TEDSalon NY2014
Pico Iyer: The art of stillness
皮科·耶尔: 静观的技艺
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旅行作家皮科·耶尔最想前往的地方是哪里？哪里都别去。在这个反直觉和抒情的沉思中，耶尔提出了他关于无所去处的洞见。在不断变动与失焦的世界里，他梳理出一个特别的策略，让我们可以用它，在每一天，或每一季，收回片刻。百动不如一静，这是给那些深感不堪重负于那需索无度的世界的人们的一段省思杂谈。
Pico Iyer - Global author
Pico Iyer has spent more than 30 years tracking movement and stillness -- and the way criss-crossing cultures have changed the world, our imagination and all our relationships. Full bio
Pico Iyer has spent more than 30 years tracking movement and stillness -- and the way criss-crossing cultures have changed the world, our imagination and all our relationships. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:13
I'm a lifelong traveler.
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我这辈子都是个旅行者。
00:14
Even as a little kid,
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即使还是一个小孩子的时候，
00:16
I was actually working out
that it would be cheaper
that it would be cheaper
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我便了解，事实上，
去读英国寄宿学校会比
00:20
to go to boarding school in England
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00:22
than just to the best school down the road
from my parents' house in California.
from my parents' house in California.
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去加州父母家附近
最好的学校就读还来得便宜。
最好的学校就读还来得便宜。
00:27
So, from the time I was nine years old
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所以，当我 9 岁时，
00:30
I was flying alone several times a year
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我在一年中，会独自飞行几回，
00:33
over the North Pole, just to go to school.
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穿越北极，就只是去上学。
00:37
And of course the more I flew
the more I came to love to fly,
the more I came to love to fly,
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当然，飞得越频繁，
我越是爱上旅行，
我越是爱上旅行，
00:41
so the very week after I graduated
from high school,
from high school,
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所以就在我高中毕业后一周，
00:44
I got a job mopping tables
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我找到一份清理桌子的工作，
00:47
so that I could spend
every season of my 18th year
every season of my 18th year
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为了让自己可以在 18 岁那年，
在地球不同的大陆上，
分别待上一季。
分别待上一季。
00:51
on a different continent.
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00:54
And then, almost inevitably,
I became a travel writer
I became a travel writer
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接着，几乎不可避免地
我成了一个旅游作家，
我成了一个旅游作家，
00:58
so my job and my joy could become one.
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使我的工作和志趣
可以结合在一块儿。
可以结合在一块儿。
01:02
And I really began to feel
that if you were lucky enough
that if you were lucky enough
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我真的开始发觉
如果你可以幸运地
如果你可以幸运地
01:06
to walk around
the candlelit temples of Tibet
the candlelit temples of Tibet
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漫步于西藏的烛光寺庙，
01:10
or to wander along the seafronts in Havana
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或者在音乐的缭绕间
01:12
with music passing all around you,
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悠然信步于哈瓦那海岸，
01:15
you could bring those sounds
and the high cobalt skies
and the high cobalt skies
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你便能将那声音、天际
01:18
and the flash of the blue ocean
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与靛蓝海洋的闪烁光芒
01:20
back to your friends at home,
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带给你家乡的朋友，
01:22
and really bring some magic
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真确地捎来些许神奇，
01:24
and clarity to your own life.
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点亮自身生命。
01:27
Except, as you all know,
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除了，如你们所知，
01:30
one of the first things you learn
when you travel
when you travel
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当旅行时，你学到的第一件事情是
01:32
is that nowhere is magical
unless you can bring the right eyes to it.
unless you can bring the right eyes to it.
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你必须以正确的视角看世界，
否则大地依然黯淡无光。
否则大地依然黯淡无光。
01:38
You take an angry man to the Himalayas,
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你带一个易怒的男人爬喜马拉雅山，
01:40
he just starts complaining about the food.
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他只会抱怨那儿的食物。
01:44
And I found that the best way
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我发现，有点怪异的是，
01:46
that I could develop more attentive
and more appreciative eyes
and more appreciative eyes
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最好的让自己可以培养
更专注和更珍惜世界的视角的诀窍是
01:50
was, oddly,
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01:52
by going nowhere, just by sitting still.
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哪儿都不去，静止于原处即可。
01:55
And of course sitting still
is how many of us get
is how many of us get
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当然呆在原地正是我们许多人
寻常所得到的东西，
寻常所得到的东西，
01:58
what we most crave and need
in our accelerated lives, a break.
in our accelerated lives, a break.
