雙語散文:生活的簡單告別

【英文原文】


Simplifying Life, One Goodbye at a Time

Sometimes I think how simple life would be if only simple living meant filling garbage bags with clutter to donate, give away or sell. It’s such a great Feeling to fill bags with outgrown clothes, unused gadgets, and stuff that is no longer useful or beautiful in this home and this life.

I dream of a life in which the only clutter was physical – stuff filling the space that I can see. But, it’s not. So much of what complicates life is internal. Feelings, relationships, the mental lists we make, the thoughts that just don’t stop.

It helps to take out the literal garbage bags. It helps to physically remove things from life that just aren’t working. After removing those things, the other stuff – the stuff you can’t see – becomes more apparent.

It is so hard to say goodbye, whether it’s to an old ticket stub to a first date movie or a stuffed animal grandma gave you when you were 8 or a friend who is just not working. It’s a lot easier to shove a stuffed animal into a black bag and take it to Goodwill than it is to say goodbye to a friend. You don’t have to say goodbye to friends or people that aren’t working, though. You can say goodbye to resentment. You can say goodbye to the negative feelings. You can say goodbye to the mental clutter. Right along with the bags full of too small jeans, little kid shoes, and outdated decor. Life can be simplified, one goodbye at at time.

A life of goodbyes doesn’t look or feel empty. By saying goodbye to the things that don’t work, or fit, or make a fulfilling life, just think of all the space being made for new wonderful, fulfilling, beautiful experiences, people and things. With each goodbye is an opportunity for a new hello. A hello you may never have expected but that may just be the one you need.

【中文譯文】

生活的簡單告別

有點時候我想這是多麼簡單的生活，如果僅僅是意味着這樣的一種生活，其中有一個充滿了贈與，放棄或銷售這樣的困惑的垃圾袋般生活，這是一個如此好的感覺，一個垃圾袋裏裝滿了大而不合適衣服，不再使用的小裝飾品或其他一些什麼東西，而這些東西不再在家中和生活中使用或已經不再那麼美麗。

我夢想着一種生活僅僅是物質般的困惑即一種可以看見的東西，但是這不是夢，因此許多錯綜複雜的生活都是精神上的困惑，我們的感覺，彼此的關係，心靈上的掙扎，一刻不停的想法。

這就幫助我們取出文字上的垃圾袋，有形的去除生活中那些不再起作用的東西，在移除了這些東西后，你會發現一些其他的東西，而這些無形的東西開始在你心中從新顯現出來。

這是如此的困難來說再見，這是否好比第一次看電影時遺留的舊的票根或當你8歲時外婆給你一個絨毛玩具，或一個不太熟的朋友，而這些太輕鬆了讓你將你的毛絨玩具放進你的一個黑袋子裏，和斷定你會帶着善意而不是說再見對你的朋友。你不用在不得不對那些朋友或那些不在和你有關係的人說再見，雖然你可以帶着怨恨情緒說再見，或其他一些不好的消極的情緒。你可以對你的心靈上的困惑說再見，繼續在你的垃圾袋裏裝一些比如太小的牛仔褲，童鞋和其他一些過時的裝飾格調，生活是可以變得如此的簡單，要學會在某一時刻對生活說再見！

一句生活中的再見，不會讓你感覺到或看上去空虛的。對那些不在生活中精彩或讓你的生活無法充實的的東西說再見，僅僅考慮哪些無論任何片刻帶給你奇妙，美麗，充實感覺的經歷，和那些與你接觸的人和物。對於每一個再見都是一次機會對於新的開始。一個你從來沒有預期的‘你好’卻往往可能是你真真需要的。