摘要：簡約生活的含義不只是把眼前的凌亂收拾整齊，而是要永久性擺脫凌亂的生活方式。

　　If you’ve ever fantasised about selling everything youown and paring down your possessions to the bareessentials, you’re probably familiar with minimalism.

　　But it’s about more than just de-cluttering—it’sabout getting rid of all clutter, permanently. “Minimalism isn’t about empty white rooms withhardly any furniture,” said Chris Wray, who writes aUK blog about minimalism, TwoLessThings.co.uk. “It’s about removing all the things that distract us from what’s important in our lives.”

　　“所有的物品全部賣掉，只保留最基本的必需品，越簡單越好。”如果你曾有過這種幻想，那么簡約主義對你來說應該并不陌生。

　　但是簡約生活的含義不只是把眼前的凌亂收拾整齊，而是要永久性擺脫凌亂的生活方式。英國的極簡主義博客TwoLess Things.co.uk的作者克里斯·雷(Chris Wray)說：“極簡派生活并不是提倡房間里空蕩得沒有什么家具，四周只見白墻。極簡主義強調生活空間里要擺脫那些分散注意力的五花八門的東西，只保留生活里最需要的即可。”

　　For extreme minimalists, such as Andrew Hyde, who lives in Colorado in the US, it meansowning only about 15 items. For others, it means getting rid of the excess until you are leftwith essentials — and your definition of essential might evolve.

　　對于像美國科羅拉多的安德魯·海德這樣比較極端的極簡主義者們來說，簡約可以意味著只擁有15件東西。而對于其他人來說，簡約是不斷擺脫多余的物品，簡約到只剩下基本必需品的程度就可以了，另外，必需品的標準對你而言可能也不是一成不變的。

　　“A minimalist lifestyle entails being mindful about the things we own, the things we buy, andhow we spend our time,” said Francine Jay, author of The Joy of Less. “It is a lifestyle thatvalues experiences more than possessions.”

　　《簡單的快樂》作者一書弗朗辛·杰(Francine Jay)說：“簡約主義生活方式需要人們留心對待自己所擁有的物品，所購買的物品，以及對時間的利用。這種生活方式重視生活體驗而不是擁有的物品。”

　　Naturally, minimalism tends to flourish in countries that have embraced consumer culture, suchas the US, UK and parts of Europe. It’s difficult to revolt against the get-more-stuff mentality ifthat isn’t your country’s way of life. But you can live a minimalist life anywhere and capturemore money for savings and great experiences, and have less stuff to maintain and clean.

　　在一些包容消費文化的國家，比如美國、英國、以及歐洲一些國家，極簡主義自然而然會走向繁榮。但是如果一個國家的大部分人沒有簡約主義的生活理念，那么想要突破“擁有更多”的思維模式就困難了。但是無論在哪里，只要你想，都可以實現簡約的生活，這樣的生活方式可以讓你擁有更多的積蓄，以及更加舒適的生活體驗，更少的物品需要打理。

　　Here’s how to get back to basics:

　　這里教你如何讓生活返璞歸真：

　　What it will take: Mental fortitude. Getting rid of your things requires commitment. You haveto make a decision about every item you own, and that can be mentally taxing — and it won’thappen overnight.

　　思想上的準備——要內心堅定。對你的東西說再見需要有堅定信念。你需要對每一件東西的去留做出決定，這個過程可能很費神，而且也不是一晚上的功夫就能解決的事情。

　　“It almost certainly took you longer than one afternoon to collect all the possessions in yourlife, and it is going to take you longer than one afternoon to sort them out,” said JoshuaBecker, a minimalist in Arizona and writer of the blog BecomingMinimalist.com.

　　BecomingMinimalist.com網絡日志的作者，美國亞利桑那州的極簡主義者約書亞·貝克爾表示：要一次性收集你所有東西，當然是要花比一個下午還要多的時間，然后還要騰出差不多的功夫集中把它們分類。

　　How long you need to prepare: Not long at all — you can start this process today by putting abox in every room. “When you come across something you haven’t used in a long time, orever, throw it in,” said Rachel Jonat, who lives in the Isle of Man in the UK and writes the blogTheMinimalistMom.com. “If you are scared about wanting those items again, hold onto the boxfor six months and then donate everything.”