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我们都渴望在快速的生活中获得休息。
02:04
But it was also the only way
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但那却是我唯一的方法，
02:06
that I could find to sift through
the slideshow of my experience
the slideshow of my experience
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让自己可以重历自身的经验幻灯，
02:11
and make sense of the future and the past.
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理解未来与过去。
02:14
And so, to my great surprise,
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如此，我惊异地发现，
02:17
I found that going nowhere
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我发现无所去处
02:19
was at least as exciting
as going to Tibet or to Cuba.
as going to Tibet or to Cuba.
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和游览西藏或古巴一样，令人兴奋。
02:23
And by going nowhere,
I mean nothing more intimidating
I mean nothing more intimidating
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无所去处，只不过意谓着
每天花几分钟，
02:27
than taking a few minutes out of every day
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02:30
or a few days out of every season,
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或每季花几天，
02:32
or even, as some people do,
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甚至，如同有些人所做的，
02:34
a few years out of a life
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在生命中花上几年
02:37
in order to sit still long enough
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长久地静思于某处，
02:40
to find out what moves you most,
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寻找感动你最多的一瞬，
02:43
to recall where your truest happiness lies
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回忆你最真实的幸福时刻，
02:46
and to remember that sometimes
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同时记住，
02:48
making a living and making a life
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有时候，谋生与生活
02:51
point in opposite directions.
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彼此是处于光谱线上的两端的。
02:54
And of course, this is what wise beings
through the centuries
through the centuries
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当然，这是明智的众生历经几百年
02:57
from every tradition have been telling us.
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从每个传统中所告诉我们的。
03:00
It's an old idea.
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这是一个古老的概念。
03:02
More than 2,000 years ago,
the Stoics were reminding us
the Stoics were reminding us
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早在两千多年前，
斯多葛学派提醒我们
斯多葛学派提醒我们
03:05
it's not our experience
that makes our lives,
that makes our lives,
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并不是我们的经验
成就了我们的生命，
成就了我们的生命，
03:08
it's what we do with it.
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而是我们用那经验做了什么。
03:10
Imagine a hurricane suddenly
sweeps through your town
sweeps through your town
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想象一下，一阵飓风
迅速扑向你的城市，
迅速扑向你的城市，
03:14
and reduces every last thing to rubble.
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将所有一切化为废墟。
03:18
One man is traumatized for life.
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某个人身心遭受终身顿挫，
03:22
But another, maybe even his brother,
almost feels liberated,
almost feels liberated,
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但另一个人，也许甚至是他的兄弟，
却几乎感觉释怀，
却几乎感觉释怀，
03:26
and decides this is a great chance
to start his life anew.
to start his life anew.
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并认定，这是一个可以
使自己重获新生的重要机会。
使自己重获新生的重要机会。
03:30
It's exactly the same event,
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这是同样的事件，
03:32
but radically different responses.
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截然不同的回应。
03:35
There is nothing either good or bad,
as Shakespeare told us in "Hamlet,"
as Shakespeare told us in "Hamlet,"
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没有什么是绝对的好坏， 正如莎士比亚
在《哈姆雷特》中所告诉我们的，
在《哈姆雷特》中所告诉我们的，
03:39
but thinking makes it so.
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好坏由思维决定。
03:42
And this has certainly been
my experience as a traveler.
my experience as a traveler.
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这无疑就是我
作为一个旅者的经验。
作为一个旅者的经验。
03:46
Twenty-four years ago I took
the most mind-bending trip
the most mind-bending trip
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24 年前，我完成了一次
最不可思议的旅程：
最不可思议的旅程：
03:49
across North Korea.
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橫跨朝鮮。
03:52
But the trip lasted a few days.
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但这次旅行只持续了几天。
03:55
What I've done with it sitting still,
going back to it in my head,
going back to it in my head,
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这经验对于无所去处的我来说，
允许我可以在心思中回朔，
允许我可以在心思中回朔，
03:58
trying to understand it,
finding a place for it in my thinking,
finding a place for it in my thinking,
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试着了解它，让它在我的思维中
寻得一个位置，
寻得一个位置，
04:02
that's lasted 24 years already
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在那儿，它已存留了 24 年，
04:04
and will probably last a lifetime.
