极简主义之后发生了什么

是不是，或者成不成为一个极简主义者，其实并不重要，重要的是你过着自己想过的生活，热烈一点，真挚一点，轻松一点，快乐一点。

　　So you’re a minimalist.

　　你是一个极简主义者。

　　You’ve given up everything but a mug, 2 cups, 2 plates, 2 sets of cutlery, a futon on the floor, a TV, 25 pieces of your wardrobe including shoes and bags and a laptop.*

　　你已经放弃一切,只剩下一个大水杯，两个茶杯，两个盘子，两套餐具，地上的一床被子，一台电视机，25件行头包括鞋类箱包和一台笔记本电脑。

　　*Note: This is not me. I have more than 100 things. More than 5000, I’d wager.

　　注：这不是我。我拥有的东西比这多100件，多5000件，我打赌。

　　STEVE JOBS AT HOME IN 1982 — “This was a very typical time. I was single. All you needed was a cup of tea, a light, and your stereo, you know, and that’s what I had.” —Steve Jobs

　　1982年，史蒂夫·乔布斯在家里。

　　“这是一个非常典型的时期。那时我是单身。所有你需要的只是一杯茶,一盏灯和立体声音响设备,你知道,那就是我拥有的。”--史蒂夫·乔布斯

　　What now?

　　现在呢？

　　Charlie (one of the most honest bloggers I’ve come across, who manages to seamlessly weave philosophy into his writings coupled with many grumpy rants that I can relate to) talked about Leo Babuta talking about the criticism of minimalism as a movement, and asked the most important question:

　　查理(我曾遇到的最诚实的博主之一,他试图在他的博文中不着痕迹地插入许多哲学思想，外加许多我能理解的性情乖戾的演说)谈论里奥·巴布塔，谈论批判极简主义者的运动，提出最重要的问题:

　　What happens after minimalism?

　　在极简主义之后发生了什么？

　　What I will say is that Leo needs to address the real issue in this debate. I call it “post-minimalist emptiness.”

　　我想说的是,利奥在这场争论中需解决真正的问题。我把它叫做“后极简主义的空虚”。

　　What happens when you make it your purpose to eliminate the non-essential from your life and you have achieved it?

　　当你把减少生活中不必要的东西作为目标并达成时，发生了什么？

　　What do you do after that?

　　在那之后你做了什么？

　　This is the question people are asking. Leo is like Moses. He has gotten us out of Egypt, but here we are in the wilderness. What happens next?

　　这是人们关注的问题。里奥和摩西一样。他带领我们离开埃及，但是我们现在处在荒野。接下来该怎样？

　　SO, WHAT NOW?

　　所以，现在该做什么？

　　I wouldn’t say I’ve reached my own ideals of what minimalism is, because I don’t have any set ideals.

　　我不会说我对什么是极简主义已经有了自己的理念，因为我没有任何固定的理念。

　　I never became a ‘minimalist’ because I wanted to join some movement, be a hipster outcast and revel in “screwing The Man”.

　　我从没有成为一名极简主义者，因为我想参加一些运动，做一个旅行者，以改变人类为乐。

　　I just.. didn’t want to travel with so much stuff. I also saw a benefit in spending less money (that means more savings!) and I could see what kind of freedom and security could be achieved from having more money and less stuff.

　　我只是...不想带着那么多行李去旅行。我也看到了因此而少花钱的好处（那意味着更加节俭），看到了拥有更多钱和更少行李带来的一种自由感和安全感。

　　I am also pleasantly on the path to not care so much about what people think about me. I was really into trying to be a people-pleaser when I was younger.

　　我为途中无需太在意人们对我的看法而愉悦。在我年轻的时候，我是真的想努力成为大家的开心果。

　　I am noticing that I care less about saying what I think and feel, and wondering if people think I’m weird or wrong and that’s always a good thing.

　　我发现不要太关注自己的想法和感觉，别好奇别人是否认为我怪异或错了，这通常是一件好事。

　　NO CHECKLIST OF MINIMALIST CHALLENGES FOR ME!