　　其實，用不了很久的。你可以從今天開始行動，在每個房間里放置一個箱子。住在英國曼島的雷切爾·德古斯曼(Rachel Jonat)是"TheMinimalistMom.com"網絡日志的作者，他說：“當你偶然發(fā)現某樣東西很長時間沒使用過了，覺得可能用不著了，你就可以把它放進箱子里。”他還提到：:“如果你害怕某天又需要那些東西的話，你可以先把箱子保留六個月，然后把它們送出去。”

　　Mentally, you may have to do some preparation to get into the right mindset — because, let’sface it, a lot of us like our things. But things have a catch. That big house and everything in ittake time to clean and organise, and it takes money to maintain it all.

　　在思想上，你可能需要為獲得正確的簡約生活理念做些思想準備。事實上，我們不得不承認的是，我們當中有許多人會留戀自己的東西，但事物如同雙刃劍，偌大的房間和里面的物品是需要清潔和打理的，也要有經濟上的支出用于維護。

　　“Look at an item and think about how many hours you had to work, or willhave to work, to payfor it,” Jonat said. Every piece you own is a chance to regain time and/or money if you sell it orgive it away. Once you’re ready to start purging, dive in.

　　德古茲曼說：“看著每一件物品時候，想著為了購買它，你曾經，或是將要辛苦工作多少時間。”一旦你準備好對自己的生活進行一次徹底的凈化，開始行動吧。

　　Do it now: Think about the places in your life where you feel anxiety or frustration, said CristinFrank, US author of Living Simple, Free & Happy. “Too many decisions? Is your closet socrowded that things get lost or easily wrinkled?” Pinpoint those areas and deal with them first.Name brand clothes and household goods in good condition are perfect for eBay — checkrecent sales of similar items to help you set a price. Your first 50 listings every month are free;if you sell it, the site takes 10% of the final sales price.

　　立即行動：《簡單的生活——自由而快樂》的美國作家克里斯丁·弗蘭克說：“考慮一下，你的生活里有哪些地方的不好打理，讓你感到焦慮或者挫敗?”“需要做出太多的決定嗎?那么你想一下你的衣柜是否東西太多，以至于會有衣服找不到或者變皺的情況出現?瞄準這些區(qū)域然，首先著手處理它們。對于名牌服裝和性能良好的家庭用品來說，通過易趣網站(e-Bay)進行拍賣是個理想的選擇。查看一下近期類似物品的銷售情況來幫助定價。你在每月在該網站拍賣的前50件物品是免費的。如果商品交易成功，網站將獲取成交價的10%。

　　Start small. You aren’t going to be able to declutter your life in a day, or even a week. And theprocess may seem really daunting. If you are feeling anxious about change, “try one thing for30 days, starting with the easiest things to get rid of,” said Joshua Fields Millburn, a minimalistwho lives in Montana and writes at TheMinimalists.com blog. Another strategy: Spend 15minutes a day de-cluttering. Set a timer — you can make great progress when you race theclock.

　　從小事做起：你不可能在一天之內甚至是一周之內就把自己的所有東西打理得井井有條，過上簡約式生活，而這個看似漫長的準備過程有點令人沒有勇氣和決心堅持下去了。面對這樣的情形，可能這個生活上的改變讓你感到有點焦慮不安，不知道怎么著手開始。對此，美國蒙大拿州的極簡主義者，TheMinimalists.com網絡雜志的文章作者約書亞·菲兒茲·米爾本(Joshua Fields Millburn)建議：“先嘗試堅持30天，從最容易處理的東西開始著手。”另一個辦法就是：每天花15分鐘清理。設置一個計時器，當你爭分奪秒的時候，往往會取得很大的進展。

　　Ditch the obvious things.

　　丟棄那些用處不大的擺設。

　　Get some forward momentum by starting your giveaway pile with the items you clearly do notneed—the mugs you never use, that ugly thing you received as a gift. Start a pile for a car bootsale or yard sale. List furniture and larger household goods on classified-ad site Craigslist, whichis available in more than 80 countries. You can also make it easier to part with things bypassing them along to someone else who can use them via local charities.