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而且很可能会在我这生中，
一直持续下去。
一直持续下去。
04:07
The trip, in other words,
gave me some amazing sights,
gave me some amazing sights,
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换句话说， 这次旅行，
带给我一些惊人的景致，
带给我一些惊人的景致，
04:11
but it's only sitting still
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但唯有处于静止的状态
04:13
that allows me to turn those
into lasting insights.
into lasting insights.
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才让我得以将这些风景线
化为更长的见识。
化为更长的见识。
04:17
And I sometimes think
that so much of our life
that so much of our life
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我有时会想，我们的生活
04:19
takes place inside our heads,
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有太多东西发生在
我们自己的脑袋里，
我们自己的脑袋里，
04:21
in memory or imagination
or interpretation or speculation,
or interpretation or speculation,
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在回忆中，在想象里，
透过诠释，或是猜测，
透过诠释，或是猜测，
04:26
that if I really want to change my life
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如果我真想改变我的生命，
04:29
I might best begin by changing my mind.
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我可能最好从
改变我的思维开始。
改变我的思维开始。
04:33
Again, none of this is new;
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同样，这一切都不是新想法；
04:35
that's why Shakespeare and the Stoics
were telling us this centuries ago,
were telling us this centuries ago,
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这就是为什么莎士比亚和斯多葛学派
在几个世纪前就告诉我们，
在几个世纪前就告诉我们，
04:39
but Shakespeare never had to face
200 emails in a day.
200 emails in a day.
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然而，莎士比亚从未面对过
一天收到两百多封电邮的日子。
一天收到两百多封电邮的日子。
04:43
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
04:45
The Stoics, as far as I know,
were not on Facebook.
were not on Facebook.
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据我所知，斯多葛派的学者们
也没待在脸书上。
也没待在脸书上。
04:49
We all know that in our on-demand lives,
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我们都知道，在我们的按需生活中，
04:52
one of the things that's most on demand
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一种最迫切需要之物
04:54
is ourselves.
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就是自己。
04:55
Wherever we are, any time of night or day,
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无论我们处于何处，处于何时，
无论是夜晚或白天中的任何时刻，
无论是夜晚或白天中的任何时刻，
04:58
our bosses, junk-mailers,
our parents can get to us.
our parents can get to us.
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我们的老板，垃圾邮件，
我们的父母都能找到我们。
我们的父母都能找到我们。
05:02
Sociologists have actually found
that in recent years
that in recent years
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社会学家近年来所发现的是，
05:05
Americans are working fewer hours
than 50 years ago,
than 50 years ago,
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当今美国人的工作时间
竟然比 50 年前还少，
竟然比 50 年前还少，
05:09
but we feel as if we're working more.
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但我们却觉得自己的工时更长。
05:12
We have more and more time-saving devices,
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我们有越来越多的
可以用来节省时间的设备，
可以用来节省时间的设备，
05:15
but sometimes, it seems,
less and less time.
less and less time.
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但有时，时间似乎越来越少。
05:18
We can more and more easily
make contact with people
make contact with people
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我们比以前更容易与
身处地球另一端的人们联系，
05:21
on the furthest corners of the planet,
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05:23
but sometimes in that process
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但有时候，在那过程中，
05:25
we lose contact with ourselves.
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我们与自己断了线。
05:29
And one of my biggest surprises
as a traveler
as a traveler
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作为一个旅行者，
让我最为诧异的事情之一就是
让我最为诧异的事情之一就是
05:33
has been to find
that often it's exactly the people
that often it's exactly the people
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我发现，时常，往往那些
05:36
who have most enabled us to get anywhere
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最使我们能够走向世界各地的人
05:39
who are intent on going nowhere.
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却最希望身居原处。
05:42
In other words, precisely those beings
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换句话说，正是那些
05:44
who have created the technologies
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创造了打破旧时的
05:46
that override so many
of the limits of old,
of the limits of old,
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限制人出游的科技的人们
05:50
are the ones wisest
about the need for limits,
about the need for limits,
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才是最具智慧的个体，
他们理解限制的必须，
他们理解限制的必须，
05:53
even when it comes to technology.
