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许多人认为简单主义者就像和尚一样,过着苦行的生活,剥夺自己“世俗的”东西。还有人对简单主义者有一种善意的好奇(你们究竟为什么想要一个空荡荡的缺乏温暖舒适的家?)。
但大家通常不会想到的是简单主义者在这样的生活中所得到的真正快乐。而这正是我们当中的许多人接受简单主义生活方式的首要原因:让自己快乐起来。
为此,我决定从哲学角度谈谈简单主义的十大好处。
1.拥有的东西越少,你的压力就越少。你拥有的财产越少,就越不必担心它们的维护、修理、保险、保管和支出。
2.拥有的东西越少,你的自由就越大。财产就像锚,把我们固定在房子周围(房子是为了搁东西),束缚在工作中(工作是为了挣钱买东西)。如果你没有满满一屋子的财物,你就能更容易迁移,并从随着迁移而出现的各种机会中获利。
3.拥有的东西越少,你拥有的时间就越多。从计划、研究到最终购买一样东西(从开车到各商店考察到在网上搜索消费者的评价)都需要花时间。清洁、维护和整理你的财物也需要时间。你买的东西越少,你用于追求其他的快乐事情的时间就越多。
4.拥有的东西越少,你的钱就越多。你买得越少,你存的钱就越多,银行账户上多点钱,谁会不高兴呢?
5.拥有的东西越少,你与邻居攀比的压力就越小。当人们知道你是个简单主义者时,就不会期待你有最新、最好的玩具和显示社会地位的物品。事实上,他们不指望你拥有任何东西。(我真希望看到邻居变成简单主义者,相互攀比谁更少消费。)
6.拥有的东西越少,你需要清理的东西就越少。我可不喜欢把周末花在给家里的种种装饰打扫卫生,把不再中意的东西统统放到抽屉、垃圾桶和壁橱里(我敢肯定并不是我一个人有这种想法!)。此外,成为一个简单主义者意味着,当朋友突然来访时,你会有一个足够干净体面的家。
7.拥有的东西越少,你的机会就越多,创造性越高。我喜欢接受在不购买“多余”东西的情况下设法满足自己的需要或完成一项任务的挑战。
8.拥有的东西越少,我们的地球就越环保。你买的东西越少,对环境就越有利。疯狂消费是对地球自然资源的最大浪费。
9.拥有的东西越少,别人拥有的就越多。地球的资源是有限的。当我们过度消费,超过我们应有的份额——留给别人和后代的资源就更少。简单主义者的生活方式有助于恢复平衡。
10.拥有的东西越少,你的快乐就越多。你需要为之操心的财物越少,你就会有更多的时间和朋友、家人相聚;有更多的时间欣赏花草、晚霞及生命中一切美好的东西。这正是人生快乐的源泉——比任何消费品带来的快乐都多。
A lot of people think being a minimalist is akin to being a monk—living a sort of ascetic lifestyle in which you deprive yourself of “wordly” things simply for the sake of it. Others regard minimalists with polite curiosity (why ever would you WANT to have an empty house?)
What gets lost in most considerations of minimalism is the true joy that can be found in the lifestyle. I think that’s the number one reason most of us adopt it: to make ourselves happy.
To this end, I’ve decided to wax philosophical today on the top ten benefits of being a minimalist.
1. Less stuff=less stress. The fewer possessions you have, the less you need to worry about maintaining, repairing, insuring, protecting, and paying for them.
2. Less stuff=more freedom. Possessions are like anchors, tethering us to our houses (to store them), and our jobs (to pay for them). When you don’t have a houseful of stuff, you’re much more mobile and able to take advantage of opportunities as they arise.
3. Less stuff=more time. It takes time to plan for, research, and acquire a purchase (from driving around to stores, to surfing the web for consumer reviews). And it takes time to clean, maintain, and keep stuff in order once you own it. The less stuff you buy, the more time you have for other (more pleasurable) pursuits.
4. Less stuff=more money. The less you buy, the more you save. And who wouldn’t be happier with a little more money in their bank account?
5. Less stuff=less pressure to keep up with the Joneses. When people know you’re a minimalist, they don’t expect you to have the latest and greatest toys and status symbols. In fact, they don’t expect you to have anything at all. (Actually, I’d love to see the Joneses become minimalist, and the competitive non-consumption that results.)
6. Less stuff=less to clean. I prefer not to spend my weekends dusting around tchotchkes, and corralling wayward items into drawers, bins, and closets (and I suspect I’m not the only one!) What’s more: when you’re a minimalist, your house is more likely to look halfway decent when someone drops by unexpectedly.
7. Less stuff=more opportunity to be creative and resourceful. I love the challenge of meeting a need, or completing a task, without purchasing something “extra.”
8. Less stuff=a greener planet. The fewer things you buy, the better for the environment. Rampant consumption is a terrible waste of the Earth’s natural resources.
9. Less stuff for me=more for others. The resources of our planet are finite. When we over-consume, we take more than our fair share—leaving less for others, and future generations. A minimalist lifestyle helps restore the balance.
10. Less stuff=more joy. The fewer possessions you have to fuss over, the more time you have for friends, family, flowers, sunsets, and the beautiful things in life. And that——more than any consumer item——is the source of true happiness.
(唐述摘自2010年7月《海外文摘》)