What Is Minimalism?何為極簡(jiǎn)主義？

鄧夢(mèng)寒/譯

Part of minimalism is the deliberate alternative and counter to consumerism.

從某些方面看，極簡(jiǎn)主義是特別針對(duì)消費(fèi)主義的一種替代和反對(duì)。

Consumerism has become increasingly stitched into the way we live our lives. We go to work， we earn our money， we might save a little and we spend the rest. What we spend our money on will vary from person to person， but generally we buy stuff. Clothes， shoes， gadgets， books， games， cars， and whatever else we might want or think we need.

消費(fèi)主義與我們的生活方式日益相融。我們工作、掙錢(qián)，可能會(huì)把錢(qián)存上一點(diǎn)兒，其余都花掉。具體消費(fèi)因人而異，但通常我們會(huì)買(mǎi)東西——衣服、鞋子、小工具、書(shū)籍、游戲、汽車，以及我們可能想要或認(rèn)為需要的其他任何東西。

The risk with this way of life is lifestyle creep. Lifestyle creep is what happens when our purchasing keeps up with our increase in wage. When were paid more， that extra income doesnt go into our savings or into a property， stocks or other investments， it fuels our spending.

這樣生活的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)是引發(fā)生活方式蠕變。生活方式蠕變是消費(fèi)跟隨工資增長(zhǎng)而增加所導(dǎo)致的。我們得到更多報(bào)酬時(shí)，額外的收入不會(huì)進(jìn)入我們的儲(chǔ)蓄、房產(chǎn)、股票或其他投資，而會(huì)刺激我們的消費(fèi)。

In an age where were bombarded with messages to eat more， do more， spend more， own more， get new things， buy the new phone， car， house， clothes and everything in between， there is a more modest philosophy of living that flies in the face of traditional modern materialism. That philosophy is minimalism， the act of reducing the things we own， rather than expanding them.

這個(gè)時(shí)代，我們被各種信息轟炸，要我們多吃、多做、多花、多擁有，要我們獲得新東西，買(mǎi)新手機(jī)、汽車、房子、衣服等等一切——在這樣的時(shí)代，有一種更適度的生活哲學(xué)與傳統(tǒng)的現(xiàn)代物質(zhì)主義背道而馳。這種哲學(xué)就是極簡(jiǎn)主義，它倡導(dǎo)減少而非增加我們所擁有的東西。

What is a minimalist

什么是極簡(jiǎn)主義者

If minimalism is the reduction in the things we own， then a minimalist is simply someone that makes an effort to reduce what they have， and they do this for a number of different reasons.

如果說(shuō)極簡(jiǎn)主義是減少擁有的東西，那么極簡(jiǎn)主義者就是努力減少自己所擁有之物的人，他們這么做的原因各種各樣。

The minimalist is one who makes a deliberate effort to reduce ones scope of life to include only what is most essential. All fat and excess is cut away from life， the frills consciously severed， leaving only that which is necessary for living well.

極簡(jiǎn)主義者會(huì)刻意縮小自己的生活范圍，只留下最重要的。剔除生活中所有多余的，有意識(shí)地?cái)嘟^不必要的花費(fèi)，只留下好好生活所必需的東西。

The limits a minimalist places on themselves will be defined by what they personally deem essential. Some might need to care for children or elderly parents， meaning that their essentials will be different to someone else. Another may decide that books or music are irreplaceable as a source of happiness， meaning that their boundaries of minimalism will include these things while others may not.

極簡(jiǎn)主義者的自我限制將取決于他們個(gè)人看來(lái)最重要的事。有些人可能需要照顧孩子或年邁的父母，這意味著他們心中最重要的將與其他人不同。有些人可能認(rèn)為書(shū)籍或音樂(lè)是不可替代的快樂(lè)源泉，這說(shuō)明這些東西對(duì)他們來(lái)說(shuō)必不可少，而對(duì)其他人則可能不是。

However they all have one thing in common—the minimalist has a clearly defined line at which their minimalism ends and excess begins.

然而，極簡(jiǎn)主義者都有一個(gè)共同點(diǎn)——他們有一條明確的界線，一旦越過(guò)就不再是極簡(jiǎn)，而是過(guò)度了。

Benefits of minimalism

極簡(jiǎn)主義的好處

Minimalism is growing as a way of life and its doing so for good reason. Theres a lot that we can benefit from when we narrow the scope of what we own：

極簡(jiǎn)主義日漸成為一種生活方式，這種趨勢(shì)理所當(dāng)然。我們縮小自己所擁有之物的規(guī)模，可能受益良多：

SPEND LESS

減少開(kāi)支

Minimalism limits the risk of lifestyle creep. If we keep our lifestyle stable and our expenses stay the same then any additional income we get from a pay rise， a promotion or a bonus will become an asset. The more we reduce the complexity of our life the less were at risk of lifestyle creep and the more we can save for what really matters to us.

極簡(jiǎn)主義降低了生活方式蠕變的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)。如果我們保持生活方式穩(wěn)定并且開(kāi)支不變，那么從加薪、晉升或獎(jiǎng)金中獲得的任何額外收入都將成為一種資產(chǎn)。我們?cè)绞墙档蜕畹膹?fù)雜性，生活方式蠕變的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)就越低，也就能省下越多的錢(qián)用于真正重要的事。

LESS STRESS

減輕壓力

A decluttered house and environment is a less stressful environment. Theres less to think about， less to clean， less to maintain， less to move and less to worry about breaking or replacing. In minimising the things around us we limit the impact those things can have on our peace of mind.

整潔的房子和環(huán)境帶給人的壓力較小?？紤]更少、打掃更少、維護(hù)更少、挪動(dòng)更少，對(duì)損壞或更換的擔(dān)心也更少。通過(guò)盡量減少周圍的事物，可以限制那些事物對(duì)我們內(nèi)心平靜的影響。

Not only that， but we often become attached to our possessions， so the less we have， the less attachment we have and the less stress we experience when something goes missing， breaks， or gets stolen.

不僅如此，我們還經(jīng)常對(duì)所擁有的東西產(chǎn)生依賴感，因此，擁有的越少，依賴感就會(huì)越弱，東西丟失、損壞或被盜時(shí)感受到的壓力就會(huì)越小。

MORE FREEDOM

更多自由

Our sense of freedom is often influenced by what we feel attached to and what we feel tied to. Fewer belongings will naturally reduce the influence that our things have over our feelings of attachment and this， in turn， will help us feel more free and independent of our belongings.

我們的自由感時(shí)常受到所依賴和被牽絆的事物影響。擁有的東西少了，我們對(duì)事物依賴所帶來(lái)的影響自然就減輕了，而這又會(huì)幫助我們提升自由感、減少對(duì)事物的依賴。

（譯者單位：上海交通大學(xué)）