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甚至在面对科技本身时，亦是如此。
05:57
I once went to the Google headquarters
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有一次我造访谷歌总部，
05:59
and I saw all the things
many of you have heard about;
many of you have heard about;
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我见到了所有你们听说过的事；
06:02
the indoor tree houses, the trampolines,
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室内树屋，蹦床，
06:05
workers at that time enjoying 20 percent
of their paid time free
of their paid time free
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拥有 20% 属于自己付费工时的员工，
06:10
so that they could just let
their imaginations go wandering.
their imaginations go wandering.
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允许他们的想象自由漫游。
06:14
But what impressed me even more
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但更让我感到印象深刻的是，
06:17
was that as I was waiting
for my digital I.D.,
for my digital I.D.,
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当我正在等待我的数字身份证时，
06:20
one Googler was telling me
about the program
about the program
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有位谷歌员工告诉我一个项目，
06:23
that he was about to start
to teach the many, many Googlers
to teach the many, many Googlers
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说他正打算教许许多多的谷歌员工
06:27
who practice yoga
to become trainers in it,
to become trainers in it,
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来练习瑜伽，并成为训练师，
06:30
and the other Googler was telling me
about the book that he was about to write
about the book that he was about to write
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而另外一个谷歌员工
向我阐述了一本他正想写的书，
向我阐述了一本他正想写的书，
06:34
on the inner search engine,
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一本关于内在寻索的书，
06:37
and the ways in which science
has empirically shown
has empirically shown
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以及科学如何经验性地证明
06:40
that sitting still, or meditation,
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打坐，或冥想
06:43
can lead not just to better
health or to clearer thinking,
health or to clearer thinking,
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不仅能促进健康，明晰思维，
06:47
but even to emotional intelligence.
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甚至也能增加情绪智慧。
06:50
I have another friend in Silicon Valley
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我有另一个在硅谷工作的朋友，
06:52
who is really one
of the most eloquent spokesmen
of the most eloquent spokesmen
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他的确是当前最前沿科技的
06:56
for the latest technologies,
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最有说服力的代言人，事实上，
06:57
and in fact was one of the founders
of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly.
of Wired magazine, Kevin Kelly.
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他是《连线》杂志的
创始人之一，凯文·凯利。
创始人之一，凯文·凯利。
07:01
And Kevin wrote his last book
on fresh technologies
on fresh technologies
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凯文当时正在写一本有关最新技术的书，
07:05
without a smartphone
or a laptop or a TV in his home.
or a laptop or a TV in his home.
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但他家里却没有智能手机，
笔记本电脑，或者电视。
笔记本电脑，或者电视。
07:10
And like many in Silicon Valley,
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如同许多住在硅谷的人们，
07:12
he tries really hard to observe
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他非常努力地观察
07:15
what they call an Internet sabbath,
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那个称为互联网安息日的东西，
07:19
whereby for 24 or 48 hours every week
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在每个星期，有 24 或 48 小时，
07:22
they go completely offline
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他们会彻底地下线，
07:26
in order to gather the sense of direction
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以寻求一点方向感，
07:28
and proportion they'll need
when they go online again.
when they go online again.
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用来重新调整，并汲取
他们重新上线时之所需。
他们重新上线时之所需。
07:31
The one thing perhaps
that technology hasn't always given us
that technology hasn't always given us
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有件科技可能尚未给予我们的是
07:35
is a sense of how to make
the wisest use of technology.
the wisest use of technology.
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如何可以更聪明地使用科技。
07:40
And when you speak of the sabbath,
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谈到休息日，
07:42
look at the Ten Commandments --
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让我们看看十戒吧，
07:44
there's only one word there
for which the adjective "holy" is used,
for which the adjective "holy" is used,
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其中只有一个字的形容词涉及“神圣”，
07:49
and that's the Sabbath.
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而那就是安息日。
07:51
I pick up the Jewish holy book
of the Torah --
of the Torah --
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我拿起犹太圣典《托拉》，
07:54
its longest chapter, it's on the Sabbath.
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它最长的章节，就是关于安息日。
07:57
And we all know that it's really
one of our greatest luxuries,
one of our greatest luxuries,
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我们都知道，这真是
我们所拥有的最大奢侈之一：
我们所拥有的最大奢侈之一：
08:01
the empty space.
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空。
08:03
In many a piece of music,
it's the pause or the rest
it's the pause or the rest
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在许多音乐作品中，停顿或静默
08:07
that gives the piece
its beauty and its shape.
its beauty and its shape.