　　没有极简主义的清单对我是一个挑战。

　　Some people think to be a minimalist, you have to try one or all of the following:

　　一些人认为，要想成为一个极简主义者，你必须尝试以下的一项或者所有条目：

　　Not cutting down my things to even 500 items — You’re kidding, right? Have you seen my laptop and hard drive collection? Or how about my clothes and shoes?

　　没有把自己的东西减少到500样--你在开玩笑，对吗？你有看到我的笔记本电脑和硬盘集锦吗？或者我的衣服和鞋子？

　　Not going on another shopping ban — I only did it for 2010 because I was curious about testing my willpower. Now that I’ve done it, I know I can do it again, which gives me great personal satisfaction.

　　没有再次购物的禁令--我只在2010年做了这个，因为我对考验我的意志力感到好奇。现在，我已经完成，我知道我能再做一次，这给了我很大的个人满足感。

　　Not getting rid of my car – Er… not really possible, but I do try to drive less. For the months of February, March and April, I haven’t once driven my car. I’ve only sparked it a bit to keep the battery alive.

　　没有摆脱我的汽车--呃…不太可能，但我真的有尝试少开汽车。在二月、三月和四月的几个月中，我一次也没开车。我只发动了几次，防止电瓶没电了。

　　Not going vegan or vegetarian completely – Also not in the cards for me, but I am finding and making more vegan/vegetarian recipes BF & I enjoy making and eating (like chickpea and potato cakes!)

　　没有成为素食主义者或不是完全的素食主义者--对我来说不大可能，但我正在找寻并制作更多的素食食谱。我和男朋友都喜欢做素食，吃素食（比如鹰嘴豆和土豆饼）

　　Not going ‘off the grid’ and to become a full-time blogger or writer — It’s a hobby, not a job. It has the same amount of work and hours as a part-time job, but it doesn’t pay as well as my day job

　　没有隐身，成为一个全职的博主或作家--这是个一个业余爱好，不是一份工作。它和兼职工作具有同样的工作量和工作时间，但是没有和我白天工作一样的的报酬。

　　Not chasing e-book fame – That gives me the sweats. I’d have to show my face, do interviews, promote myself.. ugh. And what would I write about that I don’t already have on my blog?

　　不追逐电子书名声--那使我恐惧。我不得不展现我的面孔，做访谈,推销自己...呃，我该写些什么呢？我还没在博客中写过的？

　　Not deciding to move to an island or Third World country to live as an ascetic priestess – I like urban cities, and I enjoy having stuff. I don’t want to give it all up unless in the future I see a real purpose for it. For now, no.

　　没有决定搬到一个岛上或第三世界国家，像一个苦行的祭司一样活着--我喜欢城市，享受物质。我不想放弃这些，除非将来我找到了这么做的真正目的。而现在，不会。

　　Not moving to a farm – I would however, like to start growing my own herbs indoors and perhaps some tomatoes. Anything that can be done as an Apartment-Dweller.

　　没有搬到农场--我愿意，不过，像开始在室内种植自己的药草，或者一些西红柿，所有这些公寓的居民也能做到。

　　Not going to build my own tiny house — Although I am intrigued by the idea, I don’t like being rooted to any one spot, and ultimately I don’t plan on staying in one country forever. I want to keep my options open.

　　不打算建立我自己的小房子——虽然我对这个想法感兴趣，但我不喜欢扎根在任何一个地方,我根本没有打算永远只呆在一个国家。我想保留我的选择权。

　　Not going to live with just a laptop and a mug — I’m not a fan of couch surfing or being a moocher. That doesn’t seem like a rich and fulfilling life for me, especially if I am going to have children.

　　不打算只带着一个笔记本和一个杯子生活--我不喜欢沙发旅游或变成乞丐。对我来说，那似乎不是丰富和充实的生活，尤其是如果我打算要一个孩子。

　　Not going to give away all my money out of sheer guilt — I donate regularly to charities, but I don’t feel guilty for having made money. I worked for it.

　　不会捐赠所有的钱纯粹出于内疚--我会定期向慈善机构捐赠，但我不会因为挣了钱而内疚。我工作了。

　　And so on, and so on.

　　等等，等等。

　　I think you get the idea.