　　從丟掉用處不大的贈送品開始著手，比如從來不用的杯子，不好看的禮物等，在這個過程中獲得些前進的動力?？梢园岩欢盐锲贩旁谔槭袌龌蛘咄ピ号f貨市場出售。針對一些家具和大型家用物品列成一個清單，投放到克雷格列表(Craigslist)網站上，此網站的使用范圍涵蓋世界上80多個國家。你還可以采取更簡單的做法，把物品通過當地慈善機構分發(fā)給那些需要的人，同時實現了物品的使用價值。

　　“Throwing it all in the garbage can make you feel guilty or wasteful,” Frank said.

　　弗蘭克說：“把物品全部丟進垃圾箱會讓你有負罪感或是覺得太浪費了。”

　　Do it later: Once you’ve started selling your stuff and not buying new knick-knacks, repurposethe money you’re saving.

　　之后要做的事：一旦你已經開始賣掉你的一部分東西，并且不再購買新的小擺設，重新對節(jié)省下來的錢進行用途規(guī)劃。

　　“My husband and I paid off our home in less than seven years with our minimalist lifestyle,”Frank said. “I was then able to quit my job and be a blogger and author full time.”

　　弗蘭克說：“通過極簡理念的生活方式，我的丈夫和我在七年之內就還清了房子的貸款。后來，我得到機會辭去了之前的工作，成為了全職博客寫稿人和作家。”

　　For Francine Jay, living minimally allowed her and her husband to travel. “We lived in London fortwo years, and travelled throughout much of Europe and Asia during that time,” Jay said.Rachel Jonat and her husband paid off ,000 in non-mortgage debt in less than three years.When you don’t fritter money away on junk, you have more to put toward the essentials —house payment, debt, retirement, and experiences.

　　對于弗朗辛·杰來說，簡約式生活給她和丈夫帶來了旅行。“我們住在倫敦兩年了，在此期間，我們游歷過歐洲和亞洲的許多地方。”杰說。雷切爾·德古茲曼和她的丈夫用了不到三年的時間還清了非抵押債務。如果你不在毫無使用價值的東西上浪費錢的話，你就可以有更多的資金用于生活的基本需求上，比如房款、貸款、養(yǎng)老保險以及各種生活體驗。

　　Reassess after a few weeks and see how you feel. “Decluttering isn’t something you just doonce,” Jay said. “It’s an ongoing process.” You may find it difficult to let go of certain items inthe first or second round of purging, but on the third round it could end up on the giveawaypile. “It took me eight months to slowly pare down my possessions while constantly askingmyself, ‘Does this thing add value to my life?’” Millburn said.

　　幾周之后，再重新評估一下，看自己感受如何。“清理工作不是只做一次。”杰說。“這是一個不斷進行的過程。”你在前一兩輪清理工作中可能會感到難以放棄一些東西，但是等到第三周的時候，你可能還徘徊在如何處理那些贈品上。“我用了八個月的時間才把物品減少了一些。在此期間，我一直不斷問自己一個問題‘這件東西為我的生活來增添價值嗎?’”米爾本說。

　　Be smart about future purchases. Shop only when you need something, not for fun orentertainment, Jay said. Before you buy, “make an inventory of what you already have,” Jaysaid. “Counting just how many shirts or kitchen gadgets you own will likely discourage youfrom purchasing anything new.” When you do add to your home, seek out versatile,multipurpose items.

　　“在未來買東西的時候動動腦子。記住只在需要某樣東西的時候再去購物，而不是出于有趣或是娛樂的原因而購物。”杰說。在買東西前，要像杰說的那樣，“要先盤算一下已有的家當。數一數自己已經擁有多少件襯衫，多少件廚房用品可能會阻止你再買任何新東西”。然而當你真正要添置新家當的時候，盡量挑那些有多種用途的商品。

　　Consider a big change. Moving into a smaller space isn’t for everyone. But if you are a renterand your lease is coming up, or you’re really struggling to manage your home payment eachmonth, downsizing accomplishes a few things: It encourages less stuff, less time cleaning, andof course, smaller bills.

　　考慮一個大的改變。搬進相對狹小的空間并不適用于每個人。但是如果你作為一個房東，租賃要開始了，或者你非常努力地支付每月的房款，精簡可以實現以下幾個目的：這樣做可以讓你東西變得少一些，節(jié)省打掃的時間。當然，還可以幫你減少開銷。

　　Do it smarter: Avoid comparisons. Your minimalism is yours alone—it’s what works for you, inyour life, at this time. If you want to keep every book you’ve ever read but cut your wardrobedown to 12 items, that is what you should do.