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赋予了这作品美丽形貌。
08:10
And I know I as a writer
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我知道，作为一个作家，
08:12
will often try to include
a lot of empty space on the page
a lot of empty space on the page
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我时常会在页面中留下空白，
08:16
so that the reader can complete
my thoughts and sentences
my thoughts and sentences
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让读者可以完整地
领会我的思维与句法，
领会我的思维与句法，
08:20
and so that her imagination
has room to breathe.
has room to breathe.
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以留给想象呼吸的空间。
08:25
Now, in the physical domain,
of course, many people,
of course, many people,
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现在，在实际的领域中，
当然有很多人，
当然有很多人，
08:28
if they have the resources,
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倘若他们稍微富余的话，
08:29
will try to get a place in the country,
a second home.
a second home.
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会试着在国内拥有第二个家。
08:33
I've never begun to have those resources,
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我从未有过那些资源，
08:36
but I sometimes remember
that any time I want,
that any time I want,
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但我有时记得
任何时候，若我想的话，
任何时候，若我想的话，
08:40
I can get a second home in time,
if not in space,
if not in space,
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我可以给自己放一天假，
来适时地，获得第二个家。
08:44
just by taking a day off.
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08:47
And it's never easy because, of course,
whenever I do I spend much of it
whenever I do I spend much of it
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当然，这从来就不容易，
每次我这么做，
每次我这么做，
08:50
worried about all the extra stuff
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对于所有多出来的
08:52
that's going to crash down on me
the following day.
the following day.
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会压垮我隔日工作天的忧虑就会出现。
08:54
I sometimes think I'd rather give up
meat or sex or wine
meat or sex or wine
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有时我会觉得，我宁愿
放弃吃肉，性生活，或红酒，
放弃吃肉，性生活，或红酒，
08:57
than the chance to check on my emails.
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也不愿失去任何一丁点查邮箱的机会。
09:00
(Laughter)
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（笑声）
09:01
And every season I do try to take
three days off on retreat
three days off on retreat
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每一季，我的确给自己三天假期，
09:05
but a part of me still feels guilty
to be leaving my poor wife behind
to be leaving my poor wife behind
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但关于丢下我妻子
以及忽略那些
以及忽略那些
老板寄来的看似紧急的邮件，
09:09
and to be ignoring
all those seemingly urgent emails
all those seemingly urgent emails
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09:12
from my bosses
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以及错过一个朋友的派对，
09:14
and maybe to be missing
a friend's birthday party.
a friend's birthday party.
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我内心某处仍然觉得有负罪感。
09:17
But as soon as I get
to a place of real quiet,
to a place of real quiet,
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但一旦来到某个真正安静的地方，
09:21
I realize that it's only by going there
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我才了解，只有去那儿，
09:23
that I'll have anything fresh
or creative or joyful to share
or creative or joyful to share
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我才能拥有全新的，
有创意的，或快意之事
有创意的，或快意之事
09:27
with my wife or bosses or friends.
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和我妻子，上司和朋友分享。
09:30
Otherwise, really,
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否则，老天，
09:31
I'm just foisting on them
my exhaustion or my distractedness,
my exhaustion or my distractedness,
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我能够加诸于他们的
仅仅是我的疲惫或分神状态，
仅仅是我的疲惫或分神状态，
09:35
which is no blessing at all.
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实在无福可言。
09:39
And so when I was 29,
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所以当我 29 岁时，
09:41
I decided to remake my entire life
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我决定要重整自己全部的生活，
09:44
in the light of going nowhere.
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为了获得那无所去处的体验。
09:47
One evening I was coming back
from the office,
from the office,
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有天晚上，我从办公室回家，
09:49
it was after midnight, I was in a taxi
driving through Times Square,
driving through Times Square,
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4179
当时午夜时分，我正在出租车上，
经过了时代广场，
经过了时代广场，
09:53
and I suddenly realized
that I was racing around so much
that I was racing around so much
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我突然惊觉，自己仓皇度日
09:57
I could never catch up with my life.
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以至于永远无法赶上自己的生活。
10:00
And my life then, as it happened,
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1816
而我当时的生活，事实上
10:02
was pretty much the one
I might have dreamed of as a little boy.
I might have dreamed of as a little boy.
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3821
已差不多就和我小时梦想的一般。
10:06
I had really interesting friends
and colleagues,
and colleagues,
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我有非常有趣的朋友和同事，
10:08
I had a nice apartment
on Park Avenue and 20th Street.
on Park Avenue and 20th Street.
