetizer11 for themonster. The dog rushed down. I froze interror. But Kelly yanked ahead. She wasntafraid at all.

Then， in the distance， a young manwearing a hoodie sweatshirt whistled. Thedog hesitated12， turned and ran back toits owner.

它沿著一條朝著河傾斜的河堤，在牽引繩的一端徘徊。我開心地看著它，沒有注意到周圍的任何人，直到一個令人恐懼的，巨大的身影出現(xiàn)：一只大到足以遮住太陽，聳拉著耳朵，齜著牙齒的狗。

我通常不怕狗。但是當(dāng)我看到那個巨大、長相兇殘的生物徑直朝我們跑來時，我差點跳進了河里。

在長滿草的大開闊地帶，甚至連掩護我們的一棵小樹也沒有。我緊緊抓住凱莉的牽引繩，腦子里充滿了恐懼，擔(dān)心我可愛的小狗很快就會成為這個龐然大物的開胃菜。那只狗沖了下來。我嚇得渾身僵硬。但是凱莉拉著牽引繩向前，它一點也不怕。

然后，遠處一個穿著連帽衫的年輕人吹了口哨。那只狗猶豫了一下，轉(zhuǎn)身，然后又跑回到主人身邊。

I was safely home in my easy chairbefore my breathing returned to normal. Ifdangerous dogs roamed the park， they couldbe anywhere. I lifted Kelly onto my lap.“Nomore walks for us， girl.” With that， Idfound an excuse to avoid exercise again.

Over the next few weeks I attempted aworkout DVD， but plopped back down onthe couch before working up a sweat. Thoseladies didnt inspire me to get moving.Before long my clothes started to feel tightagain. While Kelly could run around in thebackyard， that didnt solve my fitness needs.Maybe walking was the best exercise， but Iwas too afraid to face the possibility ofmeeting another dangerous dog.

One Saturday as I sat working at mydesk， Kelly lay on the sofa， staringwistfully13 out the window. Was she missingthe walks， the change of scenery， and thehappiness of playing outside？ I got up andjoined her at the window. Neighborhoodchildren jumped off a school bus. A womanwith a stroller14 passed by. The scene didntlook as dangerous as I imagined.

在我的呼吸恢復(fù)正常之前，我已經(jīng)安全地回家坐在安樂椅上了。如果危險的狗在公園里游蕩，它們可能在任何地方。我把凱莉抱到膝蓋上。“我們不能再散步了，姑娘?！庇谑?，我又找了個借口不做運動。

在接下來的幾個星期里，我嘗試跟練了一個鍛煉的DVD，但在汗流浹背之前就撲通一聲倒在沙發(fā)上。那些女士（DVD 中的）并沒有激勵我動起來。不久我又開始覺得衣服緊了。雖然凱莉可以在后院跑來跑去，但這并不能解決我的健身需求。也許散步是最好的鍛煉，但我太害怕了，不敢面對遇上另一只危險的狗的可能性。

一個星期六，當(dāng)我坐在辦公桌前工作時，凱莉懶洋洋地躺在沙發(fā)上，渴望地盯著窗外。它是否在想念散步、風(fēng)景的變化，和在外玩耍的快樂？我起身和它一起待在窗前。附近的孩子們從校車上跳下。一個推著嬰兒車的女士經(jīng)過。這一幕看起來沒有我想象的那么危險。

Day after day Kelly continued to stare，on the edge of the couch. I felt as sleepy asshe looked. Although I didnt like exercise，my body began to feel the effects ofimmobility15. Heavy. Tired. Sluggish16. Iglanced at the door. Something in Kellysdeep， brown eyes urged17 me to get outside，for myself as much as for her. Maybe wedtry a short walk again.

Kelly jumped like a toy on a spring asI snapped18 on her leash. I looked up anddown the street twice before going out thedoor. “Just one spin around the block，”Isaid as Kelly marched beside me.

