What Is Minimalism?何為極簡主義？

鄧夢寒/譯

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

從某些方面看，極簡主義是特別針對消費主義的一種替代和反對。

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.

消費主義與我們的生活方式日益相融。我們工作、掙錢，可能會把錢存上一點兒，其余都花掉。具體消費因人而異，但通常我們會買東西——衣服、鞋子、小工具、書籍、游戲、汽車，以及我們可能想要或認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.

這樣生活的風險是引發生活方式蠕變。生活方式蠕變是消費跟隨工資增長而增加所導致的。我們得到更多報酬時，額外的收入不會進入我們的儲蓄、房產、股票或其他投資，而會刺激我們的消費。

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.

這個時代，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，買新手機、汽車、房子、衣服等等一切——在這樣的時代，有一種更適度的生活哲學與傳統的現代物質主義背道而馳。這種哲學就是極簡主義，它倡導減少而非增加我們所擁有的東西。

What is a minimalist

什么是極簡主義者

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.

如果說極簡主義是減少擁有的東西，那么極簡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.

極簡主義者會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，有意識地斷絕不必要的花費，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.

極簡主義者的自我限制將取決于他們個人看來最重要的事。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。有些人可能認為書籍或音樂是不可替代的快樂源泉，這說明這些東西對他們來說必不可少，而對其他人則可能不是。

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，極簡主義者都有一個共同點——他們有一條明確的界線，一旦越過就不再是極簡，而是過度了。

Benefits of minimalism

極簡主義的好處

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：

極簡主義日漸成為一種生活方式，這種趨勢理所當然。我們縮小自己所擁有之物的規模，可能受益良多：

SPEND LESS

減少開支

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.

極簡主義降低了生活方式蠕變的風險。如果我們保持生活方式穩定并且開支不變，那么從加薪、晉升或獎金中獲得的任何額外收入都將成為一種資產。我們越是降低生活的復雜性，生活方式蠕變的風險就越低，也就能省下越多的錢用于真正重要的事。

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.

整潔的房子和環境帶給人的壓力較小。考慮更少、打掃更少、維護更少、挪動更少，對損壞或更換的擔心也更少。通過盡量減少周圍的事物，可以限制那些事物對我們內心平靜的影響。

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，我們還經常對所擁有的東西產生依賴感，因此，擁有的越少，依賴感就會越弱，東西丟失、損壞或被盜時感受到的壓力就會越小。

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，我們對事物依賴所帶來的影響自然就減輕了，而這又會幫助我們提升自由感、減少對事物的依賴。

（譯者單位：上海交通大學）