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我在公园大道和第 20 街交口
有个非常棒的公寓。
有个非常棒的公寓。
10:12
I had, to me, a fascinating job
writing about world affairs,
writing about world affairs,
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我有个对我来说绝佳的工作，
这工作让我得以撰写世界事务，
这工作让我得以撰写世界事务，
10:17
but I could never separate myself
enough from them
enough from them
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但我从来未能将自己和它清楚分开，
10:20
to hear myself think --
194
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1703
让自己倾听自己的思绪，
10:21
or really, to understand
if I was truly happy.
if I was truly happy.
195
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4126
或，去理解是否我真的处于喜乐之中。
10:26
And so, I abandoned my dream life
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3187
因此，我放弃我梦想中的工作，
10:29
for a single room on the backstreets
of Kyoto, Japan,
of Kyoto, Japan,
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就为了待在一个位于日本京都
某后街里的单间房内，
某后街里的单间房内，
10:34
which was the place
that had long exerted a strong,
that had long exerted a strong,
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3286
这地方长久以来产生了一种强烈的
10:37
really mysterious gravitational pull on me.
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3850
对我来说极为神秘的吸引力。
10:41
Even as a child
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甚至在我孩提时代，
10:43
I would just look at a painting
of Kyoto and feel I recognized it;
of Kyoto and feel I recognized it;
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我会看着一幅京都的画作
并感觉，我认出它来了，
并感觉，我认出它来了，
10:46
I knew it before I ever laid eyes on it.
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在定睛审视它之前，我便知如此。
10:49
But it's also, as you all know,
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1929
但它也是，如同大家所知，
10:51
a beautiful city encircled by hills,
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2719
是一个群山环绕的美丽城市，
10:54
filled with more than 2,000 temples
and shrines,
and shrines,
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3629
充满了 2000 多座寺庙和神社，
10:57
where people have been sitting still
for 800 years or more.
for 800 years or more.
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5112
人们在那儿静默了 800 年以上之久。
11:03
And quite soon after I moved there,
I ended up where I still am
I ended up where I still am
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3993
就在我搬到那儿不久，
我与现在的妻儿，
11:07
with my wife, formerly our kids,
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2579
挤在一个有两间房的公寓里，
在一个不毛之地，
在一个不毛之地，
11:09
in a two-room apartment
in the middle of nowhere
in the middle of nowhere
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2581
11:12
where we have no bicycle, no car,
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2388
我们没有自行车，没有车，
11:14
no TV I can understand,
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没有可以理解的电视节目，
11:16
and I still have to support my loved ones
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2553
我还得以作家和记者的身份，
11:19
as a travel writer and a journalist,
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2531
抚养我的至亲家人，
11:21
so clearly this is not ideal
for job advancement
for job advancement
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3364
因此很明显地，这对职业生涯，
11:25
or for cultural excitement
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673018
1827
对文化探索，
或对体验社会文化纷繁来说，
都不是一个理想的规划。
都不是一个理想的规划。
11:27
or for social diversion.
216
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2367
11:29
But I realized that it gives me
what I prize most,
what I prize most,
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4528
但我理解，这赋予了我那些
我最珍爱的日子，
11:34
which is days
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1640
11:36
and hours.
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1733
与时刻。
11:37
I have never once had to use
a cell phone there.
a cell phone there.
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2627
我在那儿从未需要使用手机。
11:40
I almost never have to look at the time,
221
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3543
我基本上几乎无须看时间，
11:44
and every morning when I wake up,
222
691943
2554
每天早上我醒来时，
11:46
really the day stretches in front of me
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2361
在我眼前展开来的一天
11:49
like an open meadow.
224
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2974
是一片敞开的草地。
11:52
And when life throws up
one of its nasty surprises,
one of its nasty surprises,
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3196
当生活向你抛出某个重大惊喜时，
11:55
as it will, more than once,
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1961
它不只会出现一次，
11:57
when a doctor comes into my room
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2181
当一个医生来到我房里，
11:59
wearing a grave expression,
228
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1895
脸上带着肃穆的表情，
12:01
or a car suddenly veers
in front of mine on the freeway,
in front of mine on the freeway,
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3628
或一辆汽车在高速公路上突然改道，
漂移到我车子前方，
漂移到我车子前方，
12:04
I know, in my bones,
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2744
我知道，在我骨子里，
12:07
that it's the time I've spent
going nowhere
going nowhere
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2710
正是那无所去处的时光
12:10
that is going to sustain me much more
232
718147
2002
帮助我持续保持平静，
12:12
than all the time I've spent
racing around to Bhutan or Easter Island.
racing around to Bhutan or Easter Island.