Peering between houses and behindparked cars， I listened for threatening19snarls. This is no way to walk， I thought，ready to turn back. Kelly， however，trotted20 eagerly ahead， pulling me alongbehind her， unconcerned about what mightlie around the corner. She wasnt lettingthat close call21 in the park prevent herfrom enjoying her walk. In fact， when wehad encountered that huge dog shed facedit bravely， ready to use whatever strengthshe had to run him off. Didnt I have atleast as much might22 and courage as mylovely pooch？

凱莉在沙發(fā)邊上日復(fù)一日地盯著外面。我和它看起來一樣昏昏欲睡。雖然我不喜歡運動，但我的身體開始感到不運動的影響。沉重、疲勞、遲鈍。我瞥了一眼門。凱莉深棕色的眼睛里有什么東西在催促我走出去，既是為了我自己，也是為了它。也許我們可以試著再走一小段路。

我啪地扣上牽引繩的時候，凱莉像彈簧上的玩具一樣跳起來。我來回看了街道兩遍，然后才走出了門?！熬屠@著街區(qū)轉(zhuǎn)一圈?！眲P莉在我旁邊快步走時，我說。

我費力地盯著房子之間和停著的車后，傾聽威脅性的咆哮聲。我想，這條路走不過去，于是準備掉頭。然而凱莉卻急切地向前跑，把我甩在它身后，毫不在乎拐角處可能會有什么。它沒有讓公園里那次險遭意外的情況妨礙它散步。事實上，當(dāng)我們遇到那只大狗時，它勇敢地面對它，準備用全力把它趕走。我難道沒有至少像我可愛的小狗那樣的力量和勇氣嗎？

I moved ahead. Staying alert23 to mysurroundings， I could notice a potential24situation before a problem arose. If needbe， I could change directions or cross thestreet. I even could grab my cell phone ifI really needed help.

Then， from behind， I heard thescratching of paws on the pavement. Everymuscle in my body tensed25， my fearrealized. A loose dog—coming right at us.

I spun around. The terrifying dogstood about ankle high. Long， brown furfell from a red bow on the top of its head.A little pink collar surrounded its neck.Four tiny paws scampered26 at our feet.“Yip！ ”it barked.

Fear quickly disappeared as Ilaughed out loud. Kelly sniffed27 theminiature dog. The pup gave one last yipand left， and we continued on our way.

我向前走。我保持對周圍環(huán)境的警惕，那樣可以在問題出現(xiàn)之前發(fā)現(xiàn)潛在的情況。如果有需要的話，我可以換個方向或者過馬路。如果我真的需要幫助，我甚至可以拿起手機。

然后，我聽到背后人行道上有爪子的刮擦聲。我身體的每一塊肌肉都繃緊了，我的恐懼變成了現(xiàn)實。一條沒系繩的狗正朝我們跑來。

我轉(zhuǎn)過身來。那只可怕的狗大約有腳踝高。長長的棕色的毛從它頭頂?shù)募t色蝴蝶結(jié)上落下。脖子上圍著一個粉紅色的小項圈。四只小爪子在我們腳下蹦蹦跳跳?！皣拢　彼辛似饋?。

當(dāng)我放聲大笑時，恐懼很快消失了。凱莉嗅了嗅那只小型狗。小狗尖叫了最后一聲就走了，我們繼續(xù)向前走。

When we got home I hung the leashin the hall， and Kelly stared up at me withher soft， wide eyes. “Well go out againtomorrow，”I promised， patting her head.Maybe I was still afraid of loose dogs， butthat wouldnt stop me from taking my walk.With exercise， just like in life， hurdles28may appear larger than they truly are. And，although I may be expecting an obstacle29the size of a Great Dane， often I find itsonly the size of a Pomeranian.

當(dāng)我們到家時，我把牽引繩掛在門廳里。凱莉用它溫和的大眼睛盯著我?！拔覀兠魈煸俪鋈??！蔽遗牧伺乃念^，答應(yīng)了它。也許我還是害怕那些沒系繩的狗，但這并不能阻止我散步。像在生活中一樣，通過鍛煉，難關(guān)可能實際上比看起來要小。而且，雖然我可能以為障礙的大小相當(dāng)于一只（體型龐大的）大丹犬，但我經(jīng)常發(fā)現(xiàn)它只有一只博美犬的大小。

（英語原文選自院chickensoup.com）