Don’t you just love the excitement you feel after coming home with a new TV? Driving home in a new car? Opening the box on a new pair of shoes?

       带着新电视回家的喜悦，开着新车回家的激动，打开装着新鞋的盒子兴奋，难道你不喜欢这种种兴奋的感觉？

       I sure do. But, from watching the behavior of myself and my friends I’ve found that the new quickly becomes just another item. The excitement of novelty passes quickly.

       我喜欢。可是，我从自己及朋友们的举止中发现：新的事物很快就会不新，那令人兴奋的新鲜感稍纵即逝。

       As we become wealthier, people seem to be adding more and more things to our homes.We then use our homes, and our treasures, to justify that we have won the game of life. Growing up in a family of pack-rats, I spent many years in my teens and early twenties accumulating stuff. During this time, much of my self-worth was unconsciously associated with the amount of stuff I owned; the brand names, and the latest trends. I spent a lot of money on clothes and stuff that made me feel ‘superior’. They gave me a sense of identity. If I just removed these things without awareness, my ego would have suffered. I had grown so attached to that definition of myself, that my loss would have been much deeper than just the cute sweater.

       我们更富裕了，可人们似乎又把更多的东西添置到我们的家园。然后，我们用我们的家园，我们的财富来证明：在生活这场比赛中，我们获胜了。从小家中就爱堆放东西，因此在十几岁到二十出头期间，我花了很多时间来积累东西。在此期间，我的自我价值不知不觉的和我拥有东西的多少、品牌及最新潮流连在了一起。我花了大笔钱在服装以及能让我感到“优越”的物品上，因为它们使我有一种认同感。如果无意中我没有了这些东西，我的自我就会受到影响。如果我再这样来定义自己，我的损失将更大，而不仅仅是可爱的毛衣。

       Not only did I not find myself in all this, I’ve also accumulated a lot of clutter in my living space and my inner space. Ironically, the piles of stuffactually held me back from understanding and inner peace with myself.

       我已经在我的生活空间和内心世界积累了很多杂乱的东西，我不仅没有从这些东西中找到自我，更讽刺的是，这一堆堆的东西反而阻碍我了解我的内心世界。

       We are so eager to fill our homes, yet so disinterested in cleaning it out. As a result, we now require larger spaces, more storage space, and more clutter for the mind. Did you know that there are more self-storage facilities in North America than there are McDonald’s restaurants? We find it difficult to reduce the amount of stuff we own is due to our attachment to these things.

       我们总是热衷于往家园添补东西,却毫无兴趣去清理它，以致于现在我们需要更大的空间和更多存储空间，同时，我们的思想也越来越乱。你是否知道在北美，自存设备比麦当劳餐厅还多？我们发现，减少我们拥有的东西之所以困难，是因为我们对这些东西的喜爱。

Is Less Really More?
真的是拥有的越少得到的越多吗？

      The joy and art of having less while enjoying more of life can be summed up, as follows:
The Zen of Space - There is beauty in space, but we fail to recognize it because we can’t see through the stuff we own. When we open up physical space in our environment, a tremendous feeling of peace can dwell within us. This is the principle behind Japanese style homes. Beauty in small spaces is the appreciation of minimalism, where less truly is more. We need to understand that space is to be enjoyed, not filled.

      拥有的少却能更好的享受生活，其中的快乐和艺术总结如下：
空间的真谛--空间有它美好的一面，然而我们没有发现它的好，因为我们不能看透我们所拥有的物品。当打开我们环境中的自然空间，我们心中会有一种巨大的平静感。这就是日本式家园的潜规则。极简派艺术就是赞赏这种小空间的美，在这里，越少真的是得到越多。我们必须明白空间是用来享受的，而不是一味地填塞。

      Conserved Energy - Fewer belongings means we have fewer possessions to worry about. I once knew a wealthy young man, who had anything he dreamt of. He had so many expensive things, and he was so afraid of losing them. Much of his energy was devoted to protecting his possessions and trophies.

       节省精力--所有物越少意味着我们担心的东西就越少。曾经我认识一个有钱的年轻人，他有了他想要的一切。由于他拥有太多贵重的东西，他非常害怕失去它们，于是他花了很多精力来保护他的财产和战利品。

       Free Your Space - When we are reminded of something we own but never use, we can impose self-inflicted guilt for leaving it unused. For example, my mother owns a several exercise machines which are rarely used. Each time she sees them, she forces herself to feel guilty. Her guilt eats away at her inner, mental space. Our outer world is a reflection of our inner world. By cleaning out and simplifying our outer space, our inner space will open up like a flower.

      释放空间--当我们想起拥有的东西从来没有用过时，会因为没有用它，给自己强加一种犯罪感。比如，我妈妈有一些健身器材，但很少用，每次看到它们，她都会有一种罪恶感。这种罪恶在她的内心及精神空间里蔓延。我们的外在世界是内在世界的一种反应。通过清理和简化我们的外在世界可以使内在世界像鲜花般绽放。

      Appreciation - The less we have, the more attention we can give those things we own and truly need on a regular basis. Appreciation is the seed for abundance; abundance of the mind and the soul. It’s pretty amazing how little we actually need. When we clear our homes and our lives down to the essentials, we are able to better enjoy that which we do have.

       赏识--拥有的越少，我们就会经常给予我们所拥有的和真正需要的东西更多关注。欣赏是富足的种子，包括思想的富足和精神上的富足。我们真正需要的东西少得令人惊奇。当我们清理家园，使我们生活处于最基本状态，这时候也许我们能够更好的享受我们真正拥有的。

      Nothing external to us can give us permanent and true happiness. We actually have all we need to be truly happy within us.

      任何我们外部的东西都不能给予永恒的真正的快乐。其实我们内在足以使我们真正快乐。

      The art of having less but enjoying our lives more, involves a few simple changes in perspective. First, we must understand where our true values lie and focus on them. Then, we must take time to enjoy the simple things, and slow down and see what’s right in front of us.

       拥有的少却能更好的享受生活的快乐和艺术，严格的说，还包含一些简单的变化。首先，我们必须明白我们的真正价值所在并集中与它;其次，我们必须从容地享受这些简单的事物，放慢速度，看看正前方是什么。