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4953
那比起我在不丹和复活节岛
所度之日都要有帮助。
所度之日都要有帮助。
12:18
I'll always be a traveler --
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1404
我永远都会是个旅者，
12:19
my livelihood depends on it --
235
727710
1904
那是我生活之所系，
12:21
but one of the beauties of travel
236
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2179
然而旅行的美好之处在于，
12:23
is that it allows you to bring stillness
237
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4106
它让你保有沉静之心，
12:28
into the motion and the commotion
of the world.
of the world.
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4120
在这莽撞与躁动的世界之中。
12:32
I once got on a plane
in Frankfurt, Germany,
in Frankfurt, Germany,
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3378
有一次，我在德国的法兰克福搭机，
12:35
and a young German woman
came down and sat next to me
came down and sat next to me
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2948
一位年轻的德国女子坐到我身旁，
12:38
and engaged me
in a very friendly conversation
in a very friendly conversation
241
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2620
与我展开非常友善的对谈，
12:41
for about 30 minutes,
242
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1751
近 30 分钟，
12:42
and then she just turned around
243
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1993
接着，她就转过身去，
12:44
and sat still for 12 hours.
244
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3273
静静地坐在那儿 12 有个小时之久。
12:48
She didn't once turn on her video monitor,
245
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2634
她未曾打开屏幕，
12:50
she never pulled out a book,
she didn't even go to sleep,
she didn't even go to sleep,
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3295
她也没有拿出书本，
甚至从未睡去，
甚至从未睡去，
12:54
she just sat still,
247
761911
2787
就只是静静地坐着，
12:56
and something of her clarity and calm
really imparted itself to me.
really imparted itself to me.
248
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4531
她那明晰和沉静已真正传授于我。
13:02
I've noticed more and more people
taking conscious measures these days
taking conscious measures these days
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4322
近来我注意到
有越来越多人刻意地
有越来越多人刻意地
13:06
to try to open up a space
inside their lives.
inside their lives.
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3273
试图在他们的生活中打开一片空间。
13:09
Some people go to black-hole resorts
251
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2330
有些人参加黑洞之旅
13:12
where they'll spend hundreds
of dollars a night
of dollars a night
252
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2360
他们会一晚花上几百美元
13:14
in order to hand over
their cell phone and their laptop
their cell phone and their laptop
253
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3158
只为了将自己的手机与电脑
13:17
to the front desk on arrival.
254
785453
2204
上缴给度假接待处。
13:19
Some people I know,
just before they go to sleep,
just before they go to sleep,
255
787657
2965
有些我认识的人
并不会在睡前刷屏看信息，
13:22
instead of scrolling through
their messages
their messages
256
790622
2124
或观看 YouTube 视频，
13:24
or checking out YouTube,
257
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1672
13:26
just turn out the lights
and listen to some music,
and listen to some music,
258
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3244
反而就只是关灯，听音乐，
13:29
and notice that they sleep much better
259
797662
2426
他们知道，这样会有更好的睡眠，
13:32
and wake up much refreshed.
260
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3213
在隔天一早将更神清气爽。
13:35
I was once fortunate enough
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2206
我曾经有幸地
13:37
to drive into the high, dark mountains
behind Los Angeles,
behind Los Angeles,
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5040
驾驶于洛杉矶旁的
高耸黯黑的群山之中，
高耸黯黑的群山之中，
13:42
where the great poet and singer
263
810547
2548
那儿曾经住了伟大的诗人乐手 --
13:45
and international heartthrob Leonard Cohen
264
813095
3222
举世皆知的莱纳德·科恩。
13:48
was living and working for many years
as a full-time monk
as a full-time monk
265
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4171
他曾在那儿附近作了好几年的僧人，
13:52
in the Mount Baldy Zen Center.