　　明智一點，不要比較。你的極簡生活是屬于你自己的，也就是說，它只對你自己起作用，對你當時的生活有效。如果你想保留你讀過的所有書籍，但是把衣柜里衣服減到12件，那也是你應該做的事。

　　“Comparing your progress to someone else is rarely helpful,” Becker said.

　　“把你在簡約生活上的進展情況與他人的情況相比較往往沒什么益處。”貝克爾說。

　　活得輕松--在現實中生活

　　To a large degree，the measure of our peace of mind is determined by how much we are able to live in the present moment.Irrespective of what happened yesterday or last year，and what may or may not happen tomorrow，the present moment is where you are --always.

　　我們內心是否平和在很大程度上是由我們是否能生活在現實之中所決定的。不管昨天或去年發(fā)生了什么，不管明天可能發(fā)生或不發(fā)生什么，現實才是你時時刻刻所在之處。

　　Without question，many of us have mastered the neurotic1) art of spending much of our lives worrying about a variety of things --all at once.We allow past problems and future concerns to dominate our present moments，so much so that we end up anxious，frustrated，depressed，and hopeless.On the flip side，we also postpone our gratification，our stated priorities2)，and our happiness，often convincing ourselves that ‘someday’ will be better than today.Unfortunately，the same mental dynamics3) that tell us to look toward the future will only repeat themselves so that ‘someday ’never actually arrives.John Lennon once said，‘Life is what’s happening while we’re busy making other plans.’When we’re busy making ‘other plans’，our children are busy growing up，the people we love are moving away and dying，our bodies are getting out of shape，and our dreams are slipping away.In short，we miss out4) on life.

　　毫無疑問，我們很多人掌握了一種神經兮兮的藝術，即把生活中的大部分時間花在為種種事情擔心憂慮上---而且常常是同時憂慮許多事情。我們聽憑過去的麻煩和未來的擔心控制我們此時此刻的生活，以致我們整日焦慮不安，萎靡不振，甚至沮喪絕望。而另一方面我們又推遲我們的滿足感，推遲我們應優(yōu)先考慮的事情，推遲我們的幸福感，常常說服自己“有朝一日”會比今天更好。不幸的是，如此告誡我們朝前看的大腦動力只能重復來重復去，以致“有朝一日”永遠不會真正來臨。約翰·列農曾經說過：“生活就是當我們忙于制定別的計劃時發(fā)生的事。”當我們忙于制定種種“別的計劃”時，我們的孩子在忙于長大，我們摯愛的人離去了甚至快去世了，我們的體型變樣了，而我們的夢想也在悄然溜走了。一句話，我們錯過了生活。

　　Many people live as if life were a dress rehearsal5) for some later date.It isn’t.In fact，no one has a guarantee that he or she will be here tomorrow.Now is the only time we have，and the only time that we have any control over.When our attention is in the present moment，we push fear from our minds.Fear is the concern over events that might happen in the future--we won’ t have enough money，our children will get into trouble，we will get old and die，whatever.

　　許多人的生活好像是某個未來日子的彩排。并非如此。事實上，沒人能保證他或她明天肯定還活著。現在是我們所擁有的惟一時間，現在也是我們能控制的惟一時間。當我們將注意力放在此時此刻時，我們就將恐懼置于腦后?？謶志褪俏覀儞鷳n某些事情會在未來發(fā)生---我們不會有足夠的錢，我們的孩子會惹上麻煩，我們會變老，會死去，諸如此類。

　　To combat fear，the best strategy6) is to learn to bring your attention back to the present.Mark Twain said，‘I have been through some terrible things in my life，some of which actually happened.I don’t think I can say it any better.Practice keeping your attention on the here and now.Your efforts will pay great dividends7).

　　若要克服恐懼心理，最佳策略便是學會將你的注意力拉回此時此刻。馬克·吐溫說過：“我經歷過生活中一些可怕的事情，有些的確發(fā)生過。”我想我說不出比這更具內涵的話。經常將注意力集中于此情此景、此時此刻，你的努力終會有豐厚的報償。