　　我想你懂了。

　　POST-MINIMALIST PLANS

　　后极简主义者计划

　　Post-minimalist (if I ever get there), I will basically follow what Charlie has already said:

　　后极简主义者计划（如果我曾经是），我基本会按照查理说的去做：

　　Stick with the simplicity. Be frugal in your material life. Eliminate the distractions.

　　坚持简单性。在你的物质生活保持节俭。消除干扰。

　　I will continue to do what I am doing now.

　　我会继续做我现在正在做的事。

　　Keeping what is essential and getting rid of what is non-essential.

　　保持必要的东西，减少不必要的东西。

　　I also want a balance in my life which is part of essential/non-essential (minimalist) thinking.

　　我希望我的生活中有一个平衡，它是必要和非必要思想的一部分。

　　Like with my job. I love making money and working, but I don’t want to make a lot of money and kill myself working 100-hour stressful but brain-numbing workweeks.

　　就像我的工作。我喜欢工作挣钱，但我不想挣很多的钱，强迫自己紧张工作100小时而大脑麻木一星期。

　　I want a job that covers my essentials and then some, and above all, is interesting work.

　　我需要一份工作，它能保证我的所需，然后是其他，最重要的是这是一份有趣的工作。

　　Know who understands this as well? Jenny of Minimalism Defined — she gave up an $80,000 job because she didn’t need to make that much money for the price of her sanity and stress.

　　知道谁理解这个吗？珍妮的极简主义者定义——她放弃了一份报酬8万美元的工作，因为她不需要赚那麽多钱而出卖她的理智，承受压力。

　　I turned down an $80,000 job and I was happy.

　　我拒绝了一份报酬8万美元的工作，我很开心。

　　If it wasn’t for our minimalist lifestyle I would not have had the freedom to say no to a lucrative paying job.

　　如果不是因为我们极简主义生活方式，我将不会有对一份丰厚薪水的工作说不的自由。

　　It’s what we didn’t have that gave me the freedom to say no:

　　我们不拥有的这些东西给了我们说不的自由：

　　we don’t have credit card debt

　　我们没有信用卡债务

　　we don’t have a car note – we own one car that is fully paid off that my husband uses for work

　　我们没有汽车贷款——我们拥有一辆汽车，金额全部付清，我丈夫工作时使用。

　　we don’t live a lavish lifestyle

　　我们没有过着奢侈的生活

　　Most importantly we have the security of 8 months worth of expenses saved up that will sustain us until I find the job that feels right to me.

　　最重要的是我们积攒了可供8个月开销的费用，这为我们提供了保障，将支撑我们直到我找到一份适合自己的工作。

　　My sanity was far more worth $80,000

　　我的理智远远超过了8万美元的价值

　　Because my husband and I live a simple lifestyle, we have the freedom to control our destiny. I know that there are many people out there that must think I am insane for saying no to this job. But I don’t have the credit card debt, car note payment or lavish lifestyle. I have a sufficient rainy day fund to sustain me until I find the right opportunity. Having the freedom of choice is very liberating to me.

　　因为我和丈夫过着简单的生活，我们有掌控自己命运的自由。我知道许多人一定以为我疯了，因为我说不做这工作。但我没有信用卡债务，汽车贷款或奢华的生活方式。我有足够的基金在穷困时期维系我,直到我找到合适的机会。我有选择的自由。

　　That’s admirable, and exactly my own approach to life.

　　那是令人钦佩的，能准确地找到自己的生活。

　　Besides, I mentioned to her in the comments that it was better she gave it up, so someone else who needed the money would get the job instead.

　　除此之外,我在评论中对她提及她放弃工作很好，这样需要这笔钱的人会得到那份工作。

　　It’s the right lifestyle for me, and I enjoy getting rid of the non-essentials and having this more relaxed mindset, than always trying to chase after something.

　　对我来说，这是正确的生活方式，而且我很喜欢扔掉不喜欢的东西，拥有更轻松的心态，而不是总是竭力追求一些东西。

　　Will I ever reach post-minimalism? I hope not. I am having far too much fun growing and enjoying the journey.

　　我会成为一个后极简主义者吗？我希望不会，我有太多的乐趣并享受着成长的旅程。

　　No deadlines, no finish lines, just an endless journey.

　　没有截止日期，没有终点线，只是一个无穷无尽的旅程。