266
820488
2851
就在博帝山禅学中心。
13:55
And I wasn't entirely surprised
267
823339
1965
当他在 77 岁发表了
13:57
when the record that he released
at the age of 77,
at the age of 77,
268
825304
3710
自己的唱片专辑，
14:01
to which he gave the deliberately
unsexy title of "Old Ideas,"
unsexy title of "Old Ideas,"
269
829014
5281
他故意给这个专辑取了
一个非常不性感的名称 “旧思维”，
一个非常不性感的名称 “旧思维”，
14:06
went to number one in the charts
in 17 nations in the world,
in 17 nations in the world,
270
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2962
然而这专辑在全球
17 个国家冲上排行榜首位，
17 个国家冲上排行榜首位，
14:09
hit the top five in nine others.
271
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3230
在另外 9 个国家冲上前 5 名。
14:12
Something in us, I think, is crying out
272
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2767
它触动了我们内心里某种东西，
14:15
for the sense of intimacy and depth
that we get from people like that.
that we get from people like that.
273
843255
4506
触动了躁动的人们
14:19
who take the time
and trouble to sit still.
and trouble to sit still.
274
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3782
一种亲密、深刻与沉静的思绪。
14:23
And I think many
of us have the sensation,
of us have the sensation,
275
851543
2238
我想许多人拥有这种感觉，我当然也是，
14:25
I certainly do,
276
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1528
我们站在一个巨大的屏幕前，
距离大约两英寸，
距离大约两英寸，
14:27
that we're standing about two inches away
from a huge screen,
from a huge screen,
277
855309
4449
14:31
and it's noisy and it's crowded
278
859767
1838
人声鼎沸，摩肩接踵，
14:33
and it's changing with every second,
279
861605
2176
每一刻都在变动着，
14:35
and that screen is our lives.
280
863781
2749
而那屏幕即为我们自己的人生。
14:38
And it's only by stepping back,
and then further back,
and then further back,
281
866530
3623
唯有向后退一步，再回头一步，
14:42
and holding still,
282
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1738
静静地屏住气，
14:44
that we can begin to see
what the canvas means
what the canvas means
283
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2818
我们才能开始了解那画布上描绘之物，
14:46
and to catch the larger picture.
284
874709
2296
并以更宽广的眼界洞察世界。
14:49
And a few people do that for us
by going nowhere.
by going nowhere.
285
877005
3985
有些人已如此做了，他们无须来去。
14:54
So, in an age of acceleration,
286
881950
2022
因此，在这个快速转变的时代，
14:56
nothing can be more exhilarating
than going slow.
than going slow.
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没有什么比慢下来还要振奋人心。
15:00
And in an age of distraction,
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在这个失焦的时代，
15:02
nothing is so luxurious
as paying attention.
as paying attention.
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没有什么比凝神专注来得奢侈。
15:06
And in an age of constant movement,
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在这个不断变动的时代，
15:09
nothing is so urgent as sitting still.
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没有什么比静思来得急迫了。
15:13
So you can go on your next vacation
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所以，下一次当你们
15:15
to Paris or Hawaii, or New Orleans;
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去巴黎，夏威夷或新奥尔良度假时，
15:18
I bet you'll have a wonderful time.
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我保证你们会有一段美好时光，
15:22
But, if you want to come back home
alive and full of fresh hope,
alive and full of fresh hope,
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但如果你们想回家，
期待满怀全新希望，
期待满怀全新希望，
15:27
in love with the world,
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爱这个世界，
15:29
I think you might want
to try considering going nowhere.
to try considering going nowhere.
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我想，也许你们应该试着哪儿都别去。
15:33
Thank you.
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谢谢各位。
15:35
(Applause)
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（掌声）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Pico Iyer - Global authorPico Iyer has spent more than 30 years tracking movement and stillness -- and the way criss-crossing cultures have changed the world, our imagination and all our relationships.
Why you should listen
In twelve books, covering everything from Revolutionary Cuba to the XIVth Dalai Lama, Islamic mysticism to our lives in airports, Pico Iyer has worked to chronicle the accelerating changes in our outer world, which sometimes make steadiness and rootedness in our inner world more urgent than ever. In his TED Book, The Art of Stillness, he draws upon travels from North Korea to Iran to remind us how to remain focused and sane in an age of frenzied distraction. As he writes in the book, "Almost everybody I know has this sense of overdosing on information and getting dizzy living at post-human speeds ... All of us instinctively feel that something inside us is crying out for more spaciousness and stillness to offset the exhilarations of this movement and the fun and diversion of the modern world."
Pico Iyer | Speaker